SAN ANTONIO — Never take an early lead for granted.

Colorado State football couldn’t have asked for a more explosive set of plays to start its Week 4 matchup against UTSA: Mel Brown took the 94-yard opening kick to the end zone, UTSA’s initial offensive drive resulted in a missed field goal and K’saan Farrar‘s very first throw of the game was a 74-yard missile to Terrence Smith Jr.

Within the first minute and 44 seconds, CSU was up 14-0; though the Rams had an early advantage, the Roadrunners quickly found their footing to recovery. Head coach Jim Mora watched his defense crumble under UTSA’s unremitting counterattack, allowing 35 unanswered points before CSU was able to score again.

Facing an uphill battle the rest of the way, CSU put together scoring drives that brought the game back within striking distance. The steep score differential, however, proved to be too big of an obstacle to overcome, resulting in a 59-45 loss Saturday.

New defense, similar mistakes

CSU’s offense gave the defense plenty of room to work with thanks to the early 14-0 lead, but Tyson Summers‘ defensive unit fell into complacency.

The Rams allowed 300 yards of offense in the first quarter and change of play, repeating the same errors drive and drive again. By the end of the first quarter, the Roadrunners were up 21-14 and carried the momentum through the first half, extending their lead to 14 by halftime.

Summers’ defense was anchored by Oumar Diomande — the leading tackler at the half — but the defense as a whole struggled across multiple facets. The Rams’ defensive line couldn’t break through to UTSA quarterback Owen McCown; the secondary allowed multiple big plays; and the Roadrunners faced no resistance.

Tackling inconsistencies continue to haunt the Rams

To stop an explosive offense, tackling is the first priority, which the Rams struggled with Saturday in the Alamodome.

UTSA constantly found extra yards after contact, even when multiple Rams defenders had arms around ball carriers. Many Roadrunners touchdowns came as a result of tackling mistakes and simply being unable to take down the man with the ball.

The ineffective tackling has been a glaring issue throughout the early part of the season, constantly allowing chunk plays that result from missed tackles: BYU ran for 332 yards, Southern Utah kept its game close due to the Rams’ poor tackling and UTSA capitalized on every CSU mistake.

Penalties finally become an issue

After a clean start to the season, the Rams became complacent Saturday, racking up 11 penalties over the course of the game.

Entering the matchup, CSU’s 3.3 penalties per game tied them for third least in the nation, but that success came crashing down in San Antonio. In the first quarter, the Rams had an offensive drive in which they committed three false starts, two of which occurred back-to-back.

This drive was the catalyst for a subsequent avalanche of penalties.

UTSA constructed its scoring drives simply off of the Rams’ blunders, which allowed the Roadrunners to achieve a season-high of 59 points.

Farrar steps up

As Hauss Hejny, starting quarterback for the first three games, was out with a hamstring injury, Farrar got the second start of his career and turned in an impressive offensive performance.

Farrar was 29-of-46 for 344 yards, which included two touchdowns and one interception. Farrar showcased his deep-ball ability, read the Roadrunners’ defense well throughout all four quarters and kept the Rams alive until the very end despite a first half 21-point deficit.

There is no official timeline for Hejny’s return to play, which gives Farrar the potential for more starts in the coming weeks and opportunities to solidify himself as a trustworthy quarterback.

CSU now takes a 2-2 record back to Canvas Stadium with clear improvements to be made before its Homecoming matchup against Oregon State at 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3.

Reach Devin Imsirpasic and Cerys Hembury at sports@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegianSpts.