BYU football flying high after 3-0 start + Closing the book on derogatory chants

BYU is 3-0 and sitting exactly where it wants to be. KSL Sports BYU Insider Mitch Harper opens Monday's show from the other side of a dominant Saturday night in Fort Collins by breaking down what the 41-23 win over Colorado State means for the Cougars as they head into a bye week with momentum, health questions to answer, and a trip to TCU on October 3 looming on the other side.

The final score says 18 points, but it wasn't that close.

BYU raced out to a 21-7 first-quarter lead, extended it to 31-7 by halftime, and scored on the opening drive of the third quarter to push the advantage to 38-7 before Kalani Sitake began emptying the bench. The starters played roughly two and a half quarters of competitive football, and in those two and a half quarters, BYU looked like a legitimate top-10 team. The Cougars rolled up 559 total yards, rushed for 332 on 41 carries — an 8.1-yard average — and scored five rushing touchdowns. The defense held Colorado State to 302 total yards and just 82 on the ground, a 3.4-yard average, against a Rams offense that had been putting up 537 per game. 

In the second segment, Mitch addresses the derogatory chants one final time, then closes the book on it. Before Saturday's kickoff — which was delayed 37 minutes by a thunderstorm — a segment of Colorado State's student section directed anti-Latter-day Saint chants at BYU's players, coaches, and fans. Videos circulated on social media almost immediately.

Finally, Mitch closes the show with the Cougar Stock Exchange heading into the bye — who's trending up, who's trending down, and what to watch for when BYU returns to action.

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Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast daily on KSL Sports YouTube and KSL NewsRadio (SUBSCRIBE). Harper also co-hosts Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.

Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU athletics in the Big 12 Conference on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @Mitch_Harper.

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