Written by Paul Fritz
Boulder, CO – In a 45-14 route over the New Hampshire, Colorado dominated on both sides of the ball by scoring 5 total touchdowns and holding the Wildcats to 3 separate scoreless quarters. The Buffs now enjoy a 3-0 start to their season as they head into their bye week before then taking on Pac-12 competition.
Colorado’s defense immediately set the tone as #32 Rick Gamboa intercepted Wildcats quarterback Christian Lupoli on just his 2nd pass of the game. Steven Montez capitalized on the turnover with a 28-yard pass to Leviska Shenault Jr. who powered his way into the end-zone giving the Buffs a very early 7-0 lead. Though the Buffs continued to apply the pressure on defense, the offense needed a few drives to get settled in.
To start the 2nd quarter, Colorado established their running game behind Senior tailbacks Trayvon McMillian and Kyle Evans. McMillian put the Buffs ahead 14-0 after a 1-yard rush from the Wildcat formation. New Hampshire followed up with a solid drive of their own where Lupoli demonstrated his ability to get out of the pocket and beat defenders with his feet. After a 15-yard late-hit penalty and a couple of 10+ yard rushes by Lupoli, the Wildcats had their first opportunity to get on the scoreboard. Unfortunately for New Hampshire, kicker Jason Hughes 42-yard field goal attempt bounced straight of the upright.
On his team’s quick start to the game, CU head coach Mike MacIntyre said, “They (New Hampshire) wanted to slow it down, make it one of those types of games… but I thought overall we were being a physical football team, which is what I want to see.”
Then when asked to address their mentality heading into Pac-12 play, MacIntyre said, “I think the Pac-12 is completely wide open… I like the resiliency of our football team, I like our fight, our effort, our closeness, our mental and physical toughness. We’re going to get punched some but we’re going to give it right back. You can’t count these guys out ever…They’re a really together group and I think they’re extremely mentally tough.”
From this point, Colorado stepped on the gas and didn’t look back. Montez completed his first deep pass of the game with 5 minutes to go in the half on a 53-yard bomb to junior receiver Tony Brown. After Evans rushed it in for a 6-yard touchdown, the Buffs led 21-0. New Hampshire didn’t do themselves any favors to stop the bleeding as Lupoli fumbled the football which was then recovered by Davion Tyler who took it 14 yards for the touchdown. The Buffs even had one more opportunity to score a touchdown, but Montez was intercepted by Evan Horn in the endzone.
The 2nd half started about as well as it could have for Colorado when McMillian exploded for a 75-yard touchdown, his 2nd of the game putting the Buffs up 35-0. After not rushing for any yards in the 1st quarter, McMillian demonstrated that he can provide the Buffs with the running dynamic to complement what seems to be an already high-powered passing offense. McMillian finished the game with 162 total yards at an average of 10.8 yards per carry.
On his performance tonight, MacMillian said, “I have been putting in a lot of hard work this offseason to try and have a really consisted year. It is good that I have been consistent this year, but I am going to keep trying to get better throughout practice each and every day. I am going to remain humble and keep working.”
The Wildcats were eventually able to pull a couple of touchdowns together, the most notable being Lupoli connecting with a wide open Neil O’Connor who ran it downfield for a 71-yard touchdown. That was the closest they could get, however, at 38-14, before Buffs running back Alex Fontenot scored a 15-yard touchdown with just 5 minutes remaining.
It will be interesting to see where the Buffs stack up in the Pac-12 South and they will have their first opportunity to prove their place after their upcoming bye week. Colorado’s first match-up will be the UCLA Bruins and their new head coach Chip Kelley. It will be at Folsom Field on Friday, September 28th starting at 7:00 p.m. and can be seen on Fox Sports 1. New Hampshire also has a bye week and will look to bounce back against the Elon Pheonix.
