Back in the win column and with a golden opportunity to add to it.

Following a 56-49 home win against San Diego State, Colorado State football has found its mojo, in part thanks to the return of starting quarterback Hauss Hejny after his three-game absence.

In the win over SDSU, Hejny passed for 333 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 85 yards and two touchdowns. His stellar performance ignited the offense into the explosive unit, helping to make up for the persistent issues with Rams’ defense, with them allowing 49 points. 

Despite the highs of a victory after four straight losses, head coach Jim Mora knows it’s all about looking forward to the next matchup.

“It’s a better feeling on Sunday certainly when you win,” Mora said. “But same set of challenges going forward. Just got to continue to really push and improve, push the edge, continue to understand what it takes to get better, what it takes to win and go find a way to get one on the road against a good team.”

CSU will kick off against the Utah State Aggies — who sit at a 2-5 record so far this season — at 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 31 at the Maverik Stadium. Though USU doesn’t boast the greatest record, the team comes off a close 20-17 loss against Texas State, a team CSU lost to by 39 points just two weeks ago.

“When you watch Utah State play defense in particular, it’s very, very impressive,” Mora said. “And then they’re just very, very consistent offensively. They take care of the ball, they run it well, they throw it well. … The challenge is always going to be preparing for them and their looks, but then going out and playing better each week, playing to our standard each week with great effort and focus.”

The Aggies play a different style of football under second-year head coach Bronco Mendenhall, utilizing both the pass game and run game. The system hasn’t given results in the win category, but USU has consistently pushed teams to their limit and present a high-standing challenge to CSU.

However, for the Rams, this week of preparation will once again be one where the team’s main focus is on improving themselves and internally polishing up what they can.

The biggest area where the Rams continue to slowly but surely tidy up is the defense. Despite allowing another high-scoring affair against the Aztecs, the unit came up with two interceptions, timely third-down stops and gave enough leeway for the offense to push the team past the finish line, which is a sign of improvement for one of the nation’s worst performing defenses.

“Consistency of assignment, executing assignment, energy,” Mora said when asked what he liked about the defense’s performance against SDSU. “Better tackling, better effort to the ball, a better understanding of leverage. We looked faster because we were more certain of what we were supposed to do.”

If a CSU defense that came into the matchup against the Aztecs ranked dead last in the country in yards allowed per game can find some momentum and flip the switch, then the Rams could be looking at a potential turnaround for the second half of the season.

Despite the offensive explosion this past week, the offense has been doing their part all season long — even during Hejny’s absence. The unit is averaging 38.6 points per game, which is ranked 12th in the nation, and a large part is due to the work of offensive coordinator Pryce Tracy in year one with CSU.

“(Tracy) is fearless, he’s aggressive, he has confidence in the ideas that they come up with as a staff,” Mora said. “And then he’s not afraid to pull the trigger. … He’s got confidence in himself, in the coaches around him, in the fact that they’re going to coach things the right way and he’s got confidence in our players to go out and execute because that’s what they’ve been doing.”

One big playmaker as of recent for the Rams has been running back Durell Robinson who has scored eight touchdowns over the last five games and found a role as a potential true workhorse running back moving forward. 

“(Durell has) a dynamic personality, amazing energy, a real spark man for this team,” Mora said. “Never gets down, always forward thinking, always positive, always has a smile on his face except for game day. … He’s the exact same young man that he was at Connecticut two years ago. He just hasn’t changed at all and he loves football and he loves to compete.”

With the offense hitting a stride and the defense continuing to work hard on improving, the Rams can be cautiously optimistic about getting into their groove as the college football season officially gets to an important part.

They will have to do so against the Aggies while on the road, a place where CSU has not won a game so far this season.

Reach Devin Imsirpasic at sports@collegian.com or on social media @DImsirpasic.