Counting Down to Spring Practices – Special Teams


Posts Tagged ‘Cole Becker’

CU has put all of its special teams eggs into one basket, with only one scholarship kicker and one scholarship punter … With no position battles (other than returners, which will likely not be determined until Fall Camp), will special teams receive the attention they deserve this spring? …

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No. 16 Utah 28, Colorado 13

//posted 11.26.2021

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.”

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Colorado 20, Washington 17

//posted 11.21.2021

Colorado’s defense produced four takeaways and the offense came up with a game-clinching 90-yard touchdown drive Saturday as the Buffaloes claimed a 20-17 win over Washington at Folsom Field.

Washington dominated nearly every statistical category except one — turnovers. CU’s defense collected two interceptions and two fumble recoveries, including a 92-yard scoop-and-score by linebacker Jack Lamb in the first quarter that gave CU a 10-0 lead. Colorado also turned a Robert Barnes fumble recovery into a field goal in the fourth quarter, then drove for the game-clinching touchdown following a Nikko Reed interception.

The Buffaloes were outgained 426-183 and allowed the Huskies to convert 14 of 21 third-down tries while converting just 2-of-14 of their own. On the day, Washington gained more on third downs (188) than Colorado did all day (183).

Quarterback Brendon Lewis hit on 14-of-25 passes for 112 yards, and contributed 30 yards on the ground, including the game-winning two-yard touchdown run with four minutes remaining. CU’s leading rusher was Jarek Broussard, who had all of 43 yards on 12 carries, with 26 of those yards coming on the Buffs’ game-winning drive.

“It was a hard-fought win,” head coach Karl Dorrell said. “I’m very proud of his team. They’re starting to develop that competitiveness, that drive to just fight for 60 minutes. It’s definitely something our program’s going to build on. It’s really going to be part of who we are, that’s our fabric, is being fighters. We have to continue to build this program the way that it used to be. We’re going to get it back to that level.”

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UCLA 44, Colorado 20

//posted 11.14.2021

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.”

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Colorado Daily – UCLA Week

//posted 11.13.2021

Rooney: CU has a chance to rise out of the “hot mess” which is the Pac-12 … Freshman safety Trevor Woods getting more playing time: “He’s a very smart kid” … Neill Woelk’s Keys to CU at UCLA … Buffs trying to pick up first win of the season over an experienced quarterback …

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Freshman 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.”

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California 26, Colorado 3

//posted 10.24.2021

California scored on its first five possessions of the game, never looking back as the Bears routed Colorado, 26-3. Quarterback Chase Garbers hit on 22-of-29 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns, also leading the Bears in rushing with ten carries for 96 yards. Colorado was held to 104 yards of total offense … 69 yards passing and 35 yards rushing. Brendon Lewis was 9-for-17 passing for 69 yards and an interception, while Jarek Broussard led the CU rushing “attack” with 28 yards on 11 carries.

“That wasn’t the type of game I was expecting at all,” head coach Karl Dorrell said. “I think we struggled in the first half on both sides of the ball. We had a tough time stopping them and then offensively, we couldn’t get any continuity of really bringing some drives together. We got three points on one drive and that’s really about it — and that was off a kickoff return. It’s unfortunate that we didn’t play to our capabilities today.”

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Colorado 34, Arizona 0

//posted 10.17.2021

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.”

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The Colorado offense posted its first points in eight quarters with a long field goal just before halftime, and its first touchdown in forever on its first drive of the second half, but it wasn’t enough – not nearly enough – as the Buffs fell in Tempe to Arizona State, 35-13. The Buffs scored early in the second half to make it a 14-10 game, but did not threaten again when it mattered, as the Sun Devils scored three touchdowns in four drives in the second half to run away with the win.

Brendon Lewis was ineffective again at quarterback, hitting on only seven of 17 pass attempts, for all of 67 yards. Alex Fontenot had 65 yards on 14 carries, including a one-yard scoring run, giving the Buffs their first touchdown in nine quarters. Jared Broussard had 35 yards on 12 carries, becoming the fastest Buff to reach 1,000 yards in a career, doing so in his ninth career game.

“We have to just keep bringing this team along,” CU head coach Karl Dorrell said. “We have a lot of young players playing and a lot of new players playing. It’s challenging every week … We have to keep working at getting better each week and hopefully that light bulb starts to glow a little bit brighter for us to be a more productive team and do as well as we need to do.”

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Colorado opened the 2021 season with a 35-7 win over Northern Colorado, a score which was both accurate and deceiving.

The Bears from Greeley were never a serious threat to win the game, but a combination of penalties and miscues by CU kept the Buff Nation on edge throughout the night. Brendon Lewis completed 10-of-15 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown, adding 44 rushing yards on seven carries, but was hesitant on his throws, reminding Buff fans that this was the first start of his career. Jarek Broussard had 94 yards and a touchdown on his 15 carries, but left the game in the third quarter with a slight injury. The rushing attack was thereafter led by Ashaad Clayton (eight carries for 51 yards and a touchdown) and Alex Fontenot (eight carries for 40 yards and a score).

The Buffs outgained the Bears, with 385 total yards to 253, but were hampered all evening by penalties. On the night, CU was flagged 12 times for 117 yards … more yards than the Buffs gained through the air (102). The CU offense did churn out an impressive 285 yards on the ground, but didn’t have any consistency throughout the game.

“Good to come out with a win,” Dorrell said after the game. “It was a hard game because we didn’t know much about the team. Their defensive scheme was completely different from what they’ve done, so that was a little bit of a challenge for us offensively in the first half. In the second half, after we figured out what they were doing, we had a little bit more handle on controlling the line of scrimmage and getting some effective runs. We had some good series and good drives for touchdowns.”

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Josh Watts is established as punter (with no competition), but the kicking job is up for grabs, with incumbent Evan Price facing incoming scholarship freshman Cole Becker … Last season’s leading kick returner, Maurice Bell, is out for the season … Is it up to Dimitri Stanley and/or Brenden Rice to make names for themselves? …

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CU Recruiting Class of 2021

//posted 4.16.2021

Bios and videos for every member of the CU Recruiting Class of 2021 … Surprise late addition: CU signs tight end Austin Smith (CU Press Release added) … Smith: “I feel like whenever I step on the field, I am the most athletic player” …

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