Colorado’s Special Teams Unit Continues to Impress
September 07, 2025 | Football
BOULDER — Colorado head coach Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders made special teams a point of emphasis after last season, and through two games the unit is delivering.
In Coach Sanders' words, "Mata is Mata," referring to senior placekicker Alejandro Mata, who hit a 28-yard field goal and went a perfect 4-for-4 on extra points against Delaware. On the young season, Mata is 3-for-3 on field goals (42, 29, 28) and 6-for-6 on PATs. He has now made two or more extra points in 13 straight games and extended his streak to 83 consecutive successful PATs, dating back to 2023.
Mata, who joined the Buffs with Coach Sanders from Jackson State University, has been a model of consistency for three seasons. He now owns the program record for most consecutive games with a made extra point (24) and ranks 18th in CU history in scoring with 162 points, eighth among kickers.
Coach Sanders praised his specialists: "Mata, (Damon) Greaves as well as Buck (Buchanan), you can count on they're going to do their jobs. And that's the kind of expectation we desire from all our Buffs."
Once again, Buchanan set the tone by blasting the opening kickoff for a touchback. For the second straight game, all of his kickoffs went out of the end zone,11 straight to open the year. Last season, CU managed just 15 touchbacks in 76 kickoffs.
"Everybody believes. They're not even loafing on the kickoffs, and they know Buck is kicking the ball out the darn end zone. He's trying to hit one. I told him to try to hit somebody with a tuba (the band), and he's getting close," Coach Prime joked.
The standout, however, was punter Damon Greaves, who recorded five punts for 251 yards, averaging 50.2 a punt. He pinned Delaware inside the 20 twice in the second quarter at the six and the 20 and in the third quarter, Kaleb Mathis downed a Greaves punt at the one. Greaves, a native of Busselton, Australia who Coach Prime affectionately refers to as "Mate II", later unleashed a career-long 67-yarder in the fourth quarter that was muffed before being returned to the 26, and he finished with a 63-yard punt for a touchback.
Greaves was quick to praise his teammates. "I want to shout out my punt team and my snapper. Without those guys, I'm not able to execute to the best of my ability. (Snapper) Kam Hawkins had a great game, he's been awesome these first two games. And my coverage team, we shouted out (Preston) Hodge last week, but this week the whole unit was great. Personally, I feel like I'm in a good spot, but I'm on to next week."
In Coach Sanders' words, "Mata is Mata," referring to senior placekicker Alejandro Mata, who hit a 28-yard field goal and went a perfect 4-for-4 on extra points against Delaware. On the young season, Mata is 3-for-3 on field goals (42, 29, 28) and 6-for-6 on PATs. He has now made two or more extra points in 13 straight games and extended his streak to 83 consecutive successful PATs, dating back to 2023.
Mata, who joined the Buffs with Coach Sanders from Jackson State University, has been a model of consistency for three seasons. He now owns the program record for most consecutive games with a made extra point (24) and ranks 18th in CU history in scoring with 162 points, eighth among kickers.
Coach Sanders praised his specialists: "Mata, (Damon) Greaves as well as Buck (Buchanan), you can count on they're going to do their jobs. And that's the kind of expectation we desire from all our Buffs."
Once again, Buchanan set the tone by blasting the opening kickoff for a touchback. For the second straight game, all of his kickoffs went out of the end zone,11 straight to open the year. Last season, CU managed just 15 touchbacks in 76 kickoffs.
"Everybody believes. They're not even loafing on the kickoffs, and they know Buck is kicking the ball out the darn end zone. He's trying to hit one. I told him to try to hit somebody with a tuba (the band), and he's getting close," Coach Prime joked.
The standout, however, was punter Damon Greaves, who recorded five punts for 251 yards, averaging 50.2 a punt. He pinned Delaware inside the 20 twice in the second quarter at the six and the 20 and in the third quarter, Kaleb Mathis downed a Greaves punt at the one. Greaves, a native of Busselton, Australia who Coach Prime affectionately refers to as "Mate II", later unleashed a career-long 67-yarder in the fourth quarter that was muffed before being returned to the 26, and he finished with a 63-yard punt for a touchback.
Greaves was quick to praise his teammates. "I want to shout out my punt team and my snapper. Without those guys, I'm not able to execute to the best of my ability. (Snapper) Kam Hawkins had a great game, he's been awesome these first two games. And my coverage team, we shouted out (Preston) Hodge last week, but this week the whole unit was great. Personally, I feel like I'm in a good spot, but I'm on to next week."
Players Mentioned
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