Colorado
10-3
Pac-12 Championship: Colorado vs. Washington
12-1
Buffs Fall Short In The Pac-12 Title Game To Washington
December 02, 2016 | Football, Neill Woelk
The Buffs, who lost starting quarterback Sefo Liufau for almost the entire first half to an injury, never found their rhythm and the Huskies pounded out a 41-10 win at Levi's Stadium.
The Buffs fell to 10-3 after seeing their six-game win streak come to an end. They will now wait for Sunday's bowl selection process to see where they will play their first bowl game since 2007.
Liufau was injured on CU's first offensive series, after the Huskies had taken the opening kick and marched in for a 7-0 lead. Backup Steven Montez came in and managed to engineer a scoring drive to tie the game, but the Huskies answered with a second-quarter scoring drive to take a 14-7 lead while CU never mustered another serious threat in the half.
The Huskies then put the game away early in the third quarter with back-to-back interceptions of Liufau, who returned after halftime. Taylor Rapp produced both picks, returning the first 35 yards for a touchdown. Washington converted the second into a field goal and less than four minutes into the second half, CU's one-touchdown deficit had ballooned to 24-7 and CU never mustered an answer.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
For the first time this year, a CU opponent took the opening kickoff and scored, as Washington went 65 yards on seven plays for the game's opening touchdown. The big play on the drive was a 26-yard run from Lavon Coleman, which put the Huskies on CU's 12. Four plays later, Coleman scored from 1 yard out for a 7-0 lead.
Colorado took the kickoff and drove into Washington territory before Liufau was injured on a quarterback sack. Montez replaced Liufau and two plays later, threw incomplete on fourth down.
CU's defense, however, returned the favor. The Buffs sacked Washington quarterback Jake Browning twice on the Huskies' next possession, including a fourth-down stop from Jimmie Gilbert and Timothy Coleman Jr. that gave the ball back to Colorado.
Montez then engineered a seven-play, 55-yard scoring drive to tie the game. He completed a 13-yard pass to Kyle Evans on third-and-7 to keep the drive alive and followed that with a 21-yard strike to Shay Fields to the UW 9-yard line. Two plays later, Phillip Lindsay scored from 3 yards out and Davis Price's PAT tied the game at 7-7.
The two teams then traded punts, but the Huskies came out with good field position after CU was forced to kick from deep in its own territory. Washington then went 56 yards in nine plays for the go-ahead score. Jake Browning capped the drive with a 15-yard pass to Darrell Daniels and the PAT gave the Huskies a 14-7 lead that held through halftime.
Liufau returned behind center for the Buffs to start the second half, but on CU's first play from scrimmage, a tipped pass ended up in the hands of Washington's Taylor Rapp, who returned it 35 yards for a touchdown. The PAT gave Washington a 21-7 lead with 14:44 still to go in the third quarter.
Washington's defense then struck again, with Rapp notching his second interception of Liufau and returning it to the CU 25. Colorado's defense rose to the occasion and held UW to a 24-yard Cameron Van Winkle field goal, but the Huskies still held a 24-7 lead with 11:27 still to go in the third period.
The Huskies then extended their lead to 31-7 two possessions later. Moving from their own 40, UW needed just four plays to go 60 yards for the score. Browning completed a 19-yard touchdown pass to John Ross, throwing while in the grasp of CU's Gilbert to give Washington a 31-7 lead.
The Buffs finally managed to add to their point total on the ensuing possession. Anthony Julmisse returned the kick to midfield before fumbling, only to have the ball bounce directly into the hands of Lindsay, who caught it on the run and advanced it to the UW 2-yard line. A penalty on second down put the Buffs back to the 14 and they managed only 7 yards on the next two plays, but Colorado did salvage a Chris Graham 24-yard field goal to make the score 31-10 with 3:43 to go in the third period.
The Huskies then added a field goal and another touchdown to finish the night's scoring.
TURNING POINT: Trailing by just one score at the half, 14-7, the Buffs had a chance to swing momentum their way when they took the opening kickoff of the second half. But Liufau, who returned after his first-half injury, threw an interception to Taylor Rapp, who returned it 35 yards for a score and the Buffs never mounted a serious threat to get back in the game.KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs were outgained 383-163, wih the Huskies racking up 265 yards on the ground. CU's previous low yardage total this season was 304 yards, but Colorado mustered just 81 yards passing. The Huskies also won the turnover battle, picking off three passes, while Colorado saw its nation-leading streak of games with at least one defensive takeaway end at 25.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs, who still have a chance to become only the fourth team in CU history to win 11 games, will wait for Sunday's bowl selection to see where they will play their first bowl game since 2007.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
Team Stats
CU 0, UW 7
UW - Coleman, Lavon 1 yd run (Van Winkle, C. kick), 7 plays, 65 yards, TOP 3:07
CU 7, UW 7
CU - Lindsay, Philli 3 yd run (Price, Davis kick), 7 plays, 55 yards, TOP 3:07
CU 7, UW 14
UW - Daniels,Darrell 15 yd pass from Browning, Jake (Van Winkle, C. kick) 9 plays, 56 yards, TOP 4:19
CU 7, UW 21
UW - Rapp, Taylor 35 yd interception (Van Winkle, C. kick)
CU 7, UW 24
UW - Van Winkle, C. 24 yd field goal 6 plays, 18 yards, TOP 2:01
CU 7, UW 31
UW - Ross, John 19 yd pass from Browning, Jake (Van Winkle, C. kick) 4 plays, 60 yards, TOP 2:01
CU 10, UW 31
CU - Graham, Chris 24 yd field goal 4 plays, -5 yards, TOP 1:20
CU 10, UW 34
UW - Van Winkle, C. 20 yd field goal 4 plays, 8 yards, TOP 0:53
CU 10, UW 41
UW - McClatcher, C. 8 yd run (Van Winkle, C. kick), 13 plays, 65 yards, TOP 8:45
