Colorado's double overtime victory over Oregon State Saturday contained quite a few positives for the Buffaloes, who, over their last two games, look to be trending in the right direction in a multitude of areas.

The QB play of Brendon Lewis has been much better of late, as have the performances by CU's offensive line.

But also notable within Colorado's thrilling win was how electric the Buffs' offense was early on in the game, as well as its ability to battle through red zone penalties.

By the end of the first quarter, Colorado (3-6, 2-4 Pac-12) had a 10-0 lead over the visiting Beavers.

The 144 yards gained by CU in the first quarter marked a season-high, with Lewis' arm accounting for most of the team's progress downfield.

For comparison's sake, last weekend in Eugene, CU managed just 22 yards in the first quarter; in five of Colorado's nine games this year, the offense has failed to generate more than 30 yards in the first quarter.

But against Oregon State, in the opening 15 minutes of play, Lewis was 6-of-8 through the air with 117 yards, including a completion of 20 yards to tight end Brady Russell on the first play of the game.

Colorado's opening drive stalled at the OSU 10-yard line, but Cole Becker was able to hit the first of his three field goals on the day, handing the Buffaloes a 3-0 lead.

It's been no secret that the Buffs have struggled offensively in general this season but particularly early into games.

Leading into Saturday, Colorado had scored just 10 first quarter points for the entirety of the season.

After Lewis connected with receiver Daniel Arias for a 43-yard bomb down the left sideline, exploiting a serious Beavers busted coverage, the Buffaloes went up, 10-0, with just under seven minutes left in the first quarter.

"I felt like offensively, we're really starting to hit our stride a little bit, probably for the first time this season," Karl Dorrell said after the game. "We put together two back-to-back games that kind of resemble what our (offensive) potential could be."

Last week at Oregon, the Buffs were flagged 11 times for 75 yards in the 52-29 loss.

Against the Beavers, Colorado had nine penalties for 65 yards, one of which threatened to sink the team at a critical juncture of the game.

For starters, late in the fourth quarter, after Oregon State had taken its first lead of the game, going up, 24-20, over Colorado, the Buffs managed to move the downfield and into striking distance of the endzone.

On 2nd-and-10 from the Beavers' 11-yard line, the Buffs ran a reverse to Brenden Rice, who cut his way up the left sideline and into the endzone to massive cheers from the fans at Folsom Field.

However, fellow receiver Vontae Shenault was flagged for holding at the 5-yard line and from the spot of the foul, it put the Buffs at OSU's 15-yard line, facing 2nd-and-Goal.

After a Jarek Broussard rush that lost a yard, Colorado looked to be in a pretty tough spot, facing a do-or-die moment, desperately needing a touchdown late in regulation.

On 3rd-and-Goal from the Beavers 16-yard line, Lewis dropped back, evaded a collapsing pocket and threw a dart to Montana Lemonious-Craig, who reeled in the pass in the right corner of the endzone.

"I think this team is starting to realize that adversity strikes in a lot of moments in a game and they're confident in being able to work through (those) difficult moments," Dorrell said.

"We've been challenged a lot this season. (Players) are starting to navigate and find a way. They're starting to deal with difficult circumstances and overcoming those things."

Earlier in the second quarter, Colorado was in good position to put some more points on the board as the first half winded down.

CU had a 1st-and-10 from the Oregon State 18-yard line, but some miscommunication between Lewis, his offensive linemen and the Buffs' sidelines led to a delay of game penalty.

A few plays later, after Broussard had all but re-gained the yards lost to the penalty on a modest rush, the Buffs were hit with a false start flag, pushing them back.

It got worse from there — facing 3rd and 16 from the OSU 24-yard line, Colorado committed a holding call, setting up a 3rd-and-26 attempt from the Beavers' 34-yard line, with the resulting play being an incomplete pass.

Dorrell was thus forced to send out Becker to attempt a career-long 52-yard field goal, a far-from-pleasing result, given that the Buffs had managed to go for -16 yards, turning a shot at a touchdown or a short range field goal try into more of a finger-crosser.

Luckily for CU, Becker drilled the kick attempt.

"I feel like we've done a good job of maturing," Lewis said after the win. The past couple of weeks haven't gone the way we wanted but I feel like we've done a great job of not letting that get to us and not giving up. Each and every week, we go back to practice and work harder than the last week. I feel like we've really matured in doing that."

For Dorrell, finding a way to score late in the fourth quarter after Rice's touchdown was called back is indicative of his team showing growth as the 2021 season goes on.

The same could be said of Becker bailing out the offense after a penalty-filled misfire of a drive in the second quarter.

With three games left to play, the Buffaloes look to be trending upward as far as being able to respond to adversity.

"I feel (that players are) starting to learn how to deal with some stressful moments and how to handle that and tune up their attention to execution in detail and making plays when those opportunities need to be done," he said. "There's some progress being made and we need to build off those things."