Colorado 48, UCLA 42

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November 7th – Boulder          Colorado 48, UCLA 42

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The Buffs used four first half UCLA turnovers to race out to a 35-7 lead, then hung on for dear life in the second half before securing a 48-42 victory. Head coach Karl Dorrell became the third consecutive CU coach to win in their debut, defeating his alma mater before a crowd of less than a thousand at Folsom Field.

Sam Noyer became the first CU quarterback to start his first game as a senior since 1976, and made the most of his opportunity, completing 20-of-31 passes for 257 yards and a touchdown, also picking up 64 yards and another score on 13 carries. “I just wanted this opportunity from the start”, said Noyer, making his first start since his senior year in high school … in 2015. “And I finally got it in, and that’s all I could ask for”.

Sophomore running back Jarek Broussard also had a stellar debut, with 31 carries for 187 yards and three first half touchdowns. Playing without senior receiver K.D. Nixon, the receiving corps was led by tight end Brady Russell (five catches for 77 yards and a touchdown) and Dimitri Stanley (six catches for 66 yards).

The CU offense went for 525 yards of total offense, holding the ball for almost two-thirds (39:31) of the game clock. The Buffs had a 35-14 halftime lead, but three scoring drives by the Bruins, all of which took less than 90 seconds of game clock, made the game interesting until the final 1:45, when receiver Dimitri Stanley recovered an onside kick to preserve the win. The CU defense, which played well in the first half, ended up surrendering 478 yards, with quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson responsible for most of those yards (303 yards and four touchdowns passing; 109 yards and a touchdown rushing).

“Our guys found a way to win and a way to score more points in the second half when things got close and got within seven”, said Karl Dorrell, picking up his first victory as a collegiate head coach since leaving UCLA after the 2007 season. “We found a way to just hang in there. It says a lot about this team. They didn’t give up. They kept fighting and they hung on for a victory. I am very proud of them.”

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Game Story … The Sam Noyer debut opened with the Buffs gaining 20 yards on six plays before being forced to punt … but … the first punt of Josh Watts’ career in Boulder was fumbled on the return by Kyle Phillips. The fumble, forced by Derrion Rakestraw, was recovered by Alec Pell, giving CU the ball back at UCLA 25-yard line.

Four plays later, the Buffs were on the board. Three runs by sophomore running back Jarek Broussard, including a six-yarder for the score, gave Colorado a 7-0 lead five minutes into the game.

On UCLA’s next possession, Bruin quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson was intercepted by junior linebacker Carson Wells. Wells intercepted the ball at the UCLA 15, and was returned 14 yards to the Bruin one yard line. The ensuing Buff drive was clean and quick: one play, one yard, four seconds, with Jarek Broussard scoring his second touchdown of the quarter.

After the Buff defense forced a quick three-and-out from the Bruin offense, the CU offense put together its first long drive of the game. The passing game was clicking, with Sam Noyer hitting Dimitri Stanley for ten yards on third-and-four to open the drive. Completions of ten yards to Jaren Mangham and 13 yards to Maurice Bell put the ball on the UCLA side of the field. The drive stalled, however, when Sam Noyer missed his first pass of the night, failing to connect with Stanley on a fourth-and-four at the UCLA 40-yard line.

The Bruins quickly took advantage, needing only six plays to cover 60 yards to make it a game again. A screen pass from Dorian Thompson-Robinson to running back Demetric Felton covered 28 yards for the touchdown, making it a 14-7 game in the final minute of the first quarter.

Instead of wilting under the pressure, however, the Buffs responded. Two completions from Noyer to Dimitri Stanley, covering 21 yars and 15 yards, put the Buffs in scoring position. An 11-yard run by Jarek Broussard on third-and-seven at the UCLA 26-yard line put the Buffs in the red zone, with Sam Noyer hitting tight end Brady Russell for a 12-yard touchdown. Colorado 21, UCLA 7, with 12:56 remaining in the second quarter.

UCLA pushed the ball out to midfield on its next possession, but Dorian Thompson-Robinson fumbled the ball back to the Buffs, with Derrion Rakestraw the ball at the UCLA 47-yard line.

With a chance to go for the kill, the Buffs substituted quarterbacks. Junior Tyler Lytle, who entered fall camp as the presumed starter, was given a drive. Hampered by a holding penalty, the Buffs went three-and-out, punting the ball back to the Bruins.

Instead of taking advantage, however, the Bruins gift-wrapped another touchdown for the Buffs. On the first play of the drive, junior linebacker Jamar Montgomery forced and recovered a fumble by Demetric Felton. Starting at the UCLA seven yard line, the Buffs needed only two plays to score. A one-yard scoring run by Jarek Broussard, his third of the first half, made it a 28-7 game midway through the second quarter.

After another three-and-out from the UCLA offense, the Buff offense was on the move once again. A six-play, 70-yard drive – all on the ground – put the Buffs on the scoreboard once again. A 37-yard run by Jarek Broussard, followed by two runs of 12 and six yards by Sam Noyer, pushed the ball inside the Bruin ten yard line. The drive was finished off by a two-yard touchdown run by Jaren Mangham, giving the Buffs a 35-7 lead with 5:46 left in the second quarter.

If only the game had ended right then.

With a huge lead, the Colorado defense, which had played well to that point, gave up an easy score. Dorian Thompson-Robinson hit a wide open Greg Dulcich, with the tight end lumbering 52 yards for a touchdown. The three-play, 65-yard drive took all of 1:02 off of the clock, making it a 35-14 game.

The teams then traded three-and-outs before the Buffs took the ball over at the CU 41-yard line. A 17-yard completion from Noyer to Stanley on a third-and-six allowed CU to milk the remaining second quarter clock. Despite having all three time-outs remaining, the Buffs settled for a 51-yard field goal attempt by James Stefanou. The kick, however, came up a few yards short.

Halftime score: Colorado 35, UCLA 14

Any hopes that the second half would be a cakewalk for the Buffs were quickly extinguished on UCLA’s opening possession of the third quarter. It took all of two plays for the Bruins to score, with quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson going untouched for a 65-yard touchdown 36 seconds into the second half.

The Buff offense appeared to be ready to answer, methodically moving the ball downfield. A 34-yard completion to tight end Brady Russell gave the Buffs a first down at the UCLA 31-yard line. The drive thereafter, however, stalled, with the CU offense settling for a 40-yard field goal attempt by James Stefanou. The kick was blocked, however, with the ball returned to the UCLA 40-yard line.

It took the UCLA offense only six plays to make it a one score game. A 41-yard completion on third-and-ten, followed by a 15-yard scoring pass from Thompson-Robinson to Demetric Felton completed the 88-second drive.

Just like that, it was 35-28, with less than five minutes gone in the third quarter.

The CU offense, though, got its act together, putting together a 10-play, 75-yard drive to again make it a two-score game. A 20-yard completion from Sam Noyer to Maurice Bell, followed by a 14-yard run by Broussard, moved the ball into scoring territory. After a roughing the passer penalty put the ball into the red zone, two runs by Noyer gave the Buffs a first-and-goal at the three yard line, with Noyer doing the honors with a one-yard scoring run. With 6:41 remaining in the third quarter, it was now a 42-28 contest.

Undaunted, the UCLA offense set off on its third touchdown drive of under 90 seconds in the second half. Being gifted 25 yards in penalties by the Buff defense (pass interference; defensive holding), the Bruins needed only four plays to cover 75 yards, with a 26-yard scoring pass from Thompson-Robinson to Keegan Jones making it a 42-35 game … with still over five minutes remaining in the third quarter.

The Buffs put themselves into holes on their next drive, with Noyer completing a 21-yard pass to tight end Brady Russell on third-and-19, Noyer rushing for six yards on third-and-one, and Noyer connecting with Jarek Broussard for 21 yards on third-and-12. The 13-play drive, taking almost five minutes of game clock, concluded with a 45-yard field goal by Evan Price. 45-35, in the final minute of the third quarter.

The Bruin offense again quickly moved into Buff territory. In less than two minutes of game clock, the UCLA offense had the ball at the CU 30-yard line. There, on fourth-and-one, running back Keegan Jones was stopped by linebacker Nate Landman for no gain, giving the ball back to the Buffs.

A 38-yard completion from Sam Noyer to Daniel Arias gave the Buffs a chance to put the game away, setting up the CU offense at the UCLA 31-yard line. The Buffs, though, were not able to punch the ball in, settling for a 36-yard field goal by Evan Price. The kick upped the CU lead to 48-35, but 9:26 still remained in the game.

Thanks to two holding penalties, the Bruins next faced a first-and-30 to open their next drive. Plays covering 11, 11, and 15 yards, however, gave the UCLA offense new life. A sack by defensive tackle Mustafa Johnson – CU’s only sack of the night – helped force a fourth-and-11 at the CU 40. With just over five minutes remaining, the Bruins had to go for the first down, but Thompson-Robinson’s pass fell incomplete, with the Buff defense posting its second consecutive fourth down stop.

A 25-yard run by Jarek Broussard seemingly put the Buffs in position to ice the game, but three more plays netted only nine yards. Evan Price, who had connected for two field goals earlier in the second half, had his 44-yard attempt blocked … and UCLA had new life.

Taking over at their 37-yard line, the Bruins had 3:20 of clock left, but remained down two scores. The CU defense bent, but did not entirely break. The Buffs gave up a nine yard touchdown pass from Thompson-Robinson to Mike Martinez, but forced the Bruins to take ten plays – and, more importantly, almost half of the remaining game clock – to score.

When receiver Dimitri Stanley easily covered the ensuing onside kick, Sam Noyer needed only to kneel down three times to preserve the victory.

Final score: Colorado 48, UCLA 42

“They should feel confident that they can win and win a lot of games”, said Dorrell. “We won our first one so that is a big bonus for us. We won the game without playing our best football. It was a good start, and we did a better job offensively”.

The Buffs finished with 525 yards of total offense, but surrendered 478 … while holding a commanding advantage in time of possession (39:31-20:29). “We knew playing against a third-year starter at quarterback that we would have to put some points on the board”, Dorrell said of watching a 35-7 first half lead evaporate. “They were more aggressive and started exploring our secondary a little bit. We are going to need to get all of those things fixed but we hung on”.

“We just had to make a couple corrections, there were a couple missed assignments, but it was nothing major,” said senior safety Derrion Rakestraw, who led the team with six tackles, also forcing one fumble and recovering another. “It was nothing that we couldn’t fix.  Going in next week we’ve got to be keyed in on those kinds of things, and we are going to continue to get better”.

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Here are the YouTube highlights, from BuffsTV … 

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Game Notes … 

— Despite the victory, CU still trails UCLA in the all-time series, 11-5. The two teams, however, have split the last six games, with the home team winning each time. The Buffs tied the series in games played in Boulder, at four victories apiece;

— CU moved its record in Pac-12 openers to 5-5, including three in a row and four of the past five. The Buffs upped their record in season openers to 82-44-5, with a 54-20-1 record at home;

— The 90 total points was the highest-ever for any CU opener, besting the 83 points in the 2019 opener (a 52-31 CU victory);

— Official attendance for the game was 554;

— A total of 15 Buffs saw their first career action. Five Buffs made their first career starts: CB Christian Gonzalez (Fr.); TB Jarek Broussard (So.); WR Daniel Arias (Jr.); WR Maurice Bell (Jr.); QB Sam Noyer (Sr.). Gonzalez became just the 14th true freshman to earn a start in his first game;

— Sam Noyer (13-of-21 passing for 257 yards, one touchdown; 10 carries for 64 yards and a touchdown rushing) became just the eighth player in CU history to rush for a touchdown and pass for a touchdown in their first start … His 321 yards of total offense was the fifth-best opening game in school history;

— The 31-carry, 187-yard effort by Jarek Broussard was the second-best effort in a first start by a running back in school history. In 1990, Mike Pritchard made his first and only start at running back, replacing a suspended Eric Bieniemy, going for 217 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-31 tie against Tennessee. If you are talking “true” running backs, Broussard’s effort was second, trailing only the 202 yards Billy Waddy posted against Wisconsin in 1973;

— More Broussard … When Pritchard and Waddy set their marks, it was not their first game. As a result, Broussard’s efforts are the most by a CU running back in their first career game … Broussard became the 19th Buff to go over the 100-yard mark in his first career start at running back … His three touchdowns in his first game trails only Michael Adkins, who had four (and ties Bobby Anderson, who also had three rushing touchdowns in his first career start);

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Tags: Alec Pell, Brady Russell, Carson Wells, Christian Gonzalez, Daniel Arias, Derrion Rakestraw, Dimitri Stanley, Evan Price, Jamar Montgomery, James Stefanou, Jarek Broussard, Jaren Mangham, Josh Watts, Karl Dorrell, Maurice Bell, Nate Landman, Sam Noyer, Tyler Lytle
This post, about the UCLA game, from the 2020 Season, is filed under Article.
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