Colorado State proved last week that quarterback Hauss Hejny and an opportunistic defense are a lethal combination.

The Rams wasted no time replicating that formula Saturday with dominant results.

Hejny threw a pair of touchdown passes within CSU’s first four plays and the defense caused a fumble on Southern Utah’s first play, all part of an initial three minutes that set the tone for a decisive 58-24 victory for the Rams at Canvas Stadium.

The outburst was the most points for a CSU team since a 58-27 landslide over Oregon State on Aug. 26, 2017, in the first game ever played at Canvas Stadium. It also moved the Rams to 2-0 for the first time since 2011.

Any thought that the Rams might be looking ahead to next Saturday’s home game against BYU was quickly put to rest as Hejny came out firing.

Fresh off throwing five touchdowns in the Border War win over Wyoming, the sophomore signal-caller connected on his first three throws for 113 yards. Included in there were a short toss that Cedric Ross turned into a 68-yard touchdown play and a 38-yard throw that found Terrence Smith Jr. wide open in the end zone.

Hejny finished 18 of 30 for 325 yards with four touchdowns while adding 85 yards and a touchdown on five carries on the ground.

“He’s a good decision-maker. He’s doing a nice job with the ball,” said CSU head coach Jim Mora. “Just take care of the football, make good decisions with the football, get the ball to the playmakers and don’t force things into coverage. He’s doing a nice job of that.”

While Hejny was coming off winning Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week and starred early, it was the running of Mel Brown that carried the Rams after their initial outburst.

One week after posting 57 yards on eight carries against Wyoming, Brown broke off runs of 80 and 73 yards in the second quarter. Those runs were part of a quick-strike offense that showed itself often in a first half in which Colorado State averaged 10.9 yards per play and posted 489 total yards on its way to a 48-21 halftime edge.

The 27-point margin was the second-highest halftime lead in program history, and the 48 points were the second-most ever by the Rams in a half (just behind 49 scored against Texas-El Paso in 1984).

All six of Colorado State’s first-half touchdown drives took four plays or fewer as well.

“We got into a good rhythm, especially with the running game,” Clark said. “I feel like that was able to spark it for me and for all the running backs in the room.”

While Southern Utah rolled up 442 yards of total offense, the Rams also forced four turnovers, matching the number they logged against Wyoming.

“Those are things that we build on, but I was not happy with the way they split our defense a couple of times for big gainers,” Mora said of the turnovers. “When you have a good staff, which we do defensively, and you have players that are willing, you can get that fixed. We have to get that fixed quick because BYU is a really good football team.”