September 11th – at Denver           No. 5 Texas A&M 10, Colorado 7

Colorado held the lead for three quarters of the game, but wore down in the end, surrendering the winning touchdown with 2:41 to play, falling to No. 5 Texas A&M, 10-7. The Buff defense held the Aggie offense to 1-for-10 on third downs through the third quarter, but A&M went 7-for-10 on third downs the remainder of the game, culminating in a game-winning 11-play, 77-yard drive to pull out the victory.

The Colorado defense held Texas A&M, which had 595 yards in their opener, to 289 total yards (with 145 of those yards coming in the decisive fourth quarter). The Buff offense, though, mustered only 260 yards of total offense, with only 54 of those yards coming after the break. Both teams had only 14 first downs (A&M had 29 in its opener), with the only stat line of any solace being CU’s two penalties for 17 yards (a week after posting 12 penalties for 118 yards against Northern Colorado in Week One).

Brendon Lewis went 13-for-25 for 89 yards passing, also leading the team in rushing, with 76 yards on nine carries. Jarek Broussard had 51 yards on 12 carries, scoring CU’s lone touchdown on a two-yard run late in the first quarter.

“We had opportunities in the first and second half and we didn’t do what we should have done,” Dorrell said. “We didn’t do well enough offensively. Defensively I thought they played their butts off. We just have to get better. I don’t make excuses. For us to be the team we need to be, we must get better in a heartbeat.”

Game Story … The fifth-ranked Texas A&M Aggies took the field with an offense which had posted 29 first downs and almost 600 yards in their opener, and began the showdown against Colorado … with a three-and-out.

After opening their first possession of the game with a 15-yard completion from quarterback Brendon Lewis to tight end Brady Russell, the Buff faithful were, two plays later, treated to CU’s first turnover of the season. Brendon Lewis was tackled as he threw, with his weak attempt at a pass intercepted by Aggie defensive lineman Jayden Peevy.

The Aggies set up shop at the CU 43-yard line, but couldn’t take advantage. Three plays netted only eight yards, setting up a field goal attempt by Seth Small. The 53-yard attempt went wide, however, and the Buffs’ turnover had come to nothing.

The teams traded three-and-outs on offense before the Buffs set up shop at their own 31-yard line. The drive was kept alive by a six-yard run by Brendon Lewis on third-and-five, with the Buffs putting it into the next gear. A nine-yard run by Jarek Broussard was followed by a 30-yard run by Lewis, putting the ball into the red zone at the A&M 19-yard line. After a four-yard completion from Lewis to Brenden Rice and a 12-yard run by Lewis, the Buffs had a first-and-goal at the three. A false start set the Buffs back, but a pair of runs by Jarek Broussard, the second going for two yards and a score, gave CU a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.

With A&M starter Haynes King out at quarterback with a lower leg injury, the Aggie offense continued to struggle, going three-and-out for the fourth consecutive drive to start the game.

Taking over at their 19, the Buff offense went to work. On third-and-12 to start the drive, Brendon Lewis hit Daniel Arias, with the completion going for 13 yards and a first down. Two more completions to Arias, going for a combined 24 yards, helped to put the ball on the A&M side of the field. A Brendon Lewis run of 17 yards put the ball into field goal range, but there the drive stalled. The 12-play, 53-yard drive was wasted when freshman Cole Becker missed a 46-yard field goal attempt.

A shift in momentum? Not yet.

The Buff defense forced yet another three-and-out, forcing another punt, setting up the CU offense for another chance at post a two-score lead. Three straight runs by Jarek Broussard, going for six, eight, and 13 yards put the ball back onto the Aggie side of the field. A pass interference penalty against A&M pushed the ball to the A&M 25-yard line. Three straight runs by Alex Fontenot were good for 20 yards. Facing a third-and-one at the A&M five-yard line, the Buffs were knocking on the door, but two straight sneaks by Brendon Lewis failed to gain a yard, with Texas A&M taking over on downs.

Still nothing from the A&M offense, going three-and-out yet again, keeping the Aggies without a first down late in the first half.

A 13-yard punt return by Dimitri Stanley gave the Buffs the ball at midfield with 3:33 to play before the break. The CU offense, though, again couldn’t take advantage of good field position, punting the ball back to the Aggies.

Taking over at their 20-yard line with 1:43 to play before the break – and no time outs – the Aggies put together their first drive of the game. A&M’s first first down of the game came on a 15-yard run by Devon Achane. Completions for 15 yards and 16 yards kept the chains moving. The Buff defense finally held, however, with the nine-play, 57-yard drive culminated with a Seth Small 41-yard field goal with 25 seconds remaining in the half.

Halftime score: Colorado 7, No. 5 Texas A&M 3

The Buffs finished the first half with a 206-to-81 advantage in total yards, and a 2-to-1 advantage in time of possession … but only a four-point lead.

The offenses – or better put, the defenses – opened the second half as they did the first half, with the teams trading three-and-outs. On CU’s second possession, the Buffs seemed to have picked up a first down on a ten-yard completion from Brendon Lewis to Alex Fontenot. The Buffs, though, were called for offensive pass interference on the play, effectively ending the drive.

The Texas A&M offense made it 1-for-10 on third downs, going three-and-out for the eighth time in the game. The Buffs, though, fared no better, going three-and-out for the fifth time (a deep pass from Brendon Lewis to Daniel Arias almost giving CU a huge gain to midfield).

The Buffs were close to a sack on third-and-ten on A&M’s next possession, but Aggie quarterback Nick Calzada escaped, turning a sack and a three-and-out into a 12-yard run and a first down. The Aggie drive made it to midfield, but no further, with the Buff defense forcing yet another punt.

A 12-yard run by Brendon Lewis gave the Buffs their first first down of the second half, but that proved to be the only one of the third quarter, but that proved to be the only first down of the quarter, as the CU offense punted the ball away on the first play of the fourth quarter.

The A&M offense, which couldn’t covert third downs for most of the game, found its rhythm to start the fourth quarter. The Aggies converted a third-and-one, a third-and-seven and a third-and-three before quarterback Zach Calzada hit tight end Jalen Wydermyer for 29 yards and a trip to the red zone. There, on a third-and-three at the 13, Calzada scrambled his way into the end zone.

Except … when Calzada was reaching for the end zone, the ball was poked away by freshman linebacker Joshka Gustav, with the ball recovered by Mehki Blackmon in the end zone. Instead of a 13-play, 87-yard drive for the lead wound up as an 86-yard drive and a turnover. CU’s 7-3 lead remained … with just under nine minutes remaining.

The Buff offense, though, could not take advantage of the shift in momentum, punting the ball back to the Aggies after only three plays and five yards gained.

Could the CU defense hold the lead yet again?

No.

During the first four plays of the A&M drive, the Aggies made it look easy, with gains of 12, 25, and 11 yards. From the CU 29-yard line on in, though, the Buffs made it tough. The Aggies faced a third-and-eight at the Buff 27, with Zach Calzada hitting Isaiah Spiller for eight yards and a first down. Then, on third-and-nine at the CU 18, Calzada hit Spiller for an 18-yard touchdown. With 2:41 to play, Texas A&M had its first lead of the game, at 10-7.

Could the Buff offense, which had all of one first down in the second half, respond?

No.

Four plays gained eight yards, with an 11-yard connection from Brendon Lewis to Dimitri Stanley coming up two yards short, turning the ball over on downs.

Final score: No. 5 Texas A&M 10, Colorado 7

CU head coach Karl Dorrell called the loss “disappointing,” but noted that there were some positive signs for his young team.

“Danged right I’m optimistic,” he said in his post-game press conference. “I told you all along we’re a better team than you think. I told you that and I still believe that. We still have a lot to fix. But we were in the game for 95 percent of it. We have to learn from it. We’re getting better. We’ll get there. I promise you.”

Buff fans will long remember the two failed quarterback sneaks in the second quarter. After driving from their own 29-yard line all the way to the A&M 5, CU had two chances to get 1 yard for a first-and-goal. But two quarterback sneaks were stifled and the Buffs turned the ball over on downs.

“I’ll do it again,” Dorrell said forcefully. “I encourage that. We’re going to be aggressive. We’re going to be the type of program that everybody’s excited about when it’s all said and done … We want to be aggressive, particularly in games like this where we need touchdowns more than field goals. I learned that when I was in the NFL. Field goals, when you’re playing against a really good team, don’t amount to anything. We needed touchdowns and we knew in this game we needed touchdowns.”

Game highlights, from BuffsTV … 

Game Notes … 

— The loss dropped CU’s lead in the series to 6-4. The Buffs are 4-1 at home against the Aggies – this was the first neutral site game;

— The temperature at kickoff was 92-degrees, tied for the sixth-warmest kickoff for a CU game;

— The 17 total points in the game was the fewest for a CU game since the Buffs defeated Stanford, 10-5, in 2016. The ten points were the fewest allowed in a loss since the Buffs lost, 7-0, to Nebraska in 1988. The loss was only the third since 1980 when allowing ten points or fewer (v. 68 victories);

— The 10 points tied for the second fewest points allowed to a Top 5 team (tied with the 20-10 win over Nebraska in 1986). The only time CU allowed fewer than 10 points to a Top 5 team? The 1991 Orange Bowl, when the Buffs defeated No. 5 Notre Dame, 10-9, to win the national championship;

— The CU defense forced the A&M offense into eight three-and-outs during the game. Unfortunately, the Buff offense went three-and-out six times. The Buff defense forced the Aggies to punt eight times – a week after the Aggies didn’t punt once. CU punter Josh Watts had seven punts, for a career-best average of 49.0 yards/punt;

— Nate Landman continued to move up the career charts at CU. With ten unassisted tackles, Landman moved into fifth place on the CU all-time list (247). He also became CU’s all-time leader in third down stops, with 50 (breaking a tie with Jordon Dizon).

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46 Replies to “No. 5 Texas A&M 10, Colorado 7”

  1. There is one thing I’ve noticed over the years about CU receivers is that they seem not to know where the first down marker is. If it’s 3rd and 12, they go out 9 yards catch the ball and do not make first down. On CU’s last offensive play all receivers should have gone out past he first down marker. Instead A&M suckers the QB and receiver into going for a shorter pass and, of course he was tackled short of first down. This one play would not have turned the game around, but it does point out a mistake CU makes over and over again.

  2. You mean to tell me that of the greater than 100 “athletes” on this team that not a one of them can jump over a wall and gain a yard? I hope this isn’t the highlight of the season.

  3. A lot of emotion today, which is a good thing. Many (me included) have been thinking for months this game could be an embarrassment. Instead it was a woulda, coulda, should had a win game. What a great game it was.

    The D was dominant. If anyone said a week ago, or even yesterday, the Buffs would hold the Aggies dominant run game to 100 yards? We would have cheered. And that was the game plan. Stop the run and make them throw, right? The D did their job, and they are for real.

    The problem is tiny margins of error vs. a team of this caliber. It only takes one blown play, a big LB covering a talented RB on an out route, and that’s the game. Two failed QB keepers inside the 5, and that’s the game. The fact that it came down to those 3 plays I think is really impressive. And I’m usually quite the pessimist.

    Looking at the Minnesota stats, they rely heavily on the run. QB play not so much. I think CU is in a good place for next week. And yes I completely agree with the lack of ingenuity on offensive play calling. That needs work. I think the Aggies really shut down the edges in the second half and made things difficult. I think the Buffs will have more success at a balanced attack vs the Golden Gophers. Captain Steuben agrees.

  4. Welp someone asked HKCD about going for it on 4th down at the goal line

    He said something like..that is who we are it is who I am. I have called plays. I am Aggressive
    ……………..

    the subject came up again later in the pressor and he repeated that but he did say
    I would probably go with a different play

    In fact they put the camera on him after the 3rd disaster and he did not look happy.

    Anyway

    Please get a play caller

    Buffs

    1. Ditto
      on to stanford usc
      utah byu
      and maybe
      azu and unlv

      We will see. Just opened up the wine and brought out the cheese, 4 kinds of crackers and olives

      I may not make it

      Buffs

      1. Hi friend. We may have dodged a bullet with jimmy. Huskies seem to suck.

        Bouncing around games as well.

        Can’t post a real comment re our game from fone or my thumbs die. And no need to fire up ‘puter to fire up all you fired up “fire people” anyway. But Will do later.

        Go Buffs

          1. You’re hilarious. And possibly one of the least gracious people around. Yep. I liked Lake as a candidate for CU. I preferred Bienemy or Sark, but liked Lake. So did Rick and Lance. He just declined to interview. And, wunderkind Petersen thought enough of him to hand him the keys to the UW car.

            Were we all wrong? Too early to tell, but the early returns sure ain’t looking good for him, and/or his staff. I’m at least willing to say that maybe I was wrong. You’ve clearly never been wrong. Ever. Because a broken clock is right at least two times a day.

            Hey, who are you, anyway? I’d like to know the guy who’s always right.

            Go Buffs

          2. Graciousness is earned

            Ya I made some errors
            Thinking Mac was good. But he wasn’t . You still think he was.

            Gotta catch the fakes early. Yur starting early with lake. Learning

            I am who I am.

            And I do have some funny stuff

            Buffs

  5. Great heart and character by the team. Awesome fans. Defense was also incredible and then started to wear down at the end because the offense could not do a thing. Lost opportunities in the first half would have covered the second half but…there is a problem with O and it can’t be blamed on a freshman QB who had his second start against the #5 team in the nation. Chev had the opportunity to use imagination and courage in the second half. First half was at promising and then his conservatism kicked in. The opportunity was not seized by Chev. It resembled other second halves of games under his leadership over the years and under different coaches. Does he have what it takes? Starting to doubt it. Proud of the players, their fight, and of CU fans! Let’s beat the Gophers and go to 2-1. Go Buffs!!!

  6. Just watched Dorrell’s post game conference, he is fired up! I love it. I hope that came through to the team in the locker room.

    I have one thought I did not sat in my previous post. This team is widely regarded as much less talented than A&M. But I did not see that. I saw two teams that were pretty evenly matched. Neither line bullied the other. Neither set of recievers outran the db’s. Neither set of rb’s dominated. Does that mean we all of a sudden have a bunch of 4 and 5 star athletes on our team? Or does it mean Dorrell and his staff coach his team up. Great technique, great scouting, great play calling on defense, great motivating these guys. Coaching matters. I know this board is all about the Jimmy’s and Joe’s but coaching matters so much! Look at the drop in penalties this game! Look at the great technique we play with. A&M was faster and stronger than us. But our team played with great discipline and great technique and it negates some of that advantage. I am starting to get a feeling about this team. We have to figure out the offense. I will rewatch the game later this week. I am not sure if it is play call or not, I suspect you need to get Lewis out of the pocket, but he cannot roll left and throw so that is an issue. We are also not throwing deep becuase Lewis does not trust his deep reads. Maybe we play option football?

    1. what did you see with blitzing? Seemed to me that AM was doing it to Lewis almost constantly. What passed for our blitzes looked like just an extra man on the line….or easy to pick up. The AM qb who finally found his groove was helped by little pressure on their scoring drives.

      1. Though I felt the D did a very good overall, the lack of aggressive blitzing allowed their QB to just sit back there comfortably with very few exceptions. I’m not an X and O guy but it seems like a scheme change needs to happen there.

      2. I can’t fault our defensive game plan on this one. We did not blitz much. We dropped a lot into coverage and tried to get pressure with our front 4. That said when Lang went out the pressure got reduced by a bit. I really hope Mustafa Johnson comes back soon.

        On our offense, Lewis is having an issue in the pocket against the blitz. A&M regularly sent a run blitz with more people than we had blockers. Lewis locks on to his first read and if the blitz is coming from the other side he doesn’t pick it up. Our recievers are also not recognizing the blitz or the hot route is really bad. I haven’t finished rewatching the game yet though so I am interested to see what happens in the second half.

  7. that D is inspirational. Well done fellas, you deserved the win.

    But how in the flying whatever do you hold the #5 team in the nation from the SEC no less, to 10 points and LOSE ? – Ask Chev
    How do you continually underperform as a WR group ? – ask Chev
    How do you not manage a single first down with the game on the line ? – ask Chev

    And for those who complain about recruiting, he has had his hands all over that problem for too long as well.

    I see a theme here. I love the passion for the home school, but its time he moves on. And he wanted to be the HC ? maybe at DIII school.

  8. I think our D did great but no as great as everyone is claiming. It was a replacement QB and TAMU might be really overrated. Time will tell.

    As for the O… what the heck? Is lewis a poor passer, why don’t we you know throw it forward more? Also what about RPO, seems like a good fit for this type of QB?

  9. It sure seemed the Texas A & M player had his left foot out of bounds when catching what proved to be the winning touchdown. The right foot was in, but I thought it looked like the left foot touched first outside the field of play. Very tough loss. There are many comments about the CU offense, but the A & M defense, over the course of the season, will show they are an exceptional group (as will the CU defense).

  10. Kudos to the stud D. Wow.
    I thought CU had great receivers. Apparently not. Apparently they are the weak link. B Lewis is so overmatched…..

  11. Initial thoughts:
    Landman is awesome. I am so glad he got to do that in front of a national audience.
    I loved the defense with the following 2 exceptions:
    1. They played to conservatively at the end of the first half and gave up a field goal.
    2. An outside linebacker should never be covering a rb with the skills of Spiller in man….. I think Thomas is awesome. But that is not a good match up.

    On the offense, man…. If we can’t figure out how to throw the ball, defenses are going to line up 9 in the box. Then blitz because or response to a blitz is to hold the ball too damn long. Where is the hot route? Where is the pre snap read. Guys I hate to say it but we need to start running the triple option. Lewis cannot read the defense fast enough. Or Chev’s offense is so woefully inadequate we have real problems.

  12. Never thot’ I’d say it.

    Our tackling has been damned good so far. HCKD said those 12 penalties in the last game would not happen again. HE MEANT IT.

  13. OUT-COACHED AT HALF.
    . < Period.
    In addition to the 2 QB sneaks down at the 5 yd. line, Chev called a QB delay over center on 2-14 and couldn't think innovatively enough in the second half to counter the "D" adjustment A&M made.

    Not all on Chev either. Our "D" couldn't adjust enough to negate A&M's offense in the 2nd half. Our Buffs looked sick after halftime….. Of course, their 2nd string QB was "ON" in the second half.

    What we saw in the 1st half, however, gives us a glimpse into the future.
    GO BUFFS

  14. Chev’s wide receivers continue to not meet expectations. His offense is horrible, the play calling is horrendous. It’s time…love his passion for CU but enough is enough.

  15. The Offensive play calling lost this game today. Just like in the MacIntyre era, our O completely shut down after opening quarter. Gee, who’s the person that was calling plays for both MacIntyre and Dorrell?

    Take the play calling away from Chev!

    Time for someone who isn’t afraid of the opposition to call plays!

    The Buffs played hard today… the players deserved the win and would likely have won it if the offense generated a single 1st down on their last possession.

    Maddening!

  16. Can’t say enough about our defense. That side of the ball will win some games for us this year.
    On offense, we took one long shot down field THE ENTIRE GAME!!!! Long shots down field tend to make the DB’s more honest and keeps them out of the box. It was apparent that we were not going to get much yardage up the middle yet we keep pounding the rock up the middle for 1 to three yards. Can’t move the chains with those plays.
    I’m not calling for Chev to resign but I hope he does some introspection after this game and put our offense in a better position to win games. At one point in the fisrt half when we had their defense on their heels, I was hoping to see CU use the hurry up offense which I think would have completely gassed their defense front and possible have lead to another TD.
    Oh well, Minnesota next week at home. That should be a fun one to watch.

    GO BUFFS!!!!

    1. how long has chev been here and guilty of the same ol things?. The O needs to be revamped completely but hard to do mid season. If chev goes at least the red zone paralysis might go too.

    2. He never does introspection

      He never takes the blame

      Fact until I see otherwise. Today would be a perfect time

      Buffs

      Note: he was up in the booth and he couldn’t see that a&m had plug the gaps on those two quarterback sacks??

      He need better glasses and a better mind

  17. One of the more bitter losses in recent memory. The Buffs needed a yard and then a short TD to put up 14 points. The play calling absolutely ruined the opportunity. Embarrassing and poor for the OC. This loss is on him. After that series the offense just died. Again, on him. The talent was there, the players were playing hard, they just needed someone who could figure out how to get the ball into space. Chev is not it. Sorry, he’s just not.

    The Defense was excellent. All they needed was for the offense to get one more TD.

    Darn.

  18. Two games, less than 200 yards passing. Is it the offensive coordinator, the QB coach, or Brendan Lewis who should be sent packing? How much worse could Carter be? If this group again uses the “we were surprised….” excuse for their gross ineptitude in inability to use the most basic tool of 21st century offensive football, they should all take the rest of the year off and spend that time instead getting retrained for another occupation.

    1. “Send Lewis Packin”?????? No way. Maybe Chev should just be in charge of recruiting and if he doesn’t like send in the Packers (not the football team but the guys with Mayflower). There were so many options after the first failed QB sneak. First might have been a TO or check-off when A & M lined up with their entire Defense including all the guys from the side line and even probably the 12th man. This compares when we lost to USC a few years ago when ahead and Tucker & Chev blew that game.

  19. Chev sucked the life out of the offense on those two horrendous quarterback sneak calls.

    HCKD needs to stand up and say The coaches (specifically chev and himself) lost this game.

    Because they did

    Buffs

    Note: Chev was a whine baby when he was politicking for head coach. It’s all about him. He needs to Whine and Resign

    Note 2: earache and that ilk will blame the qb. Not his fault.

    Note 3 from Stewart’s poll

    **I am so proud of this team. A 17-point underdog playing against one of the top teams in the nation, the Buffs showed that they are for real
    No they aren’t they don’t have a real OC period. Can’t be real without one

    It hurts right now, but every Buff fan should be optimistic about the rest of the season – and the Karl Dorrell era. This team is going to be good, and soon

    No they aren’t they don’t have a real OC period

    A missed field goal, two quarterback sneaks at the five yard line … the Buffs had their chances to win this game. The coaches cost the players a chance to win

    THAT IS THE TRUTH

    NOTE 4: I FRIGGING TOLD YOU SO

      1. ep, use your connections as a CU insider and let us know if KD is really happy that he kept Chev on as OC, and does KD ever overrule a called play?

        I may move back to Tucson and hope that since you favorite BB coach was fired that the Wildcats can get it together again in at least BB.

  20. first of all please dont talk about a moral victory. this shoulda been a win. The D demanded it. They were lights out tooth and nail.
    The offense stunk to high heaven. The only misdirection all game was during the early scoring drive after that it was pop warner football.
    and the passed up FG? I’m sure a lot of you will be screaming about that.
    A&M had the athletes but they didnt appear to be that well coached either. the coaching that won the game for them was to let their back up QB keep throwing in spite of his utterly crappy first half. When he finally got in the groove he won the game.
    When are we going to let Lewis keep throwing? once again he never got a chance to get in the groove like the AM qb. Even on the last series it was dink city even though the sideline dinks werent working anytime before. All the other route were pretty bland as well.
    I Gar-on-tee you without a passing game the Buffs aint going bowling.
    Fire Chev after he leaves the locker room.

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