Colorado 47, Oregon State 6

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October 1st – Boulder           Colorado 47, Oregon State 6

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Steven Montez and Shay Fields hooked up for three first-half touchdowns, leading the Buffs to a 47-6 rout of Oregon State. Montez went 19-for-27 for 293 yards in three quarters of action, with Fields collecting seven of those passes for 169 yards. Fields tied a school record for touchdown receptions in a game, with 160 of his 169 yards coming in the first half as the Buffs turned an early 3-0 deficit into a 37-6 blowout by halftime.

Phillip Lindsay was the leading rusher for the Buffs, with 90 yards and a score in 16 carries. The defense was also stellar, holding the Beavers to 226 yards of total offense. While holding the Oregon State offense out of the end zone, the Colorado defense was able to get there on its own, with linebacker Rick Gamboa scoring on a 20-yard interception return.

“It proves we’re legitimate, maybe, that we can do it,” Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre said. “Everybody kept asking me all week, `Are they going to have a letdown? Did they play out of their minds?’ Like I said since Day 1, we’re a good football team.”

The win gave Colorado a 4-1 record overall, with a 2-0 record in Pac-12 play. In defeating Oregon State (1-3, 0-1), the Buffs equaled their 2015 win total, and made a claim for a national ranking for the first time since 2005.

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The game, played before 46,839 sun-baked fans in Folsom Field, did not open as well as Buff fans might have hoped. The Colorado defense forced a punt out of the Oregon State offense on its first possession, but the Buff offense, which had scored a touchdown on its first drive of the game in each of the first four games of the season, went nowhere. Steven Montez threw three straight incompletions, and the Buffs quickly punted the ball back to the Beavers.

Starting their second drive at their own 47-yard line, the Oregon State offense managed to piece together a 12-play, 39-yard drive to open the scoring. A Garrett Owen 32-yard field goal gave the Beavers a 3-0 lead seven minutes into the contest.

And so ended the Beaver highlights.

On its second drive of the game, the Buff offense turned to running back Kyle Evans. The sophomore carried the ball on six straight plays, covering 24 yards, setting the Buffs up at their 49-yard line. The Beaver defense, having been sufficiently drawn in by the success of the CU running game, was taken in by a Steven Montez ball fake. Montez, on his fourth pass of the game, had his first completion … a 51-yard lob to a wide open Shay Fields.

Seven plays, 75 yards, and the Buffs had the lead for good.

The Colorado defense quickly forced another punt, with the Colorado offense taking over at its 14-yard line. The Buffs then strung together a ten-play, 86-yard drive for a second score. Phillip Lindsay had five runs totaling 24 yards on the drive, with Montez connecting again with Shay Fields, this time on a 33-yarder, to make it a 13-3 game late in the first quarter (the first extra point by Chris Graham was blocked).

Oregon State did get into Colorado territory on its next drive, but a sack of Beaver quarterback Darell Garretson by Jimmie Gilbert resulted in a 20-yard loss (Garretson fumbled on the play, but the force of the Gilbert blow knocked the ball out of bounds).

Less than two minutes later, the Buffs were on the board again.

It took only five plays to cover 75 yards, with a short pass from Montez to Shay Fields at the CU 37-yard line turned by Fields into a 63-yard touchdown pass. Just like that, the Buffs were up 20-3.

The Beavers then made one last effort to keep it a game. A kickoff return to the 38 gave the Oregon State offense some momentum, with the Beavers getting as close as the Buff 22-yard line before settling for a 40-yard field goal. Colorado 20, Oregon State 6, still early in the second quarter.

Any hope of a Beaver comeback was quickly quashed, however. The Buffs needed 11 plays to cover 66 yards, but put together yet another touchdown drive. A 13-yard pass from Montez to Phillip Lindsay was followed by a 14-yard run by Montez and a 20-yard reception by Kyle Evans. Set up at the Beaver three yard line with a first-and-goal, it took four plays for the Buffs to score, with Phillip Lindsay scoring from a yard out on fourth down.

A three-and-out from the Oregon State offense gave the Buffs the ball right back, with the Colorado offense marching right back down the field. Completions from Montez to Phillip Lindsay (15 yards) and Jay MacIntyre (20 yards) put the ball on the Oregon State 38 yard line. There, however, for the first time since the opening drive, the CU offense stalled.

No problem. Freshman kicker Davis Price came in, and calmly connected from 37 yards out. Colorado 30, Oregon State 6, with 50 seconds remaining before halftime.

The Beavers were content to take a 24-point deficit into the break, but they couldn’t even manage that. A short pass from Conor Blount, subbing for the ineffective Garretson, was intercepted by CU linebacker Rick Gamboa, who took the ball 20 yards for yet another Buff touchdown.

Halftime score: Colorado 37, Oregon State 6

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For the third time in five games, Colorado football fans were able to enjoy the second half with very little concern about the outcome of the game.

The teams traded punts to open the third quarter before CU safety Tedric Thompson got the Folsom Field crowd back into the game. On a second-and-seven at the OSU 26, Conor Blount lofted the ball down the Buff sideline. There Thompson jumped in front of the Beaver receiver, hauling down his second interception of the season.

The Colorado offense was content to chew clock on the ensuing drive, with eight of the ten plays being running plays. On a third-and-one at the Oregon State 31 yard line, Phillip Lindsay broke through, being tripped up just before he could complete a sprint to the end zone. Lindsay had to settle for a 22-yard gain on the play, and, four plays later, the Buffs settled for a 22-yard Davis Price field goal. Colorado 40, Oregon State 7, late in the third quarter.

After another Jimmie Gilbert sack snuffed out another Oregon State drive, the Buff offense went on a methodical drive to exert its dominance.

With Jordan Gehrke behind center, the Buffs went on a 15-play, 84-yard drive, taking over five minutes off of the game clock. Michael Adkins, seeing his first action of the season, carried the ball five straight plays, covering 29 yards. Completions by Gerhke of ten yards to Bryce Bobo for ten yards and 13 yards to Donovan Lee put the ball into Beaver territory. Later in the drive, Gehrke himself ran for 23 yards, setting the Buffs up at the OSU two yard line. There, on second down, Michael Adkins finished off the drive with a one yard scoring run.

The Adkins’ touchdown made it a 47-6 game with ten minutes still left to be played. After that, however, both teams brought in multiple backups, with both teams ready for the game to come to an end. Only one first down was posted by either team (by OSU) the remainder of the contest.

Final score: Colorado 47, Oregon State 6

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“We’ve got to keep playing games. Every team that’s left to play can beat us, and we can beat every team left,” said Mike MacIntyre, who won just his fourth Pac-12 game as CU’s head coach (4-25). “We have to come and play Colorado football, that’s what I tell them all the time. Play Colorado football; that means take care of yourself. Then, you go out there and play and see what happens. There’s a lot of great football teams in our league.”

… But Oregon State is not one of them.

In losing its 12th-straight Pac-12 game, the Beavers managed only 126 yards rushing and 100 yards passing. Oregon State quarterbacks went for a combined 13-for-32 with two interceptions, while Colorado quarterbacks went a combined 21-for-30 for 316 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. Oregon State coach Gary Andersen had nothing but praise for the CU secondary. “In my opinion these are the best corners we’ve played all year,” said Andersen. “They have three corners that are special young men.”

The win put the Buffs, ranked 31st in the nation in the Associated Press poll leading up to the game, time to ponder whether the blowout win over Oregon State would vault the team into the poll for the first time since November, 2005.

“That’s not up to us,” said wide receiver Shay Fields, who produced three touchdown catches from Montez in the first half, part of a seven-catch, 169-yard day. “We’re just going to keep playing ball.”

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Game Notes … 

— The win gave CU a 4-1 record for the first time since 2005, and a 2-0 record in conference play for the first time since 2007;

— The day after the game, the Buffs reentered the national polls for the first time since November, 2005. The Buffs were ranked No. 21 in the Associated Press poll, and No. 23 in the USA Today coaches’ poll;

— The 46,839 attendance was the highest in the Mike MacIntyre era, and the highest since 46,893 were on hand for a game against UCLA in 2012;

— The 41-point margin was the largest in a league game since the Buffs beat Kansas State, 54-7, in 1992;

— The 563 yards of total offense marked the fourth time in five games the Colorado offense went over the 500-yard mark. The last time the Buffs were so prolific on offense was in 1994;

— The six points allowed were the lowest for the Buffs since joining the Pac-12, besting the 13 points the Buffs allowed against Oregon State in 2015 (17-13);

— The Colorado defense allowed Oregon State only 226 total yards, giving the Buffs three games with less than 250 yards allowed. The last time that happened was in 2007;

— Shay Fields became just the fourth Buff to have three touchdown receptions in a game (and the first to do so in just one half);

— Rick Gamboa’s interception was the first of his career. The pick also extended the team’s streak with at least one turnover to 18 games, the longest current streak in the nation;

— Kicker Davis Price set a freshman record with his 54 yard field goal (the longest previous – Will Oliver for 52 yards v. Cal in 2011).

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Tags: Davis Price, Jay MacIntyre, Jordan Gehrke, Kyle Evans, Michael Adkins, Phillip Lindsay, Rick Gamboa, Shay Fields, Steven Montez, Tedric Thompson
This post, about the Oregon State game, from the 2016 Season, is filed under Game.
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