Falcons take flight
Mistake-prone Buffs fall to Air Force 30-23 in overtime
» Against Nebraska, the Buffs survived by BOULDER inches. On Saturday, CU died by them. “The little things,” Buffaloes wideout Laviska Shenault mused after CU fell at home in overtime to Air Force, 30-23. “The little things just messed us up.”
The little things at Folsom Field piled up, too. Namely:
• Six Buffs penalties at home for 40 yards in losses, most of them false starts along the offensive line that repeatedly put the hosts in tough downand-distance situations.
• A blocked extra point with 6:09 left in the contest that left CU down seven and playing for a tie during its final drive in regulation instead of driving for a potential victory.
• Play-action passes by Falcons option quarterback Donald Hammond III, who shocked the CU defense with scores through the air for 32 and 81 yards in the first half, the latter staking AFA to a 19-10 lead.
• Conversions on third-and-7-ormore, a scenario in which logic should’ve given CU, on paper, an advantage over the run-happy Falcons. Instead, the visitors managed to convert a first down on four of six of those third-and-7-or-more opportunities. The Buffs (2-1), by contrast, converted just three out of 10.
And the last chance, on third-and-10 at the AFA 14 in overtime, was among
the most painful for the hosts. Montez was forced to scramble left out of the pocket, releasing a hurried throw to tailback Alex Fontenot on a hot route for a 2yard loss.
On fourth and 14, with the game — and a 3-0 start — on the line, Montez’s toss appeared to be rushed again. His rainbow in the left corner of the end zone toward Shenault, who was double-covered, missed the mark.
“A lot of that,” said Montez, who connected on 26 of 43 throws for 220 passing yards and two scores, “it’s on me.”
The first meeting since 1974 of the state’s two most storied Football Bowl Subdivision programs, and the first at Folsom since 1973, lived up to its billing — especially late.
Over the final 3:53 of regulation, Montez drove the Buffs 60 yards to knot the score at 23-23, thanks to some timely assists from Shenault.
The pair hooked up for a 15-yard completion on second-and-13 with 4:21 to go, then a 12-yard pass play with 49 seconds left to convert a third-and-8 at the Falcons 5. Shenault took a direct snap on second-and-goal with 28 seconds to go and drove the pile into the end zone to pull the hosts to within a point.
CU coach Mel Tucker elected to kick the extra point and play for overtime, and the Falcons obliged, taking a knee after the ensuing kickoff. Air Force (2-0), 3.5-point underdogs, scored on its first and only play of the extra session, on a 25-yard run by Kadin Remsberg.
“We viewed this as a state championship game, because they beat CSU and we just beat them,” Hammond said. “All we have to do is beat CSU and we win the state, we run the state.”
Saturday’s contest was the second straight in which CU had gone to overtime at home against a regional rival, making it the first back-to-back overtime contests in Buffs history. But Buffs players and coach Mel Tucker dismissed the idea of an emotional letdown coming off an electric, crowdstorming 34-31 comeback victory over then-no. 25 Nebraska here the weekend before.
“Our guys fought and they played hard, they didn’t quit,” said Tucker, who opened his CU ledger with three straight rivalry tilts and saw his Buffs outscore the opposition 75-34 after halftime in all three contests. “It’s not about that.”
But it was about the fact that the Buffs didn’t force the Falcons to punt for the first time until there was 5:33 left in the third quarter. It was about a running game that only managed 105 yards, combined, on the ground against a Mountain West Conference defense. It was about an inconsistent performance from Montez and from his offensive line, wasting a performance that saw Shenault rack up 124 receiving yards, 25 rushing yards and two scores.
CU fans and alums feared for weeks — months — that AFA could be well a “trap” game, especially coming off an emotional win over the Cornhuskers the weekend before. Buffs faithful feared a contest that would mirror the holy scare Army gave No. 10 Michigan in Ann Arbor before the Wolverines escaped with a 2421 double-overtime win — that the Buffs would get Michigan-ed.
Early on, the Buffs got Michigan-ed. And then some.
On CU’S initial defensive series, the Buffs snuffed out AFA’S first dive play of the day with aplomb, as starting strong safety Aaron Maddox charged in and stripped the ball from fullback Taven Birdow, a miscue recovered by the Buffs’ Davion Taylor at the Falcons 34.
In what would be a harbinger of a garish second quarter, CU’S ensuing drive was stopped after five plays at the Air Force 19. James Stefanou’s 36-yard field goal gave the hosts a 10-0 cushion midway through the first quarter.
The cushion wouldn’t last long. And when the Falcons were driving again with a minute left in the third quarter, Maddox suffered lower leg laceration as he spilled into the Falcons’ sideline pursuing the play. The 6-foot-1 junior gave a thumbs up to the crowd as he was carted off and didn’t return.
“He was in a lot of pain,” Tucker said.
As the Falcons and fans in blue danced on the Folsom Field turf on Saturday afternoon, Maddox wasn’t the only one. Not by a long shot.