Posts Tagged ‘Shay Fields’

No. 9 Colorado 27, No. 21 Utah 22

//posted 11.26.2016

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Colorado relied upon its defense to bring home the school’s first ten win season since 2001, downing No. 21 Utah, 27-22. With the victory, the “worst-to-first” dream season was completed, with the Buffs going from 1-8 in Pac-12 play in 2015 to 8-1 in 2016, claiming CU’s first Pac-12 South title, and first division title since winning the Big 12 North in 2005.

The Buffs were held to 378 yards of total offense, but the CU defense held the Utes to 339 yards of total offense, forcing four turnovers along the way. A forced fumble from Utah running back Joe Williams was returned by Buff linebacker Kenneth Olugbode ten yards for a game-clinching score early in the fourth quarter. Olugbode’s score made it 27-16, and the Buff defense made it hold up.

Special teams almost cost the Buffs the game, with Utah scoring on a punt return for a touchdown early in the game, and almost scoring on a kickoff return early in the fourth quarter.

“I’m very excited to grind one out,” said Colorado quarterback Sefo Liufau, who had 270 yards passing and a team-leading 59 yards rushing, but fumbled twice. “The defense got my back.”

No. 12 Colorado 38, No. 20 Washington State 24

//posted 11.19.2016

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Sefo Liufau passed for 345 yards, rushing for another 108 yards and three touchdowns, leading No. 12 Colorado to a 38-24 victory over No. 20 Washington State. The victory, the first for head coach Mike MacIntyre against a ranked team, witnessed 603 yards of total offense from the Buffs, while holding the Cougars to a season-low 24 points.

“He’s the poster boy of our team,” Buff cornerback Chidobe Awuzie said of Liufau. “Everyone from the outside looking in, that’s what Colorado football looks like. He never quits.

“On the interior, in the locker room, we look at him like the guy who’s going to lead us to the promised land. He goes down, but he always comes back. That tough mindset, that gritty mindset — that’s what this team is built on because that’s who he is and that’s who we are.”

Phillip Lindsay had 31 carries for 144 yards and two touchdowns, with the receiving corps being led by Devin Ross, who had eight catches for 121 yards.

No. 16 Colorado 49, Arizona 24

//posted 11.13.2016

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Colorado ran its record to 8-2 with a harder-than-it-looked 49-24 victory on the road against Arizona. The Buffs were out-gained by the Wildcats, 412 yards to 388, but costly penalties (13 for 138 yards) and three missed field goals kept the Wildcats from making it a game.

The Colorado offense did produce a 100-yard rusher (Phillip Lindsay, 25 carries for 119 yards and three touchdowns), and a 100-yard receiver (Shay Fields, six catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns), but the Buff offense seemed out of sync for much of the evening. Sefo Liufau had his first three-touchdown pass game since the Michigan contest in September, finishing with 19-of-27 passing for 213 yards.

The Colorado defense struggled at times as well. The Buffs came into the game surrendering only 117.6 yards per game rushing (17th in the nation), but gave up 186 yards rushing to the Wildcats in the first half alone (and 262 yards for the game). The 412 total yards surrendered were over 100 yards over the 296.9 yards per game the Buffs had posted in the first nine games of the season.

The victory gave the Buffs an 8-2 overall record, 6-1 in Pac-12 play. The eight wins represented the highest total since 2004, with the team’s first four game winning streak the longest since 2002.

“It was a good win for us”, said Mike MacIntyre. “Rich Rod(riguez) does a heck of a job and they’ve beat us three years in a row now and we finally got them. The last time we were here, we got beat pretty good, so I am excited about what we have done and we are going to get some In-n-Out Burger after this.”

No. 21 Colorado 20, UCLA 10

//posted 11.4.2016

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Isaiah Oliver returned a punt 68 yards for a score with 5:27 remaining and No. 21 Colorado overcame eight personal-foul penalties to beat UCLA 20-10 on Thursday night.

Oliver caught the punt on the right side of the field, cut back to the left and went untouched for the decisive score. It was the first punt return for a touchdown in 11 years for Colorado, giving the Buffs a guaranteed winning season since 2005 … the last time the Buffs had a punt return for a touchdown (Stephone Robinson v. Kansas).

The game featured a combined 25 penalties for 224 yards, two blocked kicks and five turnovers.

Mike MacIntyre: “We found a way to win”

Colorado 10, Stanford 5

//posted 10.23.2016

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Colorado became bowl eligible for the first time since 2007 with a hard-fought 10-5 win over Stanford. Buff field goal kickers missed three of four field goal attempts, making the game tense throughout, but four turnovers by the defense preserved the victory.

Sefo Liufau connected with Shay Fields on a 15-yard touchdown early in the second quarter, providing the game’s only touchdown. Otherwise, Liufau was largely held in check, hitting 12-of-25 for 135 yards, but was picked up by running back Phillip Lindsay, who had 12 carries for 131 yards.

In holding the Cardinal out of the end zone, the Buff defense had three interceptions and a fumble recovery. Tedric Thompson had two interceptions, the second coming midway through the fourth quarter, setting up the Buffs’ field goal. Linebacker Kenneth Olugbode recovered a fumble at the Buff five yard line to snuff out Stanford’s drive to take the lead, with Isaiah Oliver collecting his interception in the final minutes to seal the victory.

USC 21, No. 21 Colorado 17

//posted 10.9.2016

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The Colorado defense forced four USC turnovers, but also allowed 540 yards of total offense as the Trojans defeated the Buffs for the 11th-straight time, 21-17.

In a battle of freshman quarterbacks, USC’s Sam Darnold won the day. Darnold went 25-for-37 for 358 yards and three touchdowns … with all three scoring passes going to tight ends. Steven Montez, meanwhile, was held to 192 yards passing, completing 24-of-39 passes, with one touchdown and one interception.

Bryce Bobo was in line for player of the game, with a career-high ten catches, going for 83 yards and a ten-yard touchdown. Bobo was also in on the Buffs’ other touchdown, with the junior receiver throwing a 67-yard touchdown pass to Phillip Lindsay to help keep Colorado in the game.

“We didn’t play Colorado football,” Mike MacIntyre said. “We didn’t play hard and fast like we’re capable of doing. They (the Trojans) are a good team and had something to do with that, but we didn’t play as well as we could have.”

Colorado 47, Oregon State 6

//posted 10.3.2016

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Steven Montez and Shay Fields hooked up for three first-half touchdowns, leading the Buffs to a 47-6 rout of Oregon State. Montez went 19-for-27 for 293 yards in three quarters of action, with Fields collecting seven of those passes for 169 yards. Fields tied a school record for touchdown receptions in a game, with 160 of his 169 yards coming in the first half as the Buffs turned an early 3-0 deficit into a 37-6 blowout by halftime.

Phillip Lindsay was the leading rusher for the Buffs, with 90 yards and a score in 16 carries. The defense was also stellar, holding the Beavers to 226 yards of total offense. While holding the Oregon State offense out of the end zone, the Colorado defense was able to get there on its own, with linebacker Rick Gamboa scoring on a 20-yard interception return.

“It proves we’re legitimate, maybe, that we can do it,” Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre said. “Everybody kept asking me all week, `Are they going to have a letdown? Did they play out of their minds?’ Like I said since Day 1, we’re a good football team.”

No. 4 Michigan 45, Colorado 28

//posted 9.18.2016

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Colorado jumped out a to a 14-0 lead on Michigan in the first five minutes, but special teams mistakes and an injured quarterback prevented the Buffs from coming up with an upset, falling on the road to the 4th-ranked Wolverines, 45-28.

Sefo Liufau went 16-for-25 for 246 yards and three touchdowns, but left the game in the third quarter with a right leg injury. After Liufau left the game, the Buff offense faltered, allowing the Wolverines to turn an close game into a 17-point victory.

Shay Fields had seven catches for 99 yards and a score, with Devin Ross collecting seven receptions for 77 yards and two scores. The Buffs, though, were held to just 64 total yards rushing on 33 carries, a 1.9 yard average. Overall, Colorado had 325 yards, holding Michigan to 397. The Buffs, who were 4th in the nation in third down conversion offense coming into the game (66.2%), were held to 1-of-13 in third down conversions by the Wolverine defense.

“The message to our team was that we got a good football team”, said Mike MacIntyre, who fell to 0-19 against ranked teams (0-12 at Colorado). “We have to correct a few things. When you are playing another good football team, you have to do some of those things better so we will go back and correct them and move forward to the next game.”

Colorado 56, Idaho St. 7

//posted 9.11.2016

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Sefo Liufau passed for 204 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 54 yards and another score in less than a half as Colorado routed Idaho State, 56-7.

Phillip Lindsay ran for two scores as the Buffs built a 49-0 halftime lead on its way to a second straight blowout win.

Liufau, who had 384 yards of offense in the 44-7 win over Colorado State in the 2016 opener to earn Pac-12 Player of the Week honors, had another big game with touchdown passes of 15 and 4 yards. He ended his day with a 19-yard touchdown run late in Colorado’s 35-point second quarter that made it 42-0.

Liufau’s backup Steven Montez connected with Kabion Ento for two more touchdown passes.

Jakori Ford scored for the Bengals (1-1), who had just seven first downs and 96 yards total offense.

“I was very impressed with what our staff did with our guys, I liked how focused they were”, said CU coach Mike MacIntyre. “Our upperclassmen did a good job of staying focused in practice and they kept working. That’s what we talk about all the time, it’s to worry about Colorado and nothing else. I’m seeing that in this group of guys”.

CU Preview – Wide Receivers

//posted 6.17.2016

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Nelson Spruce has moved on, but CU is not lacking for candidates for the next great Buff wideout

Arizona 38, Colorado 31

//posted 10.18.2015

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Arizona used two drives of over 90 yards to tie the game and then take the lead in the fourth quarter, holding on for a 38-31 over Colorado to spoil the Buffs’ homecoming. Wildcat running back Jared Baker went for a career-high 207 yards as Arizona went for 616 total yards of total offense.

The Buffs finished with 468 yards of total offense of their own, and even had the advantage in total yards in the third quarter before going on a drought of five straight punts to allow Arizona to take control of the game. Sefo Liufau went 27-for-42 for 340 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, but again failed to make connections in crucial situations.

Wide receiver Shay Fields had eight catches for 168 yards and two touchdowns, but had six of those catches for 131 yards in the first half before being shut out in the second half until the Buffs were down by two scores. Phillip Lindsay had 23 carries for 91 yards, but, as was the case with Fields, was largely unused/ineffective in the second half when the Buffs were trying to maintain or even expand their 24-17 lead.

The loss dropped CU to 3-4, 0-3, representing the Buffs’ 14th consecutive conference loss, tying a school record and extending the longest current such streak in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Arizona State 48, Colorado 23

//posted 10.12.2015

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Arizona State quarterback Mike Bercovici threw for 260 yards and five touchdowns as the Sun Devils took advantage of Colorado mistakes to cruise to a 48-23 victory in Tempe. Sefo Liufau threw for 389 yards for the Buffs, but his one touchdown pass was more than offset by an early interception and a fumble which led to ASU points.

The Buffs were close in yardage – 491 yards to 450 – and first downs – 21-to-19 – but fell behind 14-0 midway through the first quarter and never fully recovered. The loss left the Buffs with an 0-7 all-time record against Arizona State, together with a 13-game conference losing streak (dating back to November of 2013) and a 13-game road conference losing streak (dating back to September of 2012).

“Everything we’re doing, we’re just going to keep doing it”, said Colorado head coach Mike MacIntyre, who fell to 1-19 in Pac-12 games. “Keep pushing with them, keep working with them, keep loving them, keep caring for them, keep believing in them. That’s what you do. Find a way to uplift them and keep pushing them, but they’ve got to go out there and make the plays”.