Nov. 11th – No. 15 USC – “We Gave The Game To Them”

Quarterback Sam Darnold threw for 329 yards and three touchdowns, rushing for another, leading No. 15 USC to a 38-24 victory over Colorado. Ronald Jones II added 142 yards on the ground for 9-2 USC, which defeated Colorado for the 12th straight time.

The Buffs were led by quarterback Steven Montez, who went 27-for-49 for 376 yards and two touchdowns. An interception for a touchdown thrown right before the half, however, gave USC a 20-0 lead at the half, with the Buffs never getting within two scores the remainder of the game.

Overall, the stats were fairly close, with both teams posting 23 first downs. USC had 522 yards of total offense, to 486 for Colorado. Mistakes on offense, defense, and special teams, however, doomed the Buffs to their sixth loss of the season, with a win on the road against Utah now a necessity if Colorado was to go bowling in consecutive years for the first time since 2004-05.

“We had some critical mistakes and kind of gave them the game,” said CU head coach Mike MacIntyre. “They’re the most talented team in our league year in and year out, no doubt about it. We had some opportunities tonight and squandered it away.”

With the 38-24 loss to the No. 15 USC Trojans, Colorado’s season record dipped to 5-6.

The Buff Nation woke up the day after the loss cheering for a team under .500 for the first time since November 28, 2015, when CU finished off a 4-9 campaign with a 20-14 road loss to Utah.

Almost two full years of being on the positive side of the ledger.

Little solace to fans knowing that their team should not only be bowl eligible by now, but be comfortably above .500 for the second year in a row.

Colorado was a 13.5-point underdog to USC, so, to the rest of the college football world, a 38-24 result was to be expected.

We know better.

Drew Litton … Buffs look for signature win … Neill Woelk’s Five Keys … Derek McCartney saves a life … Ten inducted into CU Sports Hall of Fame

The stat which could be a game-changer for the Buffs … Shout outs to Ronnie Bradford and Darian Hagan

“T.I.P.S.” for CU’s bid for first-ever win over USC … Can CU’s Senior Day have a happy ending?