Woelk: 10 Takeaways From Buffs Vs. Beavers

BOULDER — One day later, Saturday's 41-34 Colorado loss to Oregon State isn't any easier to digest.

An afternoon of missed opportunities — actually 30 minutes of missed opportunities — resulted in one of the more disappointing and stunning defeats in CU history.

Still, the Buffs have no choice but to move on. How the Buffs react this week — coaches and players — will be interesting to watch. There is no reason this team can't be competitive for the final four regular season games, but it will take plenty more than Xs and Os to do the trick.

Meanwhile, as much as it may sting, they will have to learn from their Saturday mistakes.

What did those of us who watched learn from the loss? Our weekly 10 Takeaways:

1. Knockout punches are important. While a 31-3 lead one minute into the third quarter should be safe, taking a foot off the gas on either side of the ball — even subconsciously — has its consequences.

Not to suggest by any means that the Buffs let up on purpose after taking their big lead. They kept playing. But instead of aggressively trying to administer the knockout blow with just one more score or one more defensive takeaway, they gave the Beavers hope.

That's all they needed.

By the time the Buffs tried to ramp the momentum back up, it was, in the words of linebacker Drew Lewis, too late. The Beavers had hope, the Beavers had momentum and, before the day was over, they had their first conference win of the year and first road win since winning at Folsom Field in 2014.

2. Fourth downs continue to haunt Colorado. In their first five games — all wins — the Buffs were 5-for-8 on fourth-down conversion tries while also holding opponents to just 4-for-11.

But in the last two games, those numbers have flipped dramatically. Colorado has gone 0-for-4 on fourth-down tries in the last two games — two in each — while allowing the opponent to successfully convert all five tries.

They have been big difference makers.

A week ago, Washington extended two scoring drives on fourth down, scoring a touchdown on one. The Buffs, meanwhile, came up short near midfield on a fourth-down try, giving the Huskies a short field.

Saturday, the same scenario occurred. Colorado came up short on a fourth-down try near midfield and OSU collected a field goal on the ensuing possession.

Meanwhile, the Beavers converted all three of their fourth-down attempts, with two of them producing touchdowns — including the game-tying score. It means Colorado has given up three touchdowns on fourth-down plays the last two weeks. That's not a recipe for success.

3. Third downs aren't helping, either. In Saturday's game, Colorado was just 4-for-15 on third-down tries while the Beavers were 11-for-24 — with nine of those coming in the second half.

Those are momentum plays. Successful conversions give an offense a psychological boost and they do the opposite to a defense. They also take a physical toll on a defense, as it means defenders are on the field for at least another set of plays.

OSU's first two touchdown drives Saturday used 26 plays, took nearly 10 minutes and featured four third-down conversions. Those are the kinds of possessions that wear a defense down.

All those third- and fourth-down conversions, by the way, allowed Oregon State to run 99 offensive plays. That's the most by any team against Colorado since Oklahoma State ran 101 against the Buffs in 1983.

4. The Buffs are killing themselves with penalties. For the second straight week, the Buffs hurt themselves with key penalties at the most inopportune of times.

Saturday, the Buffs were flagged seven times for 70 yards — and six of those came in the disastrous second half.

A targeting call kept OSU's second touchdown drive alive, giving the Beavers a first-and-10 instead of a fourth-and-7.

Late in the fourth quarter, a holding call nullified a 6-yard Steven Montez run that would have given CU a first-and-goal at the 4-yard line. A touchdown at that point would have put the game out of reach; instead CU settled for a field goal and a 34-28 lead.

Then, on the ensuing drive, the Buffs committed back-to-back penalties that helped OSU move from its own 25 to the CU 36, paving the way for the game-tying touchdown (on fourth-and-8).

5. The Pac-12 is impossible to figure out. We actually shouldn't even mention this, because the Buffs shouldn't be concerned with anything else other than figuring out how to go to Arizona and end a three-game losing streak Friday.

But the Pac-12 is as jumbled a mess as it could possibly be.

In the North, Washington entered the weekend needing a win to remain atop the division — and lost to Cal, 12-10. The Bears won despite not scoring an offensive touchdown. That opened the door for Oregon to jump back into the mix and stay within a game of Washington State — but the Ducks instead lost, 44-15, at Arizona, which ended a two-game losing streak.

Meanwhile, ASU rose up and knocked off USC at the Coliseum, 38-35, ending Clay Helton's 19-0 unbeaten streak at home.

All of which left Washington State (7-1 overall, 4-1 Pac-12) as the team in control in the North while Utah (6-2, 4-2) has rebounded from losing its first two conference games to win four in a row and take control of the South.

And the Buffs? They are one of the five other teams in the South with three conference losses, one game behind the Utes.

6. K.D. Nixon did enough for Colorado to win. The CU sophomore wide receiver had a career-best day, finishing with 13 catches for 198 yards and two scores.

But after the game, he was beating himself up for a tough drop in the end zone in overtime. Someone needs to tell Nixon he did not cost Colorado the game. That was a team effort.

7. Nate Landman is a force. Colorado's run defense was solid again Saturday — the Beavers ran for just 114 yards — and CU's sophomore linebacker is a big reason. Landman was credited with 10 tackles, two sacks and two more tackles for loss.

8. Statistical notes. Officially, Oregon State had the lead for zero minutes and zero seconds Saturday. There is no game clock in overtime. The Beavers never led in regulation, tying the game in the final minute to force the extra period. Thus, the Buffs lost a game in which they held a lead for 46:31 while the Beavers were ahead for 00:00. .... Five linemen — William Sherman, Aaron Haigler, Colby Pursell, Tim Lynott and Frank Fillip — played every snap Saturday, the first time that's happened this year. ... Despite missing the last two games, Laviska Shenault Jr. is still CU's leader in catches (60), yards (780) and touchdowns (6). ... Mustafa Johnson has 7.5 sacks and 7 other tackles for loss. ... Steven Montez is once again CU's second leading rusher for the season, with 226 yards.

9. Have we mentioned the margin for error is razor thin? This has been a recurring theme for the last couple of weeks, but it's worth noting again.

There were a half-dozen situations Saturday — at least — in which one play would have made the difference between winning and losing. One penalty, one pass breakup on third (or fourth) down, one more third-down conversion by Colorado.

Of course, you could have said the same about the CU win in Nebraska. There, the Buffs made the plays necessary to win a close game. Saturday, they didn't.

CU has improved its talent level on both sides of the ball. The Buffs have playmakers. But they are still at the point where one mistake can be a killer, and as Saturday showed, that's a thin line to try to walk for an entire season.

10. We will learn much more this week about the Buffs' mental makeup. This includes coaches and players. Three weeks ago, the consensus was that Colorado could compete with anyone in the Pac-12. While the Buffs have lost some key players to injury, the vast majority of the lineup is still the same.

Now, the Buffs have four games remaining and they could end up being the underdog in every one of them.

That's a role they should embrace. They started the season with not many folks believing a successful year was possible.

Now, with their backs to the wall, they still have the opportunity to prove those folks wrong.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu