Colorado reverts to old ways, loses to No. 12 Texas Tech
Old habits die hard, and the Buffs have a bad one.
The Colorado Buffaloes (2-3, 0-2 Big 12) fell to the No. 12 Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) on the Buffs’ homecoming night.
Head coach Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders’ quarterback change raised questions as starter Isaac Wilson threw for 290 yards and one touchdown, but had three second-half interceptions, including a pick-6. He also led the team with 17 carries for 49 total yards.
“It's got to start with the quarterback room,” Wilson said after the game. “It's got to start with me.”
Still, Colorado’s seventh-worst penalty mark nationally didn’t look any better, giving up eight penalties for 84 yards, a habit they can’t seem to break. It’s the fourth consecutive game with eight or more penalties for more than 80 yards.
Wilson went 8-for-10 in the first quarter, throwing for 120 yards and a touchdown. Colorado scored its first opening-quarter touchdown of the season on an eight-yard pass to Joseph Williams during its first drive. He had his second consecutive 10-catch performance, finishing with a game-high 93 yards.
Texas Tech responded with a 10-play field goal drive, cutting the lead to 7-3.
The Buffs offense got back to work with a 12-play drive that ended with a third-and-2 on the Red Raiders’ 10-yard line. Wilson slipped on a keeper that would have been a first down, forcing the field goal unit out for a 29-yard attempt by Elliot Arnold. He pushed the attempt wide left.
“I need to stop slipping,” Wilson said after the game. “I’m trying to be more than I am.”
Colorado led the Red Raiders 7-3 at the end of the first quarter but looked promising early.
To open the second quarter, the Buffs appeared to have their first three-and-out, but instead ran a direct snap to Naeten Mitchell on fourth-and-8, who couldn’t get to the first-down marker, forcing a turnover on downs.
The second quarter was the defense’s turn to shine, forcing a stop on fourth-and-1 on the Red Raiders’ first drive of the second quarter before doing it again on another fourth-and-1 on Colorado’s 7-yard line.
Texas Tech had the ball after the 2-minute timeout and ran the clock down to just 34 seconds left with a chance to kick a field goal. Stone Harrington’s original 51-yard attempt was iced by a useful Sanders timeout, causing Harrington to miss the second attempt.
Wilson led the Buffs down the field and set up Arnold with a 52-yard attempt, which Texas Tech also iced. Arnold also missed, keeping the score 7-3 going into the half.
Out of the break, the Colorado offense came to a screeching halt.
The Buffs attempted a trick play, with DeKalon Taylor pitching the ball to Williams, who threw an interception in Colorado’s territory. Texas Tech capitalized on the field position with a 27-yard field goal from Harrington, pushing Colorado’s lead to one with 9 minutes left in the third.
A penalty-plagued next drive gave Texas Tech its first touchdown of the game, to go ahead 12-7. Their subsequent two-point conversion was snuffed out, keeping the lead at just five points.
Wilson threw his second interception of the game on the following drive, killing any momentum the two-point conversion stop generated. The third quarter ended with the Red Raiders ahead 12-7.
The defense still prevented a touchdown, keeping the game within one score, forcing Harrington to kick a 46-yard field goal to extend the Red Raiders’ lead to eight.
Colorado was pinned back to the 1-yard line, where Wilson threw an interception that was caught in the end zone, extending the Red Raiders’ lead to 22-7. Texas Tech added another touchdown late in the game to push the final score to 29-7.
After Colorado’s opening drive, the Buffs didn’t score again.
“We’ve been horrible [on offense], don’t sugarcoat it,” Sanders said. “It’s all execution, want and will.”
With Wilson’s three interceptions, including a pick-6, Sanders didn’t have much confidence in his group.
“We got one glaring problem,” Sanders said. “We gotta play better at one specific position.”
“I did not make smart decisions tonight,” Wilson said.
Colorado’s next game is in two weeks, when they host the No. 13 Utah Utes (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) at Folsom Field on Saturday, Oct. 17th.
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