Posts Tagged ‘Alex Fontenot’

No. 14 Utah 63, Colorado 21

//posted 11.27.2022

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Colorado posted a grand total of one first down and 18 total yards of offense in the first half, leading to a 42-0 deficit at the break, with No. 14 Utah coasting to a 63-14 victory. The Buffs finished the season with a 1-11 record, joining the 2012 Jon Embree team as the only 11-loss teams in school history.

Utah quarterback Cam Rising threw for three first half touchdowns, completing 17-of-19 passes for 234 yards as the Buff defense couldn’t stop the Utes. At the break, Utah had 379 yards to CU’s 18, with 20 first downs, averaging almost ten yards per play. The Buff offense, meanwhile, went three-and-out in seven of eight first half drives, averaging less than a yard per play.

Redshirt freshman Maddox Kopp made his first career start at quarterback, completing 15-of-28 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown – a one-yarder to offensive lineman Frank Fillip on a tackle-eligible pass in the final minutes. In the decisive first half, however, Kopp was 5-of-14 for 26 yards, with the Buffs posting negative yardage rushing the ball. In the first two quarters, the Buffs had a total of 13 carries … for minus-eight yards.

“I don’t believe in moral victories normally, but tonight I did,” said CU interim head coach Mike Sanford, who finished with a 1-6 record in that role. “For that team, that locker room of players to not only not quit but actually go fight and put together a really good second half of football speaks to exactly what’s going on in that group and in our business organization right now. It’s been fight. It’s been character. It’s been fighting through all the adversity that we continue to face.”

No. 15 Washington 54, Colorado 7

//posted 11.20.2022

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Washington scored on its first three drives, then turned the game into a laugher as the Buffs surrendered 12 points in the final two minutes of the first half, giving the Huskies a 33-0 halftime lead on their way to a 54-7 domination of Colorado. Washington rolled to 575 yards of total offense, with the Buffs limping to 202 total yards.

Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. had fairly pedestrian numbers, completing 19-of-31 passes for 229 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. The Husky rushing attack, though, was dominant, with 280 yards and five touchdowns. Running back Wayne Taulapapa led the way, with 11 carries for 107 yards and two touchdowns.

Colorado was completely inept on offense, with quarterback J.T. Shrout completing only six of 18 passes and 120 yards … with 69 yards coming on one play, a touchdown pass to Montana Lemonious-Craig late in the third quarter, when the the Buffs were already down 47-7.

“We wanted to keep (Penix) off the field as much as humanly possible,” interim CU coach Mike Sanford said. “We wanted to run the football and win this game in the trenches. But hats off to Washington. They were good up front and that led to us not capitalizing on the opportunities that we had. That’s a really good team. I think right now they’re playing as good of football as anybody in our conference.”

No. 8 USC 55, Colorado 17

//posted 11.13.2022

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Colorado took its first lead in a month, carrying a 3-2 lead over No. 8 USC into the second quarter, but that was as good as it was get, as No. 8 USC scored 23 unanswered points in the second quarter, coasting to a 55-17 victory. Trojan quarterback Caleb Williams threw for 268 yards and three touchdowns, rushing for two more to lead the USC rout.

Buff quarterback J.T. Shrout completed 11-of-21 passes for 124 yards, also rushing for a touchdown. But Shrout also gave up a safety on an intentional grounding but had two turnovers with an interception and a fumble, leading to two USC scores. Senior running back Alex Fontenot had 20 carries for 108 yards and a touchdown, with the Buffs managing only 259 yards of total offense (going 3-for-12 on third downs).

“The turnovers and the sack where the intentional grounding safety was called, were too much to overcome against a team with the firepower that they have”, said interim head coach Mike Sanford. “We’re gonna keep on fighting. We’re gonna keep on finding a way to put ourselves in position to win games. I thought we did that and it got away from us today”.

No. 8 Oregon 49, Colorado 10

//posted 11.6.2022

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Oregon quarterback threw for two touchdowns, ran for two more, and was on the receiving end of yet another, leading No. 8 Oregon to a 49-10 rout of Colorado. Former Buff cornerback Christian Gonzalez added two interceptions in the the third quarter to help put the game away. Gonzalez gave the Ducks two short fields, helping Oregon turn a 28-10 game into a 42-10 laugher.

The final stats were not as lopsided as the score. Oregon had 479 yards of total offense; Colorado had 367. The Ducks had 21 first downs; the Buffs also had 21. The difference were the big plays, including three turnovers by the Buff offense. CU also missed a field goal, and turned the ball over on downs three more times. J.T. Shrout completed 17-of-34 passes for 247 yards, including an 81-yard touchdown pass to freshman Jordyn Tyson. For his part, Tyson had five catches for 137 yards. Freshman Anthony Hankerson led the CU rushing attack, with 11 carries for 54 yards … but they all came in the final quarter when the game was well decided.

“Hats off to Oregon, a really good football team,” CU interim head coach Mike Sanford said. “I thought at halftime we were competing at a fairly high level and we came out and put together a drive to put three on the board. But just having answers consistently proved to be a challenge.”

Air Force 41, Colorado 10

//posted 9.10.2022

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Buffs fumbled, stumbled and generally embarrassed themselves in a 41-10 loss to Air Force … The Buffs were out-gained, 443 yards to 162, with quarterback J.T. Shrout’s starting debut marred by three turnovers and missed opportunities … “Obviously, it was a disappointing performance” …

TCU 38, Colorado 13

//posted 9.6.2022

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The 2022 CU season opener ended just before 12:00 a.m., MT, but the clock had struck midnight for the Cinderella Buffs about an hour earlier. The Buffs dominated the first half of their game against TCU, but were completely routed in the second half, falling to the Horned Frogs, 38-13. Colorado had more first downs (20-17) and wasn’t passed in total yards gained until the fourth quarter, but the Horned Frogs had no trouble with the CU defense in the second half, scoring 31 unanswered points.

Brendon Lewis started at quarterback for Colorado, finished 13-for-18 for all of 78 yards. Lewis also led the Buff rushing attack, putting up 42 yards on eight carries. Backup quarterback J.T. Shrout, who came on late in the first half and then made another appearance in the fourth quarter, finished with 13 completions on 23 attempts for 157 yards and one touchdown.

The Horned Frogs, who had just 67 yards offense in the first half, finished with 413 for the game. That total included more than 260 on the ground alone in the final two quarters. The Buffs, who had 212 yards of offense in the first half – but only two field goals to show for it – had 136 yards of total offense in the second half, with 94 of those yards coming in garbage time.

“I wasn’t expecting that type of game,” CU head coach Karl Dorrell said. “We played decently in the first half … But apparently they made better adjustments. We couldn’t stop what they were doing.”

Colorado Daily – Spring/Summer

//posted 7.25.2022

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Karl Dorrell at Pac-12 Media Day: “I believe you are going to see a quality team this year” … Alex Fontenot on running backs room: “I know we can get it done. That’s the confidence I have in our room. … The talent is still there” … Defensive Line: From Weakness to Strength? …

Countdown to Spring Practices – Running Backs

//posted 3.17.2022

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Alex Fontenot was CU’s leading rusher in 2019, but an injury in 2020 paved the way for Jarek Broussard to become the Pac-12 Offensive POTY in 2020 … Broussard (and Ashaad Clayton) are gone … Are the three returning backs ready to stake their claims for carries in 2022, or will Ramon Jefferson take over this fall? …

No. 16 Utah 28, Colorado 13

//posted 11.26.2021

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Quarterback Cameron Rising threw for three touchdown passes, and two Ute running backs had over 100 yards rushing apiece as No. 16 slowly pulled away from Colorado, defeating the Buffs, 28-13. The Buff offense, which ended the season with its lowest total yard average since 1964, had only 148 total yards, with an interception return to the Utah 15 by safety Mark Perry and a 100-yard kickoff return by Nikko Reed supplying 10 of CU’s 13 points.

Buff quarterback Brendon Lewis finished the season with the CU freshman record for consecutive passes without an interception, but completed only 9-of-23 passes for 84 yards. With Jarek Broussard out with an illness, Alex Fontenot was the Buffs’ leading rusher … with 28 yards on ten carries.

The Buffs played short-handed on both sides of the ball. Linebacker Nate Landman missed his sixth game, along with fellow linebackers Jack Lamb, Guy Thomas and Joshka Gustav. Defensive backs Mekhi Blackmon and Kaylin Moore were also out. On offense, receivers Brenden Rice and Montana Lemonious-Craig, along with Broussard, didn’t see the field in CU’s final game of the 2021 season.

“Everybody feels that we have that foundation to build from moving forward,” Dorrell said. “It’s unfortunate — I would love to have started the offseason with a win, winning this game and using that as juice to get some things going for us in a positive way into the offseason, but there’s enough of a good feel on this team. We feel like we’re close.”

UCLA 44, Colorado 20

//posted 11.14.2021

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Colorado squandered a 20-7 second quarter lead, giving up 37 unanswered points as UCLA ended up routing the Buffs, 44-20. The CU defense gave up only 69 yards rushing to UCLA offense in the first half, before giving up 149 yards rushing – and three touchdowns – in the third quarter alone.

Brendon Lewis threw for 158 yards, including some long completions to Daniel Arias and Brady Russell, but was ineffective in the second half. Jarek Broussard had his second 100-yard game, with 16 carries for 108 yards, but almost all of those yards were in the first half. Alex Fontenot had two one-yard touchdown runs in the first half, but the Buffs settled for field goals instead of touchdowns in first half red zone opportunities … before collapsing in the second half.

“They did a nice job. I take my hat off to them”, said head coach Karl Dorrell of UCLA’s 37-0 run in the second half. “They made the right adjustments at halftime. We thought we were making the right adjustments, but, of course, it didn’t work out that way.”

“The only other game that I remember being like that was the Oregon State game a few years back”, said tight end Brady Russell, who had five catches for 60 yards. “It was really unexpected, so that’s what’s most frustrating about it. I don’t think they elevated their game that much; I felt like we brought our level down after playing so well. It wasn’t that guys weren’t fighting or anything. It was weird.”

No. 7 Oregon 52, Colorado 29

//posted 10.31.2021

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The much-maligned Colorado offense was able to post 29 points and 341 yards, but the Colorado defense was no match for the Oregon offense, as the Ducks rolled to a 52-29 victory. Oregon scored on every possession but one – including a score with less than a minute to play to run up the score – as the Buffs, playing without All-Pac-12 linebacker Nate Landman, were unable to keep up with the Ducks.

Buff quarterback Brendon Lewis completed 25-of-33 passes for 224 yards and a career-high three touchdowns. Brenden Rice posted his second 100-yard receiving game of the season, with 102 yards and a touchdown on five catches. Rice also had a 17-yard run on a reverse, and six kickoff returns for 162 yards. Rice’s 281 all-purpose yards were the 13th-highest single game total in school history.

The Buffs had only 117 yards rushing, however, led by Alex Fontenot, who had 42 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. Fontenot also had a receiving touchdown, as did Ty Robinson.

“The offense made some progress over the week,” Dorrell said. “The whole team fought pretty hard. We didn’t play smart at times, we had a lot of penalties early in the game, but I thought this team fought and offensively we made some progress. We had to convert on some difficult circumstances on fourth down and we did. Our players kept playing the whole game.”

Colorado 34, Arizona 0

//posted 10.17.2021

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The Buffs broke open a close game in the third quarter, with a blocked punt for a touchdown and an interception for a touchdown turning a 6-0 game into a 20-0 advantage, with the Buffs coasting thereafter to a 34-0 win over Arizona. In snapping a four-game losing streak, the Buffs had 365 yards of total offense, with quarterback Brendon Lewis posting his first career 200-yard passing game, going 12-for-19 for 248 yards and two touchdowns. Brenden Rice had his first career 100-yard receiving game, with 111 yards on only three catches, including a 62-yard score in the third quarter.

The Colorado defense posted a shutout, its first since a 48-0 win over Nicholls State in in 2015. The loss was the 18th straight for Arizona, dating back to a win over the Buffs in Boulder in October, 2019. “As soon as the offense scored in the first quarter we said if they don’t score again they don’t win,” Carson Wells, who had a 50-yard interception for a touchdown, said. “So that was our philosophy for the whole game.”

“That was a really good win for us as a program,” head coach Karl Dorrell, who leveled his overall record at CU at 6-6, said. “All three phases scored touchdowns … We had two weeks of really doing some things in detail. I just felt like the dam was going to break at some point and it did today.”