Takeaways From Buffs Vs. Stanford

BOULDER — The guess here is that roughly half the people in America who were watching Friday night's Colorado-Stanford game went to bed at halftime, believing the Buffaloes' had things firmly in control after dominating the first two quarters and taking a 29-0 lead at the break.

Only when they woke up Saturday morning did they discover that the Buffs also apparently decided to take a nap after intermission. The result was a second half collapse that allowed the Cardinal to tie the game at 36-36 at the end of regulation and finally collect a 46-43 win in two overtimes.

Now, the biggest question for Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders' Buffs (4-3 overall, 1-3 Pac-12) is how they respond from here on out. They'll have a chance to lick their wounds this week thanks to a bye week, but the grind returns the following week in a big way as CU's final five games feature four teams that were ranked in the top 20 in the nation this week, beginning with an Oct. 28 game at UCLA.

"You have no choice but to go forward, that's life," a clearly irate Coach Prime said after the game. "This isn't the only thing that's going on in life … A lot of things that go on in life are unexpected and this was one of them. We've got to knuckle up and let's go. We can't sit down and have a pity party."

The next couple of weeks will be critical for the Buffs, who have lost three of their last four after a 3-0 start to the season that had them ranked in the nation's top 25. Certainly, Sanders and his staff will be doing their best to figure out how a team that played a near-perfect first half suffered such a complete collapse.

There will be plenty to study.

An offense that looked unstoppable in the first half looked stuck in the mud in the second. CU punted three times, gave the ball away near midfield twice on downs and scored just one touchdown in the third and fourth quarters combined.

A defense that blanked the Cardinal for two quarters gave up 408 yards and 46 points after intermission as Stanford scored on its last eight possessions (six touchdowns and two field goals). Seldom-used Stanford receiver Elic Ayomanor burned the Buffs for 13 catches for 294 yards — 194 after the catch — with touchdowns covering 97, 60 and 30 yards, and he picked up a significant number of those yards while working against Travis Hunter, Colorado's best defender.

But there were plenty of other factors that contributed to the shocking loss. Our weekly takeaways:

1. Penalties. We'll start with perhaps the most egregious Colorado problem area of the night — 17 flags for 127 yards.

Sanders had a simple explanation: "Not being smart. Not being disciplined. Not understanding the moment. That's what that is."

Nobody who watched the game will argue. More than half of CU's penalties — nine — were unforced errors, the kind that are easily avoidable. The list included four illegal substitution flags on the defense (three in the second half), two false starts, two for unsportsmanlike conduct and one delay of game.

How big of a factor were the penalties? Figure this: three of Stanford's second-half touchdowns were aided by penalties on the Buffs.

Those are problem areas that can be fixed — and must be fixed if the Buffs are going to bounce back and have a successful stretch run.

2. Hunter's return helped. Yes, Hunter had some troubles containing Stanford's Ayomanor down the stretch — but he still produced a handful of difference-making plays. He finished with 13 catches for 140 yards and a pair of scores, and he also had five unassisted tackles.

But it will be interesting to see how the Buffs handle Hunter's workload as the season progresses. According to Pro Football Focus, Hunter played 88 snaps on defense and 69 on offense — an incredible 157 snaps. Hunter is no doubt an incredible athlete and CU's staff may have to decide if one side of the ball or the other is a priority.

3. Pass protection. Colorado has now yielded 35 quarterback sacks this year, with Shedeur Sanders being taken down behind the line on 34 of them.

That doesn't even take into account the hits that Sanders takes just as he throws. Friday night, he took a big hit late that left him wobbly. At some point, the Buffs have to figure out a way to provide better protection.

4. Run game still absent. Aside from a big game against USC, Colorado's running attack has been almost non-existent. Even though he was taken down four times for 49 yards in losses, Sanders was still Colorado's leading rusher against Stanford, finishing with 37 yards (and a long of 38).

Colorado has to become more productive on the ground. The lack of a consistent ground attack played a big role in CU's inability to move the ball in the second half — and an inability to use up some clock in the process.

5. Mark Vassett is becoming a weapon. CU's punter had an outstanding night, kicking three times for a 42.7-yard average and burying two deep inside Stanford territory.

That's the kind of weapon that can be a difference maker. Had Colorado not given up a 97-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter and a 71-yard game-tying field goal drive near the end of regulation, his kicking would have been a critical part of what should have been a Colorado win.

6. Converting fourth downs are critical. Coach Prime has shown he isn't afraid to go for the gusto on fourth down, and with good reason. CU's offense has shown the ability to convert in those clutch situations. Prior to Friday, CU was 6-for-8 on fourth-down conversion tries.

But the Buffs had two attempts near midfield Friday and missed on both. Stanford took possession on the CU 45-yard line after one and the Colorado 33 after the second. Both led to Stanford touchdowns.

7. Turnovers matter. After dominating the turnover battle in their first five games, CU has had troubles producing defensive takeaways the last two.

Friday, Colorado did not force a single Stanford turnover while the Cardinal had one — the game-changing interception of Sanders in the end zone in the second overtime.

CU has to get back to forcing a couple of those big plays every week.

8. Colorado's corners must bounce back. The Buffs' defense has been dependent on excellent man-to-man coverage from its cornerbacks. From Hunter to Omarion Cooper to Carter Stoutmire to Cormani McClain, the Buffs need their corners to play shutdown defense and give their front seven counterparts a chance to get to the quarterback.

The Buffs have the talent at the position. But, as Coach Prime said, "Our secondary did not play the best game, especially at the cornerback position."

The Buffs will need that position to bounce back over the final five games.

9. Reduce big plays against defense. Colorado gave up eight pass plays of 15 yards or longer Friday for a total of 266 yards. That means more than half of Stanford's total offensive yardage — 266 of 523 — came on eight plays, an average of 33.25 yards per play.

Otherwise, the Cardinal had 257 yards on the other 80 plays, an average of 3.2 yards per play.

Those big plays were killers. CU gave up a 97-yard touchdown pass and a 60-yard scoring pass in less than two minutes Friday, turning a comfortable lead into a precarious one that Stanford ultimately overcame.

"It all started when we gave up on the 97-yard touchdown, which was flat out ridiculous," Sanders said after the game. "That's when it all started. That's when all the foolishness, all the complacency, all the mess started."

Simply, the Buffs can't afford to give up those kinds of numbers again.

10. Attitude adjustment needed. Coach Prime made it clear after the game when asked about CU's second-half struggles.

"Right now, we're not built for the moment," Sanders said. "Some of our players aren't built for the moment where they have to make a play. We're not built for the moment right now."

Early in the season, the Buffs seemed built specifically for big moments. They answered the bell repeatedly in their win over TCU and did so again the following weeks against Nebraska and Colorado State.

But somehow, they seem to have lost that edge — and the road doesn't get any easier from here on out. The Buffs need to figure out how to be ready for those big moments again.

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Team Stats

Shedeur Sanders

Players Mentioned

Omarion Cooper

Travis Hunter

Cormani McClain

Shedeur Sanders

Carter Stoutmire

Mark Vassett

Players Mentioned

Omarion Cooper

Travis Hunter

Cormani McClain

Shedeur Sanders

Carter Stoutmire

Mark Vassett