Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Notes: Thompson Gets Assist From Awuzie On Second Interception
October 22, 2016 | Football, Neill Woelk
STANFORD, Calif. — Colorado safety Tedric Thompson said his second interception of the day in CU's 10-5 win over Stanford was a relatively easy one.
Thompson said the hard part was taken care of by teammate Chidobe Awuzie — before the play even began.
"Chido told me the exact route the guy was going to run before the play," said Thompson, who picked off his ninth and 10th career interceptions Saturday. "He watches so much film, he knew what they were going to do. He's a senior and has played so much, when he says something like that, I listen. He told me they were going to break on that seam and that's what they did. I was able to jump the route and get the interception, but give credit to Chido and the guys up front who were putting on the pressure."
Thompson's play couldn't have come at a better time. After the Buffs had just finished turning away the Cardinal at the CU 5-yard line by recovering a fumble, Stanford had quickly regained possession and was attempting to put together another long drive.
Instead, Thompson made a leaping grab, then added a 30-yard return to the Stanford 20-yard line. Eight plays later, the Buffs finally connected on a field goal (their first after three misses), and CU had a 10-3 lead.
"I knew they were either going to go sideline or break the route on the seam," Awuzie said. "We'd seen it before and we knew what they'd do. I told Tedric and he was ready. He broke on it and made the play."
Thompson is now just one of 13 players in CU history to have at least 10 interceptions, as he's currently tied for ninth place on the all-time list.
His first interception of the game, coming near the end of the first half, extended CU's streak of games with at least one defensive takeaway to a nation-leading 21.
CU finished with four takeaways on the day. Along with linebacker Kenneth Olugbode's fumble recovery to end Stanford's early fourth-quarter scoring threat and Thompson's two interceptions, CU sophomore Isaiah Oliver recorded his first career interception to end Stanford's last serious possession of the game to keep CU's lead at 10-3.
While Stanford did collect two more points at game's end when the Buffs took a safety, it was still the fourth time this year the Buffs have held an opponent to single digits. It's the first time CU has managed the feat since 1989, when those Buffs also had four such games. The fact that it came against Stanford — which had averaged 46 points per game in the two teams' last three meetings — simply made the day more special.
"We believed we could do it because we believe in each other," Thompson said. "We believe in Coach (Mike) MacIntyre and Coach (Jim) Leavitt the whole coaching staff. They've had the faith in us. We have a lot of leadership on this team and every time we had to go back out there and get a stop, we believed we were going to get it done."
LINDSAY ON A ROLL: Buffs running back Phillip Lindsay finished with his second straight 100-yard game, totaling 131 yards on 12 carries (he had 219 last week against Arizona State).
And, in a battle of running backs who played high school ball in Colorado, Lindsay came out on top. His Stanford counterpart, Heisman Trophy runner-up Christian McCaffrey, finished with just 92 yards on 21 carries.
Lindsay's total almost certainly would have been more had he not suffered a slight ankle injury in the second half. While he probably could have returned if absolutely necessary, the Buffs were able to turn to Kyle Evans, who pounded out 60 yards on 14 carries.
Lindsay, who carried three times for 23 yards on CU's only touchdown drive of the day, averaged a hefty 10.9 yards per carry, with a long of 26. He's now averaged at least 4.0 yards per carry in 10 straight games, the longest such streak by a Buff since J.J. Flannigan did in 14 games over the course of two seasons in 1988-89.
Lindsay also had a big play that won't show up in the statistics. One play after CU quarterback Sefo Liufau was crushed on a sack by Stanford's Solomon Thomas, Lindsay stayed in the backfield on a pass play and helped block Thomas as he tried for another sack. Lindsay's effort was enough to keep Thomas at bay — and Liufau threw a 15-yard scoring pass to Shay Fields for the game's only touchdown.
SWEET HOMECOMING: Saturday's win was a sweet homecoming for a number of players from the Bay Area, including Olugbode and Awuzie.
"It's sweet — really sweet," Olugbode said. "It's great to finally get a win like this with all your family and friends here. It's something you really want to happen, and when it does, it feels really good."
Olugbode was recruited by MacIntyre out of San Jose's Bellarmine Prep. His older brother Kyle played safety for Stanford, but Kenneth wasn't recruited by the Cardinal.
Press box statistics credited Olugbode with 11 tackles, the fifth time in his last six games he's had double digit tackles.
"He's got a lot of passion," MacIntyre said of his senior linebacker. "I'm really happy for him that he got to come back home and have this kind of game in front of his family."
DEFENSIVE STANDOUTS: Along with Olugbode's 11 tackles, the Buffs were also led by linebacker Rick Gamboa with nine and five players with five each: Awuzie, Thompson, Jimmie Gilbert, Ryan Moeller and Afolabi Laguda.
CU also finished with three sacks. Jordan Carrell had one, with four other players — Jimmie Gilbert, Josh Tupou, Timothy Coleman Jr. and N.J. Falo — each credited with a half sack.
It was the first sack of sophomore Falo's career.
"It felt good to finally get one," Falo said. "It's been a long time coming and I can't wait to get some more."
BUFFS BITS: The Buffs will have a couple of days off, as they don't play again until a Thursday night (Nov. 3) home game vs. UCLA. MacIntyre said the time off would be good to help a number of players heal some bumps and bruises. … The last time a CU opponent scored five points? Try 1907, when Colorado Mines handed CU a 5-4 loss. … In the previous three games against Stanford, CU had a combined 122 yards rushing. The Buffs had 224 on Saturday. The 359 total yards was also a high for the Buffs against Stanford in Pac-12 play. … With four Pac-12 wins, the Buffs are one away from matching the total number of conference wins from their first five years in the league. … Stanford became the second team this season to shut the Buffs out in the first quarter, joining USC.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
