SEATTLE – Trailing 17-13 to Washington at the start the fourth quarter Colorado had a chance to notch its first road conference victory in 2018.
Redshirt junior quarterback Steven Montez led Colorado on an 11 play, 43-yard drive that took 4:41 off the game clock. However, after completing his first two attempts to start the drive Montez threw seven consecutive incompletions to end the game and seal the 27-13 win for UW at Husky Stadium.
In the end head coach Mike MacIntye said the Buffaloes (5-2, 2-2) didn’t have enough fire power on offense to match UW. He also credited the Huskies QB as being one of the few differences in the game.
“Washington, tip my hat to them,” MacIntyre said after the loss. “Jake Browning. He is a really good player. You see why he’s the leading passer in Washington history. I think the game boiled down to they made some fourth down plays and we didn’t make some fourth down plays.”
Both Montez and Browning finished the afternoon with similar stat lines. Each threw a pick and a touchdown, the latter coming on a 26-yard pass to Aaron Fuller who took it the remaining yards for the score.
It capped off a 12 play, 84-yard drive for Washington that used up nearly six minutes of clock. The touchdown to to Fuller came on 4th and 5 from the CU 26-yard line, one of the key fourth down plays MacIntyre referenced during his postgame press conference.
Former UW linebacker Drew Lewis, now a senior for Colorado this season, credited Browning for his sneaky athleticism that allowed him to allude several potential game-changing sacks during the game.
“He’s a deceptive quarterback. He may not look very athletic but that’s an athletic quarterback for sure,” Lewis said of Browning’s ability to run against the Buffaloes defense. “So we try to keep him in the box. Those times when he got out is when he made some big plays.
“We knew that coming in this week that he’s got a dangerous arm to him. He made some good balls so we’ll give him that credit but we just have to watch the tape and learn from that next time.”
Lewis, who signed with the Huskies out of Eastlake High School in 2014 before transferring after his freshman year, said that coming back to play his first game at Husky Stadium and losing “stings”.
He added, “It hurts a lot. Especially from being out here it takes it a little personal.”
The Huskies (6-2, 4-1) increased their lead to 24-13 on the score before Peyton Hnry converted his second field goal attempt of the game to add the final three points, a 30-yard kick. The redshirt freshmen made his first kick from nearly the same distance, nailing a 31-yarder in the third quarter.
With star sophomore receiver Laviska Shenault not traveling for the game CU turned to a former three-star recruit from the Evergreen State to provide the lone touchdown against UW.
Daniel Arias, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound true freshmen who signed with the Buffaloes out of Jackson High School (Mill Creek, Washington) in 2018, made his first reception as a college player. It also was his first true game action this season.
On the opening drive for Colorado, Montez placed a perfect ball to Arias who beat UW senior cornerback Jordan Miller for a 37-yard TD. Although the pass may have been his first taste of Pac-12 football, his quarterback knows it certainly won’t be the last.
"I mean looking at it now after the game I think it was pretty special. I mean he's from Washington like you said," Montez said on Arias' first career touchdown.
"He scored a touchdown in his first real playing action. First pass that was thrown to him. So I mean I think it's special for him. He's going to be a good player at CU here in some time. He's going to be a damn good player."
MacIntyre echoed similar words as his QB.
"It does mean something special for me. I think it means extra special to him. I know his mom and family was probably going nuts," MacIntyre said. "They'll treasure that forever. That won't be the last touchdown Daniel Arias scores at the University of Colorado, though. He's going to be an excellent football player."
