Colorado University Athletics
CU Defense Wears Down In Loss To Cardinal
November 07, 2015 | Football
BOULDER — For a moment — well, for a quarter — of Colorado's 42-10 loss to Stanford on Saturday afternoon, the Buffs' defense seemed to have an answer for the Cardinal's powerful offense and their Heisman-hopeful running back, Christian McCaffrey.
But it all fell apart under a cavalcade of all-too-familiar errors — they allowed big plays, committed untimely penalties, and were on the field for too long. The Cardinal converted 10 of 16 third downs, possessed the ball for nearly 17 more minutes than the Buffs and ran 22 more plays.
"The difference in the game was them making third downs and us not," CU coach Mike MacIntyre said.
Colorado committed aggressively to stopping McCaffrey, the most explosive player in college football west of Leonard Fournette. At first, it worked. The Buffs played their defensive backs close to the line of scrimmage, and they were exemplary in run support.
Chidobe Awuzie smacked McCaffrey twice in the backfield on Stanford's first drive. The Cardinal's veteran offensive line looked unprepared for the variety of pressures that the Buffs threw at them. But Colorado couldn't get off the field; McCaffrey converted a fourth down and quarterback Kevin Hogan connected with Austin Hooper on a third-and-long before Stanford punched in a touchdown from the 1-yard line.
"On that first drive we had a lot of opportunities on third down to get off the field and we just didn't make that happen," linebacker Derek McCartney said.
The Buffs got to Hogan, too. Jimmie Gilbert ended the Cardinal's second drive with a sack — the only Stanford drive of the first half that didn't end in a touchdown. Early in the second quarter, McCartney dropped Hogan to set up a third-and-18 before Hogan hit Michael Rector for a 43-yard touchdown. Rector torched defensive back Ken Crawley on a go route.
Colorado's offense didn't do the defense any favors. The Buffs couldn't score after safety Tedric Thompson returned an interception to Stanford's 3-yard line. Quarterback Sefo Liufau threw an interception to set up Stanford's final scoring drive of the first half, and Colorado struggled to otherwise sustain a drive.
"They were the most physical team we played all year," MacIntyre said.
The result, and the process, were familiar. The stats — 472 yards allowed, 275 rushing yards, 5.7 yards per carry — look worse than the game did. Colorado's defense seems to struggle only in the critical moments. Simply putting itself in position to win wasn't enough.
"It's demoralizing," Thompson said in the postgame press conference. These have become subdued affairs lately, and Saturday, reporters, coaches and players alike were sullen and defused.
"Every team we lost to, they don't have more talent than us, they're not doing nothing that we're not going over in practice," Thompson continued. "I'm not sure what it is. I'm tired of hearing people say, 'Y'all are this close. If this play didn't happen, if that play didn't happen.' It's happening week after week after week. Everybody in that locker room is their own man, and we gotta come together as men."
