EUGENE, Ore. – The offensive line gave the quarterback time to throw and opened some holes in the run game. The quarterback made several big throws. The receivers made several big catches.
If ever there was a time to feel OK about a 23-point loss, this was it.
Colorado’s defense was battered on Saturday, but its much-maligned offense showed some life in a 52-29 loss to No. 7 Oregon at Autzen Stadium.
“I’ve got a very disappointed defense in there that felt like they didn’t play as well as they should,” CU head coach Karl Dorrell said. “Offensively, I felt we made some progress. I thought they kept fighting throughout the game.”
Not ideal, but in a season that’s been less than ideal, it was somewhat encouraging.
The Buffs (2-6, 1-4 Pac-12) lost their second in a row and were routed for the fifth time in six games. They were never really a threat to beat the Ducks (7-1, 4-1), but they at least showed a pulse on offense, and with a month left in the season there is some hope.
“We had a loss today but you saw a lot of growth from our O-line to our QB to receivers, to all of us in general,” receiver Brenden Rice said. “You just saw that jump from us as an offense – as a whole complete offense. But, there’s no moral victories. We didn’t get the win, so that’s all that matters.”
It’s been that type of season for the Buffs, however. They have rarely been able to get quality play from both sides of the ball in the same game.
Coming into this one, the offense ranked at or near the bottom nationally in most major categories, while the defense has been solid. On Saturday, the offense actually looked explosive at times, but the defense couldn’t figure out how to slow down the Ducks.
Oregon’s first-team offense scored all eight of its possessions. Quarterback Anthony Brown threw for 307 yards and three touchdowns and running back Travis Dye had 122 yards in total offense and three touchdowns to lead the Ducks.
“I think it came down to executing our assignments, paying attention to details,” safety Isaiah Lewis said. “Our performance today was pretty unfamiliar, I feel like overall, so it’ll definitely be easy to go back, take notes and not make the same mistakes again.”
CU’s defense committed three penalties on Oregon’s first possession, helping a Ducks offense that really didn’t need the help.
“It just threw the rhythm of really trying to settle in at the start of the game,” Dorrell said of the early penalties. “I felt that hurt our defense a little bit. That hasn’t been a characteristic of theirs.”
It wasn’t just penalties that hurt the Buffs. Oregon repeatedly hit the Buffs with big plays. Six of the Ducks’ first 22 plays went for at least 16 yards. That contributed to a 21-0 lead just 16 minutes, 22 seconds into the game.
The outcome was more or less decided at that point, but CU managed to change the tone of the game after that.
Freshman quarterback Brendon Lewis had career highs for completions (25), passing attempts (33) and touchdowns (three), throwing for 224 yards in the process. He connected with Ty Robinson and running back Alex Fontenot for touchdown passes in the second quarter, cutting Oregon’s lead to 31-14 going into halftime.
Two third quarter touchdowns by the Ducks gave them a 45-14 lead, but CU continued to push offensively. Fontenot scored on a touchdown run and Lewis hit Brenden Rice with a laser of a throw that resulted in a 16-yard touchdown. A two-point conversion after that made the score a respectable 45-29 with 6:04 to go.
Oregon added another touchdown in the final minute, but for CU, the offense was needed. A week after producing just 104 yards in a 26-3 loss at California, the Buffs had their most productive game against an FBS team this season.
CU had scored just six offensive touchdowns in the last six games combined but got four on Saturday, two from Fontenot. Rice had a huge day, with five receptions for 102 yards and 162 yards on five kickoff returns.
Ultimately, it was CU’s second-consecutive 23-point loss, but this one felt a whole lot better than the 26-3 loss to Cal a week earlier.
“I do feel better,” Dorrell said. “The things that we did over the course of the week, we actually did a great deal of execution on those things and it worked for us. I’m glad that the correlation of really having great practices – like I said they had their best Friday and it did look like we made progress there. So that’s what they’re buying into right now is that they know that when we put together a good week of practice this is what we can be when we do those things.”
It was, however, not a complete game, and the Buffs are now just one loss away from being eliminated from bowl eligibility.
“Unfortunately, when you play a team of that caliber, you’ve got to play much better in all three phases and that consistency hurt us today,” Dorrell said.
Oregon 52, Colorado 29
Play of the game: In the fourth quarter, CU quarterback Brendon Lewis threaded a pass between two defenders and into the hands of receiver Brenden Rice, who caught the ball and was able to waltz into the end zone untouched for the Buffs’ final touchdown.
Turning point: Oregon controlled the game throughout, but if CU was going to have a chance, the Ducks put that to rest by opening the second half with two touchdowns to push their lead to 45-14.
Top 3 Buffs of the game
1. WR Brenden Rice: He was exceptional on offense and special teams. He finished with five catches for 102 yards and a touchdown and added 162 yards on six kickoff returns. He also had a 17-yard run.
2. QB Brendon Lewis: Arguably his best game of the season. He completed 25-of-33 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns.
3. Offensive line: They’ve had a rough season, but played well against the Ducks. They allowed just one sack. The run game managed only 117 yards but hit on some important runs at times.
No. 7 Oregon 52, Colorado 29
Colorado 0 14 0 15 — 29
Oregon 14 17 14 7 — 52
First Quarter: ORE — Dye 10 pass from A.Brown (C.Lewis kick), 10:47. ORE — Cardwell 34 run (C.Lewis kick), 7:04.
Second Quarter: ORE — Franklin 28 pass from A.Brown (C.Lewis kick), 13:38. COLO — T.Robinson 9 pass from B.Lewis (Becker kick), 9:10. ORE — Dye 5 run (C.Lewis kick), 4:28. COLO — Fontenot 2 pass from B.Lewis (Becker kick), 2:13. ORE — FG C.Lewis 27, :00.
Third Quarter: ORE — Dye 2 run (C.Lewis kick), 9:46. ORE — D.Williams 25 pass from A.Brown (C.Lewis kick), 5:21.
Fourth Quarter: COLO — Fontenot 1 run (Becker kick), 13:36. COLO — Rice 16 pass from B.Lewis (Penry pass from B.Lewis), 6:04. ORE — McGee 1 run (C.Lewis kick), :50.
COLO ORE
First downs 19 29
Total Net Yards 341 568
Rushes-yards 30-117 36-256
Passing 224 312
Punt Returns 0-0 3-19
Kickoff Returns 6-162 3-77
Interceptions Ret. 1-0 0-0
Comp-Att-Int 25-33-0 26-36-1
Sacked-Yards Lost 1-2 0-0
Punts 4-43.5 0-0.0
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-0
Penalties-Yards 11-75 5-40
Time of Possession 28:24 31:36
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Colorado, Fontenot 8-42, D.Smith 7-26, Broussard 6-22, Rice 1-17, B.Lewis 8-10. Oregon, Cardwell 7-127, Dye 13-47, A.Brown 7-38, McGee 5-20, Thompson 1-13, Benson 3-11.
PASSING — Colorado, B.Lewis 25-33-0-224. Oregon, A.Brown 25-31-0-307, Thompson 1-3-1-5, (Team) 0-2-0-0.
RECEIVING — Colorado, Rice 5-102, Broussard 4-18, Russell 3-42, T.Robinson 2-21, Fontenot 2-7, D.Smith 2-6, Carpenter 2-4, Lynch 2-3, Lemonious-Craig 1-12, Penry 1-8, Arias 1-1. Oregon, D.Williams 5-95, Dye 5-75, McGee 3-21, Johnson III 3-10, Franklin 2-44, Pittman 2-15, Webb 2-8, Matavao 1-15, Redd 1-15, Hutson 1-9, Jeannis 1-5.
MISSED FIELD GOALS — None.
