The University of Colorado Buffaloes football team defeated the Oregon Ducks in Eugene, Oregon, by a final score of 41-38. You read that correctly. Head coach Mike MacIntyre has scored an elusive road conference game win.
In its first win in Eugene since 1967 and its first victory against Oregon since 1998, CU led the Ducks 26-17 at the halfway mark. Last year in Boulder, the Buffs and Ducks were tied at 17-all heading into the locker room.
The Buffs relied on the services of freshman quarterback Steven Montez, who made his first collegiate start. Senior starting QB Sefo Liufau is nursing a sprained ankle and did not play.
The 6’5″ force from El Paso, Texas, played great in the first half but struggled in the third quarter, throwing two interceptions.
The Buffs’ offense put up an impressive 351 yards of total offense in the first two quarters, compared to the Ducks’ 218. Colorado accrued 593 yards on offense in total during the game.
Montez was near-perfect in the first half. He completed 17-20 passes and threw for 217 yards to six different receivers. He also looked good on the ground. Montez led the team with 135 rushing yards on 21 carries. He was fearless on the ground and took many hard hits.
Junior wide receiver Devin Ross led the Buffs with seven receptions for 153 yards. Fellow junior wide receiver Shay Fields, Jr. had a touchdown reception and 35 yards receiving.
The Buffaloes’ run attack looked solid, thanks in part to junior tailback Phillip Lindsay. He was explosive up the gut and rushed for 72 yards and a touchdown. But freshman tailback Kyle Evans was impressive, too. He gathered 61 yards on 10 carries.
Colorado owed the win in large part to junior wide receiver Bryce Bobo. He made two incredible catches in the end zone — the first was ruled by officials to be out of bounds. But the second, a 31-yard bomb from Montez, was caught one-handed by Bobo and gave the Buffs the lead with 8:43 left in the game.
Bobo also caught the 2-point conversion attempt on the ensuing play.
But Colorado’s defense deserves credit, too. The Buffs’ defensive 11 gave up 508 yards of total offense to the Ducks, but limited Oregon’s run game and for the most part, did not allow big plays to happen. Colorado gave Oregon a tough time on third down. The Ducks converted 6-15 attempts.
Senior linebacker Kenneth Olugbode led the team with nine tackles.
The most important play of the game came with the Ducks deep in Colorado territory with less than a minute on the clock. Senior safety Tedric Thompson was flagged for a pass interference call that ultimately put Oregon inside the Buffaloes’ 10-yard line, and he also dropped an easy interception, which bounced off his chest. Thompson did have three pass breakups during the game.
With the game on the line, senior defensive back Ahkello Witherspoon bailed out Thompson and the Buffaloes, intercepting Oregon’s Dakota Prukop in the end zone. The Buffs would knee the ball to close out the game.
The Buffs recorded three sacks in the game and averaged 7.1 yards per play on offense.
Contact CU Independent Head Sports Editor Justin Guerriero at justin.guerriero@colorado.edu and follow him on Twitter @TheHungry_Hippo
