Canvas Stadium had never looked more alive. 

One week after rain showers kept fans away early for CSU’s best performance of the season, the seats filled quickly under clear skies. Students streamed in well before the band’s pregame set, and the record-setting crowd of 40,416, the largest in the stadium’s history, seemed ready to help push the Rams. Colorado State football ultimately fell to Hawaii 31-19 Saturday, and it displayed both flashes of good with an overall middling performance.

For a few moments in the first quarter, though, the noise matched the setting. 

When Javion “Chop” Kinnard slightly misjudged a punt at his own 9-yard line, directed traffic and weaved 91 yards for a touchdown, Canvas rattled.

“When I first turn around, my first thing (I think about is) just catching the ball, (getting) in position and, if anybody (is) by me, I’m always thinking touchdown,” Kinnard said. “That’s always my mentality.”

Jay Norvell praised the blossoming true freshman last week, and he looked past the team’s inconsistencies when speaking on Kinnard.

“He’s a really talented young guy, and (I) really love Javion,” Norvell said. “He prepared really well this week, and that’s what I was really proud of. Because we did a lot of different things with him and he handled himself.”

But Kinnard’s highlight only masked the issues that defined the rest of the night, undone by another slow offensive start and a defense that couldn’t slow a poised freshman quarterback on the other side.

Micah Alejado arrived in Fort Collins as the reigning Mountain West Freshman of the Week, and he looked every bit the part. The true freshman threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns with one interception on 26-of-38 passing, extending plays with his legs and punishing CSU whenever receivers slipped open downfield.

“I thought their quarterback showed a lot of poise tonight and did a really great job,” Norvell said. “We weren’t able to pressure him or really make him uncomfortable tonight … we just didn’t challenge enough of their passing game tonight to make a dent in it.”

The moment that captured that poise came in the second quarter. 

Alejado rolled to his left, eyes still scanning downfield while being chased, and dropped a pass to receiver Jackson Harris. Harris snagged the ball with one hand and sprinted through missed tackles for a 75-yard touchdown.

That play gave Hawai‘i a 14-7 lead, one they would not relinquish.

And CSU had little offensive response in the first half. 

The Rams managed just 106 total yards before halftime, 49 of which came on their final drive of the second quarter. They punted on their first three possessions and struggled to give quarterback Jackson Brousseau time to throw.

CSU gave up six sacks, which Norvell said was more than it had “given up in a long time”. The running backs fared well enough and finished with 95 yards on 22 carries with a 4.3 yard average but wasn’t at the usual level.

“I was disappointed in our ability to run the football, which has been a strength for us,” Norvell said. “We did not run the ball effectively tonight. We really needed to run the ball and keep it away from their offense and play complimentary football. We did not get that done, obviously, tonight.”

Even when the Rams moved the ball, mistakes erased momentum. Freshman running back Jalen Dupree fumbled late in the first half during a two-minute drill, ending what looked like CSU’s most promising drive of the opening two quarters.

The defense, though battered by injuries to four week-one starters, kept the game manageable for the most part. Safety Jake Jarmolowich intercepted Alejado in the second quarter, tumbling to the turf as he secured the catch. Defensive back Jace Bellah came up with a touchdown-saving tackle on Cam Barfield and helped force a UH field goal in the third quarter.

“As a defense, (we have a) bend, don’t break type mentality,” Jarmolowich said. “We made the adjustments, corrected them, and then from there on we had stop after stop.

The Rams forced four punts, but the Rainbow Warriors still found ways to extend the lead. 

Alejado connected with Harris again for a nine-yard score, and record-chasing kicker Kansei Matsuzawa drilled a third-quarter field goal, his 201st straight, surpassing Jason Elam’s school record.

The Rainbow Warriors improved to 6-2 overall, giving head coach and former Norvell staff member Timmy Chang just his second victory away from home since taking over the program. They are now bowl eligible for the first time since 2021 with four games remaining.

CSU’s offense didn’t find rhythm until the fourth quarter. 

Down 24-7, Brousseau finally settled in, completing passes to Armani Winfield and Tay Lanier before hitting Winfield for a 7-yard touchdown. Backup quarterback Tahj Bullock followed with a 3-yard score on the next possession, cutting the deficit to five.

In the fourth quarter alone, CSU racked up 117 yards, more than its first-half total. CSU had two drives of 75+ yards. The comeback felt possible.

Then came the play that ended it.

Facing 4th-and-1 near midfield, Barfield took a handoff, bounced off his line on what looked like a halfback dive and shifted gears. He then sprinted 35 yards untouched to the end zone.

“(That) kid made a hell of play,” Norvell said. “We had our moments, we had our chances at that point. And if we could have stopped them, we could have made it interesting.”

Brousseau finished 15-for-29 with 176 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions, but the six sacks and CSU’s inability to consistently run effectively told the story.

“I think Jackson did some decent things,” Norvell said. “I think he was just out of sync early in the game, and the pressure didn’t help. We didn’t protect him really well. We really needed to run the ball and (use) play action and help our guys get open, and we weren’t effective with that.”

CSU fell to 2-5 overall and 1-2 in Mountain West play, one week after beating Fresno State in a performance that looked like a turning point. Instead, the inconsistency that has followed the Rams all year showed up again.

But the pieces are there.

Linebacker Owen Long was named to the All-America second team earlier in the week, the youngest captain of the Norvell era and the nation’s leading tackler at times. Cornerback Lemondre Joe led the FBS in pass breakups coming into the game. Kinnard has already tied a school record as a freshman returner. Bryan Hansen entered the night ranked seventh nationally in punting average.

The Rams have playmakers at every level. Several significant injuries, like tight end Jaxxon Warren; defensive lineman Mukendi Wa-Kalonji; or linebacker Jacques Evans, have hurt the Rams, but they still have yet to mesh into a complete team.

“Throwing a comeback on a boundary is something we should be able to do, and we’re not doing it right now,” Norvell said. “It makes it tougher, because now you have to be great on inside routes in the middle of the field and we don’t have a whole lot of options there. Some of the plays that should be easy are really difficult for us right now. That’s just the truth.”

It has left CSU relying on flashes, never full consistency. And CSU didn’t utilize the inside of the field as effectively and left tight ends with one target on the night. 

“I think our kids are disappointed,” Norvell said. “Obviously, we’re not where we want to be right at this time of year. We’ve got to get ourselves together and get in the right frame of mind this next week to go play, you know, a real tough, physical Wyoming team on the road.”

The Border War against UW comes next, a rivalry that always draws emotion regardless of record. This year it doubles as a chance for two teams searching for momentum to reset in the second half of the season.

For CSU, the record-setting home crowd saw what the rest of the season has shown: sparks of talent, flashes of potential but no complete fire.

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Reach Michael Hovey at sports@collegian.com or on social media @michaelfhovey.