Early Mistakes, Trojans’ ‘D’ Doom Buffs
Nov 24th
By: B.G. Brooks, CUBuffs.com Contributing Editor
BOULDER – Southern California continued its mastery over Colorado on Saturday night, beating the Buffs 47-29 for its eighth consecutive win in the series and snuffing CU’s faint hope of reaching the postseason.
Their disappointing Senior Night at frigid Folsom Field dropped the Buffs to 4-7 overall (1-7 Pac-12) and sends them to Utah next Saturday to end their season. With an upset of the No. 23 Trojans, the Buffs would have moved within one win of bowl eligibility with the trip to Salt Lake City awaiting.
Now, Mike MacIntyre’s first CU team simply will try to end the season on an upbeat note. “To me this should be a fun week for us,” MacIntyre said, citing no classes because of Thanksgiving break, the focus on football, and the camaraderie he believes his players have established with each other and with his coaching staff.
“These young men, we have bonded with them and they have bonded with us,” MacIntyre said. “I’ve liked their effort, what they’ve done . . . they’ve been through a lot. It’s not always happened on the scoreboard for us, but we have made progress.”
“I think this year we’ve made incredible strides,” added sophomore receiver Nelson Spruce. “We’re on the verge of being able to compete in every game . . . I think we built a lot this year with this staff.”
CU’s seniors, said MacIntyre, “have helped this program move forward” and enabled him to chart progress in his first year. “But we need to start seeing more progress on the scoreboard . . . I’d definitely like to see that ‘W’ Saturday – just like Utah would.”
But in mid-20-degree temperatures Saturday night – the second-coldest game ever for USC – the Trojans showed the Buffs how much more work is ahead. CU, which has been outscored 277-76 by USC in their eight meetings, lost its 14th consecutive game to a ranked opponent. The Buffs’ last win against a Top 25 team was in 2009 against No. 17 Kansas (34-30).
USC (9-3, 6-2 – including 6-1 under interim coach Ed Orgeron) took advantage of a pair of late first-half turnovers by CU freshman quarterback Sefo Liufau to go ahead 23-0 at intermission. The Buffs converted a Trojans fumble into a score before the second half was a minute old, but never could generate enough offense to catch USC.
Buff QB Sefo Lifau had a good game but two turnovers in the first half gave the Trojans an advantage they would never relinquish
“I’m proud of how our guys kept fighting, kept battling,” MacIntyre said, “but we just couldn’t get anything going offensively in the first half.”
Playing only three quarters, Trojans quarterback Cody Kessler completed 19-of-28 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns. But USC did most of its damage with sophomore tailback Javorius Allen, who rushed for 145 yards and three touchdowns before given the rest of the night off midway through the fourth quarter.
Liufau finished 17-of-33 passing for 188 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. His scoring passes went to Paul Richardson (5 yards) and Spruce (38). Richardson finished with eight receptions – all in the second half – for 88 yards and the score. Michael Adkins II led the Buffs in rushing with 63 yards on 13 carries (one TD).
MacIntyre said USC double-covered Richardson frequently in the first half, then went to more “quarters” coverage in the second half. “We were able to get him the ball a little more,” MacIntyre said. “And we moved him around a little more.”
USC outgained CU 449-312 in total offense, with just over half of the Buffs’ output coming in the fourth quarter. Through three quarters, CU had 150 yards of total offense against a USC defense that ranks second in the Pac-12.
“Their front seven was by far the best we’ve played,” Liufau said. “They got pressure on us and their defensive backs covered really well . . . they were always in the right spots.”
USC left top receiver Marqise Lee at home to nurse a shin injury, but the Trojans really didn’t need him. The Buffs had no success against the Trojans defense in the first half, and CU’s offense was far too generous to USC. The Trojans capitalized on the pair of Liufau turnovers – one fumble, one interception – to go ahead 23-0 at halftime and put the Buffs in an all-too-familiar hole.
“It was a combination of things,” Liufau said of CU’s lack of first-half productivity. “We didn’t get anything clicking at the beginning.”
“It was a lack of execution, the coaches had a good plan for us,” added Spruce, who made four catches for 52 yards – including his 38-yard TD.
Although they able to generate only 36 yards in total offense in the first quarter, CU had stayed close, trailing only 9-0 at quarter’s end. USC drove 71 yards in 10 plays on its first possession and went ahead 7-0 on Allen’s 12-yard run and Andre Heidari’s extra point kick.
With 1:04 left in the quarter, USC’s advantage went to 9-0 when Soma Vainuku blocked Darragh O’Neill’s punt out of the end zone for a safety. Still, the Buffs have seen much worse than a nine-point deficit after one quarter.
But midway through the second quarter, things did get worse.
Pulled down from the backside by defensive end Leonard Williams, Liufau lost the ball and USC end George Uko gathered it in at the CU 20-yard line. Five plays later, Allen scored his second TD, this one on a 1-yard run. The Trojans went up 16-0, but still more problems for Liufau and the Buffs awaited.
On CU’s next series, USC free safety Dion Bailey pulled in a Liufau pass that appeared headed for the Buffs bench. At their own 34, the Trojans had 2:34 – but no timeouts – to make a push for the end zone. They didn’t need the timeouts; Kessler took them the distance in eight plays, hitting receiver Nelson Agholor with a 20-yard scoring pass.
The Buffs were looking at a 23-0 deficit – and Richardson was still looking for his first catch – when the second half opened. USC outgained CU 206-73 in the first half, including 169-43 on the ground. Liufau completed only four of 15 first-half passes for 43 yards, and his two turnovers were costly.
CU needed a break – and got it – to start the second half. On USC’s first possession, Allen was stripped of the ball by CU safety Jered Bell, who scooped and scored with a 31-yard run. With Will Oliver’s PAT, the Buffs trailed 23-7.
If CU had a comeback in mind, a defensive stop was needed. It didn’t happen; USC went 75 yards on the ensuing possession, getting a 46-yard run from Allen and scoring on a 10-yard pass from Kessler to tight end Randall Telfer. The Buffs were again looking at a 23-point deficit (30-7) with 11:29 left in the third quarter.
Less than 5 minutes later, Allen took revenge on Bell, juking him with an outside fake and cutting inside on the way to a 23-yard TD. USC went up 37-7 and Allen went over 100 yards rushing (123) with his third TD of the night.
Less than a minute into the fourth quarter, Liufau and Spruce teamed for their 38-yard score, with Spruce taking the ball off the back of a USC defender at the 1-yard line and stepping into the end zone. Oliver’s extra point made it 37-14, but Heidari’s 39-yard field goal extended the Trojans’ margin to 40-14 with 10:14 to play.
A 30-yard Liufau completion to Richardson set up a 3-yard TD run by Adkins that got the Buffs to within 40-21. That was followed by a Liufau-to-Richardson 5-yard scoring pass and Liufau’s two-point conversion pass to D.D. Goodson that drew the Buffs to within 40-29.
CU attempted an on-sides kick, but USC recovered with 3:16 left and when Vainuku scored on a 52-yard run a minute later and Heidari booted the extra point, the night’s scoring and CU’s home season were done.
Now comes the final week week of practice and the season finale at Utah. “Coach said we could fall apart or end the season on the right note and go into next year,” Spruce said.
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Police shooting being investigated
Nov 24th
The Boulder County Investigation Team is investigating a fatal shooting after a Boulder police officer shot a suspect during a disturbance in an apartment building at 3009 Madison St. earlier today.
Boulder officers responded to a call at 12:30 p.m. from a neighbor who reported that a man, armed with a knife and a machete, was making threatening remarks and stabbing a post outside his apartment. When officers arrived, no one was outside. They knocked on the door of the apartment where the suspect lives. When they got no response, they forced the door open. A male suspect jumped out from near the doorway and came toward the first responding officer with a knife in each of his hands. Preliminary reports are that the officer ordered him to get down. When the suspect did not, the officer fired his rifle twice.
The suspect was transported to Boulder Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The officer, a 14-year veteran of the Boulder Police Department, was uninjured. He will be placed on administrative leave with pay, pursuant to departmental policy in these types of incidents. Several other officers witnessed the shooting.
Neither the suspect nor the officer is being identified at this time, as officers are working to notify their families.
The Boulder County Investigation Team is staffed by investigators from a variety of Boulder County law enforcement agencies. The team is responsible for conducting unbiased, objective investigations in cases when officers use deadly force or other incidents involving in-custody deaths.
Officer-involved shootings are unusual in Boulder. The last incident of this type involving Boulder police was in 2008 when a SWAT officer shot and killed a man who said he was wearing a bomb and threatened to detonate it inside Boulder Community Hospital.
Additional information will be released as it becomes available.
–CITY–
Rain of treys couldn’t stop the Buffs
Nov 22nd
Trey defense is the “official deficiency” of the team
BOULDER – The Colorado Buffaloes’ perimeter defense has them living on the edge. They survived another three-point barrage Thursday night – this one by UC Santa Barbara – and won 76-68 for their fifth consecutive victory at the Coors Events Center.
But, according to coach Tad Boyle, the Buffs’ three-point defense is “officially a deficiency of our team. Maybe I’ve been in denial . . . if it happens six games in a row, then maybe it’s a trend.”
Minus leading scorer (24 ppg) and rebounder (13 rpg) Alan Williams – a 6-7, 240-pound inside force – the Gauchos compensated on the perimeter by making 11 of 28 three-point attempts. Seven of the 11 treys left the torrid right hand of reserve guard Taran Brown, who scored a career-high 23 points. He missed only three of his long attempts.
Teren Brown hit 7-11, 3-point shots for the Gauchos
Guard Askia Booker said the Buffs’ scouting report on the Gauchos identified Brown “as a shooter . . . but we didn’t know he shot like that.”
And that didn’t sit well with Boyle, who said it’s up to his players to trust what they’re told on paper and shown on tape. “That’s not respecting your opponent,” Boyle said. “When you have ‘shooter’ on the report that means he’s a shooter. I don’t care if he’s starting or coming off the bench.”
And don’t offer up to Boyle that his players are still adjusting to this season’s new closer called hand-checking rules for their failure to defend the three: “The new rules can’t be a reason anymore,” he said. “If you’ve got a job to do, start doing it.”
But Boyle also noted that UCSB came prepared to play – even without Williams, who was sidelined with back spasms. “There’s sometimes after games when you tip your hat to your opponent,” Boyle said. “I thought Santa Barbara was great tonight; their kids were ready to play . . . we took a pretty good shot from them tonight (and) I told our team we should be glad their best player didn’t play tonight.”
The Gauchos’ 11 treys were one less than the Buffs surrendered in a 91-65 rout of UT-Martin. That lopsided score might have led to Boyle’s “denial” of his team’s soft three-point defense. But through six games, CU’s perimeter defensive percentage has been no better than 33.3 percent (vs. Wyoming).
“We ain’t guarding the three-point line,” CU guard Spencer Dinwiddie said. “Give credit to them, but most of (their shots) were open.”
Any list of Buffs’ deficiencies didn’t include Dinwiddie, who said he didn’t sense a pregame readiness from his teammates and chose to assert himself more than in the previous games. He did, scoring a game-best 24 points that included 14-of-15 made free throws.
The Buffs hit 12 of 14 free throws in the final 3:56, with Dinwiddie sinking nine of 10 in that span.
Said Boyle: “We don’t win tonight without Spencer Dinwiddie . . . he was dialed in, aggressive.”
The Buffs led 32-30 at halftime and opened a nine-point (45-36) second-half lead before the Gauchos stormed back. Brown’s final three of the game gave UCSB (2-2) a 54-52 lead with 5:48 to play. But CU (5-1) answered with a 12-0 run and never trailed again.
In addition to Dinwiddie’s 24, CU also got 14 points from Booker, his junior backcourt mate. They were the only two Buffs in double figures; leading scorer Josh Scott managed only three points on a conventional three-point play that started the 12-0 run. Boyle said one of his team’s goals was to go inside more, but when it happened the Buffs didn’t finish – and he wasn’t singling out Scott.
The Buffs outrebounded the Gauchos 34-25, made 12 steals – the most this season against UCSB – and forced 17 turnovers – another UCSB high mark. But Boyle kept coming back to the perimeter defense and CU allowing the visitors to shoot 53.3 percent from the field in the second half.
A Friday morning practice originally scheduled to be a shoot-around has been reset as a full-blown run. “I don’t want our players to have a sense of entitlement,” he said. “I don’t want them to show up and play like this and think it’s OK . . . maybe I’m getting too soft as a coach.”
After a two-game absence, CU got sophomore forward Xavier Johnson back in its starting lineup. “XJ” had taken an elbow to the head in a practice prior to the Jackson State game (Nov. 16). “XJ” finished with nine points, five rebounds, two assists, three turnovers and three steals.
The Buffs outscored the Gauchos 7-2 to open the second half and took a 39-32 lead, matching their largest advantage of the night to that point, with 15:47 remaining. CU wasn’t satisfied; layups by freshmen Jaron Hopkins and George King helped fashion a nine-point lead (45-36) at the 12:05 mark.
But it had been a while since the Gauchos hit a three-pointer. Paging Taran Brown . . . he ended that dry spell with a trey from the left wing, tying his career high with six threes. When Kyle Boswell followed with a three-pointer on the next possession, UCSB pulled within a point (45-44), then got to 52-51 on another Boswell triple with just under 7 minutes to play.
The Gauchos weren’t going away and they weren’t going to stop shooting the long ball. When Brown hit his seventh of the game at 5:48, UCSB went up 54-52. But urgency also might have overtaken the Buffs; their 12-0 run put them ahead 64-54 with 3:56 remaining.
Unless UCSB could go on another three-point binge, CU seemed headed for its fifth straight win. The Gauchos got one more three-ball by Michael Bryson – their 11th of the night – and closed to 71-67 with 33.9 seconds to play. Dinwiddie’s two free throws 4.5 seconds later and two more by Tre’Shaun Fletcher put the Buffs up 75-67 – and the Gauchos were done.
The Buffs conclude their six-game home stand with a Sunday afternoon game against Harvard (2:30 p.m., ESPNU). “The price of poker is going up and we’d better be ready to ante up,” Boyle said, adding that if Thursday night’s effort and preparation are replayed on Sunday his team faces trouble.
Boyle took this from the Buffs’ rigorous preseason session with the Navy SEALS: “You don’t rise to the occasion, you fall back to your level of preparation.” Friday morning’s practice just might reflect that.
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Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
