Colorado University Athletics
Notes, Quotes & Tidbits From Buffs' Win Over CSU
August 31, 2019 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Mel Tucker's first game as the Colorado Buffaloes' head coach literally stretched over two days. It started late Friday evening — even later than scheduled because of lightning delays — and by the time the Buffs were walking off the field with a 52-31 victory for their fifth straight win over the Rams, the clock had pushed past midnight into Saturday.
Lots happened. Mainly, lots of offense — 980 yards worth to be exact, with the Rams finishing with 505 and the Buffs 475. Colorado's Alex Fontenot became only the fourth running back in CU history to score at least three touchdowns in his first start; quarterback Steven Montez moved into second on CU's all-time total offense list (7,919 yards); and the Buffs recorded the 70th game in their history with at least 200 yards rushing and 200 passing (they are 59-11 in those games).
But strangely enough, in a game in which Colorado's defense forced only one punt all evening while giving up those 505 yards, the defense also made the plays that made the difference. Safety Mikial Onu recorded two interceptions, including one that ended a CSU drive deep in Colorado territory; nose tackle Jalen Sami had a fumble recovery after a strip by safety Aaron Maddox that proved to be the decisive momentum switch of the night early in the third quarter; and defensive lineman Mustafa Johnson picked up a fumble after a Jonathan Van Diest sack and returned it 9 yards to the end zone to put the game away in the fourth.
Meanwhile, Colorado's offensive line didn't record yield a sack, making it only the 19th time in CU history that the Buffs' offense finished a game without a turnover or sack.
But plenty of other things happened in the course of the game. Here are some other notes, quotes and tidbits from the late night at Mile High …
— Game ball for Tucker. In the post-game locker room, after Tucker talked to the team, CU Athletic Director Rick George presented the game ball to his head coach in honor of his first win as the Buffs' head coach.
— Van Diest, making his first start for the Buffs, never saw the ball after his sack. When the Colorado sophomore inside linebacker came off the edge on a blitz and hammered CSU quarterback Collin Hill, his only goal was to get to Hill before he could get rid of the ball.
"It was a really great call by the coaches," Van Diest said. "My only focus was to get to him and not let him get the ball off."
Van Diest obviously accomplished his goal, burying Hill before the CSU quarterback really even knew what hit him. But Van Diest, so intent on making the play, didn't fully realize right away what kind of havoc he had actually caused.
"I never saw the ball come out," he said with a grin. "I just saw him on his back, looked up and Mustafa was running to the end zone."
Johnson wasn't surprised Van Diest didn't see the ball pop out of Hill's grasp.
"He came in hot," Johnson said. "It was a great play. He hit him so hard, there's no way he was going to hang onto the ball."
But when it did, the daily fumble recovery drills the Buffs perform clicked in. "We practice it all the time," Johnson said. "If it's a good bounce and you can scoop it, go. If not, jump on it and make sure you get it. The ball just bounced perfect into my hand and I just kept running."
For his part, Van Diest just loved the feeling of hitting a quarterback again. After redshirting as a freshman and playing sparingly last year, it was a welcome feeling.
"It's been a while," he said. "I just have to keep working and make sure there's more to come."
— But while Johnson's scoop and score may have been the night's most exciting play, the most important play went almost unnoticed at first. That's when Maddox stripped the ball out of Marvin Kinsey's hands and Sami cradled the loose ball on the turf. It left the Buffs just 27 yards away from the end zone, and three plays later they were in the end zone.
At first, not even the officials knew the ball had come loose, let alone landed in the hands of a Buff. But after untangling the pile, they signaled a change of possession, and after a review — much to the chagrin of the CSU coaching staff — the call held.
"Somebody hit him and I just got my hands in there," Maddox said. "I just had to get the ball back. We do that drill all the time, over and over. Coaches stress that a turnover can be a 14-point swing, and that's our focus. We needed a big play at that time."
Onu, a grad transfer from SMU whose two interceptions both halted some building CSU momentum, called the play "huge. That was a game-changer right there."
— Old teammates back together. Speaking of Onu, he and Fontenot were good buddies growing up and played ball together at George Ranch High School in Sugarland, Texas.
Together, they combined for two interceptions and three rushing touchdowns.
"It's crazy," Onu said. "We grew up together. I could see in high school what kind of running back he was going to be. I'm really proud of him."
Onu even teased Fontenot on the sidelines early in the game after he broke loose for a 32-yard gain but stumbled and was dragged down from behind.
"I told him, 'You've got to take that to the house,'" Onu said — advice that Fontenot evidently took to heart. On each of his three touchdown runs, he broke tackles, including three on his final score of the night, a 22-yard burst that gave CU a 45-31 lead with 9:16 to go.
"For me, the game was a chance to show people what I could really do," said Fontenot, who had just 11 carries for 43 yards and a touchdown last season as a redshirt freshman. "Coach Tucker always stresses being physical, running hard, and I thought I had a really good spring improving on that. It just kind of carried over into the fall."
Fontenot, by the way, joined Bobby Anderson (1969), Christian Powell (2011) and Michael Adkins (2013) as the only Buffs to score at least three touchdowns in their starting debut at running back.
— Plenty of debuts. A long list of Buffs made their CU debuts against the Rams, including four true freshmen, five redshirt freshmen, two junior college transfers and three grad transfers.
Among the newcomers getting some significant playing time were true freshmen defensive linemen Na'im Rodman and Austin Williams, along with JC transfer D-lineman Janaz Jordan. They provided some important relief up front for CU's starters, keeping fresh legs in a game that saw CSU have nearly 33 minutes of possession time. Jordan was the only one credited with a tackle from press box statistics, but their presence no doubt helped keep CU's starters fresh down the stretch.
That came in handy, as CU's defensive line started producing some push in the second half, getting two sacks on Hill, including one by Terrance Lang (the second of his career) that forced CSU's only punt of the night.
— Leading tacklers. Inside linebacker Nate Landman was the top stopper for the Buffs with 11 tackles, while cornerback Delrick Abrams Jr. added nine, Van Diest had six and Maddox had five.
— Perfect 5-0. CU punter Alex Kinney is now believed to be either the first or second player in CU history to play in five wins against the same opponent. The other possibility is Harry Gamble, who lettered six times (1891-96). There are no participation records from that era, but the Buffs did beat Denver five times in that stretch.
Kinney punted four times for a 49.0-yard average Friday, including a booming 63-yarder that was fielded at the CSU 2-yard line. He finished with a 44.2-yard net average.
— Tidbits. Colorado's Montez, who wrapped up a 3-0 mark in starts against the Rams, was 56-for-74 for 772 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions against CSU … When CSU took a temporary lead twice in the second quarter, it was the first time the Rams had led the Buffs since the second quarter of the 2015 game … CU grad transfer tight end Jalen Harris caught two passes, including a 1-yard scoring pass for Colorado's first touchdown of the night. Combined with the four passes he caught at Auburn, he now has six career catches for three touchdowns … The Rams' leading rusher in the game was a receiver, true freshman Dante Wright. He carried the ball three times for 59 yards, nearly half of the Rams' 131 total rushing yards. His big gain was a 41-yard scoring run in the first half on a fourth-and-2 play. CSU's leading running back was Marvin Kinsey, with just 41 yards on 12 carries … After having four scoring plays of 38 yards or longer in last year's game, the Buffs' longest play of the night this time around was just 38 yards, and it wasn't a touchdown. Colorado's longest scoring play of the evening was a 25-yard pass from Montez to Laviska Shenault Jr.
Schedule: The Buffs did not practice Saturday and won't practice Sunday, their first two days off in a row since before fall camp started. They will return to the practice field Monday to begin preparation for next Saturday's 1:30 p.m. home opener matchup with Nebraska at Folsom Field.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
