What we're watching for and prediction for CSU football at UTSA

Colorado State is hitting the road for the first time.

The CSU football team plays at UTSA on Sept. 26 at the Alamodome. It’s the first road game for the Rams since Nov. 22 of last season because CSU opened 2026 with three home games in a row.

Here’s a look at what we’re watching for and a prediction for CSU at UTSA.

Jim Mora is blunt on how he thinks opponents probably view CSU’s defense.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t even throw the ball. I would run it every play,” Mora said. “We’re fourth-to-last in the NCAA in rush defense, why would you ever throw against us?”

There’s a small dose of hyperbole in there because surely UTSA will surely use QB Owen McCown and the pass game some.

But the challenge starts with the run game. As Mora said, CSU is 134th out of 138 teams in FBS in rush yards allowed per game (227).

BYU had five rushing touchdowns and 332 yards on the ground last week against the Rams. FCS foe Southern Utah had 244 yards on the ground and two rushing touchdowns.

Teams will try and run on CSU until the Rams prove they can slow it.

“You know they’re going to try us on defense with the run game since the past two games we let up a couple touchdowns. We’ve got to be ready for that and we’re going to be ready,” linebacker Jaseim Mitchell said.

“It’s a personal challenge. We have that bitter taste in our mouth from last game, so we’re going to hit back harder.”

The challenge is clear.

“Just run it every play,” Mora said. “That would be my mindset if I were UTSA, so we’ve got to prove early in the game that we’re up to the challenge.”

Mora said if he were UTSA, his mindset would be to run it every play because of how poor CSU is against the run.

Well … Right next to CSU in the rush yards allowed per game list is UTSA. The Roadrunners are No. 135 (out of 138) in FBS at 232 rush yards allowed per game.

“Run the ball and stop the run are the things I’ve always felt are most important when you go on the road,” Mora said. “If you’re running the ball effectively on offense, you’re keeping their offense (off) the field and you’re keeping their fans from getting too involved.”

Add in a question mark at quarterback for CSU (more on that below) and its logical to assume the Rams will go with a heavy dose of Mel Brown and Durell Robinson in the run game.

It may be a game less about deceit and more about power and will.

Hauss Hejny suffered a hamstring injury in the first quarter of last week’s loss to BYU. Mora has said the Rams will wait until the final minute to determine if he can play.

K’saan Farrar was the top competitor with Hejny for the job in preseason and took over first when Hejny left the BYU game. Darius Curry then entered later in the BYU game after Farrar was hit in the eye and Curry performed well.

Mora has said CSU won’t play with the handbrakes on the offense no matter who is at QB, but the run game focus and inexperience of the reserve quarterbacks suggests some level of cautious aggressiveness would be in store.

If whoever plays at QB can protect the ball and hit the big play chances when provided, it will give CSU a chance at the road upset.

UTSA 27, Colorado State 20.

If CSU had a certainly healthy Hejny, this would feel much more like a toss up than the double-digit betting line places it now. Still, it feels like Mora will have the Rams ready and competitive in this one.

But UTSA is really, really good at home. The Roadrunners are 34-5 at the Alamodome in coach Jeff Traylor’s seven seasons in charge.

UTSA’s offense will have just enough big plays while CSU’s battles inconsistency with the quarterback uncertainty.

A toss up game that could go either way, but the Roadrunners find the key play to keep winning in the dome.

Sports reporter Kevin Lytle can be found on social media on X, Instagram and Threads @Kevin_Lytle and on Bluesky.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: What we’re watching for and prediction for CSU football at UTSA