Woelk: Buffs Make Statement That Can't Be Ignored

EUGENE, Ore. — Years from now, this could be the game that Colorado fans remember as the signature win, the statement game that simply said, "The Buffaloes are back."

Colorado 41, Oregon 38 — and all of a sudden, the Buffs have returned to the national radar. They can no longer be ignored.

It's not that the Buffs did it with a redshirt freshman quarterback making his first career start. It's not that they had to come back from a 38-33 deficit in the fourth quarter on the road in a raucous Autzen Stadium against a team that had dominated them for the last five years. It's not that it came down to an Ahkello Witherspoon interception in the end zone with 48 seconds left to turn away one last Oregon push.

It's all of the above and more. It was the Buffs jumping out to a 23-7 lead, then showing the necessary moxie to come back and win after the Ducks had seemingly taken over momentum for good with three straight touchdowns. It was gunslinger quarterback Steven Montez becoming the first CU player in CU history to throw for at least 300 yards and rush for more than 100 in the same game. It was Bryce Bobo making two terrific one-handed catches in the end zone, with one ruled a touchdown (we think the other was also a score, but that's just us). It was a defense that came up with three consecutive stops down the stretch against a terrific offense.

Simply, it was a great team effort against a very good team in a very difficult environment.

The Buffaloes are no longer a secret. All fall, they've been telling anyone who would listen that this is a different Colorado team, a team on a mission, a team that won't quit.

Today, people are listening. A fourth-quarter, come-from-behind win in one of the toughest places to play in the Pac-12 can have that kind of effect.

In social media terms, you can say #TheRiseIsReal.

Stars of the game? Too many to list. Montez, of course, had his 333 yards passing and three touchdowns, along with 135 yards rushing and a touchdown. Devin Ross had seven catches for 153 yards and a score. Bobo and Shay Fields each had five catches and a touchdown, with Bobo also coming up with the all-important two-point conversion catch after CU's last score. Samson Kafovalu had seven tackles and a sack. Witherspoon had five tackles, a pass break-up and his game-clinching interception.

And up front, the Buffs' big fellas in the trenches won the war. CU's offensive line paved the way for a 32-24 edge in first downs, a 593-508 edge in total yards and a 260-215 edge in rushing yards. The Buffs' defensive line, meanwhile, helped the Buffs produce three quarterback sacks, hold Oregon to a 6-for-15 day on third-down conversions and keep the Ducks scoreless on their last three possessions of the game.

Add it all up and it produced not only the most important win in the Mike MacIntyre Era at Colorado, but one of the most important CU wins in at least the last decade.

The best part? These Buffs aren't satisfied. Even while celebrating their win, they spoke about this being just another step in their turnaround.

"That's just one for us," said a jubilant head coach Mike MacIntyre, who was named the ESPN National Coach of the Week for the Buffs' effort. "Our goal is to win a Pac-12 championship. That's been our goal, and people laugh when we talk about it — but our kids believe it."

They do indeed. If it is possible for one win to change the complexion of a season, Saturday's victory did the trick. The Buffs went from perennial afterthoughts to overnight contenders. In a Pac-12 South where no one has been particularly dominant, the Buffs will be finding themselves in the conversation.

"I'm sure it means a ton to the program," Montez said when asked about the importance of the win. "But for us, it's one game in the Pac-12. We got a win, but we've got a long ways to go."

There will be plenty of time in the coming week to talk about the future. The Buffs will return to work on Monday with their eye on Oregon State.

But for one day, at least, they'll have a chance to savor a win against a program that has been their measuring stick since the day they entered the Pac-12.

"My first time here they beat us something like 69-14 (actually 70-14)," said left tackle Jeromy Irwin. "Two years ago, the slaughtered us again. To finally come in here and not only put up a fight but to beat them … that means the world. We're a different team and I think people will realize it now."

MacIntyre said this bunch possessed an "uncommon soul. They just never give up."

Indeed, if there is one moment that proved this is a different Colorado team, it was the fourth-quarter touchdown drive and ensuing defensive stands. In the wake of three unanswered Oregon touchdowns that erased a 33-17 Colorado lead, the Buffs didn't lose focus.

In years past, that would have likely signaled the end for the Buffs, that point when they would have been left to explain once again how they came close but couldn't close the deal. Oregon had seized momentum and you could sense that feeling enveloping the entire stadium.

Everywhere, that is, except the CU bench.

Saturday, they didn't accept close. They closed the deal.

In the wake of two costly interceptions, Montez came back out slinging again, leading the Buffs on a 7-play, 70-yard touchdown drive. Bobo made a spectacular catch of a perfectly thrown ball — and after an instant replay reversal, the Buffs had the lead. One two-point conversion later, their edge was three points.

Then it was the defense's turn. They forced an Oregon punt on the Ducks' next possession, then clinched the game in the most heart-stopping of fashions: Witherspoon's interception in the end zone with just 48 ticks left on the clock.

Then came victory formation.

Think about that for just a second. Victory formation. In Oregon.

Roll that one around in your head for a while.

"They never give up," MacIntyre said "They don't hang their heads. They can punch with the heavyweights now."

No doubt.

In the big picture, it is just one win. The Buffs have eight Pac-12 games remaining, and as MacIntyre noted, "we're going to see a lot more of these types of games."

But these are a different breed of Buffaloes. They've been telling us that since fall camp began.

Today, people are listening.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu