Woelk: Signature Win Still Evades Buffs

BOULDER — One of these days — or nights — the Colorado Buffaloes will finish what they started and record that signature Pac-12 win, the one that will turn the program firmly in the right direction.

But until they figure out how to close the deal, how to make plays that matter when it matters most, the Buffs will be relegated to explaining yet again how the latest one got away.

Saturday, it was a 38-31 home loss to Arizona, a game that followed a now all-too-familiar story line.

That the Buffs are an improved team should not be up for debate. Saturday night, the 3-4 Buffs held a 24-17 lead on Arizona heading into the fourth quarter. They played solid defense after a shaky start, put together some impressive scoring drives and looked like a team ready to make a statement against the defending Pac-12 South champs.

But almost before the Folsom Field crowd could scoot to the edge of their seats for a nail-biting fourth quarter, the Wildcats drained the suspense out of the stadium. Backup quarterback Jerrard Randall led Arizona on a pair of 90-plus yard scoring drives, the 'Cats added another when presented with a penalty-aided short field and the Buffs were once again left to dissect what could have been.

Forget head coach Mike MacIntyre's guarantee of a victory. It made not one whit of difference either way. What did end up being the difference was the same thing that has plagued the Buffs too many times — an inexplicable slow start and not enough gas in the end.

For the fifth time in seven games this season, the Buffs fell behind early. Saturday, Arizona threatened to make it a blowout before the fans were properly settled in their seats — only to see the Buffs come storming back and take a 17-17 tie into the locker room at the half.

Buff fans had seen this one before. It was just a couple of weeks ago that Colorado went to the locker room tied 17-17 with Oregon, only to see the Ducks dominate the second half.

But Saturday night Colorado changed the storyline — at least briefly. CU emerged from the locker room, took the opening kickoff and put together an eight-play, 75-yard scoring drive to take a 24-17 lead. Meanwhile, the defense forced three straight Arizona punts, frustrating Wildcats quarterback Anu Solomon to the point that Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez turned to Randall.

Even though the Buff offense sputtered after the opening second-half drive, CU still had all the appearance of a solid Pac-12 team — until the fourth quarter arrived. The Wildcats rang up 21 unanswered points, CU's offense was forced to punt on five consecutive possessions and the Buffs' inability to close became painfully apparent once more.

"It sucks," quarterback Sefo Liufau said. "We just have to go out and finish the game. It's as simple as that."

No one would argue with Liufau's assessment today. The question, of course, is how the Buffs get past the point of coming close, how they get past the point of just being competitive — and how they get to the point that they finish what they started.

"I'm trying to hit every button to figure that out," MacIntyre said. "I just haven't figured that out. We feel like we're close … it's extremely frustrating for everyone."

Especially so when the Buffs show what they're capable of achieving.

For 30 minutes, the Buffs played maybe their best football of the year. Liufau was efficient and effective, connecting both on the deep ball and in the short game, while CU's running game had just enough spark to keep the Wildcats honest. Liufau finished with a 28-for-43 night for 339 yards and a pair of touchdowns in what was almost certainly his best overall effort of the season.

Defensively, after being scorched early by Solomon, coordinator Jim Leavitt dialed up a great menu of blitzes that rendered the Arizona quarterback virtually helpless for the better part of two quarters.

"I hurt for these kids," MacIntyre said. "It's honestly harder when you're close than when you're far away. You just agonize over the little things."

When MacIntyre took the reins at Colorado, he inherited a program that was for the most part in disarray. For those with a sense of history, it's similar to the situation Bill McCartney stepped into when he became CU's head coach in 1982. It took McCartney four years to turn the tide, as he weathered three consecutive losing seasons — including a 1-10 finish in his third season.

MacIntyre's third season is in danger of following a similar pattern.

Sunday afternoon, MacIntyre will gather his team together and begin work on an Oregon State game plan. He'll do his best to keep his team's attitude pointed in the right direction. He'll explain that there are still six games remaining in the season, and there's still room for plenty of success.

"It hurts to look in their eyes after a game like that," MacIntyre said. "You can almost taste it. That one definitely hurt."

There's no question the Buffs are closer, that they are a far more competitive team than they were just a couple of years ago. That signature win, that turnaround moment, will come.

But until then, they'll be left explaining how the latest one got away.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu

This Sefo Liufau TD, his second of the day on the ground, put CU up 24-17. #GoBuffs #UAvsCU https://t.co/JxnSWu8m09
— Colorado Buffaloes (@cubuffs) October 18, 2015