Colorado 37, Oregon State 34, 2OT

—

November 6th – Boulder           Colorado 37, Oregon State 34  2OT

—

CU kicker Cole Becker calmly hit a 43-yarder in the second overtime, giving Colorado a 37-34 win over Oregon State. The Buffs seemingly had the game won when OSU kicker Everett Hayes missed a potential tying field goal with 32 seconds remaining in regulation. Becker was given a second chance, however, hitting a 60-yard field goal as time expired to send the game into extra time. After both schools scored touchdowns in the first overtime, Hayes missed a 38-yard attempt, giving CU’s Cole Becker a chance to win the game moments later.

“What a ball game that was”, said Karl Dorrell. “You know, there’s some really good things that happened in that game. We felt that our team grew up from a week prior. I felt like the offense a couple weeks ago was starting to find themselves and that was up there in Eugene”.

Buff quarterback Brendon Lewis went 15-for-24 passing, going for 170 yards and three touchdowns, also contributing a nine-yard touchdown run in the first overtime. Running back Jarek Broussard had his first 100-yard game of the season, with 151 yards on 24 carries. Overall, the Buffs had 392 yards of total offense, while giving up 475 yards of total offense to the Beavers.

Colorado came into the game with a 2-6 record, and were double digit underdogs to 5-3 Oregon State. Still, 47,984 (96% of capacity) were on hand for Homecoming. “We have one of the best fan groups in the nation”, said cornerback Christian Gonzalez. “They’re always out no matter what. It’s just great playing at home with them and them giving us energy and all that.”

—

Game Story … The much-maligned Colorado offense opened the game with an impressive drive … at least until the Buffs got to the red zone. A 20-yard pass from Brendon Lewis to tight end Brady Russell opened the drive, with a nine-yard completion to Daniel Arias and a 15-yard run by Jarek Broussard pushing the ball into Beaver territory. A 21-yard completion to Chase Penry on third-and-six from the OSU 26 gave the Buffs a first-and-goal at the five, but the CU offense went backwards from their, with Cole Becker making a 28-yard field goal to give CU an opening 3-0 lead.

The Buff defense forced a quick three-and-out to give the CU Homecoming crowd a surprising lift. A 23-yard completion from Lewis to La’Vontae Shenault set the Buffs up near midfield. Three plays later, Lewis hit a wide open Daniel Arias for a 43-yard touchdown. Midway through the first quarter, the Buffs, a 12-point underdog, had a 10-0 lead.

The euphoria didn’t last long, as the Beaver offense set off on a 13-play, 75-yard drive which took almost seven minutes off of the game clock. After a holding penalty, the Beavers faced a third-and-16 at their 31-yard line, but quarterback Chance Nolan hit Trevon Bradford for a 19-yard gain and new life. On the first play of the second quarter, facing a fourth-and-one at the CU 14-yard line, Chance Nolan went around end, scoring to make it a 10-7 game.

Undeterred, the Buffs set off on their third consecutive drive into Oregon State territory. A 34-yard kickoff return by Brenden Rice was followed by a 16-yard completion from Brendon Lewis to Chance Penry to move the ball to midfield. A pass interference penalty helped move the ball into the red zone, but there the drive stalled. The Buffs came up empty on their third drive of the game when Cole Becker missed a 35-yard field goal attempt.

When a 31-yard completion from Nolan to Luke Musgrave, it appeared that the Beavers were set to take their first lead of the game. Instead, two plays later, a deep pass was picked off by Isaiah Lewis. The interception return by Lewis was good for 38 yards, setting the Buffs up at their 45-yard line.

The Buffs were unable to take advantage, however, with their first three-and-out of the game. The Beavers, though, was unable to seize the momentum, punting the ball right back to Colorado.

Taking over at the Oregon State 45-yard line, the Buffs were able to convert the good field position into a field goal. Another pass interference penalty against the Beavers gave the Buffs another red zone opportunity, with a first down at the Oregon State 18-yard line. From there, however, the Buffs went backwards, finally facing a fourth-and-26 at the OSU 34-yard line. Cole Becker, though, bailed out the offense, hitting a 52-yard field goal to make it a 13-7 game with 39 seconds before halftime.

Turns out, 39 seconds were more than enough for Oregon State, with the Beaver offense covering 49 yards in five plays. On the final play of the half, OSU kicker Everett Hayes hit a 45-yard field goal.

Halftime score: Colorado 13, Oregon State 10

The Buff defense opened the third quarter in fine fashion, forcing their first three-and-out of the game. The CU offense, though, was no more effective, with a three-and-out of their own.

On OSU’s second drive of the half, the Beavers faced fourth-and-two at their own 41-yard line. Instead of punting, the Beavers decided to go for the first down. The Chance Nolan pass, though, fell incomplete, with the Buffs taking over in OSU territory.

This time, the CU offense did not disappoint. Jarek Broussard runs for 16 yards and 14 yards gave CU a first-and-goal at the OSU nine yard line. On third-and-goal at the five, Brendon Lewis hit Brenden Rice for the score, giving CU a 20-10 lead with six minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Once again, however, the Buffs were not able to enjoy a two-score lead for a significant length of time. It took only 2:35 of game clock for the Beavers to go 75 yards in seven plays, scoring on a 31-yard run by Trey Lowe. Colorado 20, Oregon State 17, with 3:19 still left in the third.

The Buffs managed to hold onto the ball into the fourth quarter on their next drive, but just barely. A pair of incompletions on second and third downs resulted in a punt in the first few seconds of the fourth quarter.

Taking over at their 20, the OSU offense set off on a 14-play drive to take the lead. The Beavers converted on a third-and-six at their 24, a fourth-and-one at midfield, and third-and-two at the CU 29-yard line. When Chance Nolan hit Tre-Shaun Harrison for a 27-yard touchdown, Oregon State had its first lead of the game, taking a 23-20 lead with 8:34 to play.

The CU offense responded with … a three-and-out and a one-minute drive.

Given the ball and a chance at a two-score lead, the Beavers could not put the Buffs down. The CU defense forced a three-and-out of their own.

On the Buffs’ first play of the ensuing drive, Jarek Broussard took off on a 49-yard run, bringing the Folsom Field crowd back into the game. The Buff Nation went wild when Brenden Rice scored on an 11-yard run … but … the score was erased when a flag for holding set the Buffs back. With CU facing a third-and-15 at the 16, though, Lewis hit Montana Lemonius-Craig for a touchdown and a 27-24 lead with 2:24 to play.

The Beavers drove quickly into Colorado territory, but stalled at the Buff 33-yard line. Facing a fourth-and-six, OSU head coach Jonathan Smith decided not to role the dice with 32 seconds to play. Smith sent in kicker Everett Hayes, who missed a 51-yarder.

The game seemingly over, the Buffs ran three plays to force the Beavers to use their three time outs. Punting the ball away 18 seconds left, a 26-yard punt return gave OSU the ball at their 49-yard line. With CU playing a deep prevent, quarterback Chance Nolan connected with Anthony Gould for nine yards. There was only one second left on the clock, but that was enough to give Everett Hayes a chance at redemption. As a stunned home crowd looked on, Hayes hit a 60-yard field goal to tie the game as time expired.

End of Regulation: Colorado 27, Oregon State 27

With every reason to fold their tents and lose the game, the Colorado offense … did exactly the opposite. A strong run by Jarek Broussard helped move the chains, with Brendon Lewis scoring on a nine-yard run to give CU a 34-27 lead.

The Oregon State offense, though, quickly responded. A one-yard scoring run by B.J. Baylor made it a 34-33 game. Instead of going for the win, Oregon State decided to play for a second overtime. The extra point moved the ball to the other side of the stadium.

End of First Overtime: Colorado 34, Oregon State 34

Given the ball to start the second overtime, the Beavers were immediately set back by a holding call on a first down run. Three plays failed to generate a first down, with OSU hero kicker Everett called upon for a 38-yard field goal attempt. To the surprise of everyone, the kick sailed left … no good.

Needing only a field goal to win, the Buff offense went ultra conservative. Three plays netted only one yard, with Cole Becker brought in to finish the game. Finish it he did, calmly hitting a 43-yarder to give CU its third win of the season.

End of Second Overtime: Colorado 37, Oregon State 34

After struggling on offense for much of the season, the Buffs posted their highest point total of the season. Much of that could be attributed to the development of Brendon Lewis. CU’s freshman quarterback had 170 yards passing, with three touchdowns and no interceptions (plus a nine-yard touchdown run in overtime). “Brendon Lewis continues to play well”, said Karl Dorrell. “He’s getting better, you know, the skill around them is confident, you know, it was good to see that our run game had some run production today. I felt like offensively, we’re really starting to hit our stride a little bit, probably for the first time this season. We put together two back to back games that kind of resemble what our potential could be. “

While the Buffs were able to celebrate the win, there were questions as to the final sequence which kept the game from ending in regulation. The Buffs took the ball with 32 seconds left after Oregon State missed what would have been a game-tying 51 yard field goal. The Beavers still had three time outs, which were used up as the Buffs ran the ball up the middle three times. The Buffs were able to use up all but 18 seconds of the clock. A Josh Watts punt took up 13 seconds, but a 26-yard punt return gave the Beavers the ball near midfield. Playing like they had a four-point lead, and only had to protect against a touchdown, CU lined up five defensive backs on the CU goal line, allowing Oregon State to complete a nine yard pass, setting up the game-tying 60-yard field goal.

“It was (disappointing),” said Dorrell. “We’ll talk about that tonight and tomorrow. We need to have a better plan. We wanted to burn their timeouts, which we did. It would have been nice to get a first down and finish the game by taking a knee, which we failed to do. That’s something we’ll learn from as coaches. We’ll try to have a better plan in the future going into that type of situation. We did the right thing by running the football and (making OSU) burn their timeouts. Unfortunately, that gave (the Beavers) an opportunity to tie the game, which they did.”

Still, with a golden opportunity to take a sure win and turn it into a defeat, the Buffs rose to the challenge in overtime, pulling out the win.

“I think that was a defining moment”, said Dorrell. “Certain circumstances in the early part of this season, that might have been more challenging to deal with. I think this team is starting to realize, the adversity strikes in a lot of moments in the game and their confidence in being able to work through these difficult moments. We’ve been challenged a lot this season. They’re starting to navigate and find a way, they’re starting to deal with difficult circumstances and overcoming those things. By no means are we where we need to be. I’m not saying that all of a sudden, we got the answers, but I feel that they’re starting to learn how to deal with some stressful moments and how to handle that and tune up their attention to execution in detail and making plays when those opportunities need to be done. There’s some progress being made, and we need to build off those things.”

Video highlights … 

—

Game Notes … 

— The win tied the series between the two teams at 6-6, with CU taking a 4-3 lead in games played in Boulder;

— CU also moved to 65-36-5 in Homecoming games. It was the Buffs’ fourth Homecoming win in the past five games, with the lone loss the overtime game against Oregon State in 2018;

— Fast start … The Buffs had 144 yards and 10 points in the first quarter. It was the best first quarter effort of the season, with the Buffs scoring on their first two drives of the game for the first time in 2021;

— The victory gave the Buffs an 8-9 all-time record in overtime games, with CU’s first win in a multiple overtime game (1-3);

— The Buffs went without a turnover for the fifth time, setting a school record. In six previous seasons, the Buffs had four games without a turnover, but the 2021 season became the first in CU history with five such games;

— The Buff offense did not allow a sack for the first time in 21 games. CU moved to 20-4 in games dating back to 1972 in games in which the Buffs did not allow a sack or have a turnover;

— The 60-yard field goal by Everett Hayes tied a stadium record, matching the 60-yard field goal Mason Crosby hit against Iowa State in 2004;

— Cornerback Kaylin Moore had his first career start.

–

—–

Tags: Brady Russell, Brenden Rice, Brendon Lewis, Chase Penry, Christian Gonzalez, Cole Becker, Daniel Arias, Jarek Broussard, Kaylin Moore, La'Vontae Shenault, Montana Lemonious-Craig
This post, about the Oregon State game, from the 2021 Season, is filed under Article.
You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment.