November 3rd – Boulder           No. 21 Colorado 20, UCLA 10

Isaiah Oliver returned a punt 68 yards for a score with 5:27 remaining and No. 21 Colorado overcame eight personal-foul penalties to beat UCLA 20-10 on Thursday night.

Oliver caught the punt on the right side of the field, cut back to the left and went untouched for the decisive score. It was the first punt return for a touchdown in 11 years for Colorado, giving the Buffs a guaranteed winning season since 2005 … the last time the Buffs had a punt return for a touchdown (Stephone Robinson v. Kansas).

The game featured a combined 25 penalties for 224 yards, two blocked kicks and five turnovers.

Colorado quarterback Sefo Liufau went a school-record 152 attempts without throwing an interception before throwing two in a span of six passes. The Buffs had four turnovers in the first half, but was only behind 10-7 at the break due to the play of the defense.

The Buff defenders, who have yet to give up a touchdown drive of over 40 yards in four games at Folsom Field, held the Bruins to 25 rushing yards (on 30 carries, or 0.8 yards per attempt) and 210 total yards. The Colorado offense, though, allowed UCLA to stay in the game, with only 304 total yards to go with the four turnovers.

“The good thing that shows you about our team is we found a way to win,” Mike MacIntyre said. “We found a way to win and you’re going to have a game like that every once in a while, but not with the selfish penalties that we had and we’ll fix that.”

UCLA took the opening kickoff, and almost immediately went backward. On the second play from scrimmage, the Bruin center snapped the ball over the head of quarterback Mike Fafaul, with the ball coming to rest back at the UCLA five yard line. The third-and-30 play netted only one yard, and, after a 31 yard punt, set the Buffs up at the Bruin 37 yard line.

The Colorado offense, which had scored touchdowns on five of its first eight opening game possessions, could not take advantage of the great field position. The Buffs did earn a first down, with quarterback Sefo Liufau picking up a first down on fourth-and-two at the UCLA 29 yard line. Two plays later, however, Liufau, who had gone almost a full calendar year without an interception, was picked off, giving the ball back to the Bruins at their ten yard line.

The Bruins then launched their first effective drive of the game. Aided by a targeting penalty on Buff linebacker Jimmie Gilbert – removing the Buffs’ leading sack specialist for the remainder of the game with 55 minutes left to be played – UCLA quickly moved into Colorado territory. At the CU 38-yard line, however, Fafaul was picked off by Buff linebacker Kenneth Olugbode, who returned the interception into Bruin territory.

Setting up at the Bruin 38 yard line, the Buffs capitalized. An 18-yard completion from Liufau to Shay Fields set the Buffs up at the UCLA one-yard line. On second down, running back Phillip Lindsay powered the ball into the end zone, giving Colorado a 7-0 lead with 5:49 to play in the first quarter.

A 47-yard return on the ensuing kickoff, with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty tacked on, put the ball at the Colorado 38 yard line. The Buff defense forced a third-and-11 at the 39, but then Fafaul hit a wide open Darren Andrews for for a 39-yard score and a tie game less than two minutes after the CU score.

The teams then traded punts before Liufau, who had thrown 151 straight passes without an interception coming into the game, threw his second of the first half. Bruin linebacker Cameron Judge was the beneficiary, who returned the pick down to the Colorado 28-yard line.

The Buff defense held the Bruins without a first down, but UCLA kicker J.J. Molson, who had yet to make a field goal from over 40 yards, hit from 48, giving UCLA its only lead of the game, at 10-7, with 12:19 remaining before halftime.

The teams then traded punts before the Buffs put together their best drive of the first half. Taking over at the 14-yard line, the Buffs moved smartly down the field. Three Liufau-to-Lindsay completions netted 23 yards, with a Liufau completing a pass to Devin Ross for 12 more. At the UCLA 32, however, Liufau fumbled while trying to pass, with Jayon Brown taking the recovery (which was initially ruled an interception) back to the Colorado 18-yard line.

Already up three points, the UCLA offense looked to stretch the lead. Instead, the Buff defense held. A 26-yard field goal attempt by Molson was blocked by Chidobe Awuzie, giving the momentum back to Colorado.

Consecutive runs by Phillip Lindsay gained 18 yards, with a 17-yard completion from Steven Montez – who had come in for Liufau, who was injured on his fumble – to Shay Fields putting the ball on the UCLA side of the field. The second pass attempt of the night by Montez, however, was intercepted deep in Bruin territory, giving the Buffs four first half turnovers.

Halftime score: UCLA 10, Colorado 7

Neither team moved the ball on their opening drives of the second half. The Buffs gained one first down before punting, with the Bruins going three-and-out on their first effort. UCLA’s punt, though, was returned by Isaiah Oliver 42 yards down to the UCLA 17 yard line.

The Buffs could not take advantage of the field position, however. It took seven plays, but the Colorado offense made it to the UCLA one yard line. There, however, a fumbled exchange between Liufau and Lindsay lost a yard, forcing a field goal attempt. Chris Graham was called up to tie the game, and he did so, hitting from 21 yards out to tie the score at 10-10 midway through the third quarter.

The Bruin offense then sprang to life. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on safety Ryan Moeller, followed by a 26-yard pass completion, put the ball at the Colorado 27-yard line. There, however, a sack of Fafaul by Chidobe Awuzie pushed the ball back. Two plays later, Molson missed a 44-yard field goal, keeping the score tied at 10-10.

The Buffs next took off on a drive which was lengthy (14 plays), time consuming (6:02 of game clock), and fraught with penalties (four major infractions called). The highlight play came when Sefo Liufau, on third-and-seven at the CU 43-yard line, fought off a sack attempt. The defender grabbed Liufau’s facemask, but the Buff quarterback was nonetheless able to complete a 14-yard pass to Phillip Lindsay.

The 29 total yards on the play put the ball at the UCLA 28, with the Buffs getting into the red zone before the teams swapped unsportsmanlike penalties. One on CU wide receiver Bryce Bobo, when the Buffs would have had second-and-goal at the UCLA one yard line, pushed the ball back out to the 16. Two plays later, Chris Graham gave the Buffs the lead, 13-10, with a 37-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.

The Buff defense then forced a punt, giving the Buff offense a chance to put the game away. The Colorado offense put together a 16-play drive, chewing up over five minutes of fourth quarter clock. The big play of the drive was a ten-yard completion from Liufau to Bryce Bobo on a fourth-and-eight at the UCLA 31 yard line.

Instead of finishing off the Bruins once and for all, though, the Buff offense again sputtered in the red zone. The drive came to a halt at the Bruin 18, with the Buffs coming up empty on the scoreboard when the 36-yard Chris Graham field goal attempt was blocked.

Still in the game, down only 13-10 with over six minutes remaining, the UCLA offense instead went nowhere. A roughing the passer penalty on linebacker N.J. Falo was erased three plays later when Bruin quarterback Mike Fafaul was sacked by junior linebacker Christian Shaver for a ten yard loss.

With the Buff defense doing its part, it was left to the CU special teams to make the play of the game. Sophomore punt returner Isaiah Oliver, whose 42-yard punt return in the third quarter set up the tying field goal, returned the Bruin offering 68 yards for a touchdown and a 20-10 lead with just over five minutes remaining.

As well as the Buff defense was playing, a ten point lead should have been more than enough. But the Bruins hit on a 47-yard completion on their first offensive play after the Oliver score, quieting the Folsom Field crowd of 43,761. UCLA made it as far as the Buff 19-yard line, but kicker Andrew Strauch, called on after J.J. Molson had missed two attempts, fared no better. Strauch missed the 36-yarder, ending UCLA’s last best threat.

There was still 3:35 remaining, and the Buffs were held on their first three plays. Instead of having to punt the ball back to the Bruins, however, the Buffs retained possession when UCLA was called for an offsides penalty on fourth-and-four. The last penalty of the game – No. 25 overall – gave Colorado a first down and the chance to run out the clock.

Final score: No. 21 Colorado 20, UCLA 10

“It says we’re fighting”, said Mike MacIntyre of the hard-fought victory. “We’re going to keep fighting. We’re going to have a never‐say‐die attitude. We’re going to keep pushing and keep going. We still don’t blink. We had a lot of chances to blink tonight”.

The stats sheet bore out the ugliness of the game. Colorado mustered only 304 yards of total offense, while holding UCLA to 210. The Buffs had 12 penalties for the game, costing a total of 128 yards, while the Bruins had 13 penalties for 96 yards. The Colorado offense had four red zone opportunities, but came away with only one touchdown and one field goal. The UCLA offense, meanwhile, had two red zone opportunities on the night, but came away empty on both occasions.

“We can sit here and give excuses all day, but we just didn’t handle business,” said running back Phillip Lindsay, who led the Buffs in both rushing (24 carries for 73 yards) and receiving (11 receptions for 76 yards). We had the bye week which helped us all heal and we practiced all week even on the bye week and kept the tempo, but we just didn’t go out there and play Colorado football. We played sloppy and we have to go change that. If we want to be Pac‐ 12 Champions, we have to go out there and execute”.

The win on a Thursday night kept the Buffs atop the Pac-12 South, with a 5-1 record in conference play. The opportunity for a Pac-12 championship game berth still remained in the Buffs’ own hands … but the offense would have to do its part.

“Definitely struggled on offensive and that definitely starts with me,” said Sefo Liufau, who went 19-for-30 for 143 yards, with two interceptions and a fumble. “I will be the first one to say that and the first one to take the blame because the quarterback touches the ball every play and for the majority of plays they are a big deciding factor on how the outcome of each play will be. So, as an offensive we need to be better, look back at film at and see what we can do as a whole. Overall, I am just happy to get the win. It’s a good testament that good teams really find a way to win even when you are not playing at your best.”

Here are the YouTube highlights of the game … 

… Game Notes … 

— The 7-2 record guaranteed that the Buffs would have their first winning season since 2005. The last time CU was 7-2 also was in 2005;

— The final tally of 20-10 marked the first time that Colorado had won by that score since defeating No. 3 Nebraska, 20-10, in 1986, some 30 years and a week earlier;

— The last time both teams had over 10 penalties in a game (CU had 12; UCLA 13) was in the first game Colorado played in the Pac-12, against Washington in 2011;

— The back-to-back wins while scoring 20 points or less? First time the Buffs pulled that trick since 1969;

— The 58 points allowed over the most recent five game stretch represented the lowest total over five games since the middle of the 1991 season;

— The 210 yards of offense allowed marked the fourth time in the 2016 season in which the Buff defense held an opponent under 250 yards. The last time a Colorado defense had four games under 250 yards allowed was in 1991;

— Sefo Liufau set another record against UCLA, tying the mark for the most starts at quarterback (35) with Darian Hagan. His record streak of passes without an interception, dating back almost a full calendar year, came to an end at 152 with a first quarter interception on a tipped pass;

— Kenneth Olugbode’s interception was the third of his career, and the second of the season. The last time a Buff linebacker had two interceptions in a game was Shaun Mohler, who had two in 2008;

— Phillip Lindsay’s 11 receptions set a new record for catches by a running back in a single game, breaking the old mark of nine by Lawrence Vickers (v. Oklahoma State in 2004).

— Chidobe Awuzie’s sack was the eighth of his career, adding to his school record for sacks by a defensive back.

 

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25 Replies to “No. 21 Colorado 20, UCLA 10”

  1. This is fun… good discussion. ‘course being 7-2 is fun too. Buffs are much improved this year but, holy cow, that defense! Last year as well. Leavitt is the man. I, too, hope there is a way we can keep him after this year, but I fear he will be gone. I read something a while ago that said his wife really wanted to come to Boulder. Speak up Mrs L! He wears the sweatshirt, but hopefully you wear the pants! Good for him if it happens, but hasn’t CU athletic dept been given a reprieve by the state to be able to give more than one multi-year football coach contract? Even with that, and warranted “big money”, I’m still not sure he’d pass up a HC position. Coach Mac the 1st lost a few big time coordinators during his time at CU, but was able to find equal caliber replacements. Since Mac II seems like more of a “CEO” type HC to me, maybe he (along with our super AD) can do the same.

    Other random thoughts…

    Sefo IS Mr. CU Buffs, in my book. He has been a fighter since being here, and bleeds black & gold. I’m so happy he’s able to share the team’s success for his senior season. He deserves to continue starting, although I hope he can crank it up for the remaining games. Seems to be in a bit of a funk right now. Lindsay to assume the Mr CU Buffs role next year. Well deserved.

    I’d like to see the wide outs step it up. Not having the impact they had earlier in the year. Dropped balls happening (Mr Ross). Keep fighting. Stay focused.

    Offensive play calling much less exciting, imaginative, aggressive. Slumbering? Stonewalling? Tight ends? Who’s in charge? I’d be thrilled to have been fooled, in the end…

    Hoping to see Tupou, Olugbode, Awuzie, Thompson in the NFL next year. Maybe Witherspoon… nice improvement this year. Oliver to fill one of the stud holes on defense for the next couple of years. Kick returner also, obviously. Julmisse on the watch list as well, for impact player.

    Lots of apparent potential in the class of ’17. Recruiting is fun again.

    I was a season ticket holder from ’87 til 2009, when I’d leave the stadium feeling literally sick to my stomach due to the Hawkins debacle. (Sorry to bring it up) A BIG pat on the back from me, BTW, for those who have stuck it out through thick and thin. But I still have not missed one TV game since then, roster in hand. My point… it is SO satisfying to see my buddies jumping back on the bandwagon now, after I told them the last couple of years that they’d better pay attention. “Tired of watching bad football” they’d say. “They just need to win one of these close games and the flood gates will open” I’d reply. Who’s got their waders on now! The Rise Is Real.

    This is fun. How many days til the Arizona game…!?!?

  2. It is clear that defense is what has CU 7-2 and that means Leavitt. Having said that you have to give props to Mac for hiring him……makes you wonder if Hawkins would have still been here had he been able to bring his OC along (that guy who is now the HC at UW). When Leavitt leaves for his HC job we’ll have to see what kind of DC we can get…..don’t think there are many of Leavitt’s caliber out there.

  3. First off, I’m happy for the win. Let’s take it and move on. Would have liked to have made a better showing on a national telecast, though. I’m with Bufftrax regarding the tight end mystery. When the offense was clicking earlier in the season, I could sort of accept the “we don’t really need our tight ends catching the ball when the wide receivers are producing” excuse. Last night, however, with a caving offensive line and apparently well covered wide outs, I kept thinking we needed quick passes. The slants that worked so well earlier in the year are perhaps being taken away these days. Last night it appeared that the coaches thought the flare pass was the solution, and it did work fairly well. Seems to me, though, that it might have been a good scenario for 3 step drop and dump it to the tight end. ( Side note though… what’s with Liufao throwing high these days?) I would imagine that opposing DCs are simply telling their guys “forget about the tight ends”. Why wouldn’t you? I just don’t understand why we’ve completely taken that weapon out of our arsenal, and simplified game planning against us. My recollection from last year is that Irwin was a stud both catching the ball and YAC. Perhaps the OCs are just saving the tight end card to play later…
    Go Buffs!

    1. Great observations KevMc! There were too many times the fans in our section were able to accurately forecast the upcoming play for CU. We aren’t all that bright nor are we all NCAA FBS coaches, we have just been able to watch CU over 9 weeks. If we can guess what the play is, what would people who do this full-time be able to do? The lack of TE attention is getting frustrating. The OL couldn’t protect Sefo, and when they did, it didn’t change the fact that the UCLA backs had our receivers covered. PLEASE JUST ONCE THROW A MEANINGFUL NUMBER OF PASSES TOWARDS THE TE AND LET’S SEE WHAT HAPPENS!! OH AND ALSO TRY THE FB ONCE IN A WHILE INSIDE THE RED ZONE!!

      Mac and the offense owes the defense a steak dinner.

      1. Problem is they had a hard time protecting the QB…….send the tight end out on routes and your asking for a few more QB sacks. O-line just isn’t quite there with pass protection.

      2. Several issues here. (Isn’t it great these can be discussed while the Mighty Buffs are 7 and 2 and looking for more?)

        Fine tuning, I call it. To get to the next level and continue on this path for THE NEXT FIVE GAMES AND BEYOND the coaches have to fine tune it. Not fix the little things cause they are always gonna be a problem and are for every coach and team.

        Fine Tune it.

        The play designs
        The identity
        The game plan
        The play calling
        The understanding of the opposition
        The limitation of the predictability factor(A lindgren issue since he got here.)
        The adjustments before they are needed

        This has been a problem for the Lindgren/Chiaverini .

        This has not been a problem for Leavitt.

        At some Point the OC position has to be upgraded. (See all other perennial 7,8,9 win teams.

        Go Buffs.

        Free Leavitt

        Replace Lindgrin/Chiaverini

  4. Many thoughts on this one. In no particular order:
    1. The penalties. Please realize that the Buffs were in the heads of the UCLA players as much as they were in the Buffs. This was a two way street with both teams blasting each other physically and verbally. I have been in games like this. Neither side respects the other side. Neither side likes the other side. Both sides are playing with a chip on their shoulder. One thing leads to another….. To be honest I view some of this as you have to answer. Just like in baseball, someone beans your star hitter you need to have one of your pitchers bean theirs even though you know it is going to get you ejected. When someone is ripping your quarterback out of a pile you should defend your team mate. I wonder if this is the start of our real rivalry in the PAC12. Games like this build bad feelings.
    2. Sefo. He deserves to start as long as he can play this year. For everything he has put into this team for the past 4 years we should not even entertain a new quarterback. The difference between Sefo and Montez is not big enough to justify a change. USC proved that. He is gritty, he works his butt off. Most importantly, this year for the first time his mistakes are NOT COSTING US THE GAME. He is limiting where he makes them. He is taking care of the ball better. He is leading the team and keeping them moving forward. One snap and clear. He also took care of the ball better in the second half after a rough first half.
    3. The team. For the past decade we would have lost this game. I give props to the entire team, the coaching staff and the fans. You turn the ball over 4 times, your offense sputters. You loose your best rusher in the first quarter, you go one for one on a massive amount of personal foul penalties and you come out on top. This game, even more than the Stanford game, proves to me the rise is real. To play like this and still come out on top means they never hung their head, they kept pushing and driving for that one play.
    4. The offense. So it has become very clear that the opposing teams have worked out how to slow down the mighty Buffs. You shut down our explosive game. makes total sense. You tell your DB’s to not bite on the short routes, you keep your safeties high and contest the deep ball. Sefo has shown that he does not like to throw into a contested deep balls and he tends to like to see the open receiver before he throws it. This reduces his interceptions by a lot but it also means on deep balls he is holding the ball a lot longer and sometime not making the throw. Without the deep ball our offense has lost a lot of its hitting power. We are still not a team that can reliably grind away 80 yard drives. Thus you get our 15 and 20 point games where special teams and great defense help us create a short field position. This does not concern me all that much. The other team is on scholarship too and the other coaches are getting paid so football should be a struggle. Offenses should have a problem driving 80 yards to a score. We are not Alabama (Yet!). I have been very impressed so far with the Chev Lindgren O. They identify good match ups, they try and exploit those, and they adapt in the game. Their clock management is much better as well. The challenge for them will be to exploit the fact that teams are going to take away the long ball. That should open up the medium and short routes.
    5. The defense rocks. Man these guys are good! My son and I went to the spring game and got a bunch of signatures on a football. Mostly for players we just liked and had followed for the past couple of years. The more I watch this team play the more I think a few of these players will be playing on Sunday. I really hope Olugbode gets a serious look somewhere. Such a great young man. He looked totally surprised when I asked for his signature :).
    6. Offer a scholarship to a kicker. I read something somewhere that CU doesn’t like to offer kickers a scholarship straight out of High School. If that is true maybe that is why we have so many kicking problems. I realize we are on our 3rd kicker. I get that. We should have the best punter and kicker in the country here at Boulder. Why would they want to go anywhere else?

    1. Re: kickers… I read that too Rob. BIG mistake, in my book. You are correct… why wouldn’t good kickers want to come here? Especially now with a winning team. Altitude… past successes to point to both at CU and in the NFL. Used to happen every year, for a long time. One great kicker after another. Punters AND place kickers. Berger, Helton, Crosby… Hnida. We are getting dangerously close to losing a game due to kicking woes (see Stanford game). I believe that Will Oliver was the last place kicker to come on scholarship. He was dependable. Man, that sure would be nice…

  5. The Buffs got away with the win… good. I think the refs share a lot of the blame for the PFs that followed the ejection, the replay of the play shows that Fafaul gave himself up late and Gilbert was already committed to the tackle; the announcers even said the same. That late slide is why Gilbert hit him in the head, if he hadn’t slid late that hit would have been in his shoulder area. A personal foul was warranted, but not the ejection, I think the ejection heated things and helped it get out of hand. Reminded me of a game I played in HS.

    I played in a very heated HS water polo game against a hated rival located just 4 or 5 miles away (many kids from that school went to the same jr. high as kids at my school and some knew each other) and the game was intense, but fun, until the refs started to over call the game, THEN it went down hill from there with two players getting a bloody nose and intense play turning to dirty play. Up until then it was a fun game and we were almost playing “jungle ball”, but we (both teams) weren’t quite playing dirty… yet. If anyone has every played in a game like that, you’ll know that kids enjoy mixing it up like that.

    But the refs decided they needed to get “control” of the game and started to over calling it, that’s when they lost control; bad feelings from bad fouls resulted in us getting “chippy”. The coaches ended up pulling their teams from the pool, and they got suspended by CIF for under minding the the refs! The thing is, before it got out of hand we were having fun and during clock stops for normal fouls (there are times you foul as part of the game) there wasn’t any problems between players from both teams, so the refs overreacted.

    Last night reminded me of that game, if the ejections hadn’t happen, would tempers had flared as quickly?

    Just glad to see the Buffs get the win.

  6. Yo Stuart,

    UCLA brought psychological warfare last night, and the Buffs and their head coach took it hook, line, and sinker. There are lots of reasons why it worked. And the one reason it did not was that this Buff defense under Leavitt and gang refuses to let horrible play calling and turnovers by the offense make them lose.

    Check out the post on my site for a much longer analysis of what went wrong and what needs to be done right to fix this.

    7-2. Ugly win. They need to learn from it. And maybe go for a change in the booth calling plays.

    Mark
    Boulderdevil

    1. I did read your website analysis. If Lingering is going to bang the entire team’s head against the wall by continuing to pass only against one of the best pass D’s why wasnt this a great time to place the opposing DC’s jaw on the ground by surprising them with an extra receiver to cover in the form of a tight end? I have asked Howell to take this issue up with Mac but so far I have not seen any results. They had to be able to catch the ball at least as well as Ross last night. Its also hard to believe there isnt any friction in this CO OC situation with 2 guys with seemingly completely different personalities and philosophies. Just imagine if we had an OC on the same level with Leavitt….whooo weee

      1. Yo ep,

        You are so right. Lindgren/Chiaverini REFUSING to use the tight end against a front seven that is counting on the Buffs NOT USING the position is playing into their hands. As others have noted as well, UCLA is loaded with talent, and not just in the defensive backfield. Our WR’s were blanketed most of the night but we continued to push the ball into guys who were not open. Hence, the four picks (yes, Sefo’s fumble was a pick, I don’t care what the stat guys rule in order to protect the starting QB).

        And there is obviously friction. Mac almost never mentions Leavitt. And the look on Chev’s face on some of those calls was very telling.

        And before Mac comes down too hard on his players for their “lack of composure” he should have the film guys put together a short showing him stomping around like a little kid who was being teased unmercifully by his older siblings. Mora took Mac to the woodshed Thursday night. But Leavitt and his gang made damn sure that UCLA would not win that game.

        That’s the big difference. Leavitt adjusts what he is calling to the situation. Lindgren/Chiaverini just bang away at what they wish would work. Our “powerhouse offensive numbers” have tumbled due to being outcoached by our Pac-12 peers.

        Mac better get this under control. Leach and Whittingham and even RichRod are paying close attention to how to get under Mac and Lindgren’s/Chiaverini’s skin.

        Mark
        Boulderdevil

        1. Lingren’s/Chiaverini’s offense scored 6 points. Defense got 6 and special teams got 8.

          Mac never mentions Leavitt. Without Leavitt, the Buffs are 3 and 6 which is Macs norm here at this level. Just how it is.

          No leavitt? No Wins.

          But Mac is the turnaround expert so that is to be expected.

          “Peter” is hard at work.

          Go Buffs.

          Note: Please get a real OC.

          Note 2: Hurry up offense? Ha Ha Ha. 70% of the plays they get to the line and then stand up to get a new play. Which of course was the play Lindgren/Chiaverini put in Tuesday and his ego (Macs protege) will not let him adjust.

  7. Another ugly win. Hey, at least they are finding ways to win, even if ugly. Four turnovers and 120+ yards in penalties and they still win? I’ll take it.

    As to Sefo’s woes? This wasn’t like Stanford, where he was off on his mechanics. The UCLA DBs are legit. Nobody was open. And someone named Takkarist wreaks havoc. Probably the best DE in the Pac 12. Dude is a beast.

    Mac and Co will absolutely use that game as a wake up call. That was about the first sentence in the post game sideline interview “Yeah, they better enjoy it tonight, because tomorrow morning they’ll get a big surprise” or something like that. He was not happy in this victory.

    Me? I can be totally happy in this victory. And, confident they’ll tighten things back up for these last three games. I don’t care how dinged up AZ is, they’re always tough in Tucson.

    Some good games on tap this weekend, in the meantime.

    Go Buffs!

  8. First, it was a win, that’s what counts the most. What a D! And what a time for Oliver’s punt return! I am happy with the Buffs being 7-2, guaranteeing the winning season, and getting UCLA off their backs. With that being said, I am hard pressed to think of an uglier Buff game in all my years of watching them play. It was simply undisciplined. Sefo returned (along with the Stanford game) to the Sefo of last year and the offensive play calling was simply atrocious. The UCLA D line certainly brought the heat but IMO, Sefo needs to avail himself of the staff sports psychologist, even if we think we can pound AZ, as CU heads into the home stretch. The team played as if they were focused upon revenge, making it personal with too much smack and allowing themselves to go down to the level of UCLA, which was winning the mental game by getting under the Buffs’ skin. It looked like the emotion of losing the last two years against UCLA resulted in the loss of composure. Maybe in some ways, this was good, so they can get something like that out of their collective system, go back to work, get centered, and return to playing Colorado Football. Again, great to see the win, even if ugly, and be 7-2 and still #1 in the Pac 12 South.

  9. sure hope this game is a wake up call for the offense….coaches included. Seems like the early season success has turned into the jitters and fear of losing more than a drive to succeed.
    Two, seemingly, connected factors will not go away…..red zone paralysis and the memory of a tight end as a receiver.
    I only was able to watch from about 6 minutes left in the 3rd qtr to the end and I only saw 3 skill position players touch the ball. Sefo. Phil and Devin and Devin was only able to touch it as it appears his hands of stone have returned. In spite of that they kept going to him almost exclusively and the last attempt was nearly a death pick when he ran a lazy slant across the middle.
    Still not a lingering fan

    1. EP, everything you saw was just a deja’vu moment which duplicated everything in the first half. (Hopefully you recorded it so you can see for yourself.

      And, for the life of me I still can’t understand why the TE is just being treated like a OT or the ugly stepchild. I think I can count on the fingers of one hand the # of passes thrown to the TE so far this season (at least it seems that way).

      Michigan showed us how effective a TE can be. We never will be able to recruit a really good TE if all they’re asked to do is block…. and, what we saw last night was UCLA’s DL being faster than our OL and giving Sefo little time to go through his progressions.

      Our player who kicked one of theirs no more than 3 ft. in front of a referee needs some off-the-field discipline….. don’t know who it was….just saw him in profile on a replay and didn’t catch his #. That’s bone-head stupid.

      What kind of record would we have without our defense ? Hate to think about it.

  10. Ugly game. Pretty win. And the rise continues.

    Two teams coming off bye weeks. Wow amazing what can be forgotten in a week.

    Leavitts Legions continue to save Macs and Lindgrens and chevs and Adams,and Bernardi’s and Hagans areses.

    Yup Sefo played pretty bad for the second game in a row. Boy he is one tough MF’er. And of course he steps up and takes full responsibility for the offense woes and Mac2 and Lindgrening and Chev and Adams and bernardi and Hagan simply nod their heads agreeing with him. Disappointing.

    Uneducated-Classless-Loser-Always players were chirping the Buffs hard. Real hard. Buffs took the bait but that is a classless losing team the Buffs beat. All that talent and they look just terrible. Whipped em Dang Nab It.

    Pac-12 road game coming up against those losers in Arizona. Trap game totally.

    The offense is gonna have to be an offense again as right now they are offensive. The o coaching staff needs to figure it out. Yup the players make mistakes and execute incorrectly. But, the O-staff has not done a good job of well just about everything. To be expected?

    Go Buffs.

    3 conference wins required

    Pac-12 championship game?
    Lose and get the Rose Bowl
    Win and either the Rose Bowl or a playoff spot.

    What a great year 4.

    1. agree AZ is a trap game. Where is AZ when we need him to relay the Tuscon trash talk? Worse is the last 2 against ranked opponents. This is a stretch run test for the O. Will they adjust? do a little quicker game time thinking on their feet? introduce more diversity in the plays, schemes and play calling? Speaking of schemes, do we need an O coach who will introduce more sophisticated blocking schemes? Is Klayton’s input limited to fundamentals? WE have a QB and a WR co OCs? Do we have to get a third Co OC with TE experience? Does Bernardi just fill the gator aid bottles? Bottom line is I just dont see us taking it to the top level as long as we are “lingering”

  11. 2 missed FG (ucla)and a punt return (cu), bad Sefo, bad offensive line, 4 turn overs. Gasp of relief we won. Next game up GO BUFFS.

  12. “It’s a good testament that good teams really find a way to win even when you are not playing at your best,” Liufau said.

    Could it be time to start Montez? Sefo didn’t play well in the Stanford game either. Looked very tentative with his passes.

  13. First of all, hats off to the defense. As good as it gets.
    Now to the not so good. Aside from Sefo having an off night, dropped passes, the ridiculous personal fouls and poor kicking, some very questionable play calling.
    I’m totally astounded at the play calling not only throughout the game, but in one series in particular. As the game was winding down, Buffs had the ball in Ucla territory and went for it on 4th and 8. AND, MADE IT. Several plays later Buffs were 8 o 9 yards closer and decided to try a field goal. I thought the game at that point was anybodys. Of course the kick was no good. And in the first half, we were 4th and goal from a couple of feet, and we kicked a fg. That was the perfect time to make a statement. Unbelievable. Did Darren take the night off, because this offense looked like the past 5 years.

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