The No. 12 Colorado Buffaloes (9-2, 7-1 Pac-12) defeated the No. 20 Washington State Cougars (8-3, 7-1 Pac-12), 38-24 in a hard-fought contest. Here are some things that stood out about the performance.
Penalties
Colorado played an infamous game against UCLA on Nov. 3 where the team was flagged for a grotesque number of penalties. While no game has been as bad, penalties are still a set-back for this team.
The Buffs play aggressive defense. This means they’ll get more calls against them. But there are costly penalties that hurt them in the long run. In particular, the targeting penalty is the bane of this team.
Senior defensive lineman Jimmie Gilbert was ejected in the Arizona State game this season for targeting. His presence wasn’t totally needed in that game, but as the team’s main pass rusher, his absence will hurt the vast majority of the time.
Saturday against Wazzu, junior defensive back Afolabi Laguda was called early in the game for targeting and was also ejected. The team really needed his experience in the secondary against a pass-hungry Cougar team, but, again, thinks worked out for the Buffs.
Next Man Up
A big reason why that worked out for Colorado is the next-man-up mentality this team has adopted. With a rash of players leaving, mostly from injury, the team needed immediate fill-ins. The Buffs were successful in all of their endeavors.
When junior wide receiver Bruce Bobo limped off the field, the receiving core took a blow. The first replacement for him was sophomore receiver Jay MacIntyre. MacIntyre was the team’s fourth receiver, so the step-up wasn’t as surprising.
MacIntyre needed a fill-in of his own. That led the way for junior receiver Kabion Ento to see more snaps. While it wasn’t perfect for him, Ento still finished with two catches for 21 yards. He also provided valuable blocking for the team.
The biggest fill-in was for Laguda. Junior defensive back Ryan Moeller was the next man up, but he was dealing with his own injuries. This paved the wave for sophomore defensive back Nick Fisher to see significant playing time.
Fisher finished tied for second on the team in tackles, with six, and provided several crucial stops. One was a fourth-down stop on a Washington State drive deep in CU territory.
“Fisher has so much potential that he doesn’t even know about,” said Chidobe Awuzie, senior cornerback. “When he’s out there making those plays, it doesn’t surprise me and it shouldn’t surprise him either.”
Clutch Performance
Before this game, there weren’t too many stressing situations the Buffs had to pull out this season. A lot of the time, it was a defensive stand that won the team their games. Now, the offense has one to their credit.
Last season, in close games, the offense often seemed to struggle and collapse. When the team needed it most, the offense came through with a big, late-game performance. The team outscored the Cougars 24-7 in the second half, after trailing by three at the half.
“We’ve been in close games for a long time now and we’ve just got a little older, little better at being consistent and executing,” senior quarterback Sefo Liufau said. “It’s a great feeling to go out there and win.”
Colorado will look to build on this win next week, when they host the Utah Utes (8-3. 5-3 Pac-12). Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. MST Saturday and will air on Fox. If Colorado wins, they will clinch the Pac-12 South division and play in the Pac-12 Championship game.
Contact CU Independent Copy Editor Jake Mauff at jacob.mauff@colorado.edu.
