Colorado-Colorado State Notes
September 19, 2015 | Football
Today's Captains: Awuzie, Lindsay, McCartney, Murphy
Players who carried out CU's symbolic instruments today:
Sledgehammer: Afolabi Laguda           Â
Toolbox: Jered Bell
Special Teams Belt: Jered Bell                 Â
Buffalo Head: Clay Norgard
United States Flag: Evan White              Â
Colorado Flag: Hunter Shaw
QUICKLY CBS College Sports let KOA's Larry Zimmer voice the prerecorded opening for the broadcast of the game (Zimmer did his 480th CU football game tonight) ... Colorado sold 31,796 tickets (7,145 student) for the game, CSU sold 31,601 and the Broncos 2,856; keep in mind 30% of CU's season ticket holders opted not to take their tickets for the game and received an equal value in number for a Pac-12 game (and yet most of the difference was made up by single game sales) ... Colorado is now 7-2 in non-conference games under Mike MacIntyre (2-1 vs. CSU), and the Buffs now lead the series 63-22-2 (9-6 in Denver) ... CU has won two games in a row for the first time since Mac's first two games in Boulder (2013); CU will be going for three straight for the first time since the first three games of the 2008 season ... CSU opened the scoring 7:13 into the game, snapping a 49:35 scoreless run by the CU defense—the longest since the 2010 opener when Colorado held CSU scoreless the first 50:24 (and a 57:07 run counting the '09 finale) ... With two interceptions tonight, CU has five on the year in three games (after having just three in all of 2014) ...
OVERTIME Colorado is now 6-7 in overtime games (2-0 versus CSU); CU snaps a three-game losing streak in OT games. Both OT games against CSU were won on field goals after CU made a defensive stop (Terrence Wheatley INT in 2007 in a 31-28 win; Kevin Eberhart kicked the game winner then; tonight S Tedric Thompson blocked a field goal before Diego Gonzalez' kick).
COMEBACK Â Colorado rallied from 14 points down for the win, tying its eighth largest comeback in its history; it eclipsed its largest deficit ever against the Rams to come back for a victory: in 1988, CSU jumped out to a 13-0 lead early in the second quarter but the Buffs rallied for a 27-23 win (on a Sal Aunese-to-Mike Pritchard 13-yard TD pass with 0:38 left).
NICE HABIT  For the second straight game, CU did not commit a turnover or allow a quarterback sack – now 18 times in its history (CU is 16-2 in those games). It was the sixth game under MacIntyre that CU did not turn the ball over (4-2) and the 74th dating back to 1946 when records are available (49-21-4).
INDIVIDUAL LINER NOTES
OLB Kenneth Olugbode (INT/TD). He had the first interception of his career and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown... on his 20th birthday (Sept. 19). It was CU's first INT return for a touchdown since Sept. 7, 2013 (Jered Bell 78 yards versus Central Arkansas). CU's last defensive touchdown was later in the season (fumble return against USC, also by Bell.
WR Nelson Spruce (6-63) moved into fourth place all-time in receiving yards with 2,490; he is now 59 yards shy of the top spot (he added to his all-time lead in receptions with 225). He had been 4-of-4 for 71 yards and 3 TDs passing before throwing his first career incompletion.
QB Sefo Liufau (28-15-0, 220, 2 TD) moved into fifth place in all-time passing yards with 5,523 (skipping by Koy Detmer's 5,390), and passed Darian Hagan into fifth all-time in total offense with 5,831 (Hagan had 5,808).
CB Ken Crawley. He made his third career interception in the second quarter, his first since his sophomore season (when he two, the last against California); he went 16 games between picks.
PK Diego Gonzalez (3-3 PAT, 2-4 FG). He made his first five field goals of his career, including his long of 52, until the blocked attempt near the end of the half. He hit the 32-yard game winner to join Mason Crosby (vs. Kansas, 2003), Kevin Eberhart (vs. CSU, 2007) and Aric Goodman (vs. West Virginia, 2008) to kick winning field goals in overtime for the Buffs.
WR Shay Fields (3-79, 1 TD). He made the second longest reception of his career (65 yards for a TD in the second quarter); his longest was a 75-yard TD pass, also from Sefo Liufau, to open last year's game at Arizona.
WR Devin Ross (2-36, 1 TD). He had his first career touchdown catch, a 24-yard pass from Sefo Liufau in the third quarter.
SS Tedric Thompson had CU's first block of an opponent field goal since Sept. 4, 2010, when DE Will Pericak blocked one late in the first half against CSU. It was the first blocked kick of any kind in the MacIntyre Era, as CU's last blocked kick was by Nate Bonsu against Arizona State in Boulder in 2012.
P Alex Kinney (7-39.1, 3 In20). The freshman had his best game to date, and minus two kicks inside CSU territory, he averaged 42.0 on five kicks.
