Buffaloes prefer more points than glimpses
BOULDER» As a prep star at Del Valle High School in El Paso, Steven Montez was nearly unstoppable when he would get out of the pocket.
A big, athletic quarterback, he could beat just about anybody with his arm or his feet, and he was so good that it became second nature.
Now that he’s the starting quarterback for the Colorado Buffaloes as a sophomore, Montez is still itching to get on the run.
“I just kind of revert back to that whenever I’m in a game,” Montez said Saturday after helping the Buffs post a 37-3 victory over Texas State in CU’s home opener at Folsom Field.
While that style worked like a charm in high school, it’s causing some problems right now and it’s been a big factor in the Buffs’ earlyseason struggles on offense.
Saturday’s final score was lopsided, but for the second game in a row, the Buffs (2-0) failed to impress with their highly touted offense.
CU’s defense was exceptional again, holding Sun Belt Conference member Texas State (1-1) to 283 yards, and CU’s special teams produced 16 points.
Offensively, however, the expectations were that the Buffs would be one of the most explosive teams in the country this year. Those weren’t outside expectations. That’s what the Buffs — including coach Mike MacIntyre — told anyone who would listen.
“I put (those expectations) on us,” MacIntyre said. “I still think we’re going to be pretty good. I think we’ve shown really good glimpses of it. We’ll put that together for a whole game and do some really good things. We can make some big plays. We have good players across the board.”
Those glimpses added up to decent numbers overall against Texas State, as the Buffs finished with 430 total yards. And it’s never a bad thing to put 37 points on the scoreboard.
Montez shook off some early struggles in the game to throw for 299 yards and a touchdown on 19-of-31 passing. Senior running back Phillip Lindsay contributed 87 yards and a touchdown on the ground, and senior wide receiver Shay Fields had five catches for 110 yards.
After taking a 14-0 lead into halftime, the Buffs had a 17-3 advantage in the third quarter. In that quarter, Lindsay scored on a 7-yard run and Montez hit senior wide receiver Bryce Bobo on an 11-yard TD pass to extend CU’s lead to 31-3.
Pulling away from Texas State gave the Buffs the cushion they needed to rest their starters in the fourth quarter.