FORT COLLINS — In his fifth season of college football, Colorado State quarterback Faton Bauta will get his second career start Saturday. He’s an outgoing, even brash Brooklyn type of guy — which is no coincidence, since he was raised in the New York borough — who plays the quarterback “role” well, but even he acknowledges that his previous start was, well, unsuccessful.

“There’s no sugarcoating it at all,” Bauta said after the Rams’ Wednesday practice. “It’s in the past. It happened. I’m glad it happened. But my worst game is behind me.”

After Georgia coach Mark Richt benched starter Greyson Lambert, Bauta went 15-of-33 for 154 yards, with four interceptions, in a 27-3 Halloween loss to Florida last year in Jacksonville. He didn’t start again for the Bulldogs and, as a graduate student, transferred to rejoin former Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo at Colorado State, in time for spring ball. And now, after holdover starter Nick Stevens struggled in the 44-7 loss to Colorado last week, Bobo is turning to Bauta for the Rams’ Saturday home opener against Texas-San Antonio at Hughes Stadium.

“It helps a little bit, because you know what to expect,” he said of having a previous career start. “It’s a D-I college football game, and you get to go out and be the quarterback for your team, and this time, you have to lead them to victory. So hopefully that’s different, but other than that, it’s football. You don’t want to make it more complicated than that.”

Despite his lack of starting experience, and his status as the new guy, Bauta was operating as a leader from the moment he joined the program in the offseason, and it was noticeable during spring ball. But the issue was that with Stevens throwing for 2,679 yards in 2015 and being named the Mountain West’s second-team all-league quarterback, was Bauta’s role ever going to be more than as a backup, as a 22-year-old transfer Bobo knew (but didn’t use) at Georgia brought in to give Stevens competition while freshman Collin Hill likely redshirted?

Bobo provided that answer quickly. Bauta replaced Stevens in the second half of the Colorado game, going 6-for-9 for 32 yards and one touchdown, and also rushing for 39 yards on four carries. Then on Monday, Bauta got the word: He was starting against UTSA.

“You have to walk in and act like you’re the starter every day,” Bauta said. “I was taught that when I was a freshman in college, actually from Aaron Murray. He told that to me, and it’s something that stuck with me a long time. It’s just your demeanor. You have to make sure you’re the dude all the time. When it happens, nothing has to change. … If you’re promoting the same positive, encouraging message all the time, you should be pretty good.”

Bauta spent his early years living with his family in Brooklyn. He was 10 when his parents moved to New Jersey and he finished elementary school and attended middle school there. But then he enrolled at Brooklyn’s Poly Prep and lived with a brother in the New York City borough during the week before rejoining his parents on the weekend. Finally, when his parents moved to Florida in February 2011, he went with and finished up at Dwyer High in West Palm Beach.

Then came his frustrating stint at Georgia — and his second chance with Bobo.

“We obviously have to do some things a little bit different,” Bobo said of the offensive approach with Bauta starting. “It’s a different style quarterback. But we still have to run our offense. … We still have to throw the ball consistently. He’s not going to be able to run the ball 20 times a game, or even 15. It has to be a changeup. We have to be able to do the things we do as far as running play action and we have to be able to hit our targets on third downs, conversion downs.”

Asked how committed he is to the quarterback change, Bobo said: “If we’re not executing, I’ll about do anything.”

Of the decision itself, Stevens said, “It doesn’t really matter how I feel, I obviously have to respect their decision and the only thing I can really do is prepare the best I can this week. . . I’ve tried to approach it with a positive mindset. It would be pretty easy to get down, especially at a position where only one guy plays. I’m trying to stay positive, trying to help out wherever I can on the field at all times.”

The catch is that for him to get another chance, it likely would take Bauta not doing well or getting hurt.

“I definitely think I’m ready if my name was called this game, or whenever it might be,” Stevens said. “I’m never just going to give up and say, ‘I’m never going to play again.’ I don’t think anybody would. I think I’ve done a good job of preparing this week as if I was the starter. I’d be ready if I have to go in the game.”