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Opposite of Isaiah Oliver, the Buffaloes had a cornerback competition on their hands between Anthony Julmisse, Trey Udoffia, and Dante Wigley.

Julmisse was suspended from the team, leaving Udoffia and Wigley to battle it out, and the young redshirt freshman, Udoffia, got the start for the Buffaloes' season opener against Colorado State on Friday night.

The Buffs came away victorious - thanks to their defense - by the tune of 17-3.

Linebackers Rick Gamboa and Drew Lewis were solid, safety Afolabi Laguda played well, and guys such as defensive back Ryan Moeller and defensive end Leo Jackson stood out as well.

The reviews on Udoffia are mixed; it really just depends on who you talk to. Udoffia was targeted early and often by CSU quarterback Nick Stevens, and Udoffia more than held his own.

He finished with six solo tackles, an interception, a forced fumble, and two pass break ups. He was the beneficiary of a couple of questionable offensive pass interference calls, but it is what it is.

"(Udoffia) really did a good job to keep fighting," MacIntyre said. "He knew just like all 73,000 people knew that they were going to throw at #8, and he’s going to start to get that confidence. I was glad to see him get some pass breakups, and he made a great play down there on that fourth down play.

"He’s learning how to run with the guys. Those are good receivers and a good quarterback. They’ve been putting up 60-points a game for the last seven games and have been throwing on people at will, and I thought our young guys did a good job."

Gamboa and Oliver were singing Udoffia's praises following the Rocky Mountain Showdown as well.

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"Trey played big - beginning of the game he had a rough time, but in the second half he came out and he knew he was going to have to make plays here and there, and he made those plays when we needed him," Gamboa said.

"Oh he played great," Oliver said. "I mean for his first start in college football I know he was nervous before the game, talking to me about it and everything, so he got his confidence up after the first half and just kept on playing great football. He’s going to be huge for us going forward and his confidence in himself."

As his Oliver mentioned, this was Udoffia's first game as a collegiate football player. The former three-star recruit signed with the Buffaloes as a part of the class of 2016 and redshirted last season.

But Udoffia impressed his new defensive coaches as he was named most improved defensive back in spring drills.

"I got all of my first game jitters out, got a lot more confidence after talking to Afolabi [Laguda] and Isaiah [Oliver] in the locker room," Udoffia said. "Nick [Fisher] was also helping me out all game and keeping me confident. Once I got past the nerves, I just did me and played hard and that’s what I did."

Udoffia's late-fourth quarter interception sealed the game for Colorado.

"It felt good," he said. "I wish it could have happened earlier, but I’m not going to complain about getting a pick. That’s a play that we practice a lot during the week so it turned out well for us."