November 9th – at Seattle Washington 59, Colorado 7
Washington reminded everyone of why they were ranked as high as No. 15 earlier in the season, while Colorado reminded everyone how very far the Buffs were from returning to respectability, as the Huskies completely dominated the Buffs, 59-7.
Washington went for 628 yards of total offense, never punted, and finished the game taking a knee in the CU redzone. Colorado, meanwhile, turned the ball over three times, with two of the turnovers being returned for touchdowns, and missed two field goals.
Freshman quarterback Sefo Liufau, returning to the Seattle area for the first time as a Buff, went 12-for-22 for 160 yards, one touchdown, and two costly interceptions. The Buffs’ rushing attack was led by Christian Powell, who had 73 yards on 12 carries. The lone bright spot for the CU offense was again Paul Richardson, who had a 53-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter, but was otherwise kept in check.
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The blowout began as most blowouts do, with Washington toying with the Colorado early.
The Huskies took the opening kickoff, and promptly marched down the field. A 24-yard pass from Keith Price to tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins (you know, the player who crashed his car this past March, blew a .18 BAC … and was suspended for all of one game) was quickly followed by a 34-yard completion to wide receiver Marvin Hall. The drive didn’t stall until Washington got inside the CU ten yard line, with the Huskies settling for a Travis Coons 27-yard field goal. Washington 3, Colorado 0.
A quick three-and-out by the Colorado offense gave Washington another opportunity to show off its high-speed offense. On drive No. 2, the Huskies went 64 yards in 12 plays to score again. Another Price-to-Seferian Jenkins connection, this one for 22 yards, put the ball deep into CU territory. As was the case with the first drive, the Huskies didn’t face a third down until the got into the CU redzone. Unlike the first drive, however, this time Washington converted. On third-and-goal at the one, Bishop Sankey ran the ball in for a 10-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
The rout was on.
In recent years, the Buffs wouldn’t have gotten out of the first quarter without so much as a first down.
But the 2013 Buffs were willing to continue fighting.
On their next possession, the Colorado offense faced a third-and-six, and another three-and-out seemed imminent. Instead, quarterback Sefo Liufau hit running back Tony Jones for a seven yard gain and a first down. Two plays later, the Buffs faced another third-and-six … and again converted. This time Liufau hit D.D. Goodson for eight yards and another first down.
There, Paul Richardson did what Paul Richardson does. The Buffs’ All-Pac-12 candidate got behind the Washington secondary, out-racing the Husky defensive backs for a 53-yard touchdown and new life for the Buffs.
Washington 10, Colorado 7, with 3:56 to play in the first quarter.
Given the chance to stop the Washington Husky offense for the first time all night, the Colorado defense … failed.
The Buffs were getting closer – Washington did have to convert a third-and-14 (a 16-yard pass to Bishop Sankey) and fourth-and-one (Biship Sankey run for six yards). On the first play of the second quarter, though, Keith Price hit Joshua Perkins for a six yard touchdown to complete a 76-yard drive, and the ten point lead was restored.
Washington 17, Colorado 7.
A 12-yard completion from Liufau to Richardson for a first down on the Buffs’ next drive was quickly negated by a sack of Sefo Liufau. Unable to recover, the Buffs had to punt the ball back to Washington.
The Huskies were pinned back at their seven yard line to start their drive, but that only added to the yardage posted by the Washington offense. The Buffs had the Huskies at a third-and-11 at the UW 18-yard line, but Washington converted with a 37-yard completion from Price to Jaydon Mickens. The drive, which covered 84 yards, was thwarted by a holding call against the Huskies inside the CU ten yard line. Facing a fourth-and-three at the CU nine yard line, Washington coach Steve Sarkisian opted to go for the touchdown instead of a field goal, but the Keith Price pass fell incomplete, giving the ball back to the Buffs.
The Buffs’ next drive was the same as the previous one for the Colorado offense. A 12-yard gain on a Christian Powell run gave CU one first down, but a sack of Sefo Liufau ended the threat without further progress.
Washington took the ball back, and showed everyone watching the game why the Huskies were not concerned about not opting for a field goal on their previous possession. In an eight-play, 71-yard drive, the Huskies never faced so much as a third down. Keith Price kept the score to himself this time, running the ball in from 18 yards out to give Washington a 24-7 lead.
The Colorado offense did piece together a drive on its next possession, including a 14-yard run by Christian Powell and a 12-yard completion from Liufau to Richardson. Faced with a fourth-and-one at the Washington 34-yard line, the Buffs opted for a 51-yard field goal attempt. Will Oliver’s effort, though, missed, leaving the score at 24-7, with less than a minute to play before halftime.
Not content with a 17-point lead, Washington instead opted to demonstrate just how porous the CU defense had become. In just 46 seconds, Washington covered 66 yards. A 15-yard touchdown pass from Price to Sefarian-Jenkins with two seconds left in the half was the final humiliation.
Halftime score: Washington 31, Colorado 7.
The halftime stats were as lopsided as the score. Colorado had 157 yards of total offense in the first half – fairly respectable.
Washington, however, had 464 yards of total offense in just two quarters of football. Keith Price was 22-for-29 for 312 yards and three touchdowns. The only question remaining about Price, who had nine touchdowns in two games against Colorado coming into the game, was how much time he would see in the second half against the 2012-ish Colorado defense.
To open the second half, the Huskies didn’t even need Price to score. Washington scored again, without the offense even taking the field.
The Buffs, thanks to an unsportsmanlike penalty on Washington to open the quarter, used a 24-yard kickoff return by Ryan Severson to set up shop near midfield. An 18-yard pass from Sefo Liufau to Michael Adkins gave the Buffs a chance to score, but, on third down at the Washington 23 yard line, Liufau threw an interception which was returned for a Washington touchdown.
Washington 38, Colorado 7.
The Buffs’ next drive resulted in … another interception. On fourth-and-one at the 48 yard line, Liufau was intercepted by Sean Parker, who did not score on his interception – he only made it to the CU 40.
Washington then gave the ball to Bishop Sankey, who carried the ball on five consecutive plays as the Huskies dared the Buffs to stop their offense. Once inside the ten, Keith Price decided it was time for him to score again, taking it in from four yards out. Washington 45, Colorado 7.
On the Buffs’ next drive, the Colorado offense again turned the ball over, and again Washington scored. This time, Tony Jones fumbled, with Marcus Peters scoring from 53 yards out. Washington defense 14, Colorado offense 7, with 3:45 still left to play in the third quarter.
The Buffs finished the third quarter with 124 yards of total offense to just 40 for the Huskies … and were out-scored 21-0.
The Colorado offense found a new way to mess up on their next drive. Facing a fourth-and-one at the Washington 18 yard line, the Buffs committed their first penalty of the game, a false start. Backed up, the Buffs tried a 38-yard field goal … and Will Oliver missed again.
With fresh faces in the backfield, the Huskies again chewed through the Colorado defense. It took all of five runs to cover 78 yards against the disinterested Buffs, with Dwayne Washington taking it in from five yards out. Washington 59, Colorado 7, with most of the fourth quarter still to be played.
The Buffs backups fared no better than the starters, with Connor Wood, Donta Abron and Keenan Canty getting the ball as far as the Washington 42 before turning the ball over on downs.
Washington could have scored again – the Huskies never punted – but were content to using up most of the fourth quarter on a drive which resulted in the Huskies taking a knee in the CU redzone.
Final score: Washington 59, Colorado 7.
Washington finished the game with 628 yards of total offense, yet could have had much more. After taking the Buffs to task with a 464-yard first half, the Huskies didn’t bother to throw a single pass in the second half.
“That was a long day to say the least”, understated CU head coach Mike MacIntyre. “It was the worst tackling day we have had for sure. I don’t know why, like to figure it out … We have to win football games. We didn’t have a chance to win tonight. I think that is the first time I completely felt like that. We just didn’t tackle and then we turned the ball over in some key areas. We haven’t really done that either. It kind of got out of hand. It was ugly”.
How ugly was it?
It was so ugly that the third quarter stat line looked like this … Colorado: 27 plays, 124 yards of total offense, seven first downs, 12:22 of possession … Washington: seven offensive plays, 40 yards of total offense, two first downs, 2:24 of possession.
And third quarter scoring, thanks to three turnovers by the Buff offense? Washington 21, Colorado 0.
Now that’s ugly.
“Everyone is going to have their own opinion on how far or how close we are (to turning the corner)”, said quarterback Sefo Liufau, who had 160 yards passing (12-for-22), with one touchdown and two third quarter interceptions. “I think we’re getting closer. It’s never as bad as it is and it’s never as good as it can be. It’s just frustrating because we know that we can do a lot better than what we put out tonight. Next week is another chance for us to prove that we’re a good team”.
Up next for the Buffs, the 1-9 Cal Bears, the only other team in the conference with as many problems as the Buffs. A weekend after the Pac-12 Game-of-the-Year, with No. 6 Stanford taking down No. 2 Oregon, the Buffs and Bears would stage the Pac-12 Pillow-Fight-of-the-Year.
With both teams looking desperately for their first conference win for their new head coaches.
Game Notes –
– The victory gave Washington a five-game winning streak in the series, and an 8-5-1 lead overall.
– Red-shirt freshman linebacker Clay Norgard, a fullback/linebacker recruit from the Class of 2012, saw his first action as a Buff against Washington, playing on special teams.
– Colorado running backs had gone 253 consecutive carries to open the 2013 season without a fumble until Tony Jones fumbled the ball in the third quarter against the Huskies.
– Paul Richardson … the junior wide receiver had three catches for 77 yards and a touchdown, all in the first half (Richardson did not play in the second half, as he is still recovering from a sprained ankle suffered against Arizona). Richardson, with 1,061 yards on the season, became only the seventh player in CU history with over 1,000 yards in a season. His new total of 1,061 was good enough for fourth place on the all-time list, one ahead of Michael Westbrook (1,060 in 1992), and only 88 yards shy of the all-time mark of 1,149 set by Charles E. Johnson (also in 1992).
– Richardson’s ninth receiving touchdown moved him into a tie for second place on the single season receiving touchdown list, with nine. The only player in front of Richardson was Derek McCoy, who had 11 receiving touchdowns in 2003.
– Addison Gillam … his five tackles were good enough to set a new freshman record in that category. With 86 tackles on the season, Gillam moved past Matt Russell, who had 85 tackles as a red-shirt freshman in 1993.
– Kick returner Ryan Severson tied for the second-most kickoff returns in a game, with seven. His 171 return yards were the fifth-most ever in a game.
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2 Replies to “Washington 59, Colorado 7”
For all the talk about how the UCLA game was supposedly a turning point for the team, I was really expecting more from the Buffs last night. I wasn’t expecting a win, but I was expecting it to be competitive into the second half. Once again I turned the game off at halftime. This is just exhausting, I can’t watch such poor football, it’s pathetic. I still can’t believe they tore Liufau’s redshirt. The problems on this team are way beyond the QB position. Liufau lost a year of eligibility and he is taking a beating. There were a couple of plays last night where he took a shot and he was obviously in severe pain. Credit to him for playing through it, but he doesn’t deserve this. I suppose the logic is that he is getting meaningful playing experience, but is it really going to make a difference? It doesn’t matter who the QB is when the line gets run over on every play. We are losing these games in the trenches, and until we recruit some linemen on both sides of the ball who can manhandle people we will keep losing.
I had the same thoughts about Sefo when they burned his red shirt as you Skyler. I asked the question of whether it would be better to put Gehrke or Dorman in if Wood wasn’t improving. I am highly disappointed that we didn’t wait until next season to make him the starter.
Well it’s too late for that we live with the decisions the coaches make.
I thought we had a decent chance against Cal but after watching the way they perserevered against USC I don’t think we can stay with them either. I will figure out a way to comfort myself with a 3 win season and a victory against CSU.