Written by Paul Fritz
Denver, CO, – On Friday night in the 90th edition of the Rocky Mountain Showdown, the Colorado Buffs went on an offensive tear to defeat the Colorado State Rams by a score of 45-13.
The Buffs wasted absolutely no time to get on the scoreboard as Quarterback Steven Montez broke away for a 38-yard touchdown run on their first drive of the game. The 5-play drive gave them the early lead, which is undoubtedly the optimal start to the season that Head Coach Mike MacIntyre expects from his team. From then on, scoring opportunities continued to arise. On their following drive, Montez connected with sophomore Receiver #3 K.D. Nixon, who beat the cornerback down the sideline and cradled in the 46-yard bomb for a touchdown.
With the Buffs consistently finding space downfield, the Rams’ offense looked to find their rhythm and stop the bleeding. Down 14-0, Quarterback K.J. Carta-Samuels marched his offense down the field in 6 plays. On the 7th play, Carta-Samuels found Receiver Olabisi Johnson in the end-zone for a 26-yard touchdown, shortening the deficit 14-7. That is just about all the Rams could muster for the remainder of the half.
Besides an interception by Montez and a fumble by Nixon late in the first half, Colorado had tremendous success both offensively and defensively. The game quickly slipped out of CSU’s control after Defensive End Mustafa Johnson deflected Carta-Samuel’s pass which fell into the hands of Linebacker Nate Landman. Soon after, Montez capitalized on the turnover with a slick fade route by #9 Juwann Winfree who reeled it in for a 4-yard touchdown. The Buffs went into the locker room up 28-10.
On Montez’ offensive performance tonight, Coach MacIntyre said, “He’s seeing everything better. I was thinking about it. Coming into this game, he’s had 15 starts. And that’s when you actually start honestly clicking. He’s had some games where he really clicked, but now he consistently knows how to work, he consistently knows what to look for, he consistently knows how to watch film. He’s able to change protection and he’s able to see when the free guy is coming.”
The 2nd half provided much of the same as the Rams simply could not develop any real momentum. The Buffs were relentless in their pass rush, keeping Carta-Samuels uncomfortable in the pocket and preventing him from completing his progressions. On the other side, Montez was hitting all of his targets, which gave his receivers great opportunities to make plays. He ended the night with 338 passing yards and 4 touchdowns.
Early in the 2nd half, Receiver #2 Leviska Shenault Jr. made the biggest play of the night with an 89-yard touchdown run that demonstrated just how elusive and powerful he is with the ball. Shenault Jr. was the most productive player for the Buffs ending the night with 211 receiving yards and a touchdown. After yet another big play in the 49-yard rushing touchdown for Tailback Travon MacMillian, the game became completely out of reach at 42-10 halfway through the 3rd quarter.
On the team’s improvement in the off-season, Montez said, “It feels like things are clicking. I think we’ve been working extremely hard all across the board during fall camp. I think guys have been getting hungry and they’re antsy to get out there on the field and that’s what happened today. Hopefully, things click a lot this season.”
As great as the Buffs played tonight, they will need to fine-tune the few careless mistakes that occurred tonight before they head to Lincoln, Nebraska to take on a tough Corn Huskers squad. The game will begin Saturday at 1:30 pm Mountain Standard Time and will be featured on ABC. The CSU Rams have another difficult match-up next Saturday as they host the Arkansas Razorbacks.
