It was truly a roller coaster ride. The Colorado Buffaloes picked up their seventh win of the season against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Saturday and are currently in sole possession of second place in the Big 12 standings.
The path forward for the Buffs is clear. A win would put them in the Big 12 title game. But the 41-27 victory at Jones AT&T Stadium was a foggy, chaotic game.
Both teams held double-digit leads, with the Red Raiders jumping out to a 13-0 advantage at the end of the first quarter. CU then outscored Texas Tech 41-14 the rest of the way, but both teams made mistakes at inopportune times. The Buffs collected 14 penalties and gained 106 yards, but Texas Tech held the pace at 9-for-80. In the end, CU made more plays and grabbed another valuable road win.
Here are five takeaways from Colorado College’s chaotic win at Texas Tech in Week 11.
Tough first quarter
Just about everything that could go wrong went wrong for CU in the first quarter. Texas Tech returned the first kickoff 46 yards, and Red Raiders quarterback Behren Morton hit tight end Jalin Conyers for a 17-yard score three plays later. The Buffs’ defense tightened up after that, but Texas Tech added two field goals to take a 13-0 lead. Colorado couldn’t do anything on offense and ended up holding a punt for the third time in a row.
What is the biggest gain? If Colorado wants to advance to the Big 12 or higher title game, it needs to get off to a faster start.
Dominant Q2 and Q3
Colorado fought back in the second quarter midfield, scoring 17 straight points to take its first lead early in the third quarter. Wide receiver Rajontay Wester took a short pass from QB Shedure Sanders and ran 23 yards to the end zone for the Buffs’ first score. This began a stretch of five consecutive possessions with scoring. CU would win 31-7 at midfield and take an 11-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
After a slow start, Sanders reaffirmed there was no reason to panic with Colorado’s explosive offense.
respect the defensive line
I said earlier this week that the Buffs’ pass rushers might be their best defensive position group, and that crew had the advantage in Lubbock. Amari McNeil deserves special praise as he stepped up in a game where the Buffs were hit with injuries on the defensive line. Rayan Buell, Shane Cokes and Taurean Carter were all sidelined, but defensive tackle Meneil responded with nine tackles, three TFL and 1.5 sacks.
Edge rushers BJ Green II, Keene Wade, Samuel Okunlola and Arden Walker combined for 14 tackles, 8.5 TFL, five sacks and two forced fumbles. With a minute left in the fourth quarter, Walker forced a fumble, but safety Shiloh Sanders recovered it and returned it for a touchdown, giving CU some breathing room.
I need to finish it better
Despite the defense setting up the Buffs with two turnovers in plus territory, their offense could only make a field goal in the final quarter. CU ran 17 plays in the fourth and gained just nine yards, going three-and-out on four drives. Overall, Colorado’s defense played well, but I’d like to see the offense reward the D with better plays in the fourth quarter.
Tradition or not, Texas Tech fans went too far
Texas Tech’s tradition of throwing tortillas onto the field was a source of fun banter from CU head coach Deion Sanders earlier in the week, but it got out of hand during the game.
Texas Tech took an early lead, and debris was seen hitting the field while the kick was being returned. This can escalate to the point where other objects are thrown with references that threaten to kick out the entire section. Red Raiders head coach Joey McGuire followed Prime’s lead and took to the microphone to demand that fans stop throwing things on the field.
I support tradition, but the referees lost control of the game on the field and in the stands.
This article originally appeared on Buffaloes Wire: What we learned from Colorado College vs. Texas Tech’s chaotic win
