August 31st – Colorado 45, Colorado State 13

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August 31st – Denver          Colorado 45, Colorado 13

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Colorado scored on its first three possessions of the game, never looking back in a 45-13 rout of Colorado State in Denver. Steven Montez was almost perfect on the night, completing 22-of-25 passes for 338 yards and four touchdowns as the Buffs won the Rocky Mountain Showdown for the fourth straight time.

In rolling up 596 yards of total offense, there were many heroes for the Buff offense. Sophomore wide receiver Laviska Shenault set Rocky Mountain Showdown records, both with his 11 receptions and his 211 yards receiving. Virginia Tech graduate transfer running back Travon McMillian had 103 yards rushing (equaling the total rushing yards for CSU on the night) on only ten carries. K.D. Nixon also hit triple digits, with six receptions for 112 yards, highlighted by a 46-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter.

How big a night was it for the Buff offense? For the first time in school history, the Buffs had a 300-yard passer (Montez; 338), a 200-yard receiver (Shenault; 211) and a 100-yard rusher (McMillian; 103) in the same game.

The Colorado defense played well for much of the evening, holding the Rams out of the end zone for the final three quarters. The CSU offense, which went for 653 yards of total offense in its first game of the 2018 season, was held to 284 total yards.

“It’s always big to start [with a dominating win]. The kids get more confidence,” said CU head coach Mike MacIntyre. “When we go to coach them on Monday and correct them on everything; they’ll listen a little better. You can coach them more. They won’t be as down. I’m excited about what they did today, but we have long way still to go.”

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Game Story … The last time Colorado faced Colorado State, the Buffs failed to score in the final 43:36 of the game, salvaging an ugly 17-3 win over the Rams.

The scoring drought against CSU carried over into the 2018 Rocky Mountain Showdown … for just over 90 seconds.

Taking the opening kickoff, the Buff offense needed only five plays to cover 75 yards. Two shovel passes to wide receiver Laviska Shenault were good for 25 yards, taking the ball to midfield. Two plays later, quarterback Steven Montez took off down the left sideline, covering 38 yards on the run for the score.

Colorado 7, Colorado State 0 … with 13:36 still to play in the first quarter.

The Rams punted on their first possession, giving the ball back to the Buffs at their 13-yard line. Four plays later, which included a 13-yard completion to K.D. Nixon and a ten-yarder to Jay MacIntyre, Montez hit Nixon in stride for a 46 yard touchdown.

Colorado 14, Colorado State 0, with over eight minutes still remaining in the first.

On their second possession, the Ram offense responded. The Rams needed only seven plays to cover 75 yards, with quarterback K.J. Carta-Samuels hitting wide receiver Olabisi Johnson for a 26-yard touchdown.

Undaunted, the Buff offense remained in high gear. Three runs by Virginia Tech graduate transfer running back Travon McMillian, going for 15, seven, and 18 yards, pushed the ball into CSU territory. The nine-play drive was finished off by a four-yard touchdown pass from Montez to fullback Beau Bisharat, upping the lead to 21-7 late in the first quarter.

When the Rams not only failed to answer on their next drive, but also gave the ball to the Buffs at the CU 47-yard line after a short punt, it appeared that a rout was in the making. Instead, on the first play of the second quarter, Montez, who had yet to thrown an incompletion, got greedy. With a first down at the CSU 42-yard line – and an offense which had yet to face a third down – Montez went for a home run pass to Jay MacIntyre. The pass was underthrown, intercepted by CSU cornerback V.J. Banks at the Ram 15-yard line.

The Rams then held the ball for the longest drive by either team in the first half … and didn’t cross midfield. On the 12th play of the drive, from the CSU 49-yard line, a K.J. Carta-Samuels pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage by defensive end Mustafa Johnson, with the pass intercepted by linebacker Nate Landman.

On the ensuing drive, the Buff offense didn’t turn the ball over … but did face a third down for the first time in the game. On third-and-four at the CSU ten-yard line, Laviska Shenault, who had catches for 16 and eight yards on the drive, lineup in the wildcat formation. Shenault kept the ball on the snap, gaining five yards and a first down. Two plays later, Montez hit Juwann Winfree for a four-yard touchdown.

Colorado 28, Colorado State 7, midway through the second quarter.

The teams traded punts before a K.D. Nixon fumble near midfield gave Colorado State a chance at a score before halftime. It appeared that the Buffs had the Rams stopped, with a 56-yard field goal attempt falling short and right. The Rams were given new life, however, when defensive back Trey Udoffia was called for running into the kicker on the attempt. The second effort, a 51-yarder by Wyatt Bryan, was good, giving Colorado State a glimmer of hope at the break.

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Halftime score: Colorado 28, Colorado State 10

Fully cognizant that the Rams had comeback from a 37-7 third quarter deficit against Hawai’i in game one (ultimately a 43-34 loss), the Buffs kept the pedal to the medal in the third quarter.

The Buff defense forced a punt less than a minute into the quarter, with the CU offense taking over at its 15-yard line. It looked like the Buffs were facing their first three-and-out of the game two plays later – third-and-14 at the 11. The Rams brought a blitz, but didn’t count very well. Wide receiver Laviska Shenault was left alone, with Montez dumping the ball off to Shenault around the 20 yard line. Two broken tackles later, Shenault had an 89-yard touchdown.

Colorado 35, Colorado State 10 … less than three minutes into the second half.

Any hope the 30,000 or so Ram fans had of a comeback (CU sold 38,399 of the 70,158 in attendance, with the Broncos/Ticketmaster selling 2,839) were dashed a few moments later.

Facing a third-and-one at the CSU 49-yard line, Steven Montez handed off to Travon McMillian. McMillian hesitated, then bounced outside, taking the ball the full 49 yards for a touchdown.

Colorado was now in complete control, owning a 42-10 lead midway through the third quarter.

After yet another punt from the Rams, the Buffs put together yet another scoring drive. Facing a third-and-12, Montez and Shenault hooked up yet again, this time for 43-yard gain to the CSU 26-yard line. There, the CU drive stalled, with the Buffs settling for a 39-yard field goal by James Stefanou.

The Buff offense had failed to convert a red zone opportunity into a touchdown, but the game was now officially out of hand at 45-10 late in the third quarter.

The teams, now substituting frequently, traded punts before the Rams put together a 10-play, 49-yard drive. CSU had a first-and-goal at the Buff two-yard line, but ultimately only came away with a 27-yard field goal, making it a 45-13 game midway through the final stanza.

The remainder of the game was noteworthy only due to the number of backup players who entered the game. Both of CU backup quarterbacks, Sam Noyer and Tyler Lytle, saw action, with Beau Bisharat and Alex Fontenot getting some quality carries.

Final score … Colorado 45, Colorado State 13

“(The win) felt really good, especially to see everything come together,” said linebacker and team captain Rick Gamboa. “After a long fall camp, it was good to finally play against someone else. All phases came together; offense, defense, and special teams. It went well
for us.”

In a night of statistical stars, Steven Montez led the way. In completing 22-of-25 passes for 338 yards and four touchdowns (one interception), Montez finished with a quarterback rating of 246.4, the best for any Colorado quarterback throwing over 20 passes in a game.

“It felt like we were just clicking,” said Montez, who moved into ninth on CU’s all-time passing list (4,330 yards). I think that we’ve been working extremely hard across the board during fall camp. I think our guys have been hungry and were antsy to get onto the field. I think that’s just what happened today. Everybody wanted to play and the line was blocking well. The running backs were making plays and the receivers were making plays. The defense was playing stout as ever. They looked good out there today. I think things just clicked for us today and hopefully they click for us a lot the season.”

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Here are the YouTube highlights of the game:

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And the YouTube video of the entire game (note: the audio isn’t in sync for the first few minutes. CBS Sports came to the game late, so the audio is the KOA radio broadcast – Mark Johnson and Gary Barnett – over the CBS coverage):

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Game Notes …

— CU won its season opener for the third year in a row for the first time since 2003-05 (in both instances, all three wins coming over Colorado State);

— The win gave Colorado a 66-22-2 lead in the series (12-6 in Denver; 22-8 since the series resumed in 1983;

— As noted, above … For the first time in school history, the Buffs had a 300-yard passer (Montez; 338), a 200-yard receiver (Shenault; 211) and a 100-yard rusher (McMillian; 103) in the same game;

— For good measure, the game marked only the second time that the Buffs had a two-100 yard receivers and a 100-yard rusher in the same game (Nebraska, 2009) … and the 44th time the Buffs had a 100-yard rusher and a 100-yard receiver in the same game (with CU going 34-10 in such games);

— Eleven Buffs made their first career starts … CU Delrick Abrams, DE Israel Antwine, OLB Jacob Callier, TB Kyle Evans, DE Mustafa Johnson, ILB Nate Landman, WR K.D. Nixon, C Colby Pursell, WR Laviska Shenault, LG Brett Tonz, OLB Carson Wells;

— Overall, 34 players made their Colorado debuts against CSU, the highest total in memory (since records have been kept);

— Colby Pursell became just the third freshman (true or redshirt) to start an opener, joining Bryan Stoltenberg and Andre Gurode (both of whom went on to be come All-Americans);

— Nate Landman’s interception in the second quarter was the first of his career. His 14 tackles were tied for the most for any Buff in their first career start (four unassisted, plus two tackles for loss, three third-down stops, and a quarterback hurry);

— Steven Montez completed his first 12 passes, tying a school record for most pass completions to start a game (matching Joel Klatt v. Missouri in 2005);

— Montez’ 38-yard scoring run to open the game was the longest for a Buff quarterback since 1994, when Kordell Stewart scored on a 60-yard run by Kordell Stewart;

— The 89-yard touchdown pass from Steven Montez to Laviska Shenault was the longest play from scrimmage for the Buffs since 2002 (a 94-yard touchdown pass from Robert Hodge to Jeremy Bloom). The 89 yards covered represented the fourth longest pass play in school history, and the eighth-longest play from scrimmage.

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Tags: Beau Bisharat, Colby Pursell, James Stefanou, Jay MacIntyre, K.D. Nixon, Laviska Shenault, Mustafa Johnson, Nate Landman, Rick Gamboa, Steven Montez, Travon McMillian
This post, about the Colorado State game, from the 2018 Season, is filed under Article.
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