Colorado
5-6 , 3-5
Washington
6-5 , 3-5
Buffs Throttle Huskies For Win In Home Finale
November 23, 2019 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Colorado's defense came up with a second straight outstanding effort and the Buffaloes offense delivered in the clutch Saturday night to produce a 20-14 win over Washington at Folsom Field.
The win, which came on Senior Night for the Buffaloes, improved CU's record to 5-6 overall (3-5 Pac-12) and kept alive the Buffs' hopes for a bowl bid. Colorado must now beat Utah on the Utes' home field next Saturday to become bowl eligible.
Washington fell to 6-5, 3-5.
The 20-14 score matched exactly the score from CU's last win over Washington in Boulder, a 20-14 win in CU's 1990 national championship season. Saturday also ended a nine-game losing streak to the Huskies, dating back to a 33-21 CU win over Washington in the 1996 Holiday Bowl.
Colorado held Washington to 238 yards total offense, including just 32 on the ground. Mel Tucker's Buffs collected five sacks on UW quarterback Jacob Eason, along with an interception, and held Washington to just 6-for-17 on third-down tries. UW entered the game having given up just 13 sacks all season.
CU quarterback Steven Montez was 17-for-28 for 223 yards and a touchdown, a 39-yard strike to Laviska Shenault Jr. late in the second quarter. The touchdown pass, the 61st of his career, gave Montez the all-time Colorado record.
Alex Fontenot ran 24 times for 105 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter that provided the winning points. Shenault had seven catches for 100 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, freshman defensive back Mark Perry had two sacks and Nate Landman had an interception.
CU clinched the win down the stretch, forcing a UW punt from midfield while holding a 20-14 lead, then grinding out an 81-yard drive over the last 5:09 to end the game in victory formation deep in Huskies territory.
"I'm just really proud of our football team," Tucker said. "It was our seniors last game in Folsom and it was a special moment for them. Give Washington credit. They are a good football team. It was a physical game. We're going to enjoy this one and then prepare and get ready for Utah."
HOW IT HAPPENED: Colorado's defense pitched a shutout in the first half while the offense put 13 points on the board, getting a pair of Evan Price field goals and the Montez touchdown to Shenault.
But Washington took the opening second half kickoff and drove 75 yards in 15 plays for a touchdown. The Huskies converted four third downs on the drive, including one on a CU penalty, and capped the march with a 1-yard Richard Newton run to cut CU's lead to 13-7.
CU though, responded, going 82 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown. Montez completed two passes on the drive, including a 15-yarder to Tony Brown, and Fontenot carried eight times for 44 yards. Fontenot carried in from 2 yards out with 2:40 left in the third quarter and Evan Price's PAT gave the Buffs a 20-7 lead.
Washington, however, made it a one-score game again with a 75-yard scoring drive in 12 plays. The Huskies converted two fourth downs on the march, a fourth-and-2 and a fourth-and-8. The second set up a 15-yard scoring pass from Jacob Eason to Cade Otton, cutting Colorado's lead to 20-14 with 12:35 to play.
The two teams then traded a pair of punts, with Colorado regaining possession with 5:09 left.
The offense then put the game away. The Buffs started from their own 1-yard line and pounded out an 81-yard drive, eating up all the remaining clock in the process. CU forced Washington to use all its timeouts on the drive, then went into victory formation on the last play to end the game.
Montez actually missed three plays on the drive after taking a vicious hit after a 12-yard run. But he returned to throw a key completion to Dimitri Stanley, then turned it over to Fontenot.
"The last drive had very little to do with me and a lot to do with the offensive line and Ale Fontenot," Montez said. "They just absolutely dominated up front."
Washington coach Chris Petersen was obviously not happy with his team's effort.
"This is one of the most frustrating games we've had since I've been here," said Petersen, who suffered his first loss to Colorado in six games. "It's about as poor as I've seen it on offense in a long, long time."
An outstanding Colorado defensive effort paved the way for a 13-0 first-half CU lead.
The Buffs held Washington to just 91 yards total offense in the first half, including just 10 yards on the ground. Colorado racked up four sacks and one interception and held allowed the Huskies to convert just three of nine third-down tries.
UW made just two forays into plus territory in the entire half. The first ended deep in Colorado territory when the Buffs put big pressure on Washington's Eason, who forced a quick throw that was intercepted by Nate Landman.
The second came late in the half and the Buffs ended that drive by recording their fourth sack of the half to push UW back to midfield.
CU's offense, meanwhile, had trouble in the red zone early, but still got a pair of field goals from Price. The first gave CU a 3-0 lead with 7:23 to go in the first quarter; the second came with 7:18 to go in the second for a 6-0 lead.
The Buffs finally found the end zone late in the first half when Montez connected with Shenault for his 61st career touchdown pass, a 39-yard strike. Shenault made a terrific catch on the play, plucking it off the shoulder of defensive back Trent McDuffie, who almost had an interception on the play. Price's PAT gave Colorado a 13-0 lead at the half.
TURNING POINT: After Washington finally got on the board in the third quarter to cut CU's lead to 13-7, the Buffs answered with a dominating 11-play, 82-yard drive to bump the margin back to 20-7. Fontenot had 44 yards on eight carries on the drive.
KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs held Washington to 238 yards total offense, including just 32 yards on 32 carries on the ground … UW was just 6-for-17 on third-down tries … The Buffs recorded five sacks and gave up just one … CU ran for 207 yards, averaging 5.0 yards per carry.
WHAT IT MEANS: Colorado remains in contention for a bowl bid, needing a win over Utah next week to become eligible.
NEXT UP: The Buffs play the regular season finale next Saturday at Utah, with the time to be announced Sunday.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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Team Stats
WASH 0, COLO 3
COLO - Price, Evan 22 yd field goal 8 plays, 33 yards, TOP 3:42
WASH 0, COLO 6
COLO - Price, Evan 23 yd field goal 9 plays, 55 yards, TOP 3:01
WASH 0, COLO 13
COLO - Shenault, Lavis 39 yd pass from Montez, Steven (Price, Evan kick) 3 plays, 62 yards, TOP 0:45
WASH 7, COLO 13
WASH - Newton, Richard 1 yd run (Henry, Peyton kick), 15 plays, 75 yards, TOP 6:57
WASH 7, COLO 20
COLO - Fontenot, Alex 2 yd run (Price, Evan kick), 11 plays, 82 yards, TOP 5:17
WASH 14, COLO 20
WASH - Otton, Cade 15 yd pass from Eason, Jacob (Henry, Peyton kick) 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 5:05
