Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Captain Gamboa Takes Aim At 4-0 Club Vs. Rams
August 28, 2018 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Not since the 1995-98 seasons have the Colorado Buffaloes beaten Colorado State in four consecutive years.
Friday night, the Buffs have a chance to accomplish that feat again when the two teams meet in a 7:30 p.m. game at Broncos Stadium at Mile High (CBS Sports Network). It means a handful of Colorado seniors have the opportunity to join an elite group — Buffaloes who are 4-0 against their in-state rivals.
(Quick side note: current CU assistant coach Darrin Chiaverini played on those 1995-98 CU teams, and has been on the sidelines for the last two wins over CSU as a coach, making him 6-0 all-time against the Rams.)
Among the Buffs this year who have the opportunity to join the 4-0 club are linebacker Rick Gamboa, safety Nick Fisher, wide receiver Jay MacIntyre, tackle Josh Kaiser and punter Alex Kinney.
For Gamboa, a team captain, the CSU game is of particular importance. The 2015 contest marked his first start as a Buff, the beginning of a string of 37 consecutive starts, by far the most of any player on the current roster. The next closest to Gamboa is junior guard Tim Lynott Jr. with 24 career starts.
"This is definitely a special game for me," Gamboa said at Tuesday's weekly CU press conference. "Going back to my redshirt freshman year, that was the first game I had ever started at CU. I can look back at the past three times I've played in this game, reliving those memories, seeing those different teams we have had going into those games, and how each game has happened."
Not only did Gamboa make his starting debut as a redshirt freshman against the Rams in 2015, he was part of one of the most important plays of the game. With the score tied at 17 in the fourth quarter, Gamboa sniffed out a screen pass and delivered a vicious hit on CU running back Dalyn Dawkins just as the ball arrived. The hit forced the ball into the air, and CU's Kenneth Olugbode snatched it and raced 60 yards to the end zone for the go-ahead score. While CSU came back to tie the game, the Buffs still claimed victory in overtime.
"It was a big play for us and was definitely a big momentum boost for us in that game," Gamboa said. "The way that game ended with us winning the game in overtime in my first start was one of my favorite memories."
Now, Gamboa and some of his teammates have a chance to complete a career sweep of the Rams — the first step in what he and his teammates believe has the potential to be a special season.
Gamboa, elected a team captain for the second straight year by his teammates, knows that CU's defense will be under the microscope from the beginning. The Buffs took a step back on defense last year, a big part of the reason Colorado finished with a 5-7 record.
This year is a chance for redemption.
"Myself and the rest of the guys on defense believe that defense wins championships," he said. "For us to reach the goal we want to reach as a team, we know we have to have a good defense."
Gamboa has plenty of reason for optimism on defense. The Buffs have improved in several key areas, beginning up front. The addition of Mustafa Johnson and Israel Antwine, along with the development of Terrance Lang and the return of two starters from last year, Javier Edwards and Chris Mulumba, has strengthened the Buffs considerably in the trenches.
Meanwhile, Gamboa will find himself playing alongside a new cohort on the inside, sophomore Nate Landman, while Drew Lewis moves to the outside, a switch that should bolster CU's pass rush. That, in turn, should create more opportunities for interceptions for CU's secondary.
"There are going to be games where the offense struggles or the defense struggles, and the other side of the ball is going to have to pick that up," he said. "As a defense, the more takeaways we get, the more stops we get, and the least amount of points we give up, gives our offense a great opportunity to score points. We know what our offense can do. We have been going against them this past month and the whole offseason and we know the firepower and the weapons that they have. Getting them the ball and giving them the best chance to put up points if going to help us win."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
Players Mentioned
