The No. 9 University of Colorado Buffaloes (10-2, 8-1 Pac-12) defeated the No. 21 Utah Utes (8-4, 5-4 Pac-12). With the win, the Buffs will play the No. 6 Washington Huskies in the Pac-12 Championship Friday.
Before we look at the game, let’s take a moment to let this moment sink in. The Colorado Buffaloes, which has had 10 wins the past three seasons combined, have won 10 games this year, including eight in conference play. Now the Buffs have won the Pac-12 South division.
Nobody predicted this team to finish in the top 10 in the Pac-12, and now, they’re the No. 9 team in the country and aren’t eliminated from playoff contention. It seems like anything is possible.
Big-Time Defense
Anybody who watched the Broncos Super Bowl run last season knows that defense wins championships. That was the case tonight, as Colorado’s defense continually pounced on the Utes.
Sure, Joe Williams’ final yardage stat, 97 yards, seems pretty good, but it took him 26 carries to get there. That’s only 3.7 yards an attempt, and he never gained more than 15 yards. This was a guy with a 300-yard game to his credit.
Quarterback Troy Williams got the worst part of the Buffs defense: the secondary. He finished with 160 yards on 40 attempts, with only 13 completions, a touchdown and two interceptions. It was a drubbing.
There were 10 passes batted down, four apiece for senior defensive backs Ahkello Witherspoon and Tedric Thompson. They played like the season depended on it, and it did. Thompson, in particular, stole the show, being the one to pick off Williams both times and almost coming down with another one. He tied the school record for interceptions in a single season with seven.
“It really is a blessing,” Thompson said of the accomplishment. “I don’t really know what to say … A majority of them [are] because of a team effort.”
The overall play was great, but this unit carried the rest of the team. With the offense stalling in the second half, the Utes were chipping away at the Buffs’ lead. Sophomore linebacker Rick Gamboa forced a fumble while Utah was deep in their own territory.
“I think it’s just the same mentality that we’ve had all year,” Gamboa said. “We’re going to play strong, tough defense no matter where we are on the field.
Senior linebacker Kenneth Olugbode recovered the fumble and took it to the house. It was the nail in the coffin and Colorado won the game.
Worrisome Offense
Although it is a time to celebrate, not all is well in Boulder. Colorado’s offense was stagnate all night. This comes on a number of cold performances throughout the season.
As the team looks ahead to the Pac-12 Championship game, they’re going to need to be as perfect as possible. Washington is a very efficient team and will know how to exploit any weakness a team has. Considering how strong the Huskies’ secondary is, the Buffs’ game plan from tonight will have to change.
Senior quarterback Sefo Liufau threw the ball 44 times. He also ran the ball 21 times. That’s 65 times he was solely responsible for the play, and it had minimal effect throughout the game.
“[The] offense, we [were] hot and cold tonight,” Liufau said. “It came down to one-on-one matchups and we really struggled.”
The offense needs to be creative and it had to be efficient if the team wants to win. Needless to say, there’s room for improvement.
Junior running back Phillip Lindsay’s going to have to be involved more. He can break down defenses, if given some time to adjust. He can be a threat to catch out of the backfield and this will all set up the play-action.
Colorado will face the No. 6 Washington Huskies on this Friday, Dec. 2 in the Pac-12 Championship game. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. (MST) from Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Contact CU Independent Copy Editor Jake Mauff at jacob.mauff@colorado.edu.
