On a night when everything was turned upside down, when the GoGo offense couldn’t score and the Buff defense refused to be scored upon, CU’s special teams almost lost the opener to Georgia Tech before finally winning the game for the Buff’s with the biggest special teams play for CU in a long time, a game saving field goal block by Boo Carter as time ran out. As football games go this was not the prettiest, but at the end of the day it is a win on the road against a respected P4 opponent, and what it showed was that a gritty Buff team just decided not to lose and found ways to win. But that is only one story from this game that had so many amazing storylines. In fact, it’s almost difficult to know which story line to follow in a game that was far more one sided than the score or stats suggest.
Who would have imagined, for example, that Colorado would completely dominate both lines of scrimmage against what was supposed to be a big bad, tough Georgia Tech team? The CU front seven on defense was magnificent and not only did they not get moved at all, they often moved the line of scrimmage back in Georgia Tech’s direction. The vaunted Georgia Tech run game, which hung more than 300 yards rushing on Colorado a year ago, could only manage 51 total rushing yards tonight. And to top it off, Lamont Lester, one of those guys that so many said was “too small”, completely dominated the Georgia Tech tackles and came up with three clutch sacks.
On the offensive side, CU’s line pushed around Georgia Tech’s front seven and repeatedly opened holes for Buff running backs. One third quarter drive featured 9 runs out of 15 plays and only bogged down when the Buffs tried to throw the ball. Another drive that started in the 3rd quarter and continued into the 4th featured 14 runs out of 17 plays, including 11 straight runs at one point, and took 9 minutes off the clock. That drive only stalled when the Buffs had problems with two snaps that derailed the drive.
And while the offensive line was dominant throughout, the running back room also had a great night, with all five scholarship backs getting carries and making contributions. Damian Henderson was the leading rusher with 65 yards and a 4.5 yards per carry average, but all five had moments, with Welch as a human bowling ball, and both Jaquail Smith and DeKalon Taylor displaying their speed and elusiveness in two of the longest runs of the night. And while the longest run of the night was only 16 yards there were quite a few others that were very close to breaking for much more. Some of those are going to bust open in weeks to come.
Another story line that the television commentators mentioned repeatedly was the physicality and toughness of the CU team at every position. Coach Prime has talked about wanting a physical, tough, hard hitting tea, and in game one he and the team delivered. By the fourth quarter the Georgia Tech was visibly worn down with hands on its hips and struggling in the heat that was supposed to be a negative for Colorado. Colorado’s linebackers, line and safeties repeatedly punished Georgia Tech players. The first Georgia Tech turnover happened when Toby Anene absolutely unloaded on the Georgia Tech running back a yard deep in the backfield. And for those who wondered if Santana Hopper would be as effective at this level at his size, the answer is a resounding yes. He was essentially unblockable all night with repeated tackles for losses and QB pressures.
And perhaps the best part of it all for us college football purists were the guys who stuck around from previous years who were some of the heroes of this game. Joseph Williams, who trusted Coach Prime and stuck around and made two clutch catches to keep the game winning drive going and got out of bounds to stop the clock. Micah Welch, now in his third season as a Buff, refused to be stopped and helped set the tone for the run game. Chauncey Gooden, a highly rated offensive lineman who could have gone but stayed and dominated older defensive linemen and linebackers tonight. And finally, Charlie Williams from Aspen, in his third year as a Buff, making one of the most clutch and important catches for CU in a while for the winning touchdown and reminding CU faithful that the tight end can still be a weapon in college football.
So, there is a lot to be happy about for CU fans tonight, most obviously a big win to start the season. But there were also downsides as well, though they are all things that are fixable and may be as simple as cleaning things up from game one. The special teams were abysmal until the final play of the game, when Boo Carter redeemed them with his blocked kick. Georgia Tech’s offense was only able to score 9 points against CU’s defense, and without the kickoff return touchdown by Tech and the blocked field goal for CU, this game would not have come down to the last minute.
The CU wide receiver room had a very bad night until they finally showed up in the game winning drive. Who could have foreseen so many dropped passes? And JuJu Lewis very clearly struggled in the passing game and missed quite a few open receivers. CU had receivers open behind the Tech defense, but Lewis could not get them the ball. The question is, was this first game nerves or a hint of something deeper? Only time will tell. But the positive side of it is that we learned that we can beat a decent P4 team even on a day when the passing game didn’t show up.
Ultimately though, this is a win that most people did not see coming and we should celebrate it as an important step and a fun way to open the season. The old adage is that teams make the most improvement between game one and game two. We will see if that happens with this team? Will they clean up some of the things that went wrong tonight? Given the very good coaching that I’ve seen from this staff so far this year, I’m betting they will, and things will only get better ahead. For now, though, have a beer, hug a loved one, and celebrate a big CU win. The rest can wait until next week.
Things we learned and other observations from game one:
- This team is as tough as nails, is as physical as we’ve seen from a CU team in a long time, and they believe in and support each other. In years past CU has found ways to lose games like this. Tonight they found ways to win and if that continues it will pay off all year.
- Colorado dominated this game from start to finish and even the television commentators spoke about it several times. Neither the stats nor the final score demonstrates that domination but it was clear to see on both lines of scrimmage. Our offensive line repeatedly moved the line of scrimmage in the run game, and our defensive line did the same against their run game. Even Brent Key talked about it when interviewed on TV in the second half.
- Special teams are the weak spot on this team and must be cleaned up. There is no excuse for allowing a field goal block up the middle, and giving up a long kickoff return is simply lack of discipline by that team. I have to admit I was nervous waiting for the extra point on our second touchdown. I hope we get better at all phases of special teams.
- We have some seriously bad dudes on our defensive line, which is a very welcome thing to see against a real opponent. Santana Hopper showed tonight that moving up a level did not hold him back at all. He was everything he was advertised to be. Toby Anene was brutal and effective against both the run and the pass. He made Lamont Lester’s first sack possible by bull rushing the opposite tackle back into the QB, giving him no where to go to escape Lester. Tyler Moore, Dylan Manuel, and Samu Taumanupepe all had big time tackles for losses when they simply beat the offensive lineman one on one, and the entire defensive line won the line of scrimmage all night.
- In case you missed it, Chauncey Gooden was at defensive tackle in the goal line defense when Tech was inside the 10 yard line. That was unexpected and leads me to wonder if he will see more time on the D-line moving forward.
- Sean Kinney started the game at center, but was replaced at the start of the second quarter by Demetrious Hunter, and did not return again until Hunter was injured early in the 4th quarter. It is worth noting that we had some serious snap issues when Kinney came back in but based on a first watching of the game I can’t tell if that was on Kinney or Lewis. Bottom line, though, is that Kinney did a fine job on the game winning drive, so we know he can play.
- The running back room was everything we hoped for and then some. The five different backs all provided different styles but one thing common to all was how they ran over defenders and often gained significant yards with more than one defender trying to bring them down.
- While it won’t show up much in the stats, the tight ends were hugely impactful in this game. Charlie Williams had one catch for a first down and another for the winning touchdown. And Fisher Clements was outstanding in the run game with blocks opening the outside for our backs repeatedly. Williams and Kopetz were also effective blockers tonight.
- It was wonderful to see the quick inside slant return to a Colorado offense with a competent offensive coordinator. Tech did not have an answer to this as we got first downs to DeAndre Moore three times with this play.
- Boo Carter is one of those guys! Like Travis Hunter before him, Boo makes things happen and is often in the right place at the right time. With a fumble recovery, a blocked field goal, and locked tight coverage tonight he is off to a great start. That field goal block was entirely athleticism paired with desire. Like Travis, when a game winning play was needed, Boo delivered!
- Finally, we learned that our defense is damn good against the run, and while they bend in the passing game, they gave up zero touchdowns against what turned out to be a pretty good Tech passing game. We also learned that we can win when JuJu and the wide receivers have a very bad day. We learned that our run game is legit and wasn’t ever stopped tonight and allowed the Buffs to have almost ten more minutes in time of possession. This offense will get better and will find answers in the passing game, but the run game is already here and it sure is fun to watch.
