Woelk: Buffs Must Learn From Self-Inflicted Wounds

BOULDER — This one might end up haunting the Colorado Buffaloes for a long time — regardless of the Mel Tucker 24-hour Rule.

CU's head coach has a dictum that his players have 24 hours every week to reflect on their latest game — win or lose — then move on to the next.

But Saturday's 35-30 loss to Arizona won't be easy for the Buffs to put behind them, simply because this is one they let slip from their grasp.

The Buffs had their chances Saturday. Time and again, they had their chances. But along with battling a host of injuries — an excuse, by the way, that Tucker refuses to use — the Buffs hurt themselves all afternoon with self-inflicted wounds.

Penalties — eight of them, to be exact, for 85 yards — were a major factor. Missed plays and missed assignments contributed to the defeat. And while the Buffs made plenty of big plays in their own right, they allowed just a few too many by the visitors to slip away with a win.

"They made more plays than we did," Tucker said. "We felt like we left some plays on the field on both sides of the ball. Offense had penalties and on defense we weren't able to get off the field on third down early in the game, when we gave up some big plays. … They just made more plays than us."

The Wildcats also made fewer mistakes, particularly when it came to penalties. While the Buffs saw eight yellow flags come their way, Arizona finished with just one penalty for 5 yards. The eight penalties were CU's second-most this year; the 85 yards were a season high.

"Those are self-inflicted type of deals," Tucker said. "Mayte it was some of what they were doing, but in our minds it is more execution, technique and fundamentals. When you are behind the sticks like that, those are drive killers. We all know that."

Indeed, the Buffs shot themselves in the foot in a big way early, negating some big plays in the process.

On CU's second possession of the day, the Buffs negated 27 yards in gains with two penalties, including a 20-yard run on third down that would have kept the drive alive in Arizona territory. Instead, it resulted in a third-and-28 and a punt one play later.

One possession later, the Buffs did it to themselves again, with two penalties negating plays that would have produced 15 yards in gains. And, on Colorado's final possession of the game, a penalty changed a second-and-2 into a second-and-7 — and two plays later, the Buffs lost the ball on downs.

Those were the "drive killers" Tucker talked about.

Not that the Buffs didn't have their fair share of big plays. Offensive coordinator Jay Johnson reached into his bag of tricks and came up with a reverse pass that produced a 38-yard touchdown and a 13-7 lead. Quarterback Steven Montez had a solid 28-for-42, 299-yard day that included a textbook example of extending a play with his legs to produce a 12-yard touchdown pass to Brady Russell, along with a 49-yard throw to Tony Brown to set up another score.

Brown, meanwhile, had a 10-catch, 141-yard day, along with a 15-yard touchdown run on a reverse.

Defensively, the Buffs achieved half of their goal, holding the Pac-12's leading rushing team to just 83 yards on 26 carries. But in the end, the Buffs once again had no answer for Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate, who put up big numbers against Colorado for the third straight year — all UA wins. Tate finished with a 31-for-41, 404-yard day for three touchdowns.

"He's a gifted athlete, a great quarterback," said Buffs linebacker Nate Landman. "He took advantage of what (defense) we were in and they just made more plays than us at the end of the day."

Saturday's loss no doubt hurt just a little more because it came at home in front of CU's second sellout of the season, a crowd of 52,569. But it also hurts because it was a golden opportunity to pick up a valuable conference win — and now the Buffs must hit the road for back-to-back road games, beginning with next Friday's contest at Oregon, followed by a game at Washington State.

To Tucker's credit, he could have taken the opportunity when offered and pointed to injuries as having at least a small role in Saturday's loss. The Buffs were without some key players Saturday, with four starters — wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr., defensive lineman Mustafa Johnson, safety Aaron Maddox and cornerback Chris Miller — all out with injuries. Meanwhile, starting offensive lineman Colby Pursell did not play, and Colorado lost starting safety Mikial Onu and starting defensive lineman Jalen Sami in the first half to injury. That's roughly a third of Colorado's starting lineup, and it's just a short list of CU's injury woes.

But it is not an issue Tucker will use as an alibi. Tucker does not deal in excuses — no matter the circumstances. Tucker saw an opportunity to win Saturday and the opportunity slipped away.

"Injuries are part of the game," he said simply. "Next man up is not a cliche, it's what is required. We were able to put 11 out there on every snap and we had enough guys to finish the game. There is no excuse."

Now, it will be up to the Buffs to see if they can make something good come out of Saturday's loss.

"There is no one more disappointed than us," Tucker said. "But at some point between now and tomorrow, we are going to have to get over that and turn the page. We'll evaluate film. Win or lose, we'll figure out where we need to get better, figure out where the breakdowns were and figure out how to clean up the penalties and things like that."

In the post-game locker room, Tucker didn't point fingers. He blamed no one.

But he did challenge his players to learn from their mistakes and use them as an avenue to improvement. He promised that CU's coaching staff would do their part and told the players it was up to them to do the same. Under Tucker, responsibility is shared.

No doubt, the road from here doesn't get any easier. But if the Buffs can follow their coach's lead, if they do accept his challenge to learn from their mistakes, they will continue to improve — and the next time a golden opportunity comes their way, they will be ready to take full advantage.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu