1st Q
5:08 leftOn a beautiful fall afternoon, the Colorado Buffaloes took the field against the Baylor Bears, and the first Colorado offensive series matched the perfection of the afternoon’s weather.
On the Buffs first play from scrimmage, junior running back Byron Ellis carried for four yards, and junior running back Hugh Charles carried on the next play and picked up the next six for a Buffs first down. Junior quarterback Bernard Jackson’s first pass of the day was incomplete on a oot to his left. On second down, senior running back Mell Holliday carried for two yards, bringing up a third down and eight yards to gain for the Buffs. On third down, Jackson dropped back and fired a pass that was caught by Cody Crawford who broke a tackle and ran for 15 yards and first down.
Jackson bootlegged to his right on the next play and, unable to find a receiver downfield, tucked the ball and carried for two yards. The Buffs ran the spread option on the next play, with Jackson giving the ball to Ellis for a gain of six. On third and 2, Jackson ran a sprint option to the left and pitched to Charles who ran outside for four yards and anther Colorado first down. On first down, Jackson handed the ball to Holliday who was quickly upended by the Bear defense after a gain of two. Jackson bootlegged to his left and picked up a nice block from Holliday that gave him enough time to find junior wide out Dusty Sprague for a gain of seven. On third and inches, Jackson handed off to Holliday who burst up the middle untouched and raced 42 yards to the end zone, giving the Buffs a 7-0 lead after senior kicker Mason Crosby’s extra point with 10:07 left in the first quarter. The scoring drive spanned 11 plays and 80 yards, taking 4:53 off the clock.
Baylor’s first offensive series began with Bears quarterback Shawn Bell passing outside for a gain of two, and on second down, Bell passed up the seam and hit Baylor receiver Thomas White for a 26 yard gain. On first down, a clipping penalty took away a 12-yard gain for the Bears, and on the next play, Bell threw a pass up the left sideline that was intercepted by a leaping Terrence Wheatley as he ot both feet down, securing the turnover. The Buffs offense took the field again at their own 21 yard line.
On the first offensive snap after the interception, Jackson handed off to Holliday for a one-yard gain. On second down, Jackson kept the ball on a bootleg right and raced for a 17 yard gain and a Buffs first down. On the next play, Jackson stood in the pocket and fired deep downfield for Sprague, but he was double covered and the pass fell harmlessly incomplete. Holliday rumbled for seven yards on second down, resulting in a third and 3 for CU. On third down, Jackson bootlegged left and carried for no gain, bring up freshman Matt DiLallo’s first punt of the afternoon. His punt traveled 48 yards.
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End of
1st Q After the punt, the Bears took over deep in their own territory at the 11-yard line, and on first down the handoff went to Baylor running back Damon Dotson for five yards. Bell’s next pass went for seven yards to receiver Trent Shelton and a Baylor first down. A quick receiver screen to Justin Fenty garnered 11 yards and another Bear first down. Buff’s senior defensive end Abraham Wright sacked Bell on the next play, knifing through and slamming Bell to the ground for a loss of 11. A false start penalty on the next play brought up a second and 26 yards to gain for BU. A delay of game penalty moved Baylor back another five yards, resulting in a second and 31. A handoff to Paul Mosley of the Bears gained only two, bringing up third and 29 for Baylor. Pressure in Bell’s face forced him into a dangerous throw but it was complete for 15 yards, but the Bear’s could not get the line to gain and were forced to punt. Sophomore wide out Stephone Robinson collected the 62 yard punt and returned it 10 yards to the Buffs 22 where the offense would take over.
On the first play from scrimmage, Charles carried for four yards. Jackson again booted to his right and completed a four yard pass to tight end Riar Geer, bringing up third and two. Hollday got the carry and ran through a tackle to get three yards and a first down. That was the last play of the quarter, a great one for the Buffs.
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2nd Q
1:58 leftThe first play of the second quarter saw Geer jump offsides, making it 1st and 15 for CU. Jackson booted to his left on the next play and squirmed through the defense for a six-yard gain, and on second down Ellis, carried for three yards. On third down, Jackson was hit as he threw the ball and it popped into the air, and Baylor defensive end Corey Ford intercepted the tipped pass, giving BU the ball at the CU 33-yard line.
After the turnover, Baylor and Bell went right to work, and threw a quick screen on second down for a gain of four. With six yards to go to get a first down, Baylor threw a screen to Mosley that was snuffed out by the swarming Buffs defense for no gain, and so the Bears trotted out kicker Ryan Havens who booted a 47-yard field goal through the uprights, putting the Baylor on the board with 11:35 to go in the second quarter, making the score 7-3 in favor of Colorado.
The Colorado offense came onto the field after the kickoff and handed the ball to Charles up the middle for a two-yard gain. Jackson faked a handoff to Charles and burst left for nine yards and a Buffs first down, as Jackson showed off his speed in getting to the corner on the play. Holliday took the next handoff and ran off tackle for a six-yard gain, and on second down, Holliday was hit as he got to the line of scrimmage and fell forward for two yards. Holliday got the ball on the next play as well, and ran for three yards and a first down for CU. On the next play, Jackson faked a bootleg and dropped back, floating a pass deep downfield intended for Sprague that was ruled an interception by Bears defensive back Anthony Arline. The play was in question as to whether or not he did intercept the pass, and so the referees reviewed the play. The review confirmed that Baylor had intercepted the pass, giving BU back the ball.
The first play after the turnover saw Mosley get stuffed at the line of scrimmage for a gain of one. Bell threw underneath to Dominique Zeigler for eight yards, bringing up third and 1. On the play, Bell fired complete to Zeigler again for seven yards and a first down. Mosley took a handoff and ran over two Buffs defenders for a gain of 12 before being wrapped up by Buffs junior linebacker Jordon Dizon. Mosley carried again on the next play, this time for only one yard. Mosley carried again on the next play, this time for three yards, bring up third and 6 for the Bears. A middle screen to Shelton gained eight yards and a first down for BU. Bell completed a shovel pass to Shelton for five on first down, and on second down a swing pss went for no gain. On third and 5, Mosley took a handoff and burst straight up the middle for a gain of 19 yards and a big first dwn for Baylor. Bell’s next pass fell incomplete thanks to a breakup by CU defensive back Lorenzo Sims. On second down, Bell threw complete to a wide open Brandon Stiggers for a 17 yard touchdown pass, giving the Bears a 10-7 lead with 1:58 to go in the first half.
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End of
2nd Q On the next kickoff, Robinson brought the ball out of the endzone after catching the kick eight yards deep, and his decision was a bad one, as he was slammed to the turf at the Buffs own 10-yard line. An illegal motion penalty on first down moved the Buffs back five yards, and on the replay of the down, Charles took a handoff and ran over right guard for 13 yards and was untouched before he was well into the secondary. The next play saw Charles run for a loss of one, and the conservative offense from Colorado brought out a few boo-birds among the Buffs faithful at Folsom Field. Jackson threw complete to receiver Alvin Barnett for six yards, and the Buffs were content to let the clock expire, and that was the last play of the first half.
The Buffs first offensive series was the only highlight of the half for the team, as Jackson’s two interceptions led to 7 Baylor points. The Buffs were able to move the ball, but the turnovers cost them. Baylor found an offensive rhythm against the Colorado defense towards the end of the first half as well, so Colorado will have to shore up its execution on both sides of the ball in the second half if they hope to come away with their first win of the season.
End of first half: Baylor 10, Colorado 7
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3rd Q
9:17 leftThe second half started with a bang, as Baylor received the opening kickoff, but the kick retuner for the Bears fumbled the ball, and the ball bounced around several times but was finally picked up by CU’s Alvin Barnett and he returned the fumble 12 yards. A personal foul on Baylor after the play gave CU 15 more yards and the Buffs took over after the turnover at the Bears 18 yard line.
Jackon lost one yard on the first play after the turnover, and oh those tricky Buffs tried a halfback pass to the end zone as Charles took the handoff and threw for Sprague but the throw was errant and was nearly intercepted. On third down, Jackson stood in the pocket and fired over the middle for Sprague but the ball bounced off his pads and he was hit hard by a looming Baylor safety. A 36-yard field goal try by Crosby that would normally be a guarantee sailed wide right as Crosby hooked the kick and CU got no points after the fumbled kickoff.
The Bears first play after the missed field goal netted them six yards, and on second down, Bell was unable to find anyone down field and was hit out of bounds for a sack by Wright, his second sack of the day. On third down, Bell passed over the middle to a well covered receiver and the pass was incomplete. The Bears would have to punt on fourth down, and the 50 yard boot was returned 9 yards by Robinson, but an illegal block in the back moved the Buffs back 15 yards.
On first down for the Buffs, Charles carried for two yards, and on second down, Jackson booted to his left and fired a pass too high for tight end Tyson DeVree and the pass fell incomplete. Jackson dropped to throw on third down and his pass was tipped at the line and hung in the air but fell to the ground for an incomplete pass. DiLallo came in to punt for CU, and Baylor was stuffed for no gain on the return.
Baylor’s first play after the punt moved them back 14 yards after and offensive facemask penalty, and the replay of first down saw Baylor running back Brandon Whitaker burst through the Buffalo defense for 42 yards as he weaved his way through blockers and was caught from behind by Buffs linebacker Brad Jones. After the long run, Mosley re-entered the game and ran for no gain. Bell was hurried on the next play by linebacker Walter Boye-Doe and his pass fell incomplete. On third and 10, Bell’s arm was hit as he threw by the Buffs Abe Wright and BU was forced to punt.
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End of
3rd Q Jackson bootlegged right and fired complete to Barnett for a gain of nine on the first play after the Baylor punt. Ellis carried up the middle and bobbed and weaved his way for a CU first down after a gain of four. Jackson again booted right on first down, and looked like he would run but pulled up at the last second and fired a 13-yard pass to Geer for a first down. An end-around handoff to Sprague gained 11 yards and another first down for Colorado. Holliday was hit at the line of scrimmage and carried the defender for four yards on first down. Yet another Jackson bootleg yielded a positive result, as this time Jackson looked downfield, found no one open, and tucked the ball and used his speed and a cut back to get 12 yards.
Ellis carried on the next play, gaining six yards as he picked up some good blocks. Charles found a huge hole over the right side and juked his way through it for a gain of eight yards and yet another Buffalo first down. Jackson kept the ball on the spread option and found little room to manuvear, getting two yards on the keeper. Another end around on second down, this one to sophomore wide receiver Patrick Williams, was snuffed out by the Bears defense and lost four yards. On third and 13, a backside tight end screen to Geer was complete but the blocking could not develop down field in time and Geer only gained two yards. Crosby came on for a 44-yard field goal attempt, and this one he hammered home to make the score all knotted up at 10-10 with 2:35 left in the third quarter.
A bad kickoff by Crosby after the field goal allowed Baylor to get a good 39 yard return, and Bell and BU took over at their own 43 yard line. A shovel pass to Mosley was stuffed by CU senior linebacker Thaddaeus Washington after two yards, and a four yard pass on second down brought up a big third down and five play. On the play, Bears receiver Fenty was wide open and collected a 19-yard pass from Bell for a first down. Bell zipped a pass complete to Zeigler for seven yards on the ensuing play, and another middle screen to Shelton netted the Bears another first down after a nine yard gain. That was the last play of the third quarter.
End of third quarter: Colorado 10, Baylor 10
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4th Q
8:21 leftThe fourth quarter opened with the Bears knocking on the Buffs door, but their first down hand off to Mosley gained no yards. A wide receiver screen to Zeigler picked up seven yards, resulting in a third-down-and-3 play. Mosley took the handoff over left guard for a six-yard gain and a first and goal to go for BU. On first and goal, Wheatley came up with his second interception of the day, this one in the end zone after Bell tried squeeze a throw into tight coverage, a game chainging play for the Buffs defense.
The offensive unit for CU took over at their own 20, and on first down Jackson handed off to Charles for a loss of 1. On second down, Jackson faked a handoff and turned to run right only to be hurried into an incomplete pass intended for Sprague. On third and 11, Jackson booted left and threw for Barnett but the pass was high, and CU’s DiLallo came on to punt and his kick was returned 15 yards, giving Baylor good field position to start their drive yet agin, this time beginning at their own 46 yard line.
Baylor’s first play, a draw handoff was stuffed by Colorado defenivse tackle George Hypolite for a loss of five. Bell’s pass on second down was broken up by a diving Buffalo linebacker Thaddaeus Washington, bringing up third and 15. Bell was hit on the throw and the ball sailed a bit but Shelton reeled in the catch in front of CU defender Sims, who was not looking for the ball. The play gained 16 yards and a first down for BU.
On the ensuing play, Mosley carried for two yards. Shelton collected another Bell pass for seven yards, bring up third and two, a play that saw Mosley take a handoff over left guard and bounce off a few Buffs defenders and rumble 28 yards all the way to the end zone, giving Baylor a 17-10 lead with 9:24 left in the game.
Jackson and the CU offense came out and booted right on the first play after the touchdown, and Jackson’s pass was nearly intercepted but fell incomplete. Jackson carried for 12 yards on the next play. Jackson fumbled on the play, but the fumble was recovered by CU’s DeVree.
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