On September 16th, the Colorado Buffs hosted the Northern Colorado Bears at Folsom Field for their first matchup since 1934. Coming into Saturday’s game, CU wanted to prioritize their offensive game plan because their last two performances indicate a sporadic offense. Most of CU’s points thus far have come in streaky fashion and Head Coach, Mike MacIntyre, has emphasized that he would like to see his offense play with more rhythm and consistency. It’s also worth consideration that the Buffs defense has not allowed an opponent to reach the end zone yet this season. The Buffs came out in the end with a solid victory by a score of 41-21.
CU’s offensive execution quickly became even more crucial after the Bears marched down the field on their first drive and scored on a 33-yard touchdown pass by quarterback Jacob Knipp to Alex Wesley. It didn’t take long, for the Buffs to respond as quarterback, Steven Montez, found Devin Ross for a 37-yard completion. A few runs by Phillip Lindsay brought them into the red-zone where Montez found an open Devin Ross to even the score. The Buffs carried the momentum for the remainder of the first half, scoring three more touchdowns each caught by a different wide receiver. With an experienced receiving core in Devin Ross, Bryce Bobo, Shay Fields, and Jay MacIntyre, finding open targets will not be an issue for Steven Montez, heading into Pac-12 Conference play. Even though the Buffs were able to score 28 unanswered points in the first half, the Bears were able to sneak a final touchdown before half-time with Jacob Knipp’s second long touchdown pass to Wesley, this time for 48 yards.
Heading into the second half leading by a score of 28-14, the Buffs needed to keep the Bears’ offense from finding a rhythm so they could maintain their two-score lead. Knipp and the Bears had other plans as they took their opening drive of the half to the end-zone with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Michael McCauley. With CU’s lead cut down to 7, many were momentarily wondering if this shut-down defense in the first two games of the season can actually be dissected and beat. Coach MacIntyre had other thoughts: “We gave up two long balls. You take away those, and three late hit penalties, they don’t have very many targets at all. Only 269 yards.”
As far as offensive execution, Steven Montez proved that he is capable as a play-maker and won’t stand down from any opponent. Montez finished with 357 yards, going 29 for 41 incompletions with 4 total touchdowns. In reference to a nifty scramble that led to an easy 28-yard catch in the end-zone by Shay Fields, Coach MacIntyre said, “To have the sixth sense to stay behind the line of scrimmage, he manned the ball well today and made us play that much better.” Even though CU’s defense, as expected, held on to the lead and dominated the Bear’s offense for the remainder of the game, it is critical that Montez and the Buffs establish an offense that can threaten the best defenses in the country.
The goal for CU at this point is to prove to the rest of the Pac-12 that they are a team to beat. Facing Washington next week will certainly be their first big test. On last year’s Pac-12 championship game, Coach MacIntyre says: “You can’t forget it. Our young men will use that as motivation. They are an excellent team that is really well coached. But this is what you dream about as a player and as a coach. To get to turn around and play them that quick again is very exciting for our kids.”
Next Saturday night, September 23rd, at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado, the Buffs will host the Huskies from University of Washington to kick-off the first game in Pac-12 Conference play for either team. The game will start at 8:00 pm MST and can be viewed on the Fox Sports 1 Network as well as heard on the KOA News Radio Program on channel 850 AM.
CU’s offensive execution quickly became even more crucial after the Bears marched down the field on their first drive and scored on a 33-yard touchdown pass by quarterback Jacob Knipp to Alex Wesley. It didn’t take long, for the Buffs to respond as quarterback, Steven Montez, found Devin Ross for a 37-yard completion. A few runs by Phillip Lindsay brought them into the red-zone where Montez found an open Devin Ross to even the score. The Buffs carried the momentum for the remainder of the first half, scoring three more touchdowns each caught by a different wide receiver. With an experienced receiving core in Devin Ross, Bryce Bobo, Shay Fields, and Jay MacIntyre, finding open targets will not be an issue for Steven Montez, heading into Pac-12 Conference play. Even though the Buffs were able to score 28 unanswered points in the first half, the Bears were able to sneak a final touchdown before half-time with Jacob Knipp’s second long touchdown pass to Wesley, this time for 48 yards.
Heading into the second half leading by a score of 28-14, the Buffs needed to keep the Bears’ offense from finding a rhythm so they could maintain their two-score lead. Knipp and the Bears had other plans as they took their opening drive of the half to the end-zone with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Michael McCauley. With CU’s lead cut down to 7, many were momentarily wondering if this shut-down defense in the first two games of the season can actually be dissected and beat. Coach MacIntyre had other thoughts: “We gave up two long balls. You take away those, and three late hit penalties, they don’t have very many targets at all. Only 269 yards.”
As far as offensive execution, Steven Montez proved that he is capable as a play-maker and won’t stand down from any opponent. Montez finished with 357 yards, going 29 for 41 incompletions with 4 total touchdowns. In reference to a nifty scramble that led to an easy 28-yard catch in the end-zone by Shay Fields, Coach MacIntyre said, “To have the sixth sense to stay behind the line of scrimmage, he manned the ball well today and made us play that much better.” Even though CU’s defense, as expected, held on to the lead and dominated the Bear’s offense for the remainder of the game, it is critical that Montez and the Buffs establish an offense that can threaten the best defenses in the country.
The goal for CU at this point is to prove to the rest of the Pac-12 that they are a team to beat. Facing Washington next week will certainly be their first big test. On last year’s Pac-12 championship game, Coach MacIntyre says: “You can’t forget it. Our young men will use that as motivation. They are an excellent team that is really well coached. But this is what you dream about as a player and as a coach. To get to turn around and play them that quick again is very exciting for our kids.”
Next Saturday night, September 23rd, at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado, the Buffs will host the Huskies from University of Washington to kick-off the first game in Pac-12 Conference play for either team. The game will start at 8:00 pm MST and can be viewed on the Fox Sports 1 Network as well as heard on the KOA News Radio Program on channel 850 AM.