Colorado
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Colorado State
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Buffs Give Tucker Win Over CSU In His Colorado Debut
August 31, 2019 | Football, Neill Woelk
DENVER — Colorado's defense produced four turnovers and a touchdown and Alex Fontenot rushed for three touchdowns Friday night to give Mel Tucker a 52-31 win over Colorado State in his CU head coaching debut.
While offense was the name of the game for most of the night — the 83 combined points were the most in series history — the Buffs defense came up with some huge stops that paved the way for CU's fifth straight win in the series.
The clincher came late in the fourth quarter, when CU linebacker Jonathan Van Diest sacked CSU quarterback Collin Hill, forcing a fumble. Buffs defensive lineman Mustafa Johnson scooped up the ball and rumbled 9 yards to the end zone to give CU a 52-31 lead with 3:57 remaining in the game.
In the 19th and final game in Denver between the two in-state rivals (they will play in Fort Collins next year) in front of 66,891, the Buffs and Rams combined to produce nearly 1,000 yards total offense in a game that saw kickoff delayed by 37 minutes because of lightning, and one that didn't finish until after midnight.
"I'm proud of this group, I really am," Tucker said. "It's very rewarding to take a group like this, that has all bought in, and see them go out and perform and have a really good team win. … This is not the end, it's just the beginning of our program. ... It was very gratifying, not so much for me, but the team, the players and the coaches. It was a win for our players and coaches, but also for our fans and our alums."
HOW IT HAPPENED: After a see-saw first half that saw four lead changes in the final nine minutes of the second quarter, the Buffs finally took control after forcing and recovering a CSU fumble on the first possession of the third quarter.
With CU leading 24-21, Aaron Maddox stripped the ball from CSU running back Marvin Kinsey and Jalen Sami recovered, giving the Buffs the ball at the CSU 27. Quarterback Steven Montez then ran for 19 yards to set up a 7-yard Fontenot touchdown run and a 31-21 CU lead.
"That's just something we work on," Maddox said. "We got him (Kinsey) stood up and I just did my best to rip it out. Credit to our coaches for having us work on that all the time."
The Rams never came closer than seven again. The Buffs extended the margin to 38-24 on the last play of the third period on a Fontenot 14-yard run, and following a CSU touchdown that cut the gap back to seven, the Buffs answered with a 75-yard drive and a 22-yard Fontenot run to go back up by two touchdowns, 45-31, with 9:16 left in the game.
Van Diest's strip sack and Johnson's touchdown then sealed the game.
"We talked about execution and takeaways," Tucker said. "We said we were going to change the momentum of the game on the defensive side of the ball and we were able to get that done. The credit goes to the players."
Fontenot finished with 19 carries for 125Â yards and three scores in his first collegiate start. Montez completed 13 of 20 attempts for 232 yards and two scores while Tony Brown had three catches for 71 yards and Laviska Shenault Jr. had three catches for 48 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown reception.
CSU's Hill completed 31 of 47 attempts for 374 yards and three touchdowns, but he also had two interceptions — both by CU's Mikial Onu, including one in the end zone early in the game.
Both offenses were hitting all cylinders almost from the beginning. The first half featured just one punt — by Colorado — and CSU's only possession that didn't end in a touchdown was halted by an Onu CU interception in the end zone.
The Buffs drew first blood, taking the opening possession and going 75 yards for a score. CU rushed for 68 yards on the drive, including a 32-yard run from Alex Fontenot, with tight end Jalen Harris hauling in a 1-yard touchdown pass from Montez to cap the drive.
But the Rams quickly answered with an 80-yard drive to tie the game, and from that point it was a see-saw first half battle.
After a CU punt and Onu's interception, the Buffs regained the lead, 10-7, on a James Stefanou field goal early in the second quarter. But CSU quickly answered with another long drive, going 92 yards in 11 plays for a 14-10 lead — the first time the Rams had led in the series since the second quarter of the 2015 game.
Colorado then responded with a 75-yard scoring drive, getting Jaren Mangham's first touchdown of his career, a 5-yard run to give the Buffs a 17-14 lead. The big play of the drive was a 38-yard Steven Montez toss to Tony Brown to the CSU 3-yard line.
But CU's defense continued to struggle. CSU drove 75 yards on its next possession to regain the lead, 21-17, with just 1:35 left in the half when wide receiver Dante Wright scampered 41 yards on a reverse on fourth down.
That, however, was more than enough time for the Buffs to answer again. Montez hit tight end Brady Russell with back-to-back passes to take Colorado into CSU territory. Two plays later, Montez rolled to his left and found Laviska Shenault at the goal line for a 25-yard touchdown pass with 25 seconds left in the half. That gave CU a 24-21 lead heading into halftime.
TURNING POINT: A fumble recovery early in the third quarter helped give Colorado a 10-point lead and the Buffs stayed in control the remainder of the game.
KEY STATISTIC: Despite giving up 505 yards total offense, the Buffs won by three touchdowns thanks in huge part to four defensive takeaways — and no turnovers by the offense.
WHAT IT MEANS: Colorado has now won five in a row against CSU and Tucker is just the third coach out of CU's last 16 head coaches to win his debut with the Buffs.
NEXT UP: The Buffs play host to Nebraska next Saturday (Sept. 7) in their home opener at Folsom Field at 1:35 p.m. (Fox).
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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Team Stats
CSU 0, COLO 7
COLO - Harris, Jalen 1 yd pass from Montez, Steven (Stefanou, James kick) 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 5:30
CSU 7, COLO 7
CSU - WRIGHT, D. 39 yd pass from HILL, C. (PODUSKA, M. kick) 6 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:41
CSU 7, COLO 10
COLO - Stefanou, James 41 yd field goal 8 plays, 56 yards, TOP 3:14
CSU 14, COLO 10
CSU - JACKSON, W. 8 yd pass from HILL, C. (PODUSKA, M. kick) 11 plays, 92 yards, TOP 5:27
CSU 14, COLO 17
COLO - Mangham, Jaren 5 yd run (Stefanou, James kick), 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:02
CSU 21, COLO 17
CSU - WRIGHT, D. 41 yd run (PODUSKA, M. kick), 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:02
CSU 21, COLO 24
COLO - Shenault, Lavis 25 yd pass from Montez, Steven (Stefanou, James kick) 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:10
CSU 21, COLO 31
COLO - Fontenot, Alex 7 yd run (Stefanou, James kick), 3 plays, 27 yards, TOP 0:54
CSU 24, COLO 31
CSU - PODUSKA, M. 42 yd field goal 11 plays, 56 yards, TOP 6:16
CSU 24, COLO 38
COLO - Fontenot, Alex 14 yd run (Stefanou, James kick), 9 plays, 68 yards, TOP 4:20
CSU 31, COLO 38
CSU - BUTLER, C. 13 yd pass from HILL, C. (PODUSKA, M. kick) 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:37
CSU 31, COLO 45
COLO - Fontenot, Alex 22 yd run (Stefanou, James kick), 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:57
CSU 31, COLO 52
COLO - Johnson, Mustaf 9 yd fumble recovery (Stefanou, James kick)
