Colorado seeking recovery after Northwestern blowout
Blowouts suck, especially when they end an undefeated season.
After the Colorado Buffaloes 41-7 loss to the Northwestern Wildcats on Saturday, the unit is ready to turn a new page.
“This last week was a big wake-up call,” said linebacker Tyler Martinez in a press conference Tuesday, Sep. 22. “We’re not as good as we think we are, so we got to take it up another notch.”
The defense allowed 423 total yards and four total touchdowns in the loss, as the defense has allowed more yards and points each week. Colorado didn’t allow a touchdown in its Week 1 matchup against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets before allowing three the following week to the FCS’ Weber State Wildcats and 41 to Northwestern.
Martinez, named as one of head coach Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders’ “dawgs,” pointed out the potential of this group when it plays as a unit.
“You saw what happened Week 1 when we played as a unit,” Martinez said.
The Buffs looked like one of the best defenses in the country after Week 1, only allowing 237 yards of offense. Now, after an abysmal defensive performance, the unit is emphasizing communication.
“At the end of the day, you got to win together,” safety Randon Fontenette said in his presser. “We need all 11 on the same page.”
This also comes in the wake of Sanders announcing that he cut some players from the team, a distraction that the players are looking past.
“I think the biggest thing for us this week is coming together,” Martinez said. “We can't let a loss like that split us apart.”
“It starts at practice, and it starts with the leaders being leaders and being more vocal,” Fontenette said.
Sanders tried to shake up the leadership on the defensive end, naming Martinez as one of his “dawgs,” prior to the game last week.
“It brings another level of accountability,” Martinez said. “You can't have that patch on your jersey and go out there and play like a scrub.”
He also named fellow linebacker Gideon ESPN Lampron as one of his “dawgs.” Lampron and Martinez combined for 14 total tackles Saturday against the Wildcats.
In the Coach Prime era, the Buffs haven’t leaned on their defense often, but with an offense that is only averaging 10.5 points per game against FBS opponents, preventing teams from scoring is a necessity. They’ll have to face a Baylor Bears offense that’s averaging nearly 475 yards of offense a game. Still, the unit is optimistic about its chances against the Bears next week.
“They have a good OC. He's very aggressive,” Fontenette said. “We just got to be better, and you know we will be.”
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