Colorado
4-3 , 1-3
Oregon State
1-6 , 0-4
Buffs Rally To Top Oregon State, 36-33
October 14, 2017 | Football, Neill Woelk
CORVALLIS, Ore. — The Colorado Buffaloes came alive just in time Saturday afternoon.
Phillip Lindsay rushed for 185 yards and two touchdowns while quarterback Steven Montez and wide receiver Bryce Bobo hooked up for three scores — with Bobo throwing one to Montez — to lead the Buffs to a 36-33 come-from-behind win at Oregon State.
The Buffs ended a three-game skid and improved to 4-3 overall and 1-3 in Pac-12 play while the Beavers dropped to 1-6, 0-4.
The final Montez-to-Bobo score came with just 1:34 left in the game, when a Montez pass to the left side capped a nine-play, 82-yard scoring drive to give the Buffs their 36-33 lead.
Oregon State then drove into CU territory on its final possession, but a 52-yard field goal try with 10 seconds left fell short to clinch the Buffs win.
Montez finished 14-of-24 for 168 yards and two scores while Lindsay rushed 28 times for 185 yards and two scores. Lindsay now has 466 yards rushing and five touchdowns in his last two games.
HOW IT HAPPENED: After a lackluster first half that saw the Buffs trailing 19-14 at intermission, the Buffs finally took the lead early in the third period, sparked by an Evan Worthington interception on OSU's first possession of the half.
Worthington picked off Darrell Garretson's pass after CU linebacker Drew Lewis hit Garretson as he threw. Worthington returned the errant pass 43 yards and the Buffs needed just six plays to go 46 yards to the end zone. Montez threw 8 yards to Shay Fields and Lindsay ran 17 yards on the drive, with Lindsay scoring from 9 yards out. James Stefanou's PAT gave the Buff their first lead of the game, 21-19, with 7:07 left in the third period.
But Oregon State quickly answered, going 75 yards in six plays to regain the lead. OSU running back Ryan Nall had a 20-yard reception on the drive as well as two rushes for 28 yards, including a 13-yard scoring burst up the middle that helped OSU to a 26-21 lead with just 20 seconds left in the third period.
Colorado, though, responded. The Buffs went 88 yards in 18 plays — their fourth scoring drive of at least 15 plays this year — to regain the lead. Lindsay carried eight times for 33 yards on the drive and Montez capped the march with a 9-yard scoring toss to Bryce Bobo. Montez then threw again to Bobo for the 2-point conversion and CU led, 29-26, with 8:53 left in the game.
The Beavers, however, had one more touchdown drive in their pocket, driving 84 yards in 10 plays. OSU converted one third-down pass on the drive, but Nall did most of the work, starting the possession with a 33-yard run and capping the march with a 4-yard scoring run. OSU regained the lead, 33-29, with just 4:22 left on the clock.
That set the stage for CU's game-winning drive and the final defensive stand, leading to the final field goal try. The big play came on second down, when Nick Fisher and Leo Jackson III threw Nall for a 3-yard loss. That was followed by a pass breakup by CU cornerback Isaiah Oliver, sending OSU's field goal unit onto the field. OSU's Jordan Choukair, who had hit four previous tries, was short and wide left on the 52-yard attempt.
In the first half, the Buffs never found a rhythm offensively and the defense had trouble stopping OSU's run game. The Beavers scored on all five of their possessions of the half, driving for a touchdown on their first time with the ball, then adding four field goals on their next four possessions to take a 19-14 lead at the half.
Colorado answered OSU's opening touchdown quickly, springing Lindsay loose on second down for a 74-yard touchdown run. Stefanou's PAT tied the game at 7-7.
But the Beavers kept adding field goals to their total while Colorado's offense misfired. A penalty on fourth-and-short forced a punt on CU's next possession before another possession was cut short after a Montez slip on his backpedal for a 9-yard loss, leading to a punt.
The Beavers added field goals after each possession, bumping their edge to 16-7.
CU finally managed to cut the Beavers lead down to two late in the second quarter when the Buffs went 73 yards in 10 plays for a touchdown. Montez hit Bobo with a 15-yard toss to keep the drive moving early in the march and Bobo then returned the favor later, throwing an 11-yard scoring pass to Montez. It was Bobo's second career touchdown pass (he had one to Lindsay last year at USC) and it pulled Colorado to within two, 16-14.
But the Beavers then used the last 1:36 of the half to push their lead to five, driving to CU's 13 before settling for Choukair's fourth field goal of the half to send the Buffs into the locker room trailing 19-14 at the half.
NEXT UP: The Buffs travel to Pullman, Wash., next Saturday for an 8:30 p.m. game against Washington State.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
Team Stats
COLO 0, OSU 7
OSU - Nall, Ryan 4 yd run (Choukair, J. kick), 10 plays, 60 yards, TOP 4:59
COLO 7, OSU 7
COLO - Lindsay, Philli 74 yd run (Stefanou, James kick), 2 plays, 79 yards, TOP 0:20
COLO 7, OSU 10
OSU - Choukair, J. 32 yd field goal 7 plays, 62 yards, TOP 2:47
COLO 7, OSU 13
OSU - Choukair, J. 37 yd field goal 7 plays, 63 yards, TOP 3:49
COLO 7, OSU 16
OSU - Choukair, J. 20 yd field goal 14 plays, 66 yards, TOP 6:24
COLO 14, OSU 16
COLO - Montez, Steven 11 yd pass from Bobo, Bryce (Stefanou, James kick) 10 plays, 73 yards, TOP 3:37
COLO 14, OSU 19
OSU - Choukair, J. 31 yd field goal 10 plays, 56 yards, TOP 1:36
COLO 21, OSU 19
COLO - Lindsay, Philli 9 yd run (Stefanou, James kick), 6 plays, 46 yards, TOP 2:15
COLO 21, OSU 26
OSU - Nall, Ryan 13 yd run (Choukair, J. kick), 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:05
COLO 29, OSU 26
COLO - Bobo, Bryce 9 yd pass from Montez, Steven (Bobo, Bryce pass) 18 plays, 88 yards, TOP 6:22
COLO 29, OSU 33
OSU - Nall, Ryan 4 yd run (Choukair, J. kick), 10 plays, 84 yards, TOP 4:27
COLO 36, OSU 33
COLO - Bobo, Bryce 13 yd pass from Montez, Steven (Stefanou, James kick) 9 plays, 82 yards, TOP 2:40
