Buffs QB Montez Hopes To Build From Last Year's Experience Vs. Huskies
September 18, 2017 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — When Colorado quarterback Steven Montez lines up against Washington on Saturday at Folsom Field, it won't be the first time the CU sophomore has stared into the heart of the Huskies' defense.
Matter of fact, Montez will actually be able to call upon his previous experience against UW and gather a little confidence.
After all, it was Montez who was calling signals in last year's Pac-12 championship game when the Buffs scored their only touchdown of the contest, a first-quarter score that temporarily tied the game at 7-7. Montez replaced an injured Sefo Liufau and engineered a 7-play, 55-yard touchdown march, completing two of three passes for 34 yards, including a 21-yarder to Shay Fields that put the Buffs in position for a pair of Phillip Lindsay runs and their only touchdown of the game. Colorado's only other score came on a third-quarter field goal as the Huskies pulled away in the second half for a 41-10 win.
Liufau returned to the game in the third quarter, but Montez still finished as CU's leading passer (5-for-12 for 60 yards) and he also had three carries for 11 yards (his 3.7-yard average was the best of any CU rusher in the game). The Buffs had only three drives all night that lasted longer than four plays, and Montez led two of those.
"That was a big experience for him," Colorado co-offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren said after Monday morning's practice. "Anytime you're playing on a big stage like that, Pac-12 championship game against a top 10 opponent, that's valuable experience. They got after us and did a nice job last year, and it was good for him to get in there and get a little taste of it. He's no doubt familiar now with some of the things they do."
Montez, who owns a 5-1 record as a starter, and his Buffs teammates will get a chance at redemption Saturday when the two 3-0 teams meet in an 8 p.m. nationally televised game (FS1) at Folsom Field.
CU's offense is coming off its best overall performance of the season, a 569-yard effort in last weekend's 41-21 win over Northern Colorado. Montez was 29-for-41 for 357 yards and four touchdowns in the game — all career highs — while Lindsay added 151 yards to CU's 212 yards on the ground.
"We're getting better," co-offensive coordinator Darrin Chiaverini said. "I've definitely seen a progression from week 1 to week 3. At the end of the day you have to control the things you can control — and that's our attitude, that's our effort, that's our consistency and accountability. I think the offense has kind of taken that to heart. We just have to keep improving and I think we're getting better each week. That's important."
Montez has no doubt progressed each week. He has completed 69 of 101 attempts for 858 yards and six touchdowns, with three interceptions.
"He's continuing to improve," Lindgren said. "He did a good job last week of staying in the pocket, going through his progressions and finding the open receiver. When we graded it out, it was his best game so far."
One of the most positive aspects from last week's game was Montez's ability to utilize all four starting wide receivers. Each starter caught at least four passes in the game and had a touchdown catch.
"That's what you envision this offense looking like," Chiaverini said. "Everybody catching footballs, everybody getting a chance to score touchdowns, Steven doing a really good job going through his progressions. He did a really good job of staying in the pocket. Even when they brought pressure he stayed in the pocket and went through his progression reads and hit the open guys. It was exciting to see Steven play at that level and the O-line and everybody kind of take the next step. We have to just keep working."
Early Monday morning, Montez had already watched the UNC film and had delved into last year's Pac-12 title game against Washington as well.
"That entire secondary was pretty much NFL Draft picks," Montez said of a UW group that indeed included three NFL picks last season. "They were good everywhere, and now they're showing the same thing this year."
Now, Montez hopes to build on the modicum of success he enjoyed against the Huskies a year ago.
"I went in there last year and we played well enough to get a score on the board," he said. "Hopefully, this year with a full week of preparation, we can go in there and have a good day on offense."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
