Fisher Steps In To Bolster Outstanding Buffs Defense

BOULDER — On an afternoon when the Colorado Buffaloes lost a pair of defensive starters, the Buffs were definitely in "next man up mode."

Enter CU sophomore Nick Fisher, who stepped in for safety Afolabi Laguda and turned in some huge plays Saturday in the Buffs' 38-24 win over visiting Washington State.

"Next guy," said defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt. "When that stuff happens, you don't have time to think about it or worry about it. Next guy. We had to make some adjustments and Fisher was the guy. He had to play and that's what he did. I talked to Joe (Tumpkin, safeties coach) and we did what we had to do. Joe does a great job with those safeties and they were ready."

Early in the game, the Buffs lost outside linebacker/safety Ryan Moeller. When that happened, it meant Ahkello Witherspoon and Isaiah Oliver took over at corner while Chidobe Awuzie then moved into Moeller's spot.

"Chido had to come in and run all of Moeller's stuff," Leavitt said. "He's so sharp. He doesn't run it that much in practice but he knows what we're doing. We weren't worried."

But later in the first quarter, the Buffs then lost starting safety Afolabi Laguda when he was ejected for a targeting call on a Washington State touchdown.

That meant time for Fisher, who came into the game having played just 39 snaps in six games this year on defense. All Fisher did was deliver a six-tackle performance that included four third- and fourth-down stops, including what might have been the biggest defensive play of the game.

Late in the fourth quarter with the Buffs clinging to a 28-24 lead, Washington State drove inside the CU 20. On third and four, WSU quarterback Luke Falk threw incomplete. On fourth down, he completed a pass to Kyle Sweet — but Fisher drove Sweet out of bounds 1 yard short of the first-down stick.

Colorado then drove to the WSU 27-yard line for a 46-yard Chris Graham field goal and 31-24 lead.

"That was the turning point of the game, when Nick Fisher made that tackle," said head coach Mike MacIntyre. "We talk about it all of the time. You have to star in your role, whatever your role is."

Fisher said he simply read the play and made the tackle.

"I see a guy coming underneath and no one was covering," Fisher said. "My first instinct was to go shoot right now. I just made sure to wrap up because coach is always saying you don't miss a layup. Then the crowd roared and I was feeling great. All the hairs on the back of my neck stood up."

Fisher admits it wasn't a perfect day. Late in the third quarter, a mistake in a defensive read allowed a 26-yard WSU run that led to a go-ahead touchdown.

"I chewed him," Leavitt said. "But he responded. I got after him hard and he responded. He's a tough kid and made the plays."

Overall, the Buffs' defense had a solid day, particularly in the second half. The Cougars entered the game averaging 24.6 points per game after halftime; the Buffs limited them to just seven on Saturday.

The 24 points was WSU's lowest point total of the season, and the 26-for-53, 325-yard day from quarterback Luke Falk was one of his worst days of the season. The Buffs had two sacks of Falk and also extended their nation-leading streak of games with at least one turnover to 24 as Addison Gillam recovered a fumble and Tedric Thompson had an interception.

CU also held Washington State to just 4-for-15 on third-down attempts. The Cougars entered the game leading the Pac-12 in third-down conversions, successfully converting more than 50 percent of their tries.

"We had some defenses we couldn't run because we didn't have enough people to play them," Leavitt said. "We had to reduce our packages because we were limited in numbers. But our guys just handled it.

"But the biggest thing was they finished. That team (Washington State) has buried people in the second half. We got after 'em. I was proud of the way we finished. That's who we are."

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu