Colorado University Athletics
CU Run Game Struggles Against Ducks
October 04, 2015 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Twice this season the Colorado Buffaloes have rushed for more than 300 yards, and they've averaged 272 yards per game on the ground.
Saturday night against Oregon, however, the CU running game ground to a halt in a 41-24 loss. The Buffs finished with just 77 yards rushing on 36 attempts, a measly 2.1 yards per carry average.
"No I wasn't satisfied with the running game," CU coach Mike MacIntyre said. "I wasn't satisfied with the offense altogether tonight. Our offense is better than that and should be better than that. We never got into a rhythm and when you can't get in a rhythm, it's hard to be a good offense."
Sophomore Phillip Lindsay finished as CU's leading rusher with 37 yards on 12 carries. Oregon, meanwhile, piled up 361 yards on the ground, led by Royce Freeman's 163-yard effort on 27 carries.
"I wasn't patient enough," Lindsay said. "We have to learn from that. We have to set our linemen up."
Only once in the game did the Buffs muster any kind of consistent run game, that coming in the second quarter when Christian Powell ran three consecutive times for 15 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown run. Powell, though, finished with just 30 yards on 10 carries.
"They're a good defense," Powell said. "We just weren't able to get the ball rolling like we needed to."
FIRST FOR WITHERSPOON: Buff cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon recorded the first interception of his CU career, plucking off an Oregon pass in the end zone early in the first quarter. He became the seventh CU player to record an interception this season, the most since CU had seven players with interceptions in 2010.
SPRUCE UPDATE: CU wide receiver Nelson Spruce added to his school records of receptions (236) and yards (2,657) with a six catches for 87 yards against the Ducks. He's now 24 catches away from becoming the Pac-12's all-time leader and is still two touchdown catches shy of Scotty McKnight's school record of 22. Spruce has also caught at least one pass in 30 straight games.
START LATE, FINISH EARLY: Thanks to a lightning delay, Saturday's game didn't kick off until 9:08 p.m., the latest kickoff in Folsom Field history. The 12:31 a.m. finish was also the latest finish in Folsom history. The previous latest starts and finishes were an 8:15 p.m. kickoff and 11:46 p.m. finish against Florida State in 2007.
PUNTING NUMBERS: CU freshman Alex Kinney punted six times for a 46.0 average, his best outing of the year (even with one of his punts being partially blocked). Kinney had a long of 57 and landed two inside the Oregon 20.
LIUFAU MOVES UP: Buffs quarterback Sefo Liufau is now second on the all-time CU touchdown pass list, as he bumped his total to 45, one more than former Buff standout Joel Klatt. He's also fourth on the all-time total offense list (6,305).
