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BYU's LJ Martin (4) carries the ball against Colorado State in a college football game at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colo., on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Here’s what’s going on inside Darnell’s head after revisiting one of my old Mountain West Conference haunts: Fort Collins.

It wasn’t like a lot of memories came flooding back during BYU’s 41-23 victory against Colorado State on Saturday. Canvas Stadium is on the CSU campus, a far jaunt from old Hughes Stadium.

That venue was torn down in 2018, just after Canvas Stadium opened. Apparently, the site of the old stadium is now open land featuring walking paths, a disc golf course and a sledding hill.

Canvas Stadium turned quickly into mostly Cougar fans after BYU took a 31-7 halftime lead, CSU students and fans fading off into the night. After the final whistle, Cougar players took the time to walk the entire length of the stadium to greet every BYU fan who remained. They were screaming the names of players … “Bear! Bear!” or “Legend! Legend!” and did the same for head coach Kalani Sitake when he finished his post-game interviews. Sitake took some time to sign a few No. 34 jerseys (his number in college) and take selfies. One young man yelled to senior linebacker Isaiah Glasker, “My uncle is your neighbor!” to try and get his attention.

“For real?” Glasker said.

All of this just reminded me that as much as I see posts from grumpy BYU fans on social media about how the Cougars turned too conservative in the second half and the score won’t reflect to the CFP committee how dominant they really were, those in the stadium at the end won’t forget that one of the players took a picture with them or shared their headband.

The players appreciate the attention, especially on the road. Freshman wide receiver Legend Glasker remarked in the post-game that seeing all the Colorado State fans leave the stadium after halftime and all the BYU fans moving into their seats was “cool to see.”

So, on to Perfectly Rational Overreactions (PROs).

PRO No. 1: LJ Martin in the best running back in BYU football history.

He’s approaching Jamaal Williams’ career rushing record of 3,901 (Martin has 2,869) and has been an impact player since his freshman season. If he continues on this pace, he could be considered the best ever. His balance, his vision and his power make him a nightmare for opponents. If BYU makes a run to the College Football Playoffs, that would be the icing on the cake, right?

PRO No. 2: BYU won despite Bear Bachmeier having a sub-par performance.

Bear’s deep ball to Glasker was perfectly placed and he made some other good throws in the first half. But at times Bachmeier (12 of 18, 227 yards) seemed to have trouble reading the CSU defense, both as a passer and in the read option game. His interception was a case of locking in on a receiver that was double covered and throwing it anyway. Someone in the press box noted that Bachmeier sometimes doesn’t get as engaged when he’s not running the ball, and that makes some sense. But he’ll have to be be better in Big 12 play.

PRO No. 3: The Cougar backups on defense really let the team down in the fourth quarter.

Yeah, that was disappointing, wasn’t it? Leading 38-7, two late scores (and a pair of two-point conversions) put the final at 41-23 and while it still covered the 17.5 point spread (gamblers take note), it didn’t seem as satisfying of a win.

The first Rams TD is on Bachmeier for throwing the interception at the goal line, but remember that CSU was on its third quarterback by the fourth quarter. Giving up two touchdowns to a third-stringer is a problem that BYU coaches will certainly address during the bye week. After the opening drive by the Rams, the Cougars shut them down until the fourth quarter. However, CSU starting quarterback Haaus Hejny suffered a hamstring injury in the first half and that really took a lot of of life out of the home team.

Bottom line, the defense got a little bit lucky and didn’t bring the win home in a convincing fashion.

And finally, PRO No. 4: Sitake went conservative too soon and an impressive victory became less so.

It’s interesting that Sitake considers it poor form to try and score with a big lead, but it’s OK for Colorado State, down by 31 points in the second half, to pass every down, go for two after touchdowns and do an onside kick.

This one was different than Arizona, where BYU knelt on the ball at the 3-yard line in the final minute. If Bachmeier doesn’t throw an interception and the Cougars score to go up 45-7, that switches field position and I don’t think CSU scores twice in the fourth. So that’s on BYU.

A lot of grumbling by fans on social media about how the score looks closer than it was to the CFP committee. Honestly, I don’t think it’ll make much difference. It’s a three-score win over an overmatched team. The CFP committee doesn’t even vote until October and this game will be a distant memory.

Who Carried the Boats and the Logs?

Is there any question? Martin was solid the first game and had the quietest 98 yard-performance of all time against Arizona.

But, man, Martin was way too much for Colorado State to handle on Saturday, right from the beginning. He broke off a career-best 56-yard touchdown run on the second play from scrimmage and finished with 14 carries for 173 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone. He had two touches (a 9-yard reception and a 3-yard run) on the opening drive of the third and was done for the night.

No lights

I do have a quick story: My former Daily Herald colleague, Jason Franchuk, and I traveled to Hughes Stadium for the first time back in 2004. Nestled up against “A” Mountain, most of the parking area was just a giant open field with portable flood lights. We finished writing out stories after the game but when we left the press box, all of the flood lights had been turned off and it was pitch dark. We didn’t know how we were going to locate our rental car but fortunately, one of the writers for the Fort Collins paper came out and said he had a flashlight to help us find his car. He then drove us in the general direction of where we thought our rental car was until we found it.

Crisis averted.

Get off my lawn

The NCAA ruled former BYU men’s basketball commit Jakob Urbaniak ineligible because he played in a foreign pro league ranked in the 50s worldwide.

Maybe you don’t know this, NCAA, but your players have been being paid since 2021. College players are pros now. Ruling someone ineligible for getting paid to play is beyond hypocrisy. Stop it.

Is that a pair of giraffes?

On our walk from the parking garage to Canvas Stadium before the game a very powerful rainstorm hit Fort Collins, with tons of thunder and lightning. We had to run for cover, along with anyone else on their way to the stadium.

How hard was it raining? I swear I saw Noah loading the ark with animals on Lake Street.

That’s all for now, but for this: On our road trip to Fort Collins, my Daily Herald colleague Brandon Gurney bought a chicken burrito from a gas station and ended up throwing it out because it tasted nasty.

That was the least surprising part of our trip.

Have a great bye week and don’t forget to be kind to others. It’s costs you nothing.