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The 2013 season has mercifully come to and end with a 24-17 loss to the Utah Utes. Colorado tried to make it a game and had a chance for a 90-yard drive to tie it with two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter but an interception from Sefo Liufau effectively ended the game and both teams seasons.
Colorado came out limp and dug themselves a big hole with a piss poor performance from the offensive line and two big fumbles from Liufau. Right after the start of the second quarter the Utes had quickly run up a 21-0 lead and the Buffs seemed to be in for a long day. Colorado's drives in the first half went like this: fumble, punt, punt, fumble, punt, punt, turnover on downs (when the Buffs were given the ball on the Utah 5), punt. It all added up to the most anemic half of football we have seen from this Buffaloes team this season.
In the second half Colorado came out looking like a different team. The offense still couldn't get it going after another great onside kick call and recovery but the tone had been changed. On the next drive the Buffs drove 74 yards in 7 plays to finally get in the end zone on a Scott Fernandez touchdown.
With two and a half minutes remaining in the game Colorado brought the score to 24-17 on a clutch 14-yard pass from Liufau to Spruce on fourth down. On the following drive the onside kick went out of bounds but the Buffs were able to give the Utes a three and out and only run :30 seconds off the clock before Liufau's game ending interception.
Despite trying, the Buffs were never able to get Paul Richardson the ball enough to get the big plays they so desperately needed to claw their way back into this game. If this is Richardson's last game it will be a bit of a letdown with a drop of what would have likely been a touchdown and numerous overthrows.
The running game really struggled today, with the only bright spot being a couple of nice runs from Michael Adkins. The Buffaloes are going to have to get the offensive line and running game fixed in a big way if they hope to continue to see improvement next season.
That'll do it for the 2013 season, one that saw Colorado begin their long journey back to respectability. We'll have plenty of time to break down recruiting and next season's prospects over the next couple of months so for now I wanted to thank everyone for joining us this year and remind you to make sure and keep coming back for basketball and the offseason.
Go Buffs!
Team Stat Comparison
