No. 19 Arizona 38, Colorado 20


Game Archive

Four turnovers prove too much for Buffs to overcome, spoiling another positive overall effort

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Washington 38, Colorado 23

//posted 11.1.2014

Buffs race out to 20-10 lead, but lapses by all three units lead to 28-3 run by Huskies to end the game

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Colorado fought back from a 17-0 first quarter deficit, out-scoring No. 25 UCLA 17-0 in the fourth quarter to force overtime at 31-31. After the teams traded field goals in the first overtime, and the Buffs had posted a field goal in their second overtime possession, Bruin quarterback Brett Hundley scored on an eight yard run to give the Buffs their second double-overtime loss of the season, 40-37.

The Buffs went toe-to-toe with the Bruins for much of the game, finishing with 500 yards of total offense … to 509 for UCLA. The Buffs went for a season-high 233 yards rushing, with Michael Adkins going for 107 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown. But it was not enough to overcome the 309 yards rushing posted by the Bruins, with two players going for over 100 yards. Running back Paul Perkins had 19 carries for 180 yards and two touchdowns, including a 92-yard score on UCLA’s second play from scrimmage. Brett Hundley, in addition to passing for 200 yards and a touchdown, had 12 carries for 110 yards and the all-important eight yard score to bring CU’s upset bid to an end.

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No. 22 USC 56, Colorado 28

//posted 10.19.2014

Colorado fans thought they had seen the best USC quarterbacks had to offer. In 2011, Trojan quarterback Matt Barkley torched Buff defense for a school record six touchdown passes. To prove the 2011 effort was no fluke, Barkley threw for six touchdowns against Colorado again in 2012.

Cody Kessler, seen as a game manager even by the USC faithful, was arguably no Matt Barkley.

Against Colorado, though, he was even better.

Kessler threw for a school-record seven touchdown passes, completing 19-of-26 passes for 319 yards and seven scores in No. 22 USC’s 56-28 rout of Colorado (yes, Buff fans, Kessler had as many touchdown passes as he had incompletions). Kessler’s favorite target was Nelson Agholor, who had six receptions for 128 yards and three scores. Javorius Allen, the Pac-12’s leading rusher, had 15 carries for 128 yards and one touchdown.

For Colorado, Sefo Liufau completed 23-of-35 passes for 143 yards, with two touchdown passes to Nelson Spruce. Liufau also had two costly interceptions in the first quarter, when USC sprinted out to a 28-0 lead, never looking back.

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Colorado went over 400 yards in total offense for the fifth straight game, something not seen in Boulder since 1996, but the 431 yards of total offense were not enough to overcome mistakes and some questionable officiating, with Oregon State escaping Boulder with a 36-31 victory.

The game was close on the scoreboard and on the stats sheet. Oregon State had 445 yards of total offense; Colorado 431. The Buffs had the edge in first downs, 25-22, and both teams went 6-for-14 on third down attempts. The Buffs did have one costly turnover, an interception which led to an eight yard touchdown drive by the Beavers in the first quarter.

Sefo Liufau went 32-for-49 for 308 yards, two touchdowns and that costly interception. Nelson Spruce, the nation’s leader in catches, yardage and touchdowns, was held to six catches for 35 yards. Tyler McCulloch helped to pick up the slack, with four receptions for 76 yards and two touchdowns. Michael Adkins, who had 14 carries for nine yards in the previous four games, had 13 carries for 79 yards and a touchdown to lead the Buffs’ rushing attack.

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Sefo Liufau crushed his previous career bests with 449 yards passing and seven touchdowns, but it was not enough, as Colorado fell in two overtimes to California, 59-56. Liufau hit Nelson Spruce 19 times – a week after Spruce set the all-time record for catches in a game with 13 – for 176 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for a team-best 79 yards.

The offensive fireworks, which led to leads of 14-0, 21-7, and 28-14, though, were not enough to stop the offensive onslaught from the Bears. The Colorado secondary surrendered touchdown passes of 92, 26, 10, five, 40, and 25 yards as Jared Goff duplicated Liufau’s 449 yards passing and seven touchdowns. Three missed field goals by Will Oliver figured into a game in which Colorado ran a school-record 110 offensive plays.

The loss left the 2-3 Buffs (0-2 in Pac-12 play) wondering what might have been … and what was still to come in the 2014 season.

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