Late come-back lifts Buffs to 2-0
Never having the lead through the first 58 minutes of the game, Cody Hawkins’two-yard touchdown pass to freshman fullback Jake Behrens and place-kicker Aric Goodman’s extra point brought the Buffs even with the Eastern Washington Eagles 24-24 with 2:05 left on the clock.
On the second play of the Eagles’ ensuing drive, junior cornerback Cha’pelle Brown picked off a Matt Nichols pass and returned it 27 yards for a score that gave the Buffs their first lead of the game at 31-24, with 1:44 left to play.
The Eagles had one last chance to try and tie the game up and send it into overtime, but an interception by senior Buff safety D.J. Dykes inside the Buffs’ end zone with three seconds left in the game sealed the 31-24 victory for the Buffs, who improved their early-season record to 2-0.
After the game Saturday, Buffs head coach Dan Hawkins said that though the game was not exactly what the Buffs were hoping for, he was happy with the way his players were able to fight their way back into the game and come away with a win against a good team like Eastern Washington.
“Give them a lot of credit,” Hawkins said. “They came out fast and made plays, got it going, got momentum, and we didn’t. But, despite being down a little bit of a margin and not having some things go our way, they were able to come back and find ways to win the football game.”
Buff Quarterback Cody Hawkins also said he was proud of the way the team was able hang in there and come back at the end, but that if they had played a bit better earlier on they would not have had to come back.
“The guys were very resilient,” Hawkins said. “I thought that was really impressive. What was also probably equally unimpressive was the way we executed in the first half, so it kind of offsets itself.”
Hawkins threw for three touchdowns against the Eagles, but also threw a second quarter interception that was returned for a touchdown.
Ryan Walters, a senior safety and captain on a Buffs defense that allowed only three points in the second half, said the defense’s success in that second half was the result of better tackling.
“We started off really slow- they hit us pretty hard in the mouth,” Walters said. “They were hitting us with a lot of short routes, and we missed a few tackles here and there that led to eight yard gains instead of three yard gains.”
Walters had eight tackles in the game including a forced fumble that was recovered for a turnover.
From the first half to the second, it looked like it would be more of the same from the Buffs offensively until Josh Smith returned a punt 51 yards to the Eastern Washington four yard line, setting up the Buffs offense to score on a one yard pass to freshman tight end Ryan Deehan.
With that touchdown reception, Deehan became the first true freshman tight end for the Buffs to catch a touchdown in 25 years, since John Embree did it in 1983.
Deehan said that when the Buffs lined up for that play, he realized no one was covering him, so he just did his best to give his quarterback a good target and caught the ball. He said he was just excited to get the ball and help his team win the game.
After the game, when he was told that he had made CU football history, he said he was both surprised and pleased.
“That’s pretty cool,” Deehan said. “I didn’t know that.”
The Buffs are heading into a bye week next week. The following Thursday, they will host the No. 25 West Virginia Mountaineers, who dropped 17 spots in the AP Top 25 from No. 8 to No. 25 after losing 3-24 to the East Carolina Pirates on Saturday.
Contact CU Independent Assistant Sports Editor Brad Cochi at Bradley.Cochi@colorado.edu.
