When the Colorado Buffaloes beat the Colorado State Rams by a underwhelming score of 17-3, the lack of explosive plays on the offensive end was blamed on a bit of offseason rust. But after the first half of their Folsom Field opener against Texas State, the score was only 14-0, with one of their two touchdowns coming off of a fumble recovery on a punt, the offense had run out of excuses.
Fortunately, that same offense roared to life in the second half, and the Buffs cruised past Texas State, 37-3.
“I think we just sputtered a bit in the beginning of that game,” said Buffs’ head coach Mike MacIntyre, before saying that the team had “shown glimpses of being a good offense, and I think that we’re going to be a good offense.”
Even if the Buffs take an expected step back from the division title they must defend, this is an offense that should be able to put up numbers on almost any team in the country. Their running game is headed by Phillip Lindsay, who finished last year with 1,252 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns, and while Texas State did a good job of limiting him to 87 yards on 26 carries Saturday, he did find the end zone in the third quarter, putting the Buffs up 23-3. Lindsay believes that patience is in order.
“Sometimes it’s going to be like that,” said Lindsay. “They came to play, they’re human beings and they didn’t want to be embarrassed, but what everyone must understand is [that] you’ve got to be patient. Everyone has to be patient, because as a group on offense, eventually, everything is going to start rolling for us.”
Sophomore quarterback Steven Montez got off to a slow start, but got things going in the second half, finishing 19-of-31 for 299 yards with one touchdown pass and another one on a two-yard plunge. His day ended early, as MacIntyre decided to go with Sam Noyer at quarterback after the Buffs were in cruise control late. Montez was excited to get the win, and doesn’t feel like their lackluster offense over the last two games is anything to worry about, even with as PAC-12 conference games looming ahead on the schedule.
“I don’t think there is any concern,” said Montez, regarding the offense’s consecutive slow starts. “I think like (cornerback) Isaiah (Oliver) said, it takes a couple of weeks to get clicking — and I think we’re just starting to get that chemistry going in the offense.”
The Buffaloes should have a bit more time to jump-start their offense in next week’s home game against the Northern Colorado Bears, which will conclude the out-of-conference portion of their schedule. After that, slow starts won’t cut it at No.7 Washington — or against anyone else in their conference. Nevertheless, even with an offense that has yet to hit on all cylinders, the Buffaloes still find themselves 2-0 to start the season, providing the luxury of patience.