Colorado University Athletics
Woelk: Buffs Stake Claim To 'Our State'
September 19, 2015 | Football, Neill Woelk
DENVER — For the last year, Colorado football players have heard Colorado State players, fans and friends chirp about "Our state."
No more. The 2-1 Buffs reclaimed their state Saturday night with a dramatic and entertaining 27-24 overtime victory over the rival Rams, a victory that spawned a raucous celebration at Sports Authority Field and one that left Mike MacIntyre with a smile he might still be wearing Sunday morning.
A year ago, the Buffs let a victory slip from their grasp against the Rams, watching a 17-7 lead melt away into a 31-17 defeat.
But this time around, the Buffs spotted the Rams a 14-0 lead, then shook off the early flurry of punches and fought back. A field goal, a Sefo Liufau bomb to Shay Fields for a touchdown and a Liufau pass to Devin Ross for the lead. An interception return for a touchdown by Kenneth Olugbode that gave CU the lead again, and finally — after an evening of opportunities gone awry, missed chances that could have haunted them for another year — the Buffs came up with one more series of big plays.
First came a huge third-down stop on CSU's first overtime possession; then a masterful block by Tedric Thompson on a CSU field goal try; and finally, a redemption kick for Diego Gonzalez.
"It felt good as soon as I hit it," said Gonzalez, whose 48-yard try at the end of regulation resembled a pitching wedge gone bad. "I looked up and knew it was going through."
Then came the celebration.
"You keep seeing our team grow up," MacIntyre said in the post-game press conference. "We're not babies anymore. We're growing up into young men."
Indeed, the team that one year ago found a way to let games slip away would not let this one go. They made plays when they absolutely had to, refusing to lose a game that could have slithered out of their grasp a half dozen times — at least.
"Last year we fought and fought and fought and couldn't find a way to win," MacIntyre said. "Tonight, we found a way. They know to keep fighting, keep battling."
Early on, it looked as if the Buffs might go away without even a whimper. After the two teams traded punts, the Rams put together back-to-back long scoring drives to take a 14-0 lead before the first quarter had even ended.
Buff teams of past year might have folded — but not this one, at least not on this night.
"It actually kind of pissed us off," quarterback Sefo Liufau said. "As a team, we felt we could have been playing better than that."
Not that the comeback proved to be easy. Along the way, the Buffs squandered plenty of opportunities. A Ken Crawley interception in CSU territory led to only a blocked field goal. A touchdown pass to Dylan Keeney was called back because of a penalty. A long kick return, an ensuing penalty and a long run ended up yielding nothing; and Liufau just missed a wide-open Fields on what almost assuredly would have been another long touchdown.
But each time, the Buffs bounced back.
"We weren't going to lose — we just weren't going to lose," linebacker Rick Gamboa said. "Every time we went out there, we went out with the idea that we were going to make the plays that would win the game."
Gamboa, by the way, is the redshirt freshman who was thrust into the starter's role in place of injured Addison Gillam. All Gamboa did was deliver maybe the biggest hit of the game, jarring the ball loose from CSU running back Dalyn Dawkins on a screen pass, a ball that ended up first in Olugbode's hands, then the end zone.
"I didn't even see the ball after I hit him," Gamboa said. "I jumped up and was excited about a big stop — and all of a sudden I see Kenneth running to the end zone. I just started yelling for him not to get caught."
While the Rams held a comfortable edge in offensive yardage (500-345), CU's defense still made the plays when it counted most. Along with two interceptions, they also limited the Rams to just one of six third-down conversions in the fourth quarter and overtime.
"They just bowed their necks," MacIntyre said. "They found something inside."
Same with the offense. While Liufau's numbers were still nowhere close to some of the games he produced a year ago, they were still good enough: 15 for 28, no interceptions and a pair of touchdowns. The Rams limited CU's running game to just 125 yards, but when they most needed some yards on the ground, Christian Powell delivered with back-to-back 6-yard runs in overtime, putting the Buffs easily in Gonzalez's range.
Asked what was going through his mind when the Buffs fell behind early, MacIntyre said, "I still felt good about our team. They're hardened. I knew they had it in them."
Yes, it's just one game. After next week's contest against Nicholls State, Oregon rolls into town, followed by a trip to Arizona State and a home game with Arizona. The schedule will become exponentially more difficult in a hurry.
"We've still got a lot more games to win," MacIntyre said.
But no matter what happens from here on out, two things are certain:
These Buffs won't quit — and for the next year, they'll have two simple words in their corner:
"Our state."
Because it's too good not to keep watching, here's Diego Gonzalez's game-winner! #GoBuffs https://t.co/v3ktXKvtqc
— Colorado Buffaloes (@cubuffs) September 20, 2015
Here's the blocked field goal from Tedric Thompson. HUGE PLAY! #GoBuffs https://t.co/F4lPr7Tayv
— Colorado Buffaloes (@cubuffs) September 20, 2015
