Trojans ruins senior day for the Buffaloes

A combination of poor execution, fundamental mistakes, and inconsistency on defense ruined a celebratory, emotional day at Folsom Field as the Buffs lost 38-24 to the USC Trojans on Senior Day.

Two of the players entrenched in the senior day festivities were Colorado natives running back Phillip Lindsay and outside linebacker Derek McCartney. Following the loss, McCartney talked about what he’ll miss most about playing at Folsom Field.

“It was a lot of fun being out there with my teammates,” McCartney said. “That’s what I’m going to miss the most, being out there with my guys.”

Colorado’s defense came out of the gate playing inspirational football. They held USC’s offense to a 40-yard field goal attempt on their first drive of the game which was missed by kicker Connor McGrath. On the Trojans second drive, Evan Worthington and Javier Edwards had a big tackle for loss on a 4th & 1 from the CU 45.

The offense was unable to capitalize on the defense’s stellar play early on, going three and out on their next drive. After a USC possession stalled at their own 36, the Buffs put together a strong drive of their own, going all the way to the USC 37 before Mike MacIntyre made the decision to go for a first down on fourth and nine.

The play calling was questionable as MacIntyre previously stated kicker James Stefanou’s field goal range was anything inside 55 yards. MacIntyre’s decision ultimately came back to bite the Buffs as quarterback Steven Montez was sacked on the play.

After the game, MacIntyre explained the rationale and thought process between his somewhat questionable decision making.

“We were in between kicking it, but distance wise we were kicking into the wind there so that’s just what we decided to do,” MacIntyre said. “I thought we had a good play call, they just played different coverage and they got us.”

Once the second quarter began, the Trojans offense found their rhythm. They had a 8-play, 60 yard drive which was capped off by a impressive 10-yard touchdown grab in the corner of the endzone by wide receiver Michael Pittman over cornerback Isaiah Oliver.

After another USC touchdown, CU’s sloppiness commenced. The Buffs were able to drive the ball down to the Trojans 30 before defensive tackle Brandon Pili squeezed through the field goal formation to block a 47-yard field goal attempt.

The turning point of the game came when USC cornerback Ajene Harris jumped the route on a pass intended for wideout Devin Ross and returned it thirty yards for a touchdown with nineteen seconds remaining in the first half. The score put the Trojans up 20-0 heading into the break, and they never looked back.

On the play itself, Montez made a poor read on the route forcing the throw into a tight window.

“I was trying to throw it to the flat to get him out of bounds,” Montez said. “I thought the guy had gotten picked he played over the top of it and jumped it. I really didn’t even see him. I thought they ran into each other. He made a great play.”

Through the sloppy first half there was one major bright spot for the Buffs which had plagued them all season: their run defense. CU held the Trojans to 53 yards on the ground in the first two periods.

Unfortunately, the story in the second half was reminiscent of the rest of the season, as USC had almost 150 yards on the ground. Tailback Ronald Jones finished with 142 yards on the ground for the day, including a key 22-yard TD run which effectively put the game away with 9 minutes remaining in regulation.

Despite the fact that the run defense struggled and looked like they got worn down in the second half - which may’ve felt like a deja vu for this team, they gave all the credit to Jones’s skillset.

“I don’t feel like I was worn down, and I don’t feel like any of those guys out there were worn down,” safety Afolabi Laguda said. “We all know 25 is a great back, so we expect him to make great plays.”

Even though USC led by at least two scores for much of the second half, the Buffs didn’t go down without a fight. With the Trojans up 27-0, wide receiver Juwann Winfree broke away from defenders for a explosive 79-yard touchdown reception. On the very next Trojans drive, reserve inside linebacker Nate Landman had a blocked punt to set the Buffs up at the USC one.

The blocked punt was a product of the CU getting great penetration up front, and getting enough people to the Trojans shield.

“We’re trying to get as many people as possible to the shield,” Landman said. "While doing that we also want a good return out of it, and for that we need guys blocking downfield. If we get guys on the shield, good things happen.”

A Philip Lindsay touchdown put the Buffs within two scores, but the Trojans were able to muster out a field goal on their next drive to widen the gap to 30-14.

After Jones’s long run touchdown several minutes later, in which he hesitated before cutting it back into green grass, most Buffs fans headed for the exits. Regardless, the team didn’t give up, coming back strong as Montez fired yet another long deep ball to Winfree, this time for a 57 yard touchdown.

Winfree finished the day with 5 receptions for 163 yards and two touchdowns. One of the things that allowed him to get extended playing time was the fact that fellow wideout Shay Fields was forced to exit the game early on with concussion symptoms. Once his number was called upon, Winfree made the most of his opportunity - and the fact that USC’s defense wasn’t playing tight coverage on him.

“They were playing off the whole time, and they were weren’t pressing us, so I just tried to take advantage of that,” Winfree said. “We worked all week on these plays so we just tried to make the most of opportunities out there. That’s all.”

The team’s last minute hoorah wasn’t enough however, as USC’s defense had back-to-back fourth down stops to seal the victory.

Although Lindsay was a non factor in the contest running for 68 yards on just 20 carries, he received the Buffalo Heart Award - which is given to the player with the most heart - after the game.

“It was very special, it is an honor,” Lindsay said. “I am happy that the fans think so highly of me and this is something I will be able to cherish for the rest of my life.”

After dropping to 5-6 on the season, the Buffs are going full steam ahead toward their matchup against the Utah Utes with bowl eligibility on the line.

“We have to come out strong, execute when we need to, and that’s what we’re going to have to do for our bye week,” Lindsay said. We’re going to go hard, and there’s no time to risk, we have to get a bowl. Come Utah, we’re going to be polished and ready to go.”

After playing eleven games in a row to start the season, Colorado will have a much needed bye week to prepare for their final act of the season in Salt Lake City on November 25th.