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One CU receiver made school history in his fourth and final season. For another three receivers, it was the beginning of a new history together in black and gold.
The Buffs handled rival Colorado State 24-3 at Invesco Field in Denver on Sept. 4 with a steady pass attack and a solid dosage of turnovers, just what the Hawk ordered.
Senior Scotty McKnight’s six receptions boost him past Colorado great Michael Westbrook as CU’s all time leader in receptions at 171.
The latest edition of the Rocky Mountain Showdown also marked the anticipated premiere of the trio of transfer wideouts: junior Toney Clemons, senior Travon Patterson and freshmen Paul Richardson. They may never touch McKnight’s records, but like the record breaker says, the statistics mean little if wins don’t come alongside them.
“The numbers thing doesn’t mean too much to me, and I think you hear guys talk about that, but I really don’t care,” McKnight said. “I’ve been through a season where we won three games and I caught 76 balls and it’s not fun. It’s not fun waking up everyday realizing that your team has let down the school.”
For Coach Dan Hawkins, a win against the in-state rival gives him one less week to have to answer the cries of his critics. If winning solves everything, then Hawkins can look back at the formula his team used against CSU to keep building.
“Winning against you’re rival and starting you’re season off winning is very positive,” Hawkins said. “They have a glimpse of how good they can be when they continue to get better.”
An offense that showed the potential to be an eight-win team is far more talented on the outside with the additions at receiver. That all stems from the refocused offensive line, which gave quarterback junior Tyler Hansen enough space for three touchdown passes while allowing junior Rodney Stewart more than four yards per carry.
Stewart said his job was made easy thanks to the structure around him.
“We’ve got some great receivers and some bigger running lanes,” he said. “It’s hard for the defense to choose what they want to do.”
On defense the Buffs pressed CSU’s freshman quarterback into three interceptions.
The introduction of Pete Thomas to the college football world may detract from season’s aspirations in Fort Collins. While, 50 miles away in Boulder, the story will take on a different meaning all together. A defense that looked straight out of the 90s stuffed the Rams for a measly 49 rushing yards.
Sophomore linebacker Jon Major, who led the Buffs with eight tackles, told reporters after the game that he knew from the first series that CSU wasn’t going to be able to run the ball effectively.
“There wasn’t anything that we hadn’t seen [on film],” Major said. “Coaches did a great job in preparing us. That allowed us to play fast and we saw everything.”
The only area where the team really struggled at was discipline. Resting on 118th place in the FBS (out of 120 teams) in penalties per game last year, the 11 penalties for 95 yards on Saturday showed the Buffs still can’t go a game without seeing yellow flags everywhere. The team leader knows it will make it that much tougher to beat powerhouses like Georgia and Oklahoma.
“That’s natural to have that happen the first game, but you can’t have that happen the next game,” Hansen said. “Those are precious yards, you work for those yards, and you need those yards.”
Speaking of yards, Hansen threw for 192 of them, 78 of which went to McKnight. Receivers Clemons, Patterson and Richardson combined for five catches for 54 yards and a touchdown.
Patterson saw the first ball thrown to him in a CU uniform go through his hands, forcing his team to punt. Minutes later Ram defenders watched the USC transfer take a pass from his quarterback and turn it into six points. The senior also returned all three punts for a total of 46 yards.
Hawkins alluded to the fact that the new weapons at receiver may limit McKnight’s numbers, and that’s just fine with his four-year starter.
“When you have guys as fast as them it opens things up for a guy like me in the slot,” McKnight said. “Having those guys has helped me so much, and they’re going to help this team.”
McKnight broke Westbrook’s 15-year-old record on a 21-yard flag route, which got him wide open in the end zone. So now that he has the record for most catches at the school, what’s the next goal in line for the senior captain?
“My next goal is to beat Cal,” McKnight said.
Contact CU Independent Football Reporter Michael Krumholtz at Michael.krumholtz@colorado.edu.
