Colorado
1-1-0
Massachusetts
0-1-0
Brooks: Buffs Overrun Minutemen 48-14, Take Look Toward Rams
September 12, 2015 | Football, B.G. Brooks
BOULDER – Nine days after a downer of an opener to the 2015 football season, the Colorado Buffaloes boldly showed a little leg – actually a lot of leg and a lot more – and bobbed back to the surface. Seasons aren't usually condemned or glorified by one Saturday in September, but what the Buffs fashioned on this one at bright and shiny Folsom Field was beyond desperately needed.
If a 48-14 rundown of the University of Massachusetts didn't put the Buffs completely back on track, it undeniably offered an energy boost as they turned the page on last week's lost trek to paradise and begin work for next weekend's annual bash with rival Colorado State (5 p.m., Sports Authority Field, CBS-SN).
"I almost don't know what to say it's been so long (since a win)," said third-year CU coach Mike MacIntyre, whose team had lost nine consecutive games before Saturday.
Recent home openers hadn't been that kind to the home team either; CU had lost six of its past nine. But this Saturday was different. The Buffs, said MacIntyre, "physically dominated" an opponent for the second consecutive week and "finally put a team away – we hadn't done that since we've been here."
"We had a chip on our shoulder and finally came out and played like we are supposed to play," added CU quarterback Sefo Liufau. "Our main objective was to get a win . . . I am excited and happy for what happened today."
The Buffs got their win and then some. Their 48 points were the most in a CU home opener since the 1999 team scored 63 against San Jose State – MacIntyre's former school.
Now 1-1 after the 28-20 loss at Hawai'i, the Buffs turned Saturday's early shootout with the Minutemen (0-1) into a basic ground war – and CU's stable of backs overpowered the UMass defense. The Buffs rushed for 390 yards of their 558 in total offense and scored five rushing touchdowns, with Michael Adkins II and Christian Powell each topping 100 yards. The last time CU could boast a pair of 100-yard rushers in the same game was in 2010.
"We knew they were going to run the ball," UMass coach Mark Whipple said. "We didn't respond . . . we did a poor job on that side of the ball; we didn't make any plays."
Adkins carried 19 times for 119 yards and a touchdown, while Powell ran eight times for 105 yards and two TDs. And the Buffs had a third back – Phillip Lindsay – closing in on 100 yards; he rushed 10 times for 73 yards and a score. Adkins', Powell's and Lindsay's yardage was gained in just three quarters.
In all, CU scored five TDs on the ground, with a sixth coming via last season's proven Liufau-to-Nelson Spruce connection. That scoring hookup covered 18 yards – and Spruce had more than the win to celebrate. A 5-yard reception in the third quarter made him the school's career receptions leader. He finished the game with six catches for 64 yards, giving him 219 career receptions to surpass Scotty McKnight (215).
"He's a great football player and great person," Liufau said. "Hopefully we can get him some more receptions."
LIUFAU'S WORK WAS DONE EARLY in the fourth quarter. He left the game having completed 15 of his 24 attempts for 168 yards and the TD to Spruce. He was spelled by Jordan Gehrke with 13:26 to play.
The CU defense wasn't too shabby either. After allowing two early UMass TDs, the Buffs "D" shut out the Minutemen for the game's final 42:22. Through three quarters, CU allowed UMass 329 yards of total offense – 225 of them accounted for by quarterback Blake Frohnapfel 20-of-33).
Whipple applauded CU's defense under new coordinator Jim Leavitt: "They had a lot of confidence and they just played better." The Buffs outlasted the Minutemen 41-38 last season in Foxboro, Mass.
The Buffs intercepted Frohnapfel once – a timely end zone pick by Ryan Moeller – and picked up one Minuteman fumble – by corner Ken Crawley. That pair of turnovers, coupled with two picks in the opener, give CU four in the first two games.
Kicking specialist Diego Gonzalez also continued his strong, smooth left footwork. With a 31-yard field goal in the second quarter and a 30-yarder in the third, he remained perfect (four-for-four) in that category while adding six extra points to remain perfect (eight-for-eight) in PATs this season.
The Buffs held a comfortable 31-14 halftime lead, but building it wasn't so comfortable. The first quarter and a couple of minutes into the second was back-and-forth, with the Minutemen tying the score at 14-14 with 12:22 before the half and appearing able to match CU point-for-point the rest of the way.
But the afternoon's bright sunshine, low-80 degree heat and the stadium's 6,000-plus feet of altitude might have begun taking their toll on the East Coasters. And a slip up in the UMass punting game helped, too.
After the Buffs drove 75 yards – the march was capped by Adkins' 21-yard run and Gonzalez's PAT – to go ahead 21-14, Minuteman punter Logan Laurant let his right knee touch down at the UMass 28 while fielding a low snap.
The Buffs took over there, and while they only managed a Gonzalez field out of that possession, it was enough to fashion a 24-14 lead and put them in control.
And on UMass' next possession, CU didn't need the visitors' help for another seven points. The Buffs – specifically Moeller – created their own big break. His diving interception in the end zone quashed a UMass threat and launched CU on an eight-play, 80-yard scoring drive that gave the Buffs their 31-14 halftime lead.
MacIntyre said "the game completely changed" after Moeller's interception while Whipple called it "a huge play." And for Moeller, it was redemption after getting beat on the second UMass touchdown – a 10-yard pass on a wheel route from Frohnapfel to running back Marken Michel.
Playing through sickness that had plagued him all week, Moeller said he believed his theft "boosted our morale . . . it squeezed our momentum."
His pick followed the first half's most controversial play – a targeting call on CU defensive back Afolabi Laguda, who appeared to lead with his shoulder, not his helmet, and jarred the ball from the grasp of UMass tight end Sharif Custis at the goal line. Custis went down and stayed down but eventually walked to the sidelines.
After the penalty and Laguda's ejection, the Minutemen got the ball at the Buffs' 10-yard line. Three plays later, Moeller made his first career interception, enabling CU to begin pulling away.
"We could have easily backed down, given up the points and said let's get the offense back out there," Moeller said. "But we didn't do that."
The TD that concluded the Buffs' 80-yard drive was scored by Lindsay on a 2-yard burst off left tackle. Lindsey strode into the end zone standing up, getting his first career score while underscoring the dominance of CU's running efforts.
"When we're all running physical it excites the whole team – and that's what me and Christian and Phil did," Adkins said.
THE BUFFS FINISHED THE FIRST HALF with 207 ground yards, Adkins getting 97 of them on 14 carries and scoring one touchdown. Lindsay rushed eight times for 59 first-half yards and his TD. In fact, all four of the Buffs' first-half touchdowns came courtesy of their feet, with Powell (15 yards) and Liufau (7 yards) each adding a score. It was the first rushing TD of Liufau's career.
The energy CU generated in a 17-point second quarter gushed into the third. After setting up Gonzalez for a 30-yard field goal (34-14) on their opening drive of the second half, the Buffs parlayed a fumble recovery by Crawley into another touchdown drive.
This one covered 53 yards, with the eighth play producing an 18-yard Liufau-to-Spruce scoring pass. Spruce caught it near the right sideline, cut back toward midfield and juked two Minutemen defenders to reach the end zone.
When Gonzalez added his fifth extra point of the afternoon, the Buffs were up 41-14 with 8:41 remaining in the third quarter. The game was turning into precisely what MacIntyre & Co. needed after last week's inefficient and frustrating trip to Honolulu.
Powell's bullish 35-yard run down the east sideline wrapped up CU's scoring with 1:32 left in the third quarter. Gonzalez's PAT made it 48-14 – and with only a mop-up quarter left, it was almost time for the Buffs to begin their Rams watch.
Spruce didn't waste any time drawing a bead on CSU, which defeated CU 31-17 last season. "I've already thought about it," he said. "I'm already checking the score against Minnesota (CSU lost 23-20 in OT). I didn't realize, coming from California, how big this game is."
Big enough, added the senior, that next week being his last CSU game, "I don't know how I'll be able to live with myself if we don't come out with a win."
MacIntyre wasn't waiting for a peek north either. He called it a "huge game" and a "fun game . . . I enjoy playing in that game. I haven't enjoyed it for the last 365 days, though, I'll tell you that much."
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
Team Stats
UMASS 0, COLO 7
COLO - Powell,Christia 15 yd run (Gonzalez, Diego kick), 9 plays, 60 yards, TOP 2:46
UMASS 7, COLO 7
UMASS - Wilson, J. 2 yd run (Lucas, B. kick), 4 plays, 56 yards, TOP 0:55
UMASS 7, COLO 14
COLO - Liufau, Sefo 7 yd run (Gonzalez, Diego kick), 14 plays, 91 yards, TOP 7:24
UMASS 14, COLO 14
UMASS - Michel, M. 18 yd pass from Frohnapfel, B. (Lucas, B. kick) 9 plays, 79 yards, TOP 2:43
UMASS 14, COLO 21
COLO - Adkins, Michael 21 yd run (Gonzalez, Diego kick), 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:53
UMASS 14, COLO 24
COLO - Gonzalez, Diego 31 yd field goal 6 plays, 14 yards, TOP 1:40
UMASS 14, COLO 31
COLO - Lindsay,Phillip 2 yd run (Gonzalez, Diego kick), 8 plays, 80 yards, TOP 3:09
UMASS 14, COLO 34
COLO - Gonzalez, Diego 30 yd field goal 11 plays, 62 yards, TOP 4:27
UMASS 14, COLO 41
COLO - Spruce, Nelson 18 yd pass from Liufau, Sefo (Gonzalez, Diego kick) 8 plays, 53 yards, TOP 1:31
UMASS 14, COLO 48
COLO - Powell,Christia 35 yd run (Gonzalez, Diego kick), 10 plays, 79 yards, TOP 3:27
