No. 16 Oregon State 26, Colorado 19

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November 4th – Boulder           No. 16 Oregon State 26, Colorado 19

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Oregon State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei threw for one touchdown pass and ran for another, leading No. 16 Oregon State to a 26-19 victory over Colorado. The sold out Homecoming crowd of 52,725 watched the Buff offense continue to struggle, with CU only producing 238 yards of total offense – 52 in the first half. Buff quarterback Shedeur Sanders came into the game as the nation’s second-leading passer with a 337-yard average. But he was limited to 41 yards before halftime and finished with 245 after two late touchdown drives following an in-game painkiller injection for the second straight week in his sore hip.

Questionable play-calling at the end of the first half allowed the Beavers to post a touchdown in the final minute of the second quarter, giving Oregon State a 14-3 cushion at halftime. The Buff offense produced a pair of 75-yard touchdown drives in the second half, after the Buffs’ first 10 possessions resulted in just 78 yards of offense, with Sanders posting touchdown passes of 15 yards to Travis Hunter and 12 yards to Anthony Hankerson.

“The reason it’s so hard is because you know you’re capable of doing better, playing better, performing better, calling better games, coaching better on my behalf and you are coming up short when you have enough to get the job done,” Coach Prime said of his team, which fell below .500 (4-5) for the first time in his tenure at Boulder.

“It’s painful. It hurts myself, the team and all the coaches, the fans … Our kids fought hard. I love the fact that they didn’t have any quit in them. They rallied at the end and gave a heck of an effort. We just wish we could do that in the midst of the game — the first, second, third, and fourth quarters with consistency. And we haven’t found that level of consistency as of yet and that’s what’s truly disheartening.”

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Game Story … Colorado won the coin toss for the eighth time in nine games, and finally deferred receiving the kickoff until the second half. The move seemed to work out, with the Buff defense forcing a three-and-out from the Beaver offense to start the game.

A ten-yard completion from quarterback Shedeur Sanders to running back Dylan Edwards got the CU offense off on the right foot, with an 11-yard completion from Sanders to wide receiver Travis Hunter on third-and-three giving the Buffs a first down near midfield. The next three plays, however netted only eight yards, with CU punting the ball away just inside OSU territory.

After surrendering a pair of first downs, the Buff offense brought the sold out Homecoming crowd to its feet with a forced fumble. Beaver running back Deshaun Fenwick fumbled, with the ball recovered at the OSU 38-yard line by linebacker Trevor Woods. The excitement was short-lived, though, as three plays later CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders fumbled the ball right back to the Beavers.

OSU’s third possession of the game gave the Beavers the lead for good. Taking over at the 29-yard line, the Beavers needed nine plays to score. A pass interference penalty of 15 yards on the first play got Oregon State heading in the right direction, with backup quarterback Adrian Chiles scoring on a 23-yard run, giving the Beavers a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.

A ten-yard completion from Sanders to Xavier Weaver gave the Buffs one first down on their next drive, but a sack of Sanders on the next play set the Buffs back, with a punt coming a few plays later to start the second quarter.

A sack of DJ Uiagalelei by Buff defensive lineman Leonard Payne Jr. put a quick end to OSU’s next drive, but the Buffs punted the ball right back after CU’s next drive netted two yards.

Another sack of OSU quarterback J Uiagalelei, this time by Trevor Woods and Amari McNeill, on the Beavers’ first play from scrimmage pushed the ball back to the Oregon State 14 yard line. On the next play, Oregon State running back Damien Martinez fumbled, with the ball Derrick McLendon at the Beaver 19-yard line.

Despite having gone nowhere on offense in the first half, the Buffs now had a chance to tie the game. Taking over at the OSU 19-yard line, the CU offense … gained five yards in three plays. A golden opportunity wasted, CU settled for a 32-yard Alejandro Mata field goal, making it a 7-3 game midway through the second quarter.

The teams exchanged punts before Oregon State set off on a drive at its 12 yard line. Three chunk plays put the ball on the CU side of the field, but there the drive stalled. A 35-yard punt pinned the Buffs back on their four yard line, but only 49 seconds remained before the break.

There … the CU coaching staff made a colossal error which turned the tide of the game. Instead of running out the clock, the Buffs threw the ball. Three plays took up only 27 seconds, with CU punting the ball away. Mark Vassett’s punt was returned Anthony Gould returns 28 yards to the Colorado 25 yard line. After a five yard penalty on the Buffs, On the next play, DJ Uiagalelei connected with Deshaun Fenwick for a 20-yard touchdown. What would have been a 7-3 game – with CU receiving the second half kickoff to open the third quarter – was now a two-score game.

Halftime score: No. 16 Oregon State 14, Colorado 3

CU’s opening drive of the second half, like the opening drive of the first half, was initially successful. An eight yard run by Sy’veon Wilkerson was followed in quick succession by an eight yard completion from Sanders to Xavier Weaver, an eight yard completion to Travis Hunter, and a nine yard completion to Jimmy Horn. As has been the case in the first half, however, the CU drive stalled once inside Oregon State territory, with the Buffs ultimately punting the ball away.

The Beavers then set off on a methodical 85-yard touchdown drive, taking 12 plays to score while chewing up almost half of the third quarter clock. The drive was culminated by a one yard run by DJ Uiagalelei to make it a 20-3 game. After a penalty by the Buffs moved the extra point attempt closer, the Beavers opted to go for a two-point conversion. The snap, though, went over Uiagalelei’s head, with the fumble snatched up by backup cornerback Kyndrich Breedlove, who returned it all the way back for CU’s second-ever two-point defensive conversion (the other occurring during the 19-19 tie against Nebraska in 1991). The conversion left the scoreboard reading an odd tally: Oregon State 20, Colorado 5.

A sack of Shedeur Sanders led to a quick three-and-out from the Buff offense, with the Beavers setting out on their next drive to end any drama in the game. Oregon State was not able to punch it in for a touchdown after having a first-and-goal at the CU eight yard line to open the fourth quarter, but a 22-yard field goal by kicker Atticus Sappington made it a 23-5 game, allowing many a CU fan to head for the exits as the hour approached midnight.

After two penalties and a sack left the Buffs with a second-and-34 at their 14, it appeared that another CU punt was imminent. Instead, Shedeur Sanders connected with Omarion Miller for 23 yards and Xavier Weaver for another 12 to give the Buffs an unlikely first down near midfield. On the next play, Sanders connected with Weaver once again, this time for a 36-yard gain to the OSU 15 yard line. After an incompletion, Sanders found Travis Hunter for a 15-yard touchdown. Oregon State 23, Colorado 12, with over ten minutes still remaining.

Any hopes for a miracle comeback were dashed as the Beaver offense was able to put together a time-consuming drive to end any remaining doubt about the final outcome. The OSU offense wasn’t able to produce a touchdown, but an 11-play drive erased almost six minutes of remaining fourth quarter clock. A Atticus Sappington 41-yard field goal made it a 26-12 game with less than five minutes remaining.

With no hope of a victory, the Buff offense set out on its second consecutive 75-yard scoring drive. A 19-yard completion to Jimmy Horn on a third-and-five kept the drive alive, with a 40-yard completion to Travis Hunter giving the Buffs another red zone opportunity. There, Shedeur Sanders hit running back Anthony Hankerson for a 12-yard consolation score with 1:42 remaining.

Final score: No. 16 Oregon State 26, Colorado 19

Oregon State rushed for 195 yards and controlled the clock when most necessary, finishing with 418 yards of total offense. Meanwhile Colorado, which had switched play-callers on offense for the game, with offensive analyst Pat Shurmur taking over for offensive coordinator Sean Lewis, finished with a minus-seven rushing yards on 19 attempts. The negative number rushing, as had become CU’s calling card on the season, was hurt by yielding four quarterback sacks, pushing the Buffs sacks-allowed total for the season to 46.

“You can’t stop losing faith with everything,” quarterback Shedeur Sanders said of the 4-5 Buffs. “Everything’s not gonna work out how you want it to be. So you just have to remain positive and not have any negativity towards the situation because it’s not going to help anything. That’s the situation we’re in so we have to accept that and move forward.”

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Tags: Alejandro Mata, Amari McNeill, Derrick McLendon, Dylan Edwards, Jimmy Horn, Leonard Payne, Mark Vassett, Shedeur Sanders, Sy’veon Wilkerson, Travis Hunter, Trevor Woods, Xavier Weaver
This post, about the Oregon State game, from the 2023 Season, is filed under Article.
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