Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
2-5 , 0-4
Southern California
5-2 , 4-1
Brooks: Atrocious Start Dooms Buffs To 56-28 Defeat
October 18, 2014 | Football, B.G. Brooks
LOS ANGELES – After giving themselves a chance to win their first six games, the Colorado Buffaloes opened the second half of their 2014 football season in a vastly different mode: They gave themselves virtually no chance here Saturday against No. 22 Southern California and paid for it in a 56-28 loss.
Two early turnovers and a pair of drive-saving penalties helped stake the Trojans to an insurmountable 28-0 first-quarter lead and relegated the Buffs to a painful afternoon of catch up at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
CU couldn't come close, allowing USC to continue its dominance in the series. Beating the Buffs for the ninth consecutive time, the Trojans also kept CU winless (0-4, 2-5 overall) this season in the Pac-12 Conference. In its nine wins, USC has outscored CU 332-99.
"USC had a good game, to say the least," CU coach Mike MacIntyre said. "We gave them some opportunities – definitely in the first half . . . We've got to do a better job of coaching them and the kids have to do a better job of listening."
The Buffs trailed 35-7 at the half and 56-21 entering the fourth quarter. Still, MacIntyre saw no signs of his team rolling over. "The effort was there . . . I do not think they tanked it," he said. "But that definitely was ugly."
Trojans quarterback Cody Kessler enjoyed a record day, setting a single-game school mark for touchdown passes (7), with five of them thrown in the first half. That tied a school record as USC surged to a 35-7 halftime lead.
Ending his afternoon after three quarters, Kessler went to the sidelines having completed 19-of-26 passes for 319 yards and his seven TDs. He has thrown 18 scoring passes this season with only one interception.
"He was too good today, but we helped him out some too," MacIntyre said. "But their offensive line protected him better than they have been."
Meanwhile, USC (5-2, 4-1) intercepted CU quarterback Sefo Liufau twice in the first quarter and converted both picks into touchdowns. Liufau's second interception – his ninth of the season – was a carom off of receiver Bryce Bobo and couldn't be hung solely on Liufau.
But it was devastating nonetheless and the opportunistic Trojans were quick to take advantage for their fourth touchdown. A pair of long (84, 78 yards) penalty-aided drives also helped turn the first quarter into a nightmare for the Buffs. One of the flags was a holding call that nullified a CU third-down stop on the Trojans' first possession, the other was a roughing-the-kicker penalty that kept USC moving toward the end zone on its third offensive series.
"Three or four plays kind of got them out front quickly," MacIntyre said.
In all, the Buffs were penalized five times for 46 yards in a first quarter that saw the Trojans roll up 210 yards in total offense and their 28 points. "We've done a good job of being consistent for the most part, but today we just had too many mistakes," said Liufau, whose final stat line read: 23-of-35, 143 yards, 2 TDs, 2 interceptions.
"The point we're at as a team, we can't spot a team like (USC) that many points . . . they just did a good job of capitalizing on our mistakes," added CU receiver Nelson Spruce, who tied a seasonal school record with his 11th TD reception. But it pulled the Buffs only as close as 49-21 late in the third quarter. He finished with nine catches for 69 yards.
In the first quarter, Kessler collaborated with Nelson Agholor for 16- and 18-yard scores and one TD each with JuJu Smith (7 yards) and Bryce Dixon (15 yards). Kessler and Dixon also accounted for the Trojans' second-quarter TD – a 9-yard pass that allowed Kessler to tie the school record for first-half scoring passes (5).
CU's lone first-half score was on a 1-yard run by Michael Adkins II with 10:06 remaining before the break. The Buffs, who trailed the Trojans 37-7 at halftime last season in Boulder, were down 35-7 at intermission Saturday. USC outgained CU 304-174 in the first half and converted only one of seven third-down attempts. For the afternoon, the Trojans outgained the Buffs 532-403.
Liufau finished the half 14-of-21 passing for 90 yards and the two picks. Spruce caught five of Liufau's first-half passes for 43 yards and also completed a throw-back pass to Liufau – Spruce's third career completion in three attempts.
Kessler finished the opening half 15-of-19 passing for 219 yards and his five TDs. The Buffs sacked him once, while the Trojans got to Liufau twice. CU did a credible job of slowing USC running back Javorius Allen in the first half, limiting the Pac-12's leading rusher to 50 yards on eight carries.
But the Buffs neither had an answer for their own mistakes nor Kessler, and Allen still wound up with 128 yards on 15 carries and scored USC's only rushing TD. Tony Jones led CU in rushing with 62 yards on 11 carries.
After USC opened the game with its 84-yard scoring drive and took a 7-0 lead, CU appeared unshaken. A pair of runs by Jones netted 18 and 12 yards – a good early sign for the Buffs run game. But Liufau's first pass of the afternoon was picked off by outside linebacker Su'a Cravens, whose 16-yard return put USC at CU's 47-yard line. Liufau took the blame for the pick, saying he made "a bad read."
Six plays later, Kessler and Agholor collaborated for their first TD and the Trojans – up 14-0 less than halfway through the first quarter – had a grip on the game's momentum. After two more TDs in just under 7 minutes, USC was up 28-0 and firmly in control. CU's only hope was that the Trojans might lose interest in the last half.
They didn't. On the second play of their first second-half possession, Kessler hit an embarrassingly open Agholor for a 75-yard TD, sending the Trojans up 42-7 and tying the USC single-game record (6) for scoring passes. One of the USC QBs Kessler shares the mark with is Matt Barkley, who tossed six in the Trojans' 50-6 rout of the Buffs in 2012.
Said MacIntyre: "I thought we'd come out (more efficient) in the second half but they stuffed us on the first drive, then scored so quick."
 A 2-yard scoring pass from Liufau to freshman Shay Fields, who initially committed to USC, made the score 42-14 halfway through the third quarter. But less than 2 minutes later, Kessler and Steven Mitchell teamed for a 24-yard score, restoring the Trojans' 35-point lead (49-14) and giving Kessler his school record seventh TD pass.
After Liufau and Spruce hooked up for their 5-yard TD (49-21), Allen scored on a 39-yard run to end third-quarter scoring (56-21). CU opened the fourth quarter with Jordan Gehrke replacing Liufau at quarterback, and USC pulled Kessler for Max Browne. Gehrke scored his first career TD on a 9-yard keeper with 8:19 remaining.
Both coaches used reserves to finish the game, but first-year USC coach Steve Sarkisian had to be a bit more jubilant about using his. Given the nature of his team's three close conference losses in the season's first half, MacIntyre said Saturday's blowout would test his team's resilience.
"I would think so, yes," he said. "We've got to find a way to bounce back . . . we need to keep fighting and I definitely think we will."
The Buffs return to Folsom Field for their next two games – Saturday against UCLA and Saturday, Nov. 1 against Washington.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDUÂ
Team Stats
COLO 0, USC 7
USC - Agholor, Nelson 16 yd pass from Kessler, Cody (Wood, Alex kick) 10 plays, 84 yards, TOP 4:13
COLO 0, USC 14
USC - Agholor, Nelson 18 yd pass from Kessler, Cody (Wood, Alex kick) 6 plays, 47 yards, TOP 1:39
COLO 0, USC 21
USC - Smith, JuJu 7 yd pass from Kessler, Cody (Wood, Alex kick) 6 plays, 78 yards, TOP 2:44
COLO 0, USC 28
USC - Dixon, Bryce 15 yd pass from Kessler, Cody (Wood, Alex kick) 2 plays, 27 yards, TOP 0:23
COLO 7, USC 28
COLO - Adkins II,Micha 1 yd run (Oliver, Will kick), 18 plays, 60 yards, TOP 6:10
COLO 7, USC 35
USC - Dixon, Bryce 9 yd pass from Kessler, Cody (Wood, Alex kick) 5 plays, 68 yards, TOP 1:33
COLO 7, USC 42
USC - Agholor, Nelson 75 yd pass from Kessler, Cody (Wood, Alex kick) 2 plays, 78 yards, TOP 0:36
COLO 14, USC 42
COLO - Fields, Shay 2 yd pass from Liufau, Sefo (Oliver, Will kick) 8 plays, 40 yards, TOP 2:35
COLO 14, USC 49
USC - Mitchell, Steve 24 yd pass from Kessler, Cody (Wood, Alex kick) 4 plays, 76 yards, TOP 0:56
COLO 21, USC 49
COLO - Spruce, Nelson 5 yd pass from Liufau, Sefo (Oliver, Will kick) 10 plays, 60 yards, TOP 3:15
COLO 21, USC 56
USC - Allen, Javorius 39 yd run (Wood, Alex kick), 8 plays, 71 yards, TOP 2:58
COLO 28, USC 56
COLO - Gehrke, Jordan 9 yd run (Oliver, Will kick), 13 plays, 91 yards, TOP 4:15
