Brooks: Buffs Fall To Hundley, Bruins In Double OT

Saturday, October 25

Boulder, Colo.

12:00 PM

Colorado

2-6-0 , 0-5

UCLA

6-2-0 , 3-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

UCLA

Colorado

Photo by: Joel Broida

October 25, 2014 | Football, B.G. Brooks

Box Score Notes Quotes Final Game Book

By: B.G. Brooks, Contributing Editor

BOULDER – Brett Hundley will get his numbers – the Colorado Buffaloes knew that from past experience. But for most of four quarters Saturday, the Buffs kept the gifted UCLA quarterback from inflicting serious damage. That would come later.

It took only two plays into the afternoon's second overtime for Hundley to break the Buffs' hearts. He followed a 17-yard quarterback draw with an 8-yard touchdown run in the second OT, pushing the No. 25 Bruins past the gallant Buffs 40-37 at stunned Folsom Field.

"What a game," said CU coach Mike MacIntyre. "I tip my hat to UCLA, I tip my hat to my players and coaches. What a battle. I'd like to have some boring games and win them . . . the hardest thing, knowing when it ended, was what I'm going to tell those young men when I see those big crocodile tears in the locker room."

MacIntyre ended his postgame press conference with this: "I'm going to have a happy one in here before long, I promise you. I promise you we'll have a happy one."

It was CU's second OT loss of the season, coming four games after a 59-56 double-overtime defeat at California. The Buffs stayed winless in Pac-12 Conference play this season (0-5, 2-6 overall) and now haven't defeated a ranked opponent in 16 tries – or since beating No. 17 Kansas on Oct. 17 2009.

If afternoons like Saturday are triple tough for MacIntyre and his team, they still show the needle is pointed in the right direction. "We're not where we used to be, we're not where we want to be," MacIntyre said. "But we're on our way."

CU forced the two overtimes by rallying from a 17-0 first-quarter deficit, pulling to 31-28 with 7:52 to play, and finally sending the brilliantly sunny afternoon into OT on a 35-yard field goal by Will Oliver with 36 seconds remaining in regulation. Oliver, who had missed three kicks at Cal, also kicked two field goals in the two extra periods, but they weren't enough to take down Hundley and the Bruins (6-2, 3-2).

The afternoon was bittersweet for CU quarterback Sefo Liufau. He set a single-season school record touchdown passes, throwing a pair to reach 23 and break Koy Detmer's mark of 22 set in 1996. Liufau finished 27-of-47 passing for 246 yards and the two TD tosses to Bryce Bobo (38, 3 yards). Liufau also suffered his 10th and 11th interceptions of the season.

"It hurts and it should hurt if you actually care," Liufau said of the gut-wrenching loss. "We've been in every game except one this year . . . but we're a lot more resilient this year. We'll put our heads down and go back to work."

Hundley has been a major headache for the Buffs. In two previous UCLA wins against CU, Hundley accounted for 640 yards in total offense and eight touchdowns. On Saturday he completed 24 of 39 passes for 200 yards and one TD. He ran 12 times for 110 yards and the game-winning score, giving him 310 yards in total offense.

"He is really good," said CU defensive end Derek McCartney. "You rush too high, he'll go underneath you. You try to come under, then he's going to go around the outside. He's a dual threat and it's tough to play against that."

Of Hundley's two runs in the second overtime, MacIntyre said the Buffs "played the draw correctly" on Hundley's first carry "and he made a guy miss." On Hundley's game-ending run on the next play, a missed tackle victimized the Buffs.

CU got a strong ground performance from Michael Adkins II, who carried 17 times for 107 yards and a touchdown. Tony Jones added 68 yards and a score on his 17 carries, and the Buffs finished with 233 rushing yards – a season high.

"They ran really well and the offensive line did a great job," MacIntyre said. "The running backs stayed fresh and were breaking tackles."

Receiver Nelson Spruce finished with six catches for 63 yards but was held without a TD reception for only the second game this season. But Liufau spread the ball around, with seven other receivers accounting for his other 22 completions.

The Buffs played most of the afternoon minus leading tackler Addison Gillam, who went to the locker room early with flu symptoms and didn't return. Also, defensive backs Marques Mosley and Tedric Thompson left the game with injuries. Thompson's injury was the most serious; he was carted from the field in the first overtime.

CU's first quarter this week wasn't as bad as last weeks in L.A., but it was bad enough. The Buffs exited the first 15 minutes trailing 17-0, whereas they were behind 28-0 to USC last week after one quarter.

By halftime the Buffs had sliced the Bruins' lead to 24-14, but they went to their locker room fuming over what might have been. After Michael Adkins' 17-yard run and Will Oliver's PAT got CU to within 10 points of UCLA, Hundley was stripped of the ball by defensive end Derek McCartney and linebacker Kenneth Olugbode recovered at the Bruins 32.

CU crept to the UCLA 4-yard line and a first down there with 16 seconds left in the half. But that was as far as the Buffs would get.

Liufau had hit D.D. Goodson with a 6-yard pass for the first down, and apparently Liufau believed Goodson had made it out of bounds and stopped the clock. It did stop on the first down, then restarted while the Buffs scrambled to line up and run a play.

Meanwhile, CU was out of timeouts and Liufau apparently was unaware of the running clock. And before the ball could be snapped, right tackle Stephane Nembot flinched and was whistled for a false start.

College rules stipulate for a 10-second runoff in the final 2 minutes of each half. CU could have stopped the clock with a spike but the penalty on Nembot nullified that possibility. Time expired and the half ended with a splendid but squandered opportunity for CU to pull to within three points or at least seven.

MacIntyre said after the Liufau-to-Goodson pass, the coaches on the CU sideline thought the clock had stopped because they believed Goodson was out of bounds. When they realized it had not stopped, MacIntyre said he "tried to tell Sefo to spike it, but he got confused . . . it's my fault."

UCLA took a 7-0 lead on its second offensive play as Paul Perkins ran 92 yards for a touchdown. Two series later, Hundley hit Jordan Payton with a 20-yard scoring pass and the Bruins were up 14-0. After Liufau threw his 10th interception of the season – this one was picked by linebacker Eric Kendricks – UCLA increased its first-quarter lead to 17-0 on a 31-yard field goal by Ka'imi Fairbairn.

The Bruins' only score of the second quarter came on a 24-yard run by Perkins with 4:48 left before intermission. CU used a pair of penalty aided drives to close to 24-14, getting its first touchdown two plays after UCLA defensive end Ellis McCarthy was whistled for roughing up Liufau on a third-down incompletion. Jones scored on a 1-yard run.

The Buffs needed a pair of Bruins penalties to wipe out back-to-back picks – one thrown by Spruce on a receiver reverse pass, the other by Liufau – and keep a 75-yard TD drive intact. Adkins capped the drive with his 17-yard scoring run and Oliver's PAT brought the Buffs to 24-14 and to their botched half-ending sequence.

The only score of the third quarter was by UCLA's Myles Jack, who plays tailback and linebacker. On the ninth play of an 80-yard drive, Jack ran through CU corner Kenneth Crawley for a 3-yard TD. The Bruins carried a 31-14 lead into the fourth quarter, and as lukewarm as the Buffs' offense had been through the first three quarters, UCLA had every reason to feel safe with a 17-point lead.

But CU wasn't done. After converting only one of 10 third downs and one fourth down through three quarters, Liufau and his offense clicked on a crucial fourth-down six plays into the fourth quarter.

Liufau tied Detmer's single-season TD pass mark with his 38-yard scoring pass to Bobo on fourth-and-two. The Buffs inched to within 10 points again (31-21) with plenty of time – 12:59 – to get closer.

And they did.

Liufau engineered an eight-play, 64-yard drive, finishing it with a 3-yard TD pass to Bobo. When Oliver hit his 32nd consecutive PAT this season, the Buffs were three points back – 31-28 – with momentum swinging their way.

It stayed with them less than 2 minutes. CU's defense forced a three-and-out, giving the Buffs the ball at their own 30 with 6:40 remaining. Two plays into the possession, corner Marcus Rios intercepted Liufau.

But the Bruins couldn't capitalize, with the Buffs making a mammoth fourth-and-one stop at the CU 22-yard line. MacIntyre said his defense stuffing the Bruins after that interception was telling: "I saw a change in the team . . . we threw the pick, they ran it back and we stopped them. I saw a change in our football team there."

Liufau & Co. took over at the 23 with 2:55 to play and needing at least three points. Oliver's 35-yard field accounted for those, tying the score at 31-31 with 36 seconds left. It wasn't enough time for the Bruins, and overtime was next.

CU won the coin toss and elected to go on defense. Four plays into UCLA's possession from the 25, Thompson was injured and had to be taken from the field on a cart after about a 10-minute delay.

The Buffs forced the Bruins to rely on Fairbairn for their first OT points, but his 28-yard field goal was matched by Oliver's 38-yarder. The game went into a second overtime tied at 34-34.

Stopped at the 17, the Buffs turned to Oliver for their first lead of the afternoon (37-34). Then Hundley's 8-yard keeper trumped it and the game was over.

CU faces Washington – its last unranked opponent – at Folsom next Saturday. Then the Buffs play back-to-back road games at No. 15 Arizona (Nov. 8) and at No. 6 Oregon (Nov. 22). The season finale is at home against No. 19 Utah (Nov. 29).

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDUv