Colorado 41, Oregon 38

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September 24th – at Oregon          Colorado 41, Oregon 38

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Red-shirt freshman quarterback Steven Montez threw for 333 yards and three touchdowns in his starting debut, leading Colorado to a 41-38 victory over Oregon. Montez also ran for 135 yards and a score as the Buffs raced out to leads of 23-7 and 33-17 before needing an Ahkello Witherspoon interception in the end zone with 48 seconds remaining to preserve the victory.

Devin Ross had 153 yards and a touchdown receiving, with the Buffs rolling to 593 total yards overall. The victory was the first for the Buffs over the Ducks since joining the Pac-12, and the first overall since defeating Oregon in the 1998 Aloha Bowl.

“I would say this is a signature win,” said MacIntyre, whose team was 0-5 against the Ducks since joining the league. “These kids believe they can beat anybody.”

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With senior kicker Diego Gonzalez out for the season, even the kickoff against Oregon brought drama, but true freshman walk-on kicker Davis Price sent the opening kickoff into the end zone, keeping the explosive Duck return team from making a play.

The Colorado defense forced a quick three-and-out from the Oregon offense, with the Buffs setting up at their own 20-yard line. On first down, red-shirt freshman quarterback Steven Montez, making his first career start, hit Bryce Bobo for a 16-yard gain. A pair of short completions to Devin Ross set up a 33-yard run by Phillip Lindsay down to the Oregon 20 yard line. After Montez kept the ball for a pair of runs down to the one yard line, Lindsay took it in for a 7-0 CU lead four minutes into the game.

The Buffs held the Duck offense to another three-and-out, including a sack by Samson Kafovalu, with the CU offense taking over on the Oregon 47. A Montez connection with running back Kyle Evans netted 21 yards on a third-and-13 to keep the drive alive, with Evans getting four straight carries thereafter (for 22 yards), before the Buff drive stalled at the Oregon six yard line. The Buff Nation held its breath when Chris Graham came on to attempt a 24-yard field goal, but the kick was good, giving Colorado a 10-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

The Oregon offense, known for striking quickly, did just that on their third opportunity. A 50-yard run by Tony Brooks-James got the ball to the red zone, with Taj Griffin scoring from a yard out two plays later. Just like that – in 1:19 of game clock – it was a 10-7 game.

The Buff offense was not intimidated, however, piecing together a 13-play, 87-yard drive to retake the momentum. A pair of 16-yard passes from Montez, one to Phillip Lindsay and the other to Jay MacIntyre, pushed the ball deep into Oregon territory. A seven-yard connection from Montez to Shay Fields made it a 16-7 game in the final minute of the first quarter (with the Chris Graham extra point being blocked to keep it a nine-point lead.

Oregon could not respond on its next possession, with the Buff offense continuing to make plays on its end. A 61-yard pass from Montez to Devin Ross set the Buffs up at the Duck five yard line, with Montez doing the honors from three yards out. Suddenly, just three minutes into the second quarter, it was a 23-7 game.

It appeared that the Oregon offense was going to leave the field with another three-and-out, but the Ducks were successful on a fake punt, with a 29-yard run on fourth-and-three at their own 43-yard line. Two plays later, Oregon quarterback Dakota Prokup connected with Darren Carrington for a 25-yard touchdown. 23-14, Colorado.

The Buffs had a fourth down opportunity of their own on their next drive. The Colorado offense pushed the ball into the Oregon red zone, aided by a pass interference call and an 18-yard run by Montez. On fourth-and-four at the Oregon 26-yard line, though, Montez was sacked, giving the ball back to the Ducks.

Oregon responded with a long drive, but one which only netted a field goal. The Ducks went 11 plays, covering 43 yards, before settling for a 41-yard field goal by Aidan Schneider. The Buff defense had held, but the Ducks had scored ten straight points … Colorado 23, Oregon 17, with 2:31 remaining.

Most Buff fans would have been content with a lead of any size to take to halftime, but the Buffs not only held the ball, but put together a good drive. An “almost” touchdown pass to Devin Ross did not withstand replay review, with the Buffs settling for a 33-yard field goal by Chris Graham as the half expired.

Halftime score: Colorado 26, Oregon 17

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The second half opened for the Buffs just about as well as the first half had done. The Colorado offense took the third quarter kickoff and marched right down the field for a score. A pair of Phillip Lindsay runs netted 13 yards before Steven Montez added a pair of runs for 14 more. On the fifth play of the drive, Montez hit Devin Ross for a 48-yard score, with the Buffs needing the replay booth to overturn an on-the-field call of an incompletion. Colorado 33, Oregon 17, just two minutes into the second half.

The rest of the third quarter, however, was all Oregon.

The Buff defense did force a punt from the Duck defense on Oregon’s first possession, but on CU’s next possession, Steven Montez made his first mistake of the afternoon. After three Kyle Evans runs (for 30 yards) and a Montez run for 12 had pushed the ball to near midfield, Montez was picked off Brenden Schooler, with the return setting the Ducks up at their 49-yard line.

Five plays later, the Ducks were on the board, with a Tony Brooks-James one-yard run cutting the Buffs’ lead to 33-24 midway through the quarter.

A quick three-and-out from the Buff offense led to Alex Kinney’s first punt of the game. The 41-yarder was (thankfully) uneventful, but the Oregon offense was now in sync. A ten-play, 74-yard drive was culminated by a three-yard touchdown run by Kani Benoit. The Autzen field crowd of53,974 was now in the game, with the Ducks back to within two, at 33-31, with three minutes remaining in the third.

Two plays later, the Duck crowd was even louder, with Montez throwing his second interception of the game on the Buffs’ second play from scrimmage. The Troy Dye interception gave Oregon the ball at the CU 27-yard line. On second-and-one from the Buff 18, Dakota Prokup hit Darren Carrington for the second time. The touchdown gave the Ducks their first lead of the game, at 38-33, as the third quarter came to a close.

Having lost a 21-7 lead against Michigan the week before, many expected Oregon to pull away in the fourth quarter, but the opposite happened … after giving up three touchdowns in less than seven minutes of playing time, the Buff defense did not allow another Oregon score the remainder of the game.

Still, the Buffs were now behind. After an exchange of punts, Colorado took over at their 30-yard line. A 21-yard pass from Montez to Bryce Bobo was nullified by a holding penalty, but Montez got the Buffs out of the hole with a 32-yard run two plays later.

Two more Montez runs, totaling 17 yards, gave the Buffs a first-and-ten at the Duck 31-yard line. After two incompletions, Montez hit Bryce Bobo in the Oregon end zone. The catch was initially called incomplete, but, as with the Devin Ross in the third quarter, the call on the field was overturned by replay, giving the Buffs the lead back. Montez then connected with Bobo again, this time on a two-point conversion, making it a 41-38 game.

The game was far from over, however, as there was still 8:43 left on the clock.

Oregon drove as far as the CU 40-yard line on its next drive, but was forced to punt. Needing a first down to keep the ball away from the Ducks, the Buffs nonetheless went three-and-out, with Montez stopped for no gain on third-and-one.

Taking over at their own 42-yard line, with 2:57 remaining, the Ducks were in prime position to pull out the victory. A Jimmie Gilbert sack of Prokup left Oregon with a third-and-17 at their 41-yard line. Rather than face a 58-yard field goal attempt to tie, the Ducks picked up a pass interference call against the Buffs, giving the Ducks 15 yards and a new set of downs.

A Prokup pass to Dwayne Stanford for 16 yards gave the Ducks a first-and-goal at the Colorado seven yard line. Less than a minute remained, but the Ducks appeared poised to post the win.

Instead, on the next play, Prokup lobbed the ball to the back corner of the CU endzone. Looking for Carrington, Prokup instead found CU cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon. The turnover, the first of the day for Oregon, allowed the Buff offense to come back on the field to take a knee, giving the Buffs their biggest win to date in four years under Mike MacIntyre.

Final score: Colorado 41, Oregon 38

For the game, Colorado had 593 yards of total offense, compared to 508 for Oregon. The Buffs posted 260 yards rushing, over half coming from quarterback Steven Montez (135, on 21 carries). Devin Ross became the first Buff in the 2016 season to go over 100 yards receiving, posting seven receptions for 153 yards and a touchdown.

“Pretty much a legendary game for his first one,” MacIntyre said of the 333-yard passing; 135-yard rushing day for Steven Montez. “I knew he was good, but to set the record for Colorado history (for the most total offense by a quarterback in his starting debut), I would say he exceeded my expectations.”

Noteworthy … While not overwhelming, the Buff special teams held their own against the Ducks. The kickoff return team allowed 97 yards in returns, a 19.4 yard average, but did not allow a game-breaking return. The punt team, which was a disaster against Michigan the week before (two blocked kicks, another returned for a touchdown), was more than adequate. Alex Kinney had only three punts on the day, but averaged 40.3 yards per kick … with no returns.

Here is the YouTube video of the play of the game …

And here are some other YouTube highlights of the game, courtesy of BuffsTV:

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Game Notes … 

— Steven Montez (23-of-32, 333 yards passing; 21 carries for 135 yards rushing) had the fourth-highest passing total for any Buff quarterback in their starting debut. In terms of total offense (including rushing yards), Montez had the best starting debut for a CU quarterback in history. The 300/100 effort was the first of its kind ever for a Buff;

— Devin Ross (seven receptions for 153 yards, one touchdown). Ross had his second career 100-yard game, and his fourth consecutive game with a receiving touchdown tied him for the third-longest streak in school history (school record: 7);

— The Buffs scored on their first possession of the game for the fourth consecutive game. The only other season the Buff offense was so efficient was the 1989 season (11-1). The Buffs also scored on their first drive of the second half for the third time (two touchdowns/one field goal);

— Ahkello Witherspoon’s game-saving interception allowed CU to extend its nation-best streak of forcing at least one turnover each game to 17;

— The Buffs’ win made the series 12-9 in favor of the Ducks. The victory was the first for Colorado in Eugene since defeating Oregon, 17-13, in 1967 … in the first game ever in Autzen stadium;

— Colorado kickers extended their streak of consecutive extra points to 156 – a school record – before Chris Graham’s second quarter offering was blocked;

— In the first four games of the 2016 season, the Buffs out-scored the opposition in the first quarter, 72-14 (16-7 against Oregon), with a total yardage advantage of 815-197;

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Tags: Ahkello Witherspoon, Chris Graham, Devin Ross, Jay MacIntyre, Kyle Evans, Phillip Lindsay, Samson Kafovalu, Steven Montez
This post, about the Oregon game, from the 2016 Season, is filed under Game.
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