FORT COLLINS — Colorado State still has issues. The Rams also have a win, thanks in large part to its defense.

Really.

A unit that gave up 578 yards and 24 points before getting a stop a week ago held strong in the second half Saturday at Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium, allowing the Rams to leave their home opener victorious, 23-14 over UTSA.

To signify what really transpired the final 30 minutes, it was 20-14 at halftime. Colorado State’s offense rolled early with the run game, but the quarterback play was ineffective through the air once again, and UTSA stacked the box and took the ground attack away from the Rams (1-1), leading to true freshman quarterback Collin Hill to enter in the fourth quarter.

The defense made it stand. The Roadrunners (1-1) had seven drives in the second half, none of them producing points after a pair of touchdown passes in the first half by quarterback Dalton Sturm.

“Seven possessions, seven stops. That’s pretty impressive,” CSU head coach Mike Bobo said. “I don’t care who you’re playing.”

Of those drives, four were three-and-outs, two were stops on fourth-and-2 in CSU territory and the final one ended with a Braylin Scott interception as Sturm scrambled to avoid another sack.

The Rams took a more aggressive approach, with blitzes aimed at the run and pass. When Sturm dropped back after halftime, it was not an easy chore for him. The Rams had five of their six sacks in the final two quarters, and linebacker Kevin Davis led the charge with three of them.

“Super excited. It was a complete turnaround from last week,” said Davis, who had six tackles overall and didn’t have to carry the load on his own. “Guys were excited, guys were trying to get to the ball, guys were doing their jobs. It was exciting to watch.

“We definitely had a salty taste in our mouth from last week. The game plan was a lot more aggressive. We were just trying to get to the ball, get our linemen moving.”

Faton Bauta, a graduate transfer from Georgia, started the game, but was just 6-of-17 passing for 82 yards, one a 45-yard completion thanks to a great catch by Elroy Masters Jr. with 2 seconds remaining in the first half, setting up a Wyatt Bryan field goal as time expired.

Bryan had three attempts at that one (UTSA was offside twice as he pulled the ball left both times), and finished with three in the game, the final one in the fourth quarter, a career-long of 46 yards.

CSU, which rushed for 220 of its 328 yards of total offense, had scoring runs of 1 yard from Dalyn Dawkins and 6 yards from Izzy Matthews to take the lead in the first quarter and never give it up.

The Rams won the toss and took the ball first, a drive that led to Bryan’s first field goal. UTSA countered with a touchdown drive, with Sturm finishing a 12-play drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Thomas Jr.

CSU’s offense countered with its first touchdown of the day, needing a fourth-down run by Dawkins — a pitch to the left to finish the 12-play journey. Late in the second quarter, Matthews’ run capped a nine-play drive — all of them runs — with the sophomore gaining the final 27 yards on four straight carries.

“That feels good, because that’s what we worked for,” Dawkins said after gaining 68 yards on 15 carries before exiting the game with a sore hamstring. “That’s what we work for every day. We do it every day in practice, and it feels good to actually get out there and execute.”

Half of the game’s points were scored in the final 3:18 of the first half, because UTSA responded as Sturm found Brady Jones from 16 yards out to make it a 17-14 game with just 20 seconds remaining before halftime.

It took two plays for CSU to get in scoring position thanks to the big reception by Elroy Masters Jr., setting up the odd sequence that eventually led to Bryant’s kick from 28 yards with no time on the clock.

“Oh my gosh. That was stressing, but at the end of the day, we got three points for it, and I’m glad that catch set up some points, because I think those were some big points going into halftime,” said Masters, who had three catches for 67 yards.

“I think when we went to the locker room, it just gave us some fire to come into the second half. I think it really motivated our defense. I think that showed, because the defense came out and had a good second half.”

The Rams stalled in the second half, as Bauta hit just one of six attempts, missing three straight in one series to open the fourth.

Instead of turning to last week’s starter, Nick Stevens, Bobo put in Hill, who completed two of his six attempts for 28 yards, with two of his throws dropped. Both of his completions picked up first downs, and he did start the final scoring drive, completing a key third-down play, connecting with Masters for a 15-yard gain. Bauta re-entered, ran for 7 yards, and then exited in place of Hill on the next third down, which was another run play.

“We are inept throwing the ball right now,” Bobo said after the team threw for 108 yards, which harshly enough, is a 45-yard improvement.

Good thing for the Rams, the defense was a new and improved unit.

“The way our defense came out and played the second half was unbelievable,” Bobo said. “I thought Coach (Marty) English did a great job of continuing to bring pressure in the second half, continued to be aggressive, where sometimes in that situation where the offense is sputtering, you might feel like you can’t continue to bring pressure, you might give up a big play. He kept the hammer down and our kids responded.”

Mike Brohard: 970-635-3633, mbrohard@reporter-herald.com and twitter.com/mbrohard