When all was said and done after Saturday's season-opening matchup between the Buffs and the visiting UCLA Bruins, the 48-42 final score — in favor of the Buffs — proved to be the most points scored during a first game of the season in Colorado football history.

To say it was a rollercoaster of a ride would be an understatement.

Editor's note: All game photos are courtesy of Casey J. Paul, lead visual editor at the CU Independent. Casey is a junior information science major at the University of Colorado. Her minor is creative technology design.

For the Buffs, it was a tale of two halves, to say the least.

By halftime, Colorado had proceeded to throttle UCLA, taking a 35-14 lead, in large part thanks to four turnovers committed by the Bruins (three fumbles, one interception) that the Buffs were able to promptly turn into 21 points.

However, as the second half got underway, it became quickly apparent that the Bruins weren't going down quietly.

UCLA junior quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, in a preview of what he'd do to the Buffs' defense in the second half, burst down the sideline on the second play of the third quarter for a 65-yard touchdown.

On the Bruins' next offensive possession, they marched downfield 77 yards in six plays, scoring another touchdown in 86 seconds.

At that point, Colorado's comfortable halftime lead had evaporated and a good old-fashioned high-scoring shootout commenced.

However, the hot early start, coupled with a trickling of more points in the second half and a few key defensive stops ensured that Dorrell's debut in Boulder would not be spoiled.

“We had some mishaps in the second half that need to be addressed and I’m sure we’ll get a chance to fix those things, but I like how (the team) came out to play and really (threw) the first blow of the game," Dorrell said. "It was really nice to see that.”

In his first career start, senior quarterback Sam Noyer was stellar, completing 20-of-31 passes for 257 yards and a pair of touchdowns, one being a 12-yard pass to junior tight end Brady Russell while Noyer found the end zone later in the third quarter on a QB sneak.

Russell was Colorado's leading receiver Saturday with 77 yards on five catches.

Noyer was effective on the ground, as well, rushing 13 times for 64 yards.

"It felt great, getting my first start under my belt and getting the win — it was a fun game for sure," Noyer said. "There are some things we need to clean up for sure, but overall (it was) a great experience."

Dorrell also liked what he saw from Noyer.

"Sam had a really solid start," Dorrell said. "He played really well and played competitive. He made some nice plays with his feet and with his arm."

Offensive coordinator Darrin Chiaverini ran a very balanced and efficient attack. The Buffs gained 525 yards (261 passing, 264 rushing), scored an aforementioned 48 points, were 7-of-7 inside the red zone and dominated the Bruins in time of possession, with CU's offense being on the field for 39:31.

Redshirt sophomore tailback Jarek Broussard was electric, running for 187 yards on 31 carries and finding the end zone three times.

He joins CU legend and College Football Hall of Fame member Bobby Anderson as the only Buffalo to record three touchdowns in his first start at tailback (Anderson did so against Indiana in 1969).

Broussard drew first blood in the game, scoring on a 6-yard rush after freshman linebacker Alec Pell recovered a fumble following a muffed punt return by UCLA early in the first quarter.

One minute and 59 seconds later, Broussard scored again, this time from the 1-yard line, as once more the Buffs converted a Bruins turnover into a touchdown, with junior outside linebacker Carson Wells intercepting Thompson-Robinson on UCLA's first offensive possession, returning the ball to the 3-yard line.

With the Buffs up 14-0, Thompson-Robinson exposed a gap in CU's secondary, finding Demetric Felton for a 28-yard touchdown to cut CU's lead in half.

Felton was a constant irritant for Colorado, as he rushed the ball for 57 yards and a touchdown while also catching a team-high seven passes for another 46 yards and an additional score.

Up 14-7 heading into the second quarter, the Buffs scored 21 unanswered points for the next 10:16, with Russell's touchdown grab being followed be Broussard's third rushing score of the day and a 2-yard touchdown run from sophomore tailback Jaren Mangham with 5:46 to go before halftime.

On the Bruins' ensuing possession, the first ominous sign that Colorado's secondary was about to be in some trouble surfaced, as Thompson-Robinson found tight end Greg Dulcich wide open for a 52-yard touchdown.

But in the moment, all appeared to be well for Colorado, which led 35-14 heading into the third quarter.

After Thompson-Robinson whizzed past CU's defenders on his 65-yard touchdown run, the Bruins scored another quick touchdown on their ensuing possession, with a 41-yard completion to Dulcich setting up a 15-yard touchdown by Felton on third down.

Now trailing only 35-28, the Buffs appeared on the verge of blowing what had been a 28-point lead only minutes prior, in large part due to the defense continuing to let up huge plays.

Aside from Thompson-Robinson's 65-yard touchdown run and Dulcich's 52 and 41-yard catches, by the end of the game CU had also let up an additional 13 plays of 15-plus yards to the Bruins.

Senior safety Derrion Rakestraw is convinced the mishaps are nothing the Buffs can't correct this upcoming week in practice.

"There were a couple missed assignments, but it was nothing major," he said. "...Going into next week, we've got to be keyed in on those kind of things and we are going to continue to get better."

In the second half, Colorado was also penalized heavily. Notably, on a UCLA touchdown drive that made the score 42-35, freshman corner Christian Gonzalez was called for PI while senior ILB Akil Jones was flagged for holding.

Gonzalez picked up another PI call in the fourth quarter, as did Rakestraw. Nine penalties for 90 yards was the total for Colorado at the end of the game.

While the Buffs were committing a litany of penalty and blown coverage-related errors, they also missed a pair of field goals in the game. Senior kicker James Stefanou missed a 51-yard attempt and later had a 40-yard attempt blocked.

He left the game due to an undisclosed injury, per Dorrell, and was replaced by sophomore Evan Price, who went on to drill 45 and 36-yarders.

Colorado did come up big defensively on back-to-back fourth down stops of the Bruins in the fourth quarter, with both drives being halted in Buffs territory.

UCLA managed one final touchdown with 1:45 to play, making the score 48-42, but at that point the Bruins were out of timeouts and after a failed onside kick attempt, Noyer proceeded to kneel the ball and run out the clock.

Dorrell will take the win, but knows some serious improvements will be needed ahead of Colorado's next game, a Saturday, Nov. 14 showdown on the road at Stanford.

"We found a way to hang in there," he said. "It says a lot about this team. They didn't give up. They kept fighting and they hung on for a victory. I'm proud of this team."

Colorado and Stanford kickoff from Stanford Stadium at 1:30 p.m. MST on Saturday, Nov. 14. The game will be broadcasted on either ESPNU or ESPN2.