Buffs Throttled By No. 13 Ducks

EUGENE, Ore. — Colorado's hopes of claiming a third win over a ranked team came crashing down Friday night, as the Buffaloes dropped a 45-3 decision to No. 13 Oregon at Autzen Stadium.

CU fell to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in Pac-12 play while the Ducks improved to 5-1, 3-0.

Colorado's offense struggled all night against the Pac-12's top-ranked scoring defense. Mel Tucker's Buffs managed a field goal on their second possession of the night to pull within 7-3, but those ended up being the only points they could produce.

Oregon put the game away with a 21-point barrage over a seven-minute span late in the first half and early in the second.

CU quarterback Steven Montez, who had thrown just two interceptions in the first five games, had a career-high four passes picked off by the Ducks, and Oregon converted three of them into touchdowns. The Buffs also hurt themselves with season highs in penalties and yards — 14 for 114 — and Oregon's offense steadily wore the Buffs down as the game progressed.

Montez finished with a 19-for-34 night for 131 yards and Alex Fontenot rushed 15 times for 71 yards. Oregon's Justin Herbert was 18-for-32 for 261 yards and two touchdowns, and Ducks running back C.J. Verdell carried 14 times for 171 yards.

CU's defense kept Colorado in the game early, but the Buffs let a golden opportunity slip away late in the second quarter when they drove to the Oregon 1-yard line, only to come away empty after Montez was intercepted in the end zone.

The Ducks responded with an 80-yard touchdown drive to take a 24-3 lead at halftime, then added two more scores after two more Montez interceptions in the first five minutes of the second half to take a 38-3 lead and put the game away.

"Sometimes, in order to get where we have to get, sometimes you have to go through it like this," Tucker said. "No one wants to do it. I don't want to do it. It's painful, it hurts, I'm sick about it. But sometimes it takes situations like this before you can really face up to what's really going on and then get it turned the way it needs to go."

HOW IT HAPPENED: After Oregon drove 75 yards for a touchdown on the opening drive, Colorado's defense stiffened and gave the Buffs a chance to stay in the game. CU finally got on the board late in the first quarter with a 27-yard James Stefanou field goal to pull within 7-3 before the Ducks bumped the margin back to seven with a field goal on their next possession.

But after two Colorado three-and-outs, the Ducks finally found the end zone again, going 69 yards in seven plays to go up 17-3 with 7:39 left in the half.

That led to what might have been the final turning point in the game.

The Buffs drove from their own 20 all the way to the Oregon 1-yard line, aided by two pass interference penalties on the Ducks, a 16-yard Montez pass to Laviska Shenault Jr. and a 20-yard Alex Fontenot run.

But after a Fontenot run gave the Buffs second-and-goal from the 1-yard line, things turned south.

A false start penalty — one of seven for the Buffs in the game — pushed CU back to the 6 before Montez connected with tight end Jalen Harris for 5 yards on second down. After a holding penalty left CU with a third-and-goal from the 11, Montez was flushed from the pocket and he scrambled to his left, where he threw to tight end Brady Russell in a crowd in the end zone. The ball bounced off Russell's hands and into those of Ducks defensive back Verone McKinley. The play was initially ruled an incompletion, but after a review officials changed it to an interception and a 79-yard drive yielded no Colorado points.

The Ducks then went 80 yards in eight plays — aided by a 15-yard personal foul on Colorado — for a touchdown. UO's third touchdown of the half, coming with just 20 seconds left, gave Oregon a 24-3 lead heading into the locker room at halftime.

"You can't make mistakes," Tucker said. "Everything happens quicker in the red zone. You have to be very sharp. We were actually moving the ball there. … It just rips your heart out. Everyone's got to do their job on every play to have a successful play — and when that doesn't happen, you lose that play. At the level we're playing and the stakes we have, what we're going for — you make mistakes, you're going to pay for it."

Colorado made four trips into the red zone, but had just three points to show for those forays by night's end.

Oregon then quickly put the game away for good early in the third quarter. UO's second interception of Montez gave the Ducks the ball at the CU 40 just two plays into the second half. Five plays later, Oregon extended its lead to 31-3 on a 13-yard Herbert pass to Jaylon Redd.

McKinley intercepted Montez again on CU's next possession, and his 53-yard return left Oregon just 3 yards away from the end zone. Cyrus Habibi-Likio carried to the end zone on the next play for a 38-3 Ducks lead.

"I don't want to take anything away from Oregon, they have a really good team and a really good defense," Montez said. "But I think there's a lot of plays we had out there we could have easily made and it could have gone our way. Those 50-50 balls — a tip interception — you can't control everything. Sometimes those plays go your way and sometimes the don't."

Oregon added one more touchdown early in the fourth quarter to complete the scoring.

Stefanou — who had tied Mason Crosby's CU record of 10 consecutive field goals early in the game — missed a chance to own the record outright when his 33-yard try in the fourth quarter clanged off the right goal post.

TURNING POINT: The Buffs had a chance to make it a one-score game late in the second quarter, but came up empty after reaching the Oregon 1-yard line. The Ducks then responded with a touchdown drive just before half to take a 24-3 lead at intermission.

KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs had season highs in penalties and yards, flagged 14 times for 114 yards … CU also committed four turnovers and did not have a defensive takeaway for the first time this year … The Ducks finished with 252 yards rushing, averaging 7.0 yards per carry.

WHAT IT MEANS: Confidence will be in short supply, but the Buffs don't have time to lick their wounds as they are on the road again next week.

NEXT UP: The Buffs travel to Pullman, Wash., next Saturday for a 5 p.m. (Mountain) game against Washington State.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu

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Team Stats

Steven Montez

Tyler Lytle

Players Mentioned

Alex Fontenot

Jalen Harris

Steven Montez

Brady Russell

Laviska Shenault Jr.

James Stefanou

Players Mentioned

Alex Fontenot

Jalen Harris

Steven Montez

Brady Russell

Laviska Shenault Jr.

James Stefanou