Colorado University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Colorado-Colorado State Game Notes
August 30, 2014 | Football
QUICKLY Colorado dropped to 77-43-5 in season openers (6-5-1 at neutral sites), 12-8 versus Colorado State ... CU now leads the series 62-22-2 (but 8-6 in Denver) ... The Buffs had just three negative offensive gains in the game, the anomaly being that all three came on receptions; the Buffs were not sacked and 30 of their 34 rushes gained yards with the four others for zero gain ... It was CU's second turnover free season opener since 2000; the other came last year ... CSU amassed 400 yards in total offense, the most by a CU foe to open the season since the Rams had 447 in the 2003 game ... CU's 368 yards were its second most in its last nine openers (had 509 last year) ... The attendance of 63,363 (tickets distributed) broke down this way: Colorado utilized 32,480 tickets of its allotment (just 299 fewer than last year, 7,512 were students); CSU moved 26,774 and the Broncos 4,109 ... CSU did not run a play in CU territory until there was 4:51 left in the first half; 28 of its last 48 then came on the other side of the 50 ... Colorado lost when scoring first in a season opener for just the second time in 47 years (now 24-2 when scoring first dating back to 1967).
FIRST ACTION 14 players made their Buffalo debuts today:
TRUE FRESHMEN (3): WR Shay Fields, DE Christian Shaver, DB Evan White
REDSHIRT FROSH (8): WR Bryce Bobo, DE Timothy Coleman, FB George Frazier, PK Diego Gonzalez, OL Gerrad Kough, OL Sam Kronshage TB Phillip Lindsay, DE Derek McCartney.
SOPHOMORES (2): ILB Travis Talianko, TB Terrence Crowder
JUNIORS (1): LS Wyatt Tucker Smith
FIRST STARTS Six Buffaloes made their first career starts: WR Shay Fields, OT Jeromy Irwin, C Alex Kelley, DE Derek McCartney and DE Christian Shaver. Shaver is just the sixth player on defense to start the season opener as a true freshman, and the first freshman to do so at defensive end. Fields is the fifth true freshman to start a season opener on offense, the second wide receiver (joining Gerald Thomas in 2012). The only other year that two true freshmen started in the opener was in 1980 (CB Victor Scott, OLB Scott Hardison).
WR NELSON SPRUCE (7-104, 2 TD) He reached the 100-reception plateau with his first catch, the 13th Buffalo to do so in school history, and finished with 106, tying Daniel Graham for the 10th most in school history. His 104 yards (third career 100-yard game) upped his career yardage to 1,200, as he zoomed from 20th to 15th on that all-time list (passing Loy Alexander, Jon Embree, Toney Clemons, D.J. Hackett and Darrin Chiaverini). He now has nine TD receptions, as this was his first career 2-TD game.
His TD reception from QB Sefo Liufau to open the scoring was the second longest first score of the season from scrimmage in CU history. The top five:
| LONGEST FIRST SCORES OF THE YEAR (FROM SCRIMMAGE) | |
| 82 | Connor Wood to Paul Richardson vs. Colorado State in Denver, Sept. 1, 2012 |
| 54 | Sefo Liufau to Nelson Spruce vs. Colorado State in Denver, Aug. 29, 2013 |
| 48 | Kordell Stewart to Michael Westbrook vs. Colorado State in Boulder, Sept. 5, 1992 |
| 43 | Mike Moschetti to Roman Hollowell vs. Colorado State, Sept. 4, 1999 |
| 40 | Gale Weidner to Jerry Hillebrand vs. Oklahoma State, Sept. 30, 1961 |
WR SHAY FIELDS (8-46)He tied the school record for the most receptions in a first career game with eight; Scotty McKnight had eight (for 106 yards) in 2007 against Colorado State, and Nelson Spruce also had eight (for 64 yards) against CSU in 2012.
INDIVIDUAL LINER NOTES
PK Will Oliver (1-2 FG, 2-2 PAT, 5 points) He has now made 62 consecutive extra points (school record is 66), and now has 194 career points, moving past Tom Field (190) into third place on the kick scoring list and into seventh place overall.
ILB Addison Gillam (10 TT, 3 TFL) picked up where he left off, leading the team in tackles (he led the Buffs last year with 119).
COLORADO INJURIES No significant injuries reported (TB Michael Adkins sprained an ankle in the first half but returned to action). S Marques Mosley sprained a knee in practice on Wednesday and did not play; he is listed as day-to-day.