FORT COLLINS — The football had just sailed from Nick Stevens’ right fingertips when the shoulder pad crashed into his rib cage, sending Colorado State’s quarterback to the turf in agony at the same time an Oregon State defensive back intercepted the pass.

“It took every ounce of breath I’ve ever breathed,” Stevens said.

A crowd of 37,583, the third-largest in program history, held its collective breath, too, as Stevens writhed on the turf in the debut of CSU’s new on-campus stadium. Moments later, with the game tied in the first quarter Saturday afternoon, the red-shirt senior rose to his feet. With both hands held above his head on the sideline, Stevens said, “It was kind of just like, ‘Let’s go back out there and put up points.’ ”

Oh boy, did he ever.

CSU rolled to a 58-27 victory to open its season and its new digs. And, following the interception, Stevens was near perfect. He finished 26-of-39 passing for 334 yards with three touchdowns.

“He was not going to panic in the moment if things didn’t go well,” CSU coach Mike Bobo said. “He was not going to show nerves if he got hit. He was going to continue to be that calming force, not just for our offense, but for our football team.”

CSU (1-0) took its first lead early in the second quarter with an 18-yard catch-and-run by tailback Dalyn Dawkins to go up 14-10, but the momentum was short lived. On the first play of OSU’s next drive, tailback Ryan Nall ran 75 yards down the west sideline for a touchdown. The Rams bounced back with a Wyatt Bryan chip-shot field goal and another Dawkins rushing score to enter halftime with a 24-20 lead.

After a less-than-stellar CSU defensive performance before the break — allowing 6.7 yards per play, including four plays of 20-or-more yards — that unit paved the way to victory in the second half by holding OSU scoreless for the first 18 minutes, reaching five total forced turnovers, and allowing just one touchdown over the last two quarters.

Stevens was no less impressive. He went on to complete 10 passes of at least 15 yards, including deep balls to Detrich Clark (20 yards) Olabisi Johnson (26 yards), Dalton Fackrell (21) and Michael Gallup (28). All three of Stevens’ touchdowns were to different targets. It also marked the third career time Stevens has thrown for 300 or more yards.

“They pretty much pounded us in the second half,” Oregon State coach Gary Andersen said. “They did what they did, and we couldn’t answer the bell.”

It’s a far cry from the last time Stevens opened a season against a Pac-12 foe. In 2016 against Colorado, he completed only 6-of-20 passes for 31 yards and two interceptions prior to being benched.

“(Stevens) has grown up,” said Gallup, who caught 11 passes for 134 yards on Saturday. “Last year when we down to play CU, he was just kind of heaving the ball up. This year, he’s telling people where to line up.”

Said Stevens: “I was able to get in a rhythm because guys were making plays for me. There were a couple of times were weren’t getting the exact look we were looking for and I was able to still continue to progress through my read and throw contested balls to receivers that came down with them.”

Not long after Bobo was hoisted on the shoulders of his players in the locker room celebration, as seen in video posted to the team’s Twitter account, he was already forward-focused answering reporters’ questions about the Rams’ 6 p.m. Friday Rocky Mountain Showdown against Colorado at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

Should Stevens once again find himself in pain, breathless on the turf, one thing remains clear.

Stevens will get up.

“He’s always shown toughness to me since year one,” Bobo said.