Colorado 48, UCLA 42


Posts Tagged ‘James Stefanou’

Colorado 48, UCLA 42

//posted 11.8.2020

The Buffs used four first half UCLA turnovers to race out to a 35-7 lead, then hung on for dear life in the second half before securing a 48-42 victory. Head coach Karl Dorrell became the third consecutive CU coach to win in their debut, defeating his alma mater before a crowd of less than a thousand at Folsom Field.

Sam Noyer became the first CU quarterback to start his first game as a senior since 1976, and made the most of his opportunity, completing 20-of-31 passes for 257 yards and a touchdown, also picking up 64 yards and another score on 13 carries. “I just wanted this opportunity from the start”, said Noyer, making his first start since his senior year in high school … in 2015. “And I finally got it in, and that’s all I could ask for”.

Sophomore running back Jarek Broussard also had a stellar debut, with 31 carries for 187 yards and three first half touchdowns. Playing without senior receiver K.D. Nixon, the receiving corps was led by tight end Brady Russell (five catches for 77 yards and a touchdown) and Dimitri Stanley (six catches for 66 yards).

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Washington State quarterback Alex Gordon threw for 369 yards and four touchdowns, leading the Cougars to a …. rout of Colorado. The Cougars raced out to a 21-3 first quarter lead, never looking back, handing the Buffs their third straight defeat.

Steven Montez, for the second game in a row, was ineffective. Montez went 16-for-30 for 129 yards and two interceptions before being pulled in the fourth quarter. Running back Alex Fontenot was a bright spot, going for 105 yards on 11 carries, but a porous defense and an ineffective red zone offense doomed the Buffs to a second straight rout on the road.

“We had a few turnovers and we couldn’t finish drives,” said Mel Tucker, who fell below .500 (3-4) for the first time as CU’s head coach. “We knew we would be able to run the ball but our passing game was inconsistent. Defensively, it just took us too long to settle down.”

“It is a little frustrating but you cannot let it get to you”, said running back Alex Fontenot, who had his second career 100-yard rushing game. “You have to keep the mentality of, when I am out there I am going to score, and just keep going.”

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No. 13 Oregon 45, Colorado 3

//posted 10.12.2019

Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert completed 18-of-32 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns, while his Colorado counterpart, Steven Montez went 19-for-34 for 131 yards … and a career-high four interceptions, as No. 13 Oregon routed Colorado, 45-3.

The Buff offense was held to just under 300 total yards, while the Buff defense surrendered over 500 of total offense as the Ducks were successful both on the ground and through the air.

Alex Fontenot had 70 yards rushing on 15 carries, while Laviska Shenault returned to action for the first time in two games to post 70 yards receiving on only four catches. But it was much too little, much too late, as the Buff offense was its own worst enemy, with two major penalties committed after the Buffs pushed the ball inside the Oregon ten yard line … two of CU’s 14 penalties for 114 yards on the night.

“We feel like we can beat every team on our schedule but any team on our schedule, we can lose to, as well,” Mel Tucker said, “My experience in these type of situations is that it’s a very tough road to go down but we have to go down this road. There is no shortcut to success and where we want to get to. It really tests your character and your mettle, individually and as a team.”

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Arizona 35, Colorado 30

//posted 10.6.2019

Buff killer Kahlil Tate did it one more time to the Buffs, passing for 404 yards and three touchdowns, leading Arizona to a 35-30 win over Colorado in Boulder.

The lead changed hands nine times on the afternoon, with a Nathan Tedford five-yard touchdown run with 6:51 remaining being the deciding score. The Buffs mounted one final drive, but a Steven Montez pass intended for Dimitri Stanley on a fourth-and-four at the Arizona 46-yard line with 2:29 remaining ended CU’s final threat.

Steven Montez completed 28-of-42 passes for 299 yards and a touchdown, while K.D. Nixon added a 38-yard touchdown pass to Dimtri Stanley. Tony Brown, taking over as CU’s lead receiver for the second game in a row in the absence of Laviska Shenault, had 10 receptions for a career-high 141 yards, while Alex Fontenot added 94 yards on 21 carries to lead CU’s ground attack.

“We have a very disappointed locker room”, said CU head coach Mel Tucker. “We have to give Arizona a lot of credit. They made more plays than we made. They executed more often than we did. We felt like in the first half that we left some plays on the field on both sides of the ball”.

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Colorado snapped a 29-game road losing streak against ranked teams, taking down No. 24 Arizona State in Tempe, 34-31.

Steven Montez went 23-for-30 for 337 yards and three touchdowns, with all three scoring passes going to Tony Brown. The senior wide receiver collected nine passes in all, going for a career-high for 150 yards, with Alex Fontenot gaining 89 yards on 25 carries to lead the rushing attack.

The Buffs posted 447 yards of total offense, surrendering 453 to the Sun Devils. The CU defense remained consistent, giving up 31 points for the third time in four games (giving up, oddly enough, 30 points in the lone loss of the season).

The victory not only gave CU its first win over a ranked team since defeating UCLA 31-20 in the Rose Bowl in 2002, it also gave the Buffs their first win in six attempts against the Sun Devils in Tempe, and a 2-0 record against ranked teams in the fourth game of the Mel Tucker era.

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Air Force running back Kadin Remsberg went 25 yards for a score on the first play of overtime to give the Falcons the lead, and Colorado was unable to answer, giving the Falcons a 30-23 overtime victory in a series which had laid dormant for 45 years.

Montez went 26-for-43 for 220 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception, while Lavisksa Shenault (eight receptions for 124 yards and a touchdown) had his first 100-yard game of the season, but Montez was unable to hit Shenault on a fourth-and-12 at the AFA 16-yard line on the game’s final play. Jaren Mangham (ten carries for 56 yards) and Alex Fontenot (13 carries for 42 yards) for a Buff offense which was held to 325 yards by an Air Force defense which struggled in the 2018 season, but kept the Buffs from scoring for three full quarters of the game.

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James Stefanou hit a 34-yard field goal in overtime to give Colorado its first lead of the game, and the defense made it stand up, as Isaac Armstrong’s 49-yard attempt for Nebraska sailed wide right, giving the Buffs an unlikely 34-31 overtime win over No. 25 Nebraska.

The Cornhuskers dominated play for most of the contest, taking a 17-0 lead into halftime before 52,829 fans in CU’s first sell-out since 2016. The Buffs didn’t score until only 1:42 remained in the third quarter, when a Jaren Mangham 11-yard run made it a 17-7 game. Mangham’s score touched off a frenetic fourth quarter, in which the teams combined for 38 points. A Steven Montez 26-yard touchdown pass to Tony Brown with 46 seconds remaining in the game set the stage for CU’s dramatic win in overtime.

Steven Montez had a sluggish start to the game, but finished 28-for-41 for 375 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception. K.D. Nixon led the receiving corps, with six receptions for 148 yards and an electrifying 96-yard touchdown – the longest touchdown in CU history – in the first minute of the fourth quarter.

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Friday Fast Facts

//posted 9.6.2019

Nebraska is CU’s second-oldest rival (dating back to 1898) … Bar bet winner: How many times have CU and Nebraska played a night game? … (Clean) Nebraska jokes … CU injury report … Neill Woelk’s Fast Five Keys to the Game …

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Questions abound for CU’s defense and special teams … Can Jalen Sami (out since 2016) adequately replace Javier Edwards at nose tackle? … Can Davion Taylor successfully transition from Buff Backer to “Star Backer”? … Will the Buffs start a converted wide receiver and a converted cornerback at safety? … Whatever happened to Sam Loy? …

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Compare: Neill Woelk’s Five Takeaways from Second Spring Scrimmage … According to head coach Mel Tucker, the Buffs “put some money in the bank” on Friday at CU’s second spring scrimmage … A unit-by-unit review of the numbers show a number of positives (and a few negatives) …

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First spring scrimmage edition, with a unit-by-unit review … Mel Tucker: “We’re still not playing as fast and as physical as we need to, but I thought we made a step today … Guys were focusing throughout from start to finish. I thought the execution was solid” …

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The 2018 season was supposed to be a banner year for CU kickers, but James Stefanou and Alex Kinney were both felled by injuries … Will the CU special teams be special in 2019? … (and can someone teach Ronnie Blackmon not to field punts inside the CU ten yard line?) …

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