Colorado
5-5 , 2-5
Washington State
9-1 , 6-1
Buffs Fall To Washington State
November 10, 2018 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — For the fifth week in a row, the Colorado Buffaloes had a chance Saturday to pick up a sixth win and become bowl eligible.
Instead, Mike MacIntyre's Buffs suffered their worst loss of the season, dropping a 31-7 decision to No. 10 Washington State before an announced crowd of 45,587 at Folsom Field.
Colorado's fifth straight loss dropped CU to 5-5 overall and 2-5 in Pac-12 play while Washington State improved to 9-1, 6-1.
The Buffs scored first — something they have done in each of the last five games — but couldn't add to that total the rest of the day. WSU, meanwhile, methodically came back to take a 10-7 lead by halftime, then added to the total with one touchdown in the third quarter and two more in the fourth.
Colorado finished with 297 yards offense, with quarterback Steven Montez completing 20 of his 35 attempts for 199 yards. The game also marked the return to the lineup of CU wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr., who finished with 10 catches for 102 yards in his first game back after missing three games with a toe injury.
WSU's Gardner Minshew, the nation's leading passer, completed 35 of his 58 attempts for 335 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
But the most telling statistic was time of possession. WSU held the ball for almost 42 minutes while Colorado had the ball for barely 18 minutes.
"I thought our guys played extremely hard, we just couldn't get anything going offensively," CU head coach Mike MacIntyre said. "If we could have gotten something going offensively, it might have been a different story."
HOW IT HAPPENED: For the fifth time in the last five games, the Buffs scored first, only to see the opponent come back and take the lead.
Saturday, the Buffs put points up first after forcing two Cougars punts on their first two possessions. Colorado needed just three plays and 48 seconds to go 80 yards for the score, getting 64 yards on a Travon McMillian run, followed by a 3-yard McMillian run for the score. With 4:15 to go in the first period, CU held a 7-0 lead.
Washington State, however, answered Colorado's score with a 10-play, 57-yard drive that produced a field goal, as WSU's Minshew began to find his rhythm. The Buffs' cause on defense wasn't helped when starting linebacker and leading tackler Nate Landman was ejected after a targeting penalty early on the drive.
One series later, after a Colorado three-and-out, Minshew directed a seven-play, 76-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 28-yard pass to running back Max Borghi and a 10-7 WSU lead, one the Cougars would take into halftime and never relinquish.
Despite mixing up a variety of stunts and schemes, the Buffs couldn't get to Minshew. CU did not record a sack the entire game.
"They had a good offensive line," CU linebacker Davion Taylor said. "We were trying our best to get back there … they had a great offensive line and we just made a few mistakes."
After receiving the second-half kickoff trailing just 10-7, the Buffs had a chance to put together a drive and regain momentum.
But that chance ended in a hurry when Washington State forced and recovered a McMillian fumble at the CU 32-yard line. Seven plays later, Minshew threw a 1-yard scoring pass to Renard Bell for a 17-7 lead.
That proved to be the beginning of the end for the Buffs.
After the two teams traded punts, Colorado managed one more threat, driving to the WSU 36. But the drive fizzled and CU punted to the Washington State 12, only to see CU's tired defense give in to an 88-yard WSU scoring drive. A 10-yard Minshew run for a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter gave Washington State a 24-7 lead to basically put the game away.
Colorado did have one more drive into WSU territory midway through the fourth quarter, only to see a Shenault fumble recovered by the Cougars end the threat.
TURNING POINT: Colorado had a chance to regain momentum after receiving the second-half kickoff and trailing by just three, 10-7. But a Buffs fumble led to a WSU touchdown and 17-7 Cougars lead, and the Buffs never threatened again.
WHAT IT MEANS: CU has now had eight chances to become bowl eligible in the last two seasons, and is 0-8 in those games. Colorado's next opportunity comes next week against Utah.
NEXT UP: The Buffs play host to Utah next Saturday, with game time to be announced Sunday.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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Team Stats
WSU 0, COLO 7
COLO - McMillian, Trav 3 yd run (Francis, Tyler kick), 3 plays, 80 yards, TOP 0:48
WSU 3, COLO 7
WSU - Mazza, Blake 39 yd field goal 10 plays, 57 yards, TOP 5:30
WSU 10, COLO 7
WSU - Borghi, Max 28 yd pass from Minshew,Gardner (Mazza, Blake kick) 7 plays, 76 yards, TOP 3:08
WSU 17, COLO 7
WSU - Bell, Renard 1 yd pass from Minshew,Gardner (Mazza, Blake kick) 7 plays, 32 yards, TOP 3:30
WSU 24, COLO 7
WSU - Minshew,Gardner 10 yd run (Mazza, Blake kick), 7 plays, 88 yards, TOP 2:51
WSU 31, COLO 7
WSU - Williams, James 3 yd run (Mazza, Blake kick), 13 plays, 68 yards, TOP 6:24
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
