FORT COLLINS — This one is going to haunt Ali Farokhmanesh’s first season as a head coach. Colorado State was rolling. The Rams led by as many as 13 points early in the second half thanks to a red-hot start by Kyle Jorgensen and they were keeping the Mountain West’s best offense under wraps . But everything flipped in the final 10 minutes. Utah State (16-3, 7-2 Mountain West) kept forcing turnovers, eventually stringing enough together to take the lead and ultimately hold on for a 65-61 win that CSU (12-8, 3-6 MW) is going to want back. You just can’t panic, at the end of the day,” Farokhmanesh said. “We gotta help our guys just get better in those situations. We almost made the pressure pressure us more than what the pressure was doing. They were really just unforced errors. I thought it was kinda some tough decisions (by our team).” Even with the season-high 21 turnovers, the Rams still had a shot to force overtime in the dying moments. Kyle Jorgensen, who had a game-high 24 points, got a good look from the left side of the court and that didn’t go down as CSU’s offense sputtered to the finish line with just 10 points in the final 10 minutes of the game. Colorado State sophomore forward Kyle Jorgensen (35) looks on during a game against Utah State on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026 at Moby Arena in Fort Collins. (Tyler King, The Denver Gazette) “I think we lost ourselves out there a little bit in the second half and this is what happens,” Jorgensen said. This is a game the Rams really wanted, too. They were embarrassed a month ago in Logan as Utah State won by 42 points in the Mountain West opener. Jorgensen got hurt in the opening minutes of that game and he looked like a player that wanted to get his revenge. The sophomore scored 19 points in the first half and got five quick points in the second half, making his first eight shots in the game and letting the USU bench hear it. But the Aggies kept him in check in the final 18 minutes and limited his ability to make an impact late. “Obviously I had it going there in the first half,” Jorgensen said. “I’m only a sophomore, man, and I think I got complacent. I got a little lazy on both sides of the ball. It’s tough. I feel like I could’ve done more. The stat sheet might say I did (enough), but I feel like I could’ve done more.” The entire CSU team is going to feel that way after this one. Now fully healthy with Jorgensen and Rashaan Mbemba back in the lineup, it felt like the Rams were ready to go on a run in the Mountain West, especially after Tuesday’s demolition of Air Force that got them back in the win column. Colorado State coach Ali Farokhmanesh high fives junior forward Rashaan Mbemba (21) during a game against Utah State on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026 at Moby Arena in Fort Collins. (Tyler King, The Denver Gazette) A win on Friday night over arguably the conference’s best team would’ve been an even bigger boost in their sails. But, once again, it was self-inflicted wounds that once again prevented Farokhmanesh’s group from closing the door on a key win. Until they fix it, every team on the schedule — the always-tough trip to San Diego State up next — will try to make them pay for their mistakes. “Yeah, it’s frustrating,” Farokhmanesh said. “We worked on it a lot, talked about it a lot. You gotta grow in that area. The best part about this, to me, is you get to go challenge yourself immediately on the road at San Diego State, which that’s gonna be a tough environment. All they do is ball pressure you, so why not take the challenge head on immediately?” GAME RECAP Utah State 65, Colorado State 61 What happened: The Rams (12-8, 3-6 Mountain West) missed a golden chance for a big conference win, blowing a 13-point lead in the second half as the Aggies (16-3, 7-2 MW) came into Moby Arena and forced 21 turnovers (a CSU season-high) and turned them into 24 crucial points. Star of the night: USU leading scorer and the leading scorer in the conference MJ Collins scored 17 of his team-high 20 points in the second half as he knocked down plenty of big shots late to give his team an important road win, the Aggies’ first in Mountain West play.  Quotable: “Whenever you turn the ball over, regardless of what team (you’re playing), it’s always bad. You’re always mad about it. We were up for 32 minutes, which didn’t lead to a win, but I’m proud of what we did.” — CSU junior guard Josh Pascarelli Up next: CSU hits the road for the toughest trip of the season against San Diego State on Tuesday (8:30 p.m. FS1) at Viejas Arena. ...read more read less