Buffs Defense Delivers In Win Over Beavers

CORVALLIS, Ore. — A week ago, the Colorado Buffaloes' defense put together two outstanding quarters, only to falter in the final period in a loss to Arizona.

Saturday night, Jim Leavitt's defense put together four solid quarters — and the result was a nail-biting 17-13 win over Oregon State, a victory that ended the Buffs' 14-game Pac-12 losing streak and their 13-game conference road skid on the same night.

"He (Leavitt) put the burden on us at the beginning of the season," Buff safety Tedric Thompson said. "He told us we're not going to be a great team until we have a great defense."

If the Buffs weren't great Saturday night, they were close to it — particularly in the fourth quarter, when they stopped OSU on three straight possessions after CU's offense produced three consecutive three-and-outs.

Oregon State actually outgained the Buffs, 401-328. But after giving up a touchdown to the Beavers on their first possession of the night, the Buffs never let OSU into the end zone again, limiting them to a second quarter field goal and another three-pointer in the fourth period. The Buffs hounded OSU freshman quarterbacks Seth Collins and Nick Mitchell with a dazzling array of blitzes and stunts all night. CU recorded five quarterback sacks in the game — by five different players — and limited OSU's quarterbacks to 199 yards passing on a 13-for-32 night that also included an interception.

"This shows we're a resilient team," cornerback Chidobe Awuzie said. "We wanted to prove we could own the fourth quarter."

Awuzie had another outstanding night for the Buffs. He stopped Oregon State's final drive with an interception on fourth down to seal CU's win, and also had six tackles, a sack and two pass breakups.

Colorado allowed OSU to convert just six of 15 third-down tries and stopped the Beavers on all three of their attempts to convert on fourth down. Two of those fourth-down stops came in the fourth quarter, when the Beavers were desperately driving for a go-ahead touchdown. Another fourth-down stop came in the second quarter, which the Buff offense then converted into a touchdown.

"We wanted that win," linebacker Kenneth Olugbode said. "We've tasted victory and now we want some more. It's a great feeling, but we don't want to stop now. We have to get back to work and get ready to play UCLA."

Olugbode returned to action after missing two games with a leg injury. He was credited with seven tackles — five unassisted — and he also had one of CU's five quarterback sacks.

Senior safety Jered Bell was credited with a team-high nine tackles, with seven unassisted. Bell was thrust into the starting role after regular starter Ryan Moeller was injured in a traffic accident earlier in the week. Moeller was riding a moped and was hit from behind. He did not suffer any broken bones, but suffered multiple bruises and contusions and did not make the trip.

CU's defensive effort came on a night when the offense again endured an inconsistent performance. The Buffs put together touchdown drives of 67 and 85 yards, but could not move the ball on its last three tries in the fourth period, putting the burden on the defense.

"That's OK," Thompson said. "We know when we struggle, the offense has our backs. We had to have theirs tonight."

Thompson and his cohorts came up big when needed most. CU forced seven straight OSU incompletions on two of the Beavers' final three drives, then allowed two short completions on Oregon State's last possession before Awuzie's game-clinching interception.

Here's Chidobe Awuzie with authority. He's among CU's all time DB sack leaders. #GoBuffs #CUvsOSU https://t.co/lE0Te1pKS9
— Colorado Buffaloes (@cubuffs) October 25, 2015