Buffs' Nixon Had Confidence In Stanley On Touchdown Throw
October 06, 2019 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Colorado wide receiver K.D. Nixon had two choices when he ran a reverse late in the second quarter of Saturday's game against Arizona.
Nixon could have run the ball downfield — there was nothing but green grass in front of him — or he could have thrown it to a wide open Dimitri Stanley in the end zone.
Nixon chose the latter, and the results were good: a 38-yard touchdown pass that gave the Buffs a temporary 13-7 lead over visiting Arizona. It was one of the many big plays for both teams in a game that went down to the final minutes, with Arizona finally slipping away from Boulder with a 35-30 win.
"The play is a reverse pass, but it's reverse first," Nixon said after the game. "I had a clear path to keep running. But I told Dimitri all week, we're going to score on that play. Just be ready and I'll throw it up and you make a play. I knew Dimitri had the hops and he could catch it. He's automatic."
The play started with quarterback Steven Montez handing off to Jaren Mangham, who headed left before pitching back to Nixon, who was ran toward the right side of the play. After getting a good block from Montez, Nixon showed a nice arm on the play, delivering a solid strike to his fellow wide receiver for the score.
"Most people don't know I used to be a quarterback in middle school," Nixon said. "But I was too short in high school so I had to change to wide receiver."
CU's receivers had a solid day against the Wildcats, even without the services of injured Laviska Shenault Jr. Colorado's wideouts, tight ends and running backs finished with 29 receptions for 337 yards and a pair of touchdowns, led by 10 catches for 141 yards from Tony Brown.
But the 3-2 Buffs (1-1 Pac-12) now have a short week to regroup, with a Friday road trip to Oregon (8 p.m., FS1) directly ahead.
"It's the 24-hour rule," Nixon said in the CU locker room. "Coach (Mel) Tucker said it best — flush it and be ready to come back to work. We believe in the people in this room, we believe in our coaches and we know what we have to do to get better. Come back here ready to go to work."
ATTENDANCE NOTES: With Saturday's attendance of 52,569 (sellout), the Buffs have drawn 154,680 for three games; the last time CU exceeded 150,000 for its first three home games was in 2011 (153,583), CU's first year in the Pac-12. This millennium, CU reached 150,000 after three games in 2000, 2005, 2008 and 2009 (154,849 that season, the most through three games in this span); it finished last century with eight straight years of 150k+ (1990 through 1997) after not doing so since 1974 … The two sellouts this season are the most in a year since 2005 (two).
BUFFS BITS: In the nine games in the Buffs-Wildcats series since CU joined the Pac-12, the winner has averaged 43.8 points per game (the loser has averaged 29.0) ... The Buffaloes are now 19-9 in Family Weekend games dating back to 1992 ... Colorado still leads the series by a 14-8 margin (but the series is tied in Boulder at 5-5) … Arizona has now gained 400-plus yards against CU in 10 straight games dating back to 1986 … Colorado has gained 400-plus yards four times in its first five games for the second straight year and the fourth time in the last six … The Buffaloes did not allow a quarterback sack for the third time this season (and thus still none in the second half) … It was the first CU game in which neither team had a quarterback sack since 2015 (Colorado State in week three) … CU did not commit a turnover or allow a sack for the 23rd time since 1972 (19-4 record; 1-1 under Mel Tucker) … CU allowed a season-low 83 rushing yards (3.2 per carry), with no double-digit rushing gains.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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