Colorado
3-1-0
Nicholls State
0-3-0 , 0-1
Brooks: Buffs Cruise Past Colonels, Draw Bead On Ducks, Pac-12
September 26, 2015 | Football, B.G. Brooks
BOULDER – No contest, no shortage of benefits – or so said Mike MacIntyre. On a hot, cloudless early autumn Saturday, MacIntyre's Colorado Buffaloes warmed up and hopefully sharpened up for next week's Pac-12 Conference opener against No. 13 Oregon with a 48-0 flogging of Nicholls State.
Scoring on its first three possessions, CU (3-1) won its third consecutive game for the first time since the 2008 team opened that season 3-0. Also, the Buffs' shutout was their first since 2009 -- 24-0 against Wyoming – and their margin of victory was the largest of the MacIntyre Era and CU's fattest since a 66-14 rout of Northeast Louisiana in 1995.
But next Saturday night brings a different breed of Duck to Folsom Field and CU officials want a different look and atmosphere in the stadium. The plan is for a "Silver & Black Attack," with fans in even-numbered sections wearing black and those in odd-numbered sections wearing silver or gray, creating a striped effect in the stands.
Whatever helps . . . the Buffs are 0-4 against the defending Pac-12 champs since joining the league in 2011 and the contests haven't been close. Oregon has outscored CU 216-42 in those four wins.
Yet MacIntyre believes ground is being gained, with more groundwork laid on Saturday. He liked his team's physical play and its early focus against the hapless Colonels. He liked that there's no noteworthy injury list, and he liked being able to rest his starters for most of the second half.
"And just seeing our whole mentality was good," he added.
But he knows the Buffs' mentality will have to sharpen. Nicholls (0-3) lost for the 21st consecutive time, including 15 straight on the road. The Southland Conference school from Thibodaux, La., advised the Pac-12 Network earlier in the week that it preferred to lose the "State" for Saturday's telecast.
Then Nicholls it is, but by whatever name the Colonels were overmatched, and this one was over quickly. By afternoon's end, the Buffs had amassed 636 yards in total offense (358 rushing, 278 passing) while holding the Colonels to 166 total yards. CU ran 71 of its 93 total plays in plus territory, Nicholls ran only three. The Buffs' average starting field position was their own 47, the Colonels' was their own 15.
In recent seasons CU has seen stats sour, afternoons unravel, and scores skyrocket like this, but usually from the darker vantage point. This Saturday was different; the Buffs led 21-0 after one quarter yet just 24-0 at halftime, possibly losing focus or turning it somewhere else (the Ducks, perhaps?).
MACINTYRE AND HIS PLAYERS HAD adopted a motto – "Start faster at Folsom" – and they did. "Then we kind of shot ourselves in the foot a little bit and left 17 points on the field in the first half," he said. "At halftime they were very upset, which I thought was a great thing. They wanted to come back out there and finish the game."
Quarterback Sefo Liufau echoed that: "We were pretty annoyed coming in at halftime. We left some points on the board. We definitely have to get better and eliminate some of the mistakes we made because people will pick on that."
No matter; the Buffs regrouped, refocused, and by the end of the third quarter they were cruising, 41-0, turning the final quarter into field time for the subs and chill time for the regulars.
CU totaled 242 of its 636 yards in the first quarter, and driving those early offensive numbers were senior Nelson Spruce and sophomore Phillip Lindsay. Spruce's 60 first-half receiving yards pushed him ahead of Michael Westbrook as the school's career receiving leader. Westbrook totaled 2,548 yards from 1991-94; Spruce ended Saturday with 2,570.
Lindsay's 13 first-half carries netted 101 yards for his second career 100-yard rushing game. He finished with 113 yards and two TDs, and was one of two 100-yard rushers. Receiver-turned-tailback Donovan Lee ran 10 times for 103 yards, including a 59-yard scoring run.
"I'm not a big stats person," Lindsay said. "I just want to help my teammates get the win."
Still, the Buffs' first half didn't seem quite as pristine as the afternoon. Although they didn't have to punt (only two for the game), they made only half of their eight third-down conversion attempts and were three-of-five in red zone scoring opportunities in the opening half.
A lost fumble at the Nicholls' 1-yard line by Christian Powell was as distasteful for the Buffs as Liufau overthrowing a wide-open Lee, who would have scored easily. Liufau finished the first two quarters 9-of-17 for 156 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown pass to redshirt freshman Jay MacIntyre.
But overthrowing Lee for a certain first-quarter TD and being unusually high and wide on several other first-half attempts irked Liufau. He conceded that a right shoulder injury suffered against Colorado State was bothering him "a little bit . . . but there are no excuses. If you're going to be out there you can't have any excuses. You just have to perform."
Liufau played three series into the third quarter before being replaced by backup Jordan Gehrke and went to the bench 13-of-21 for 227 yards and one TD. Liufau has not thrown an interception in his last 105 attempts.
The Buffs were without several key contributors they hope can return next week. Running backs Michael Adkins II and Patrick Carr, and defensive end Derek McCartney, defensive tackle Leo Jackson and linebacker Addison Gillam did not dress.
But life went on (mostly well) without them.
Shortly after former Buffs fullback Keith Miller (Class of '97) – he's now a Metropolitan Opera standout – boomed the national anthem in a basso profundo that might have loosened rocks on Longs Peak, CU took charge. The Buffs scored on three consecutive drives, none of them requiring more eight plays or three minutes and the shortest march covering 50 yards (the others were 70 and 55).
THE RUNNING GAME ACCOUNTED for the Buffs' first two scores – a 4-yard run by Lindsay, a 2-yarder by Powell – while Liufau teamed with Jay MacIntyre for their 38-yard score. Powell's afternoon concluded after three quarters, producing 73 yards on 13 attempts and one score.
Slowed coming out of August camp by an ankle injury, Jay MacIntyre – the coach's son – showed that ailment is no longer a concern. He caught Liufau's pass near the east sideline, cut toward the goal line and juked two defenders to reach the end zone. His first chance at a college reception came in CU's 28-20 loss at Hawai'i, but he mishandled it. Saturday was different.
"When the ball comes your way, make something happen – which I did today," he said. "It was awesome."
His TD was CU's last of the first half, but Diego Gonzalez added a 47-yard field goal that was set up by sixth-year senior Jered Bell's first pick of the season. Hoping to give the Buffs their first second-half points, Gonzalez attempted a 26-yarder in the third quarter that clanged off the left upright.
But CU didn't wait much longer. Lindsay accounted for CU's first points after intermission with a 1-yard run, capping a six-play, 58-yard drive that would be Liufau's last of the afternoon. The Buffs shot ahead 31-0, but less than three minutes later Lee – a former high school running back shifted to his former position five days ago – broke free on a 59-yard scoring run that pushed CU up 38-0 with 4:22 left in the third quarter.
After Gonzalez's 46-yard field goal made it 41-0 in the final minute of the third quarter, the stands were clearing and Mike MacIntyre was clearing his bench. After another Bell pick near midfield, No. 3 QB Cade Apsay replaced Gehrke but the Buffs were forced to punt – only for the second time – on their first possession of the fourth quarter.
Apsay then engineered a 13-play, 66-yard drive, handing off to Kyle Evans for his first collegiate TD – a 2-yard run. Chris Graham kicked the PAT (48-0). After a Michael Matthewes quarterback sack and fumble recovery by Terran Hasselbach, Apsay moved CU from the Nicholls' 22 to the 5.
Not needing any more points, the Buffs ended it there and let time expire. "Let's enjoy this one," Mike MacIntyre said when asked about his and his staff's attention turning to Oregon.
But he couldn't help himself. The Ducks, he said, have "speed, speed, speed all over the field. They've been the class of the Pac-12 – them and Stanford – for a while."
Reminded that it has been seven seasons since a CU team won three straight, he smiled and said, "Let's get another one and make it a four-game winning streak."
Not that a 48-0 win doesn't turn heads, but if next Sunday morning finds the Buffs riding a four-game winning streak, the Pac-12 will take notice. College football, too.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
Team Stats
NICH 0, COLO 7
COLO - Lindsay,Phillip 4 yd run (Gonzalez, Diego kick), 6 plays, 70 yards, TOP 1:35
NICH 0, COLO 14
COLO - Powell,Christia 1 yd run (Gonzalez, Diego kick), 8 plays, 50 yards, TOP 1:53
NICH 0, COLO 21
COLO - MacIntyre, Jay 38 yd pass from Liufau, Sefo (Gonzalez, Diego kick) 8 plays, 55 yards, TOP 3:01
NICH 0, COLO 24
COLO - Gonzalez, Diego 46 yd field goal 4 plays, 26 yards, TOP 1:41
NICH 0, COLO 31
COLO - Lindsay,Phillip 1 yd run (Gonzalez, Diego kick), 6 plays, 58 yards, TOP 1:49
NICH 0, COLO 38
COLO - Lee, Donovan 59 yd run (Gonzalez, Diego kick), 4 plays, 74 yards, TOP 1:15
NICH 0, COLO 41
COLO - Gonzalez, Diego 46 yd field goal 4 plays, 4 yards, TOP 1:33
NICH 0, COLO 48
COLO - Evans, Kyle 2 yd run (Graham, Chris kick), 13 plays, 66 yards, TOP 6:19
