Colorado University Athletics
Woelk: Tucker Won't Let One Game Define Buffs
October 12, 2019 | Football, Neill Woelk
EUGENE, Ore. — Some lessons are harsher than others.
The Colorado Buffaloes' 45-3 thrashing at the hands of Oregon on Friday was every bit as harsh as it sounds — and how the Buffs react to such a loss will be the toughest test yet for head coach Mel Tucker in his short time in Boulder.
"Sometimes, in order to get where we have to get, 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."
Prior to Friday night's game, Tucker knew his Buffs had been living on the edge. Four of their five games could have gone either way.
But there was no doubt in this one. No drama, no tense moments at the end.
No doubt.
Rather, the Buffs victimized themselves with self-inflicted wounds against an opponent that took advantage of every miscue.
Not that the 13th-ranked Ducks needed any help, but Colorado nevertheless made it easier — much easier — than it needed to be. A season-high in penalties and penalty yards (14 for 114). A season high in turnovers (a career-high four interceptions for quarterback Steven Montez). The defense's first game without a takeaway. One field goal out of four trips to the red zone.
And in the end, what began as a snowball in the first half turned into an avalanche in the second, burying the Buffaloes under their own mistakes.
"I'm just disappointed with some of the self-inflicted wounds we had tonight," Tucker said. "Too many penalties … Down in the red zone, we had some opportunities to score touchdowns and we come away with a field goal, then come away with nothing. You can't turn the ball over against a good football team. We turn it over right before the half, then we come out and turn it over two more times after the half. The next thing you know we're out of the game."
Indeed, the Buffs managed to turn what could have been a close game into a rout in a matter of minutes.
With just more than two minutes to go in the first half, Colorado sat 1 yard away from pulling to within 17-10. Roughly seven minutes, three turnovers and three penalties later, the Buffs trailed 38-3.
Ballgame.
"We used to call it the 10 minutes to victory — the five minutes before the half and five minutes afer the half," Tucker said. "We go into halftime, we know the game's not over. We're not out of it. But against a good football team, when we make mistakes like that and we allow things like that to happen, it's going to make it really tough."
Now, Tucker must figure out how to get his team to bounce back.
It won't be easy. Tucker inherited a team that started last season by winning its first five before losing its last seven. He took over a program that is, to put it bluntly, accustomed to waiting for the next shoe to drop.
It is the culture he has been trying to change since his arrival.
"My experience in these types of situations is that it's a very, very tough road to go down," he said. "But it's the road we have to go down. There's no shortcut to success and where we want to get to. It's a very difficult, gut-wrenching. It really tests your character and your mettle, individually and as a team. Every player and every coach. It puts you up against it."
Tucker has been in a similar situation before. When he left Alabama after the 2015 season to follow Kirby Smart to Georgia, the Bulldogs absorbed a 45-14 beating at the hands of Ole Miss after winning their first three. Then came a loss to Tennessee, part of a stretch of four losses in five games. But the Bulldogs bounced back by season's end to earn a bowl berth.
The difference, though, is that Tucker now coaches a program that is not accustomed to winning. Somehow, he must figure out a way to eliminate those self-inflicted wounds — and convince the Buffs that they can change their course instead of simply repeating history once again.
"Guys are frustrated," he said. "They want to win. But the answers are the simple truths — and that's what I told the team: we have to take this time to really look within ourselves individually. You can't lie to yourself. Figure out, 'What do I have to do to get better?' Don't try to justify something that's not real. Just face it up. As long as we do that, we'll have an opportunity to get better from this."
No doubt, Saturday night's result left Buff Nation reeling. But anyone who knows Tucker, anyone who has even a hint of the resolve that is the foundation of his character, knows he won't let one game define him or his team.
Rather, he will use this harshest of lessons as a teaching moment. He will make sure one of his fundamental coaching tenets — confront and demand — is exercised.
Then, he will continue to make the Buffs better.
"You really have to reach deep down and make tough decisions about where to go from here, how to handle it, how do you get better," he said. "That's what our plan is. We're going to do that. And at some point, we're going to have the type of football team we need to have here. The sooner we figure it out, the sooner we'll have that team."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
