Sept. 6th – Massachusetts – A Close Shave at Gillette

Sefo Liufau threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns as Colorado overcame an 11-point third-quarter deficit to beat Massachusetts 41-38 in a game played in Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts.

UMass had turned a 20-14 deficit into a 31-20 lead by scoring 17 points in a span of 2:54 late in the second quarter and early in the third. Then Colorado scored on its next three possessions on a 14-yard run by Christian Powell, and touchdown passes of 70 and 3 yards from Liufau to Nelson Spruce.

My working title for the essay of the Colorado game against Massachusetts, walking into the New England Patriots’ Gillette Stadium, had two possible options – “Boston Strong” or “Boston Weak”.

Guess which title was in the lead midway through the third quarter?

Down 31-20 against a team the Buffs were favored to beat by 17 points, there was little to console the Buff Nation. Sure, the Colorado offense had posted 20 first-half points (but against a team with two victories in two seasons as an FBS team), but had already surrendered 31 (to a team which managed all of seven points against Boston College the week before – and a total of 14 points in three games against FBS competition in 2013).

UMass to start four freshmen on defense v. CU … UMass DC: “If I’m Colorado, I’m looking to get to the edge and run the football”

After having two 1-AA teams on the schedule in 2013, Colorado has none in 2014. UMass, however, a team only a few years removed from playing in 1-AA, is as close to an “easy” game CU gets on the 2014 schedule …