High hopes came crashing back down to Earth.

In a game where Colorado State football was looking to make a statement against a ranked opponent, they did everything but, falling to No. 11 BYU 41-23.

The dreams of CSU fans came falling out of the stratosphere almost immediately after kickoff, when BYU running back LJ Martin found the end zone on the second play of the game. Martin would go on to find the end zone twice more in the first quarter, and CSU had no answer for the Cougars’ run game.

“We gave up over 300 yards rushing, which is not ok,” head coach Jim Mora said.

Tackling continues to be an issue for the Rams defense, with a number of missed tackles leading to big gains for the Cougar offense.

BYU struck for numerous chunk plays throughout the game, notching five plays that gained at least 15 yards. Preventing those chunk plays will certainly be a focus for the Rams defense for the remainder of the season, as those types of plays seem to be the teams’ Achilles’ heel.

“I just think (it’s) a lack of communication, just lack of execution,” cornerback CJ Blocker said. “Those are things you can clean up for sure, and that just comes with practice. It’s definitely a lot of things, and, you know, just gotta clean those up.”

To make matters worse, the signal caller for CSU’s offense would go down with an injury late in the first quarter. Quarterback Hauss Hejny limped off the field on the second drive of the game and went straight to the medical tent.

Hejny would return for the third drive, but would remain on the sideline for the remainder of the game with what Mora described as a hamstring injury.

Hejny’s injury was a blow the Rams could not recover from, with any semblance of energy sucked out of the stadium. The team continued to fight in spite of the injury to Hejny, but it was apparent that the offense was lacking a key contributor.

“You can’t worry about (it), guys are gonna get, you know, dinged up in football,” Mora said. “And, it’s a cliche, it’s the next man up, you know? Nobody blinks.”

The injury bug continued to bite the Rams throughout the game, as backup quarterback K’saan Farrar exited the game in the fourth quarter with an apparent injury.

Farrar did not return to the game, and third-string quarterback Darius Curry played the remainder of CSU’s offensive snaps. Farrar is not expected to miss any time.

“He got poked in the eye, and he was cleared to come back,” Mora said. “But Darius was moving the team, and so we stuck with Darius.”

With the number of changes at quarterback, the Rams’ offense was unable to catch lightning in a bottle, failing to score after their first drive until garbage time in the fourth quarter.

The rotation at quarterback wasn’t the problem, however. It was simply the fact that BYU’s defense was able to shut down any opportunity for the Rams.

”I feel comfortable with all our quarterbacks,” wide receiver RJ Vick said. “It don’t matter who’s really back there.”

Mora recognized that the performance on the field wasn’t what he desired, but also saw signs that the team and its culture was headed in the right direction.

“There’s a lot of clues that I see that tell me that we’re going to be a successful football team, a very successful football program,” Mora said.

CSU fans weren’t thrilled with the product that their team put on the field, and that bled through into a number of derogatory chants targeted towards BYU and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

CSU athletics put out a statement during the game condemning the actions of their student section.

”Colorado State University apologizes to BYU, its student-athletes and fans, and to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the chant directed at them during Saturday’s game,” the statement said. “Mocking anyone’s faith has no place at CSU.”

CSU now turns their focus to next week’s matchup against the University of Texas San Antonio, hoping to bounce back from a debilitating loss to a ranked opponent.

Although the Rams weren’t thrilled with the product they put on the field, they battled until the clock hit zeroes against a ranked opponent, and a likely College Football Playoff contender. Mora’s eyes are already on next week’s matchup, as CSU faces off against another tough, 2-1 opponent.

“We have to go back to work, you know, and we have to maintain the same standard,” Mora said. “The standard can’t change, you won’t let it change.”

Reach Jack Randels at sports@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.