Colorado Buffaloes Start their Season off with Back to Back Big Wins

In their first two games of the season, the Colorado Buffaloes put up 44 and 56 points while only allowing 7 points each game. It is a great start for them Buffs, but can they continue on like this?

The Colorado Buffaloes kicked off their season against their in-state rival, Colorado State Rams. From the start the Buffs put the heat on and never let up on their way to a 44-7 win in the Rocky Mountain Showdown. Offensively, the Buffaloes were impossible to defend and the defense played great, making this a team blowout win.

It was a total of 578 yards in the opener, and they were led by Senior Quarterback Sefo Liufau, who is coming back from injury. The Colorado Buffaloes quarterback went 23 of 33 for 318 yards and 1 touchdown. This broke the college’s career passing yardage record. He also added 72 yards on the ground.

Additionally, running back Phillip Lindsay added two scores and 95 yards on the ground with 20 attempts.  One of their backup running backs, Kyle Evans, also added 41 yards and a touchdown on the ground with only eight carries. Their center Alex Kelley added a score as well, after recovering a fumble at the goal-line.

As for the defense, they kept the Rams quarterbacks to only 63 yards passing and one touchdown on 29 passing attempts. They completed only 12 passes, with another two passes completed to the Colorado Buffaloes. They did struggle when defending the run allowed 162 total rushing yards.

More from Mile High Maniac

• Denver Nuggets Steal Ducks Darling Bol Bol in Second Round
• Denver Nuggets: Season Grades for the 2018-19 Players
• The 2019-2020 Broncos Depth At Tight End Could Be A Huge Strength To This Offense
• Broncos Position Battles to Watch as Preseason Approaches
• Denver Nuggets: Reflections on an Incredible Season

Senior starting corner back Chidobe Awuzie had one of the interceptions, and picked up 14 yards on the return. Awuzie is a draft prospect that is getting a lot of talk about from scouts as a rapid riser if his season doesn’t get derailed. Fellow Senior defensive back Tedric Thompson had the other interception for the Colorado Buffaloes.

On the game, the Buffs only got to the quarterback twice. Once from senior outside linebacker Jimmie Gilbert and from senior inside linebacker Kenneth Olugbode. Both players are trying to boost their draft stock as the season goes on.

In the second game of the season, the Colorado Buffaloes took on Idaho State. Again the Buffs allowed only seven points, but put up 56 this time, 49 of them in the first half. They controlled the game from the start, and this allowed them to play some guys who normally wouldn’t play. 

More from Colorado Buffaloes

• The Top Prospects From Each College in Colorado
• Colorado Basketball: 4 Things to Know about New Mexico
• Colorado Basketball: San Diego Preview and Prediction
• Colorado Football Sources: Mike MacIntyre will be let go at season’s end
• Colorado Basketball: Drake Preview and Prediction

Senior quarterback Sefo Liufau didn’t play a full game, but still put up good numbers. He went 15-18 for 204 yards and two touchdowns. Liufau also added the team high 54 yards rushing with another touchdown on the ground. Two other quarterbacks played and they went a combined 7 of 13 for 131 yards and two touchdowns with 34 yards rushing. Most of that came from freshman Steven Montez.

On defense they played great as well. They allowed a total of 61 yards passing and 35 yards rushing. They intercepted one pass and sacked the quarterback once as well. It was against lesser competition, but still impressive.

They were led by Senior nose tackle Josh Tupou. He won’t rack up big stats for himself but he does what you want your nose tackle to do. Eat up space and put interior push in the passing game, while clogging running lanes to stop the run. If Tupou does his job, those around him stand out and that has been the case.

Next up they have the Michigan Wolverines which is going to be a good test for this Colorado Buffaloes team. They are trying to exceed expectations for the team this season, beating Michigan will help them do that. Both offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator have their job cut out for them.

Jim Leavitt is the defensive coordinator and in his second year with the team. He has a lot of seniors on his squad who are in their second year in the system. Clearly that is helping them out on the field. Experience is so undervalued.

The big difference maker is co-offensive coordinator Darrin Chiaverini, who is in his first year with the team. He came over from Texas Tech, and brought a lot with him. The players seem to be getting his stuff down, and is a big reason why they have been lights out so far.

As the team grows and they continue to get Chiaverini’s offense down, they will only get better. Who knows where the ceiling is for this offense, but fans of the Colorado Buffaloes have a reason to be excited this season. Not just because of the offense though. This team as a whole right now is cause for excitement.

But, as said before, the Michigan Wolverines are going to be a test. They could show that this Colorado Buffaloes team beat up on two bad teams with a Buffs loss, or the Buffs can show they are for real with a win. That game, however, is only the start of a hard series of games.

Next: Broncos Fans: Calm Down about Siemian

After playing at Michigan they have, at Oregon, vs Oregon State, at USC, vs Arizona State, at Stanford, vs UCLA, at Arizona, vs Washington State and vs Utah to close out the season. It is very possible that this Colorado Buffaloes team can be very good and still end up with a .500 record. They play a lot of good teams.