Buffalo Heart Award Goes To Phillip Lindsay

BOULDER – It was no surprise that that after the senior day game on Saturday against USC that Phillip Lindsay was awarded the 19th annual Buffalo Heart Award. After all, he is Colorado's Mr. Do It All and the heartbeat of this team.

This is the award that is coordinated and selected by the fans who sit behind the bench. It goes back to 1998 when Darrin Chiaverini, now CU's co-offensive coordinator, first was honored for having the heart of a Buffalo.

"It was very special, it is an honor," Lindsay said of being selected for the award. "I am happy that the fans think so highly of me and this is something I will be able to cherish for the rest of my life."

Lindsay scored the 35th rushing touchdown of his career on Saturday against the Trojans and now stands with 3,635 rushing yards, both ranking as the second most in school history.

"It has bled over to his teammates," MacIntyre said of the passion Lindsay plays with. "The passion of them fighting tonight was a part of him. He keeps running hard and keeps going. He came out and ran hard in the beginning of the second half. His fight and effort is big."

More from Saturday

Juwann Winfree played his best game as a Buff, coming in for the injured Shay Fields. Inspired to play well for his fallen senior teammate, he filled in Fields' big-play role in the offense. Winfree caught the first two touchdown passes of his career, the scoring plays covering 79 and 57 yards. It was Fields who was the last Buff to catch two TDs in a game of 50 or more yards, doing so last year against Oregon State. Winfree's game marked the eighth time a Buff has caught two 50-yard passes in a game.

"Seeing him go down was pretty sad for us," Winfree said of Fields. "He is a senior. He wanted to go out strong. I had to do that in his honor. I played for him and all of the seniors out there. They preached all week how important this game was for them – not beating USC since we have started playing them. In fact, that is their last game at Folsom. It meant a lot. I just wanted to make the most of my opportunities for the seniors."

His five catches for 163 yards gave him the first 100-yard receiving game of his career. Combined with Bryce Bobo's 10 catches for 113 yards and CU had its first duo of 100-yard receivers since Nov. 16, 2013 when Paul Richardson (11-140) and Nelson Spruce (8-140) did so against California.

Winfree's 79-yard TD from Steven Montez was the longest passing touchdown the Buffaloes have had since the 2013 season opener when Connor Wood hit Paul Richardson for an 82-yard TD.

Bobo, who is from Covina, Calif., matched his career-high with those 10 receptions. The other time he did so was last year playing back near him hometown at USC. He now has 146 career receptions for 1,585 yards, ranking seventh in school history for receptions and 12th in yardage.

Another player that like Winfree saw some significant playing time was true freshman Nate Landman. Landman blocked a punt midway through the third quarter that set up a Lindsay touchdown run to make it a two-score game. Then in the fourth quarter he had a big third down stop, tacking USC's Ronald Jones for a loss when the Trojans were on the Colorado 21-yard line. Trey Udoffia followed with a pass breakup on fourth down to give the Buffs the ball back with 5:33 on the clock, down 38-24.

"It felt great," Landman said of his blocked punt. "Coach always says to play one for the team and by doing that, I felt like I have my team a chance."

Dante Wigley matched a pair of season-highs Saturday - his five tackles tying with his Oregon State game and the three pass breakups matching his Washington State performance.

Colorado University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Bryce Bobo

Shay Fields

Nate Landman

Phillip Lindsay

Steven Montez

Trey Udoffia

Dante Wigley

Juwann Winfree

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