Woelk: Takeaways From Buffs' Win Over Stanford
November 10, 2019 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Maybe one of the most impressive things from Colorado's 16-13 win over Stanford on Saturday was the Buffaloes' ability to win the physical battles in the trenches.
In a throwback game against a program that prides itself in playing old-fashioned, hard-nosed football, the Buffaloes beat the Cardinal at its own game.
As one press box wag noted, "they out-Stanforded Stanford."
That's not to be underestimated.
CU coach Mel Tucker came to Boulder with the goal of making the Buffs a tough, physical football team, a style of ball that is by no means prevalent in the Pac-12.
Saturday was a glimpse of how Tucker wants to play. Physical up front on both sides of the ball, punishing on defense, and an offensive line that offered CU the opportunity to pound away with the run game and still be effective and efficient in the passing game.
It's the kind of football Buffs fans could see more of in the future as Tucker continues to focus his recruiting on building that kind of team. Certainly, the recruits who were on hand Saturday had to like what they saw.
Some other takeaways from Saturday's game:
1. CU's defense is improving. While the numbers didn't show it, the Buffs have actually been making strides over the last few weeks. But they couldn't get over the hump of giving up key third-down conversions or explosive plays in critical moments.
They solved that problem Saturday. While Stanford's only touchdown was a 79-yard pass — on third-and-15 no less — the Buffs otherwise did an excellent job in those areas. Stanford finished just 3-for-10 on third-down attempts and the long touchdown was the Cardinal's only trip to the end zone all day.
Those third-down stops were huge for the Buffs, as it forced Stanford to settle for three field goal attempts — and the one that went wide right early in the third quarter proved to be decisive. CU also got good pressure on quarterback K.J. Costello all day, including back-to-back sacks from Terrance Lang and Mustafa Johnson in the third quarter.
To say CU's defense is young is an understatement. The Buffs' starting unit Saturday included more freshmen (three) than seniors (two). But despite a rash of injuries, defensive coordinator Tyson Summers has brought the group along and devised schemes to take advantage of strengths where they can find them.
The good news is they are improving. The better news is that most of the key players will be back next year.
2. Colorado's fans are still squarely in Tucker's corner. Even though it was Homecoming, Saturday's crowd of 49,224 was impressive for a team that entered the game 3-6 overall and riding a five-game losing streak.Â
That didn't go unnoticed by CU's head coach.Â
"My hat goes off to our fans," Tucker said. "They've been tremendous. It makes it a really tough place to play for our opponents … They pack it in there every and they've hung in there with us. That just goes to show you what type of program we are building here."
There's also no doubt the crowd impressed a huge host of recruits who were in attendance. It's the type of atmosphere coaches love to have when entertaining prospective student-athletes.
3. The Buffs rediscovered their fourth-quarter edge. While time of possession isn't a statistic that always tells the story, it was a huge part of Saturday's narrative.
Stanford entered the game as the nation's 10th-leading team in TOP, averaging more than 34 minutes per game. It is part of the Cardinal's persona. Stanford's aim is to produce long, time-consuming drives that pound teams into submission.
But the Buffs won that battle Saturday. CU had a four-minute overall edge in time of possession, but most importantly, held the ball an astounding 12:31 in the final period. The Buffs had two drives in the fourth quarter, with both lasting at least six minutes and both producing scores, including the game-winning field goal.
The last drive, by the way, was a beauty. The Buffs went 61 yards in 13 plays and milked every second off the clock to put themselves in position for the game-winning field goal while also making sure Stanford wouldn't have time for even a last-gasp possession.
4. Alex Kinney's punting was outstanding. Lost in the drama of Evan Price's game-winning field goal was a terrific job from Colorado's punter.
Kinney, who has been consistently solid all season, played a huge role in the field position battle that unfolded throughout the game. He finished with four kicks for an average of 50 yards per attempt, with a long of 59, one kick inside the 20-yard line, and just one touchback. He kept the Cardinal pinned deep in its territory for much of the game, a key factor throughout the day.
Kinney is currently 21st in the nation with a 44.3-yard average, with 18 punts inside the 20 and just four touchbacks this year. He also tied the CU all-time record for most games played Saturday, matching the 52 of former tight end Quinn Sypniewski, who set the mark from 2000-05.
5. Colorado's third-down offense improved. The Buffs were 6-for-14 on third-down tries, good but not great numbers. But we'll also throw in fourth-down efforts here because they were also plays that kept possessions alive — and they were critical. CU was 2-for-2 on fourth down attempts, meaning the Buffs were 50 percent overall in plays that determined maintaining possession or giving it up.
The biggest play, of course, was the fourth-down run by Laviska Shenault Jr. that kept CU's game-winning drive alive. Shenault crushed a Stanford defender on the play at the line of scrimmage, then picked up five yards to keep the Buffs' drive alive.
But there were some other key third-down conversions as well. Alex Fontenot had an 8-yard run on third-and-4 on CU's only touchdown drive of the day; Shenault had two big catches on third down, including a 16-yarder to help CU to a field goal just before the half; and quarterback Steven Montez had a 2-yard sneak on third-and-1 on the game-winning drive.
6. There's a reason Davion Taylor received a Senior Bowl invite. Colorado's senior outside linebacker/star back had an excellent game Saturday. He led CU with eight tackles, including two for loss.
He was also instrumental in forcing a Stanford three-and-out on the Cardinal's last possession, with two tackles and a pass breakup in the three plays. He also had several other plays when he chased down Cardinal players who were on the verge of big gains.
Taylor has turned the heads of NFL scouts with his excellent speed and athleticism. But he has also piqued their interest because of his big upside. He didn't play high school football and is still learning the nuances of the game. If he can continue to increase his field awareness and reaction, he has a chance to play at the next level.
7. CU's freshmen are fearless. With senior cornerback Delrick Abrams Jr. hampered by injury, that left the Buffs with a pair of true freshmen at corner, K.J. Trujillo and Tarik Luckett.
The two performed admirably. According to Pro Football Focus, Luckett was targeted three times and gave up just one completion. Trujillo yielded three completions in six targets — but the completions went for a total of only 27 yards and just one first down.
Meanwhile, the Buffs also got nice efforts from redshirt freshman nose tackle Jalen Sami (two tackles) and true freshman defensive tackle Austin Williams (one tackle).
"It's a credit to Tyson Summers and our entire defensive staff," Tucker said. "They work really hard with our players to teach, motivate and develop. We're playing a lot of young players … it's a credit to those guys."
8. Safety Derrion Rakestraw deserves a shoutout. Here's a guy who was recruited to Colorado as a wide receiver, was moved to cornerback and then again to safety.
When the year began, Rakestraw was second on the depth chart. But when his opportunity arose to step in as a starter, he took advantage. His interception Saturday was his third of the season, and he was credited with four tackles as well. He has improved steadily under Summers' guidance and will give the Buffs some much-needed experience on the back end of the defense next season.
9. CU's offensive line had a solid day. After a momentary setback last week at UCLA, the Buffs revved up their run game again, finishing with 172 yards on the ground — their fifth Pac-12 game with at least 150 yards.
Chris Kapilovic has done a nice job with the Buffs' offensive line. Saturday, they controlled the line of scrimmage in the run game and also gave up just one quarterback sack. Sophomore right guard Colby Pursell returned to play after missing five games following gallbladder surgery and saw 20-plus snaps while Jack Shutack handled the starting duties. Casey Roddick, meanwhile, spelled Kary Kutsch at left guard for 20-plus snaps.
Overall, it is a group that has improved since the beginning of the season, a good sign for the future.
10. Tucker's players believe in him. As CU's losing streak started to build, there were the inevitable comparisons to the seven-game skid that marked the end of last year.
But even as the streak grew this season, the Buffs never seemed to panic or go into chaos mode. It was the same, steady approach every day.
"It's being more poised in adversity," wide receiver Tony Brown said. "Last year we weren't really calm. Things got out of hand. (But) that was last year. When Coach Tuck came in he was cool, calm and collected. When things are not going right, he's calm. He tells our guys to get it right, keep pushing and cut down on mistakes. He talks to players the right way and that's the kind of coach you want."
It is indeed — and it's the kind of coach the Colorado Buffaloes have.Â
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
