LARAMIE, Wyo. – The first quarter has been good to Colorado State this season.

On Saturday, the Rams scored 17 unanswered points in the first quarter en route to a 26-7 win over Wyoming.

I thought they came out with an edge in the first half and played like it, played like a team that was hungry to play for each other and to get a win,” Rams head coach Mike Bobo said.

Dalyn Dawkins rushed for 140 yards on 25 carries, Izzy Matthews scored two rushing touchdowns and the Colorado State defense held Wyoming scoreless until late in the fourth quarter.

The Rams have outscored their opponents 95-40 in the first quarter this season.

Colorado State (4-5, 2-3 Mountain West) gained 228 of its 348 yards of total offense on the ground.

“I was determined to come into this game and run the football and try to establish the ground game,” Bobo said.

The Rams opened a 23-0 lead at halftime and extended it to 26-0 in the third quarter. Wyoming managed just 132 total yards through three quarters.

Dawkins entered the game averaging 51.3 yards as Colorado State’s second-leading rusher behind Jasen Oden Jr., who didn’t suit up because of injury and watched from the sideline.

“I think we jumped on them real fast,” Dawkins said. “And that’s the key, when you jump on people real fast, and keep doing it and keep doing it, you’re going to win.”

Matthews had 55 yards rushing.

Quarterback Nick Stevens added a 1-yard touchdown and Wyatt Bryan had field goals of 33 and 31 yards for the Rams.

The Rams defense limited the Cowboys (1-9, 1-5) to 239 total yards and forced three fumbles.

Wyoming running back Brian Hill, who entered the game second in the nation in rushing with three games of more than 200 yards, was held to 65 yards on 21 carries. Hill had Wyoming’s only touchdown on a 4-yard run with 2:25 left.

Colorado State dominated from the get-go, scoring three touchdowns and a field goal on its first four possessions to open its 23-0 lead at the half.

“I thought we got physically whupped in the first half,” Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl said, noting that Hill didn’t have much room to run. Hill had just 20 yards on eight carries in the first half.

Matthews scored on runs of 2 and 9 yards in the first quarter, and Stevens had a 1-yard plunge early in the second quarter.

The Colorado State offense gained 136 yards on 23 plays in the first quarter while its defense held the Cowboys to just 23 total yards on eight plays.

Wyoming’s longest drive in the first half was 45 yards just before halftime. The drive ended on a fourth-down sack – one of three on the day by the Rams defense – on the Colorado State 35.

Linebacker Kiel Robinson led the Rams defense with two sacks, six tackles and a forced fumble. Safety Trent Matthews recovered two of the three Wyoming fumbles and had an interception.

“When you get turnovers, it changes the game and I think it changed the game today,” Trent Matthews said.

Colorado State has won the last three Border War games between the two schools in neighboring states.