For the second time in as many meetings, Colorado found themselves on the wrong side of a lopsided loss to the Washington Huskies.
Before Saturday, the last time the Colorado played Washington was at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara last December. There was a lot on the line as it was an historic event. Both teams were making their debut in the Pac-12 Championship as they clashed to be conference champion. The Huskies who prevailed in dominant fashion, 41-10. Revenge has been on the Buffs mind for almost a year, they’ve been circling this date ever since.
On Saturday, Colorado had the opportunity to avenge the Pac-12 Championship loss; no the stakes weren’t as high, but the game still meant a lot for both of these undefeated teams. And like December, it was the No. 7 Huskies that controlled the game as the won 37-10.
“They just made more plays than we did,” Head Coach Mike MacIntyre said postgame before saying “we just screwed things up.”
The Buffaloes who struck first as quarterback Steven Montez looked poised throughout the opening drive. He hit Juwann Winfree and Devin Ross for a few passes before Phillip Lindsay plunged into the end zone on a 1-yard touchdown run.
Washington showed no quit as they stalled for a few possessions but got it going on the defensive end. Special teams helped get the Huskies on the board when they blocked a punt, leaving the Huskies on the Colorado 7-yard line.
Special teams has been an area of concern for the Buffs all season long and ended up being the piece that opened the flood gates once again.
The Huskies would go on to score with a 1-yard touchdown run by Gaskin tying the game at seven.
From there, the Huskies defense turned it on and forced a turnover by Montez. He was intercepted by Jordan Miller as he attempted to hit Lindsay out of the backfield. Colorado’s defense that held strong and forced a field goal, making it 10-7 heading into the half.
After the half, adjustments were made. Jake Browning and the Huskies came out firing on the first possession, which ended with a 43-yd touchdown pass from Browning to Quinten Pounds to give the Huskies a 17-7 lead.
The Buffs responded with a drive that ended with a 49-yard field goal by James Stefanou (a new career long). Those would end up being Colorado’s last points on the night.
Washington’s next drive looked promising as Browning marched the Huskies down the field only for it to end with a field goal miss giving the Buffs a chance to tie it up.
Colorado’s next drive ended up being a short one as Montez was picked off for the third time in the game, this time a 35-yard interception returned for a touchdown by Myles Bryant that gave Washington a 24-10 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter was smooth sailing for the Huskies, while the INT-TD seemed to take the win completely out of Colorado’s sails. Washington ran the ball exceptionally well in the final quarter. Salvon Ahmed pushed in for a 6-yard TD run to give the Huskies a 31-10 lead.
After a stop by the defense, the Huskies got the ball back and it was Myles Gaskin who found some room. On the first play of the drive he wiggled free for a 57-yard touchdown run, the run that ultimately put the dagger into the Buffs.
“It was pitiful by us” Coach MacIntyre said about stopping the run. “We should be better than that and we weren’t, so we have to find a way to get better at stopping it.”
The Huskies ran for 254 yards on the night, led by Gaskin’s 202 and two touchdowns.
With the loss, the Buffaloes fall to 3-1 on the year (0-1 Pac-12), after playing the first three games in Colorado, they travel to California to face Josh Rosen and the UCLA Bruins.
