Colorado University Athletics
Woelk: Win Over Nebraska Shows Buffs Quickly Taking On Tucker's Personality
September 07, 2019 | Football
BOULDER — "We broke them at the end."
Saturday afternoon, in front of a near-disbelieving, sold-out Folsom Field, that's exactly what Mel Tucker's Colorado Buffaloes did to the No. 25 Nebraska Cornhuskers. The Buffs took the Huskers' best shot, then got up off the mat and pounded the visitors into submission.Â
Colorado 34, Nebraska 31 in overtime — and guaranteed, it will be a long, long time before anyone forgets Tucker's first game in Boulder.Â
It was by no means easy. In fact, things looked rather bleak for Colorado after 30 minutes of play. The Huskers jumped out to a 17-0 halftime lead and outplayed CU in virtually every phase of the game along the way.
But Tucker's halftime message was simple. The Buffs had seen the best Nebraska had to offer — and they were still standing. The second half would be Colorado's turn.
The Buffs believed.
First, the defense stiffened and shut down Nebraska's offense. After a terrific first half, NU quarterback Adrian Martinez was rendered helpless for an entire quarter by a rejuvenated CU defense.
Then the Colorado offense found its legs. A long drive for a score just before the end of the third quarter, then a masterful flea-flicker call by offensive coordinator Jay Johnson with the Buffs deep in their own territory to pull the Buffs within three, 17-14.
And even though the Huskers finally answered with a score, you could feel their confidence slipping away. And play by play, minute by minute, possession by possession, the Buffs slowly but surely broke the Huskers' will. They hit them deep with big plays and throttled them defensively. Even when the Huskers answered with a score, the Buffs slugged back.
Finally, when the game was on the line, the Buffs had the knockout punch in overtime. On the ropes for much of the fourth quarter, Nebraska finally wilted in the heat and altitude.
It was, quite simply, a Mel Tucker win. The coach who came to Boulder vowing that his team would be the best-conditioned squad in America, the coach who said his Buffs would play 60 minutes of football no matter the score — and more if necessary — saw his team do exactly that.
"We were the best-conditioned team," Tucker said after the game. "We take pride in that. We knew that if we kept scratching and clawing and fighting, we could wear them down … Then we broke them at the end."
Indeed.Â
Tucker made sure to give credit to his players. He talked about their resilience, their willingness to buy into the culture change he and the new staff began instituting nine months ago. He championed their ability to ignore the big momentum swings and play the next play, and praised their confidence and trust in the coaching staff.
Tucker also made it clear he is aware of what the win meant to CU's fans and alums. After the game, as fans swarmed the field to celebrate, he stopped to take selfies with everybody possible. He shook hands, smiled and thanked those folks for showing up — and staying to the end.
"This win means a lot to so many people," Tucker said. "We don't take that lightly."
No doubt, Colorado's players made plays when it counted. CU's assistant coaches made great calls and outstanding adjustments.
But in the end, it was a team that is already taking on the personality of its head coach. The Buffs don't panic, they play physical football and they don't quit. They believe in their coaches and they believe in their preparation.
Most of all, they believe in themselves because their head coach believes in them.
"This coaching staff has prepared us since the day they got here," said CU senior linebacker Nu'umotu Falo, who had two fumble recoveries. "Coach Tucker has been preaching what he preaches and he didn't wait until fall camp. He didn't waste any time. The situations that we go through in practice, we know what we've gone through all of them since coach got here."
That is indeed a Tucker trademark — preparation. It starts in the weight room with strength and conditioning and it continues on the practice field. Tucker believes in making practices tougher than any game situation, and it showed Saturday.
But for the second week in a row, the biggest difference was a fourth-quarter attitude, a belief that they can exert their will when the game is on the line.
"They trust our program and our process, what we're telling them to do and what we're asking them to execute," Tucker said of his team. "They understand and believe in what we are telling them. They have embraced our new staff, our new culture and what we're building here. They want to be relevant, they want to be significant. We took another step today."
It is no doubt a big step. It was CU's first win over a nationally ranked team since the end of the 2016 season, and it will no doubt shine at least a corner of the spotlight back on Boulder.
But the Buffs have vowed that this one will be celebrated for 24 hours — and then they will move on. There is still a season's worth of work to do.
"This is win No. 2 and that's exactly how we're going to take it," said quarterback Steven Montez, who had spectacular second half and finished with 375 yards passing and two touchdowns. "Sunday comes, we're watching tape and Monday comes and we're back at it getting ready for Air Force. It's a great win for the program, but it's just win No. 2."
That attitude?
That also comes from Tucker. It is just another sign that the Buffs are indeed a team taking on their coach's personality — and it's one that seems to be exactly what Colorado football needed.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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