Buffs Hold Off Utes 27-22, Claim Pac-12 South Division Title
November 26, 2016 | Football, B.G. Brooks
CU faces Washington next Friday in conference championship game
CU, improving to 10-2 and 8-1 in the conference, faces North Division champion Washington next Friday in the Pac-12 Championship game at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
No. 21 Utah (8-4, 5-4) took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter but never led again.
The Buffs forced four Utes turnovers, the last a fumble returned for a fourth-quarter touchdown by linebacker Kenneth Olugbode that put CU up 27-16. Safety Tedric Thompson made a pair of interceptions, giving him seven for the season and tying him for the single-season school record.
Safety Chidobe Awuzie also recovered a fumble for the Buffs and made a touchdown-saving tackle on a 94-yard Utah kickoff return.
CU's Sefo Liufau accounted for 326 yards in total offense (270 passing, 56 rushing) and two touchdowns. His 6-yard scoring pass to Shay Fields gave him 60 for his career, tying him with Cody Hawkins for the CU record.
The Buffs last enjoyed a 10-win season in 2001, also finishing 10-2. It was the seventh 10-win season in school history.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs survived a first-possession fumble by Liufau that was recovered by end Pita Taumoepenu at the CU 40-yard line. And as it did on Utah's first possession, CU's defense forced a three-and-out.
But the short field following Liufau's fumble still benefitted the Utes. Mitch Wishnowsky's punt was downed at the Buffs' 5. Three plays later, Alex Kinney's low, relatively short (41 yards) punt was returned 55 yards by shifty Boobie Hobbs for the game's first touchdown.
Andy Phillips' PAT put Utah up 7-0 with just over 6 minutes elapsed in the first quarter. And after the Buffs' second consecutive three-and-out on offense, the Utes threatened to move ahead 10-0, but Phillips' 45-yard field goal attempt fluttered wide right after a drive stalled at the CU 27.
If Liufau and the Buffs offense were suffering from big-game jitters they might have decided it was time to dispose of them. Taking over at their own 27 with 2:16 left in the first quarter, they ended the period – and a seven-play drive – with Liufau pin-balling in from the 2-yard line. He ran three times on the march for 21 yards and completed two passes for 49 yards – the longest a 42-yarder to
Devin Ross.
After Davis Price's extra point, CU and Utah exited the quarter tied 7-7.
It didn't last long.
After forcing another Utes three-and-out, Chris Graham capped a 14-play, 69-yard Buffs drive with a 25-yard field goal – his eighth of the season (12 attempts) – for a 10-7 lead.
The Buffs might not have been satisfied with the three points; on the drive's first play a wide open Shay Fields dropped a slightly underthrown Liufau pass. And on the play before Graham's kick, Liufau threw slightly behind an open Ross cutting across the end zone.
CU's next possession ended the same way – with another Graham field goal and even more frustration.
After a superb fourth-and-one stuff by safety Chidobe Awuzie and linebacker N.J. Falon of Utes running back Joe Williams, the Buffs took over at the Utes' 34. The next four plays saw them travel to the Utah 1-yard line.
After Liufau lost a yard on second-down keeper he lofted a third-and-goal pass toward H-back George Frazier, who had slipped unnoticed into the end zone from the left side of the formation.
When the high-arching pass arrived it was at Frazier's knees – low but catchable. He dropped it, and the Buffs settled for a 19-yard Graham field goal that gave them a 13-7 lead that held through halftime.
With its offense frequently misfiring in the first half, CU was kept afloat by its defense. The Buffs limited the Utes to 56 yards rushing, 30 passing (86 total) and four first downs. Liufau completed 10 of 19 first-half passes for 121 yards while Utah QB Troy Williams managed only four completions for 30 yards in his 13 attempts. CU sacked him three times, Utah got to Liufau once.
Receiving the second-half kickoff, the Buffs could have used a fast start and quick points. They got neither but the Utes did.
While CU was limited to a pair of three-and-outs on its first two second-half possessions, Utah strung together a 7-play, 38-yard drive on its first possession and pulled to within 13-10 on a 22-yard field goal by Phillips.
On their next possession the Utes appeared to be on their way to at least another field goal when Joe Williams, who had moved the pile for a 12-yard gain, was stripped by Ryan Moeller and the fumble recovered by Awuzie.
Threat averted . . . favor returned.
The Buffs moved from their own 2-yard line to the 40, where on third-and-one Liufau was stripped on a keeper. His second fumble of the game was leaped on by end Chris Hart at the CU 49.
A reverse on Utah's first play run by receiver Cory Butler-Byrd gained 41 yards to the CU 8. Three plays netted the Utes 4 yards Phillips tied the game at 13-13 with a 22-yard field goal.
The third quarter had 2:58 remaining, and it was just enough time for Liufau to drive the Buffs 75 yards for their go-ahead score. On the eighth play, he threw his 60th career TD pass – a 6-yard fade to Fields in the right corner of the end zone. Liufau's pass tied Cody Hawkins for the school mark.
Price's PAT gave the Buffs a 20-13 lead with no time remaining in the third quarter, and the fourth quarter opened with near disaster for CU. Kyle Fulks returned the kickoff 94 yards to the Buffs' 3-yard line, where he was chased down by Awuzie.o
Once again the burden on was put on CU's 'D.' But the Buffs on that side of the ball weren't overwhelmed. The Utes' first three plays were worth a minus-2 yards, leaving Phillips to kick a 23-yard field goal four plays into the fourth quarter.
CU still led 20-16, but the Buffs had 13:53 – and the Utes – between them and their first Pac-12 South title. No problem, said the Buffs defenders.
On Utah's first play after receiving CU's kickoff, linebacker Rick Gamboa punched the football out of Joe Williams' grasp. Olugbode scooped it up and ran 10 yards to the end zone. Price booted the Buffs ahead 27-16 with 10:56 to play.
Finally, time appeared to be on CU's side, especially when Thompson's second pick of Troy Williams cut another Utah possession short. The teams traded punts on the next three possessions, with the Utes opening what would their last gasp at their own 20 with 3:53 to play. It produced an 80-yard, 13-play scoring drive, with Troy Williams hitting Demari Simpkins with a 7-yard TD pass.
Trailing 27-22, Utah went for a 2-point conversion, but Troy Williams' pass for Simpkins was overthrown. An on-sides kick attempt failed too, with CU receiver Kabion Ento recovering at the CU 42.
Needing to run 1:34 off the clock, Liufau handed off three times to Phillip Lindsay for 18 total yards. Then Liufau took three snaps, knelt three times and it was over.
The Buffs were Pac-12 South champions. Students and fans rushed the field for the second consecutive week, and this Saturday they had something tangible to celebrate.
TURNING POINT: There were two – both supplied by the defense: Chidobe Awuzie knocked Kyle Fulk out of bounds at the CU 3-yard line, denying Utah a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. A TD and PAT would have tied the game at 20-20, instead the Utes were stymied and settled for a field goal (20-16). Less than 4 minutes later, Kenneth Olugbode's 10-yard fumble return for a TD and Davis Price's extra point gave the Buffs an 11-point cushion (27-16) they wound up needing.
CU STANDOUTS: Quarterback Sefo Liufau completed 23-of-44 passes for 270 yards and one touchdown; he also rushed 21 times for 81 yards (56 net when sack yards are subtracted) and one TD . . . . Devin Ross made nine receptions for 94 yards, Shay Fields made seven receptions for 78 yards and one TD . . . . Safety Chidobe Awuzie had eight solo tackles, one sack and a fumble recovery, linebacker Rick Gamboa had five solos and three assists (eight total) . . . . safety Tedric Thompson and corner Akhello Witherspoon each had four passes broken up . . . . Thompson made two interceptions . . . . linebacker Kenneth Olugbode made five tackles (3 solo) and returned a fumble for a touchdown.
KEY STATISTIC: The Buffs created four turnovers – two interceptions, two recovered fumbles – and held the Utes to only six third down conversions in 21 attempts.
THE PLATI'TUDE STAT: For the first time since 2006 vs. Texas Tech, the Buffs played four quarters without being penalized.
WHAT IT MEANS: CU wins its first Pac-12 South Division championship since joining the conference in 2011.
NOTEWORTHY: Saturday night's attendance was 52,301. It was CU's first sellout since 2008 (53,927 vs. Texas) and the first 50,000-plus crowd at Folsom since 2011 (50,083 vs. USC). The stadium's former capacity of 53,613 was reduced by 3,000 seats during the 2014 renovation . . . . CU was in black uniforms with gold helmets for its final 2016 home game . . . . The Buffs won Saturday's coin toss, making them 11-1 in that category this season. As usual, the Buffs deferred to the second half, giving the Utes the ball first . . . . CU entered Saturday's game seeking its 10th regular-season win, the school's first since 2001 (10-2) . . . . The Buffs won their sixth consecutive game – the first season that's been accomplished since 1996. That also was the most recent season that CU won five straight conference games (Big 12) . . . . Tedric Thompson's interception on the final play of the first half kept CU's nation-leading streak of games with a turnover intact at 25 . . . . Kabion Ento made his first career start in place of injured Bryce Bobo (ankle) . . . . The Buffs were the second ranked opponent the Utes faced this season. The first – No. 4 Washington – edged Utah 31-24 on Oct.29 . . . . Utah's 30-28 last-minute loss to unranked Oregon last Saturday dropped the Utes 10 positions in the weekly AP poll (No. 21) and nine spots in the coaches' poll (No. 20).
QUOTEWORTHY: "Wow . . . these young men are special. Special, special, special." – CU coach Mike MacIntyre on his players
"Worst to first – not many people can say that . . . now we've got one more; we've got to go get the one against Washington." – MacIntyre on the Pac-12 Championship game
"Yep, this is the best moment of my Folsom career. We have one more game next week and if we win that that'll be the best moment of my career. It's so nice." – CU center Alex Kelley
"It's hard to describe, it's crazy. It really hasn't hit me yet. I don't know how to explain it . . . it feels so awesome." – CU linebacker Addison Gillam
"Everyone has to do their 1-11th. Once yoy start worrying and hoping someone else will be there, then you aren't paying attention to your own job. We just had faith in everyone and knew where everyone was going to be – we just had to execute." – CU safety Ryan Moeller
"We started from the bottom and now we're here. It is just a great team win and I'm excited for where we are headed. We made it to our goal and now we just have to go out there and win." – CU defensive end Jordan Carrell
"I just didn't carry it well enough. They have a good defense that caused a lot of forced fumbles and turnovers this year. You just have to tip your hat to them because they made good plays." – Utah running back Joe Williams
"I'm disappointed. I let the seniors down. I feel like I let everybody down. This is not the way we wanted to go out." – Utah quarterback Troy Williams
NEXT UP: The Buffs face North Division champion Washington in the Pac-12 Championship Game on Friday (7 p.m. MST, Fox) in Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
Team Stats

UTAH 7, COLO 0
UTAH - Hobbs, Boobie 55 yd punt return (Phillips, Andy kick)

UTAH 7, COLO 7
COLO - Liufau, Sefo 2 yd run (Price, Davis kick), 7 plays, 73 yards, TOP 2:16

UTAH 7, COLO 10
COLO - Graham, Chris 25 yd field goal 14 plays, 69 yards, TOP 4:38

UTAH 7, COLO 13
COLO - Graham, Chris 19 yd field goal 6 plays, 32 yards, TOP 2:18

UTAH 10, COLO 13
UTAH - Phillips, Andy 22 yd field goal 7 plays, 38 yards, TOP 2:15

UTAH 13, COLO 13
UTAH - Phillips, Andy 22 yd field goal 5 plays, 46 yards, TOP 1:12

UTAH 13, COLO 20
COLO - Fields, Shay 6 yd pass from Liufau, Sefo (Price, Davis kick) 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:58

UTAH 16, COLO 20
UTAH - Phillips, Andy 23 yd field goal 4 plays, -2 yards, TOP 0:00

UTAH 16, COLO 27
COLO - Olugbode, Kenne 10 yd fumble recovery (Price, Davis kick)

UTAH 22, COLO 27
UTAH - Simpkins,Demari 7 yd pass from Williams, Troy (Williams, Troy passfailed) 13 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:19