FORT COLLINS >> Colorado State continued its dominance over New Mexico on Saturday behind a stout defense that kept the Mountain West Conference’s hottest offense in check.

CSU scored 17 straight points in the second quarter and held off the Lobos in the second half to win 17-6 in front of a sold-out homecoming crowd at Canvas Stadium, remaining perfect in Mountain West Conference play in the process.

It was the 13th straight victory for the Rams over the Lobos, as CSU improved to 5-3 overall and 3-0 in league play. CSU has not lost to New Mexico since 2009.

“I’m very proud of our team,” CSU head coach Jay Norvell said. “This is a very positive step for us. We’ve got to continue to do that.”

The teams traded field goal attempts in the first quarter and early in the second. CSU’s Jordan Noyes missed a 50-yarder and New Mexico’s Luke Drzewiecki made one from 29 that gave the Lobos the lead with 14:13 left in the second quarter.

CSU then proceeded to close out the first half with 17 unanswered points.

On the Rams’ first possession following the New Mexico field goal, quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi found Caleb Goodie down the middle for a 46-yard touchdown to give CSU a 7-3 lead with 12:41 left in the second period.

It came one play after Fowler-Nicolosi attempted a similar pass to Armani Winfield that was broken up at the last second.

CSU followed its first touchdown of the game with a defensive stop, forcing a punt that was caught by Kobe Johnson at the 18-yard line.

He returned it 82 yards for a touchdown, extending the Rams’ lead to 14-3 with 9:11 left before halftime.

Neither team scored again until CSU opted for a 47-yard field goal on fourth-and-2 at the Lobos’ 29-yard line. Noyes’ kick was good, and the Rams took a 17-3 lead into halftime.

New Mexico came out of halftime and drove to the CSU 6-yard line before fumbling the ball to the Rams. Keeping the Lobos out of the end zone there and getting the ball back was one of the biggest plays of the game, especially the second half.

“Huge,” linebacker Chase Wilson said of the play. “You never stop playing, even if you’re on the 1-yard line, it doesn’t matter. You can still get a turnover, and that’s what happened right there. It was a good opportunity for us to capitalize. When your back is against the wall, and you’re fighting for inches at that point, and you’re able to get a turnover, that’s a big shift in momentum.”

After CSU had to punt, the Lobos were able to double their score on a 44-yard field goal by Drzewiecki. It cut the Rams’ lead to 17-6 with 6:22 left in the third quarter.

CSU could do little offensively in the second half and relied on its defense to hold off a Lobos’ offense that had averaged 51 points in its previous three games. The defense bent but never broke, holding New Mexico to two field goal attempts in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, an interception by Buom Jock with 5:12 remaining sealed the victory. Wilson nabbed another interception in the final UNM drive to provide more defensive fireworks.

CSU hadn’t reached the five-win mark since it won seven in 2017. Perhaps more importantly, the Rams are also one win away from being bowl eligible, with four games remaining.

The Rams finished the game with 330 yards of offense. Fowler-Nicolosi passed for 142 yards and a touchdown. Goodie caught three passes for 62 yards and a touchdown to lead the receivers, while Avery Morrow ran for a team-high 89 yards on 16 carries. He was 11 yards short of reaching 100 yards for the fifth consecutive game.