CU's Fields Enjoys Record-Setting Day Vs. Oregon State
October 01, 2016 | Football
Buffs WR has three TD catches in first half
BOULDER — Colorado wide receiver Shay Fields posted the most productive half of any CU wide receiver in history Saturday, catching three touchdown passes in the first half of the Buffs' 46-7 win over Oregon State.
CU head coach Mike MacIntyre signed Fields in 2014, and his stock has paid dividends ever since.
Predicting three touchdowns out of Fields against the Beavers could have been a stretch — he had just two in CU's first four games this year — but the junior showed almost 47,000 fans, the largest home crowd since he's played at Colorado, just how dynamic he can be with 169 yards on seven receptions and a whole lot of speed.
The Buffs, Fields said, are hungrier than ever before.
"We don't want another losing season. We've gone through too much of that," he said.
Fields' three touchdowns make him the fourth receiver in CU history to find the end zone that many times in a game, and the first to do it in a single half. The last Buff to catch three touchdowns in a game was Nelson Spruce at Cal in 2014. Richard Johnson was the first with three in 1982 against Kansas in Boulder, and Rae Carruth did the same against Iowa State in 1996.
Two of Field's touchdown catches came quickly in the first quarter, waking Colorado's offense up from a relatively slow start in Folsom Field. But once the Steven Montez-led offense found its stride, Fields took off ahead of it. He set a 2016 CU single-game high for receiving yards, surpassing Devin Ross' 153 at Oregon last weekend.
According to Fields, his success isn't just because of his own wheels, but rather the hurry-up offense co-coordinators Brian Lindgren and Darrin Chiaverini have installed.
"It's really hard to stop that tempo, especially at elevation," Fields said.
But a receiver doesn't earn his stripes from on the number of receptions alone. Fields can outrun his coverage to catch the long ball, too.
Heading into the day with four catches for 20 yards or more in 2016, Fields averaged 24.1 yards per reception against the Beavers, compared to his 20.8-yard season average. Saturday, his touchdown catches covered 51, 33 and 63 yards.
"In the offseason, we worked different routes, different ways to get open and different ways to disturb the DB's mindset, but (getting open) really happens with the play calling," Fields said. "The play calling is there. I happen to be open. He (Montez) gets me the ball. That's it."
Fields reached 13 career touchdowns, with five coming this season. He also pushed into the top 10 list for all-time receptions at Colorado, surpassing Monte Huber (1967-69) to move into No. 10 with 113 career catches.
Fields has always been on the radar of CU's quarterbacks, but he played in the shadow of Spruce his first two years in Boulder. After Saturday, he's no one's "2.0," but rather his own brand of dynamic playmaker at the forefront of a now 4-1 team.
As MacIntyre said, many of his "kids" have "turned into men" in 2016, and Fields is part of that group.
