No Broncos. No problem.
There were more than enough meaningful sporting events this last full weekend in October. Even with the CSU Rams also taking the weekend off and the Nuggets yet to tip off the regular season, we’ve got plenty of fodder for our weekly “Studs and Duds” report.
Why, the 20th ranked CSU women’s volleyball team swept Utah State. Colorado Mesa and CSU-Pueblo both ran their records to a perfect 6-0 in the RMAC and 7-1 overall, setting up a big showdown on Nov. 7. And CU’s women’s volleyball team picked up a big win of their own, defeating No. 14 Arizona on Friday.
And let’s not forget No. 2 Valor Christian getting a small measure of revenge against defending state champion (No. 4) Cherry Creek. Valor also picked up a 4A softball title over the weekend while Mountain Range and Strasburg picked up the 5A and 3A titles, respectively.
See? There was plenty to cheer about on this non-Broncos weekend. Unfortunately, there were some things to jeer about as well. We highlight the best and the worst of the weekend in another sterling edition of “Studs and Duds.” Enjoy…
Dud No. 3 – Brad Stuart
Defenseman Brad Stuart can’t be blamed for the Colorado Avalanche’s disappointing result on Saturday at Pepsi Center, a 4-3 loss to previously winless Columbus. Nor can he shoulder the burden for the team’s overtime loss to Carolina on Wednesday, a 1-0 heartbreaker that marked Carolina’s first win in Denver since 1996 when the team was the Hartford Whalers. (The win, by the way, was just their second on the year – the ‘Canes have lost two more games since.)
No, Stuart is blameless in the losses because he was a scratch from both games. In fact, Stuart has been scratched from five of the Avs’ seven games this year. He missed Saturday night’s effort, in which Colorado surrendered two third-period goals and could not convert a 6-on-4 in the games final minutes, with a bad back. He is considered day-to-day.
That’s a good way to describe the Avs’ season so far. Colorado is now 2-4-1 on the year and 1-3-1 at home. The Avs begin a stretch of games Tuesday that will see them play 15 of their next 20 games on the road. Head coach Patrick Roy needs to find a way to get his club to seal victories, instead of coughing them up late. Even a healthy Stuart might not be enough at this point.
At 35, it’s clear Stuart has lost a step. He’s not the same player that helped lead Detroit to a Stanley Cup in 2008 and the Avs were counting on him to be much more than he has been in his year-plus with the club. The scariest part about Stuart’s situation? He’s under contract for another year beyond this one (both at $3.6 million).
Stud No. 3 – Karson Roberts
Only an Air Force quarterback could be involved in five touchdown plays and end the day with a stat line that reads: 5/10-108-0-0. That was indeed Karson Roberts’ final line against Fresno State in a 42-14 win at Falcon Stadium, which netted him an 81.1 passer rating on the day. That was the second-best passer rating in the game.
The top rating was not held by Fresno freshman QB Kilton Anderson, whose 11.8 rating was the result of a 14-for-39 effort that included an interception. No, the top-rated passer on the day was Air Force wideout Jalen Robinette whose sole pass was of the touchdown variety, a 20-yard strike to Roberts on a reverse. It was Robinette’s second passing touchdown of the year and netted him a 100 QBR on the day.
Roberts, meanwhile, connected with Robinette on a 44-yard pass – one of three and his longest on the day. The bulk of Roberts’ damage, though, was done from the one-yard line. Behind a line that led the Falcons to 458 yards rushing on the day, including 92 from Roberts himself, the senior quarterback rushed for four touchdowns, including three from the one-yard line. He scored another from the six.
The win brings Air Force’s record to 4-3 and closer to bowl eligibility, although one of those wins came against FCS opponent Morgan State. The victory ought to be a confidence booster to the Falcons, who lost at Colorado State the week prior. The Falcons next head to Hawaii for a Halloween showdown.
Dud No. 2 – Sean St. Ledger
Admittedly, the Colorado Rapids had little to play for in Sunday’s season finale at Portland. Having been eliminated from playoff contention 21 days prior, the final match of a dreadful season that saw the club finish last in the Western Conference was one for pride and nearly pride alone.
Head coach Pablo Mastroeni said as much earlier in the week. Colorado did have a chance to play spoiler, though, and possibly keep Portland from clinching a playoff spot, as they had done to Sporting KC on Wednesday with a 2-0 victory in Kansas City.
That was not in the cards on Sunday night, however, as Colorado fell 4-1 in the great Northwest. The lopsided score was not the worst part of the Rapids’ loss, the team’s 15th of the year.
Down 2-1 after two first half goals by Darlington Nagbe, Colorado was struggling to find space and any offensive momentum early in the second. Any momentum the Rapids might have summoned went out the window when a Jorge Villafaña shot from just inside the box on the near side was accidentally deflected in by St. Ledger.
Friendly scorekeeping in Portland awarded Villafaña the goal, but replay showed the ball was likely going wide if not for St. Ledger’s deflection. The dejected Briton was beside himself afterwards, all-but-burying his head in the turf as Portland celebrated.
Fanendo Adi added the nail in an already airtight coffin with a final tally in the 88th minute.
It was St. Ledger’s blunder that ultimately sounded the death knell, however. A fitting end, perhaps, for a season that was on life-support for nearly its entirety.
Stud No. 2 – Sefo Liufau
Din-dong, the streak is dead! The losing streak is dead!
After 14 consecutive tries and fails against Pac-12 foes, a streak going back to November 2013, the Colorado Buffaloes secured a conference win on Saturday in a penalty-riddled, sloppy affair at Oregon State. Final score: Buffs 17, Beavers 13.
The game was about as uninspiring as the final score appears, but that didn’t keep the Buffs from celebrating all the way back to Boulder. A win is a win is a win at this point for Mike MacIntyre and the Buffs.
Junior quarterback Sefo Liufau finally put the team on his back and carried them to victory, completed 16 of 23 passes for 140 yards and throwing for one touchdown. He added 44 yards on the ground and one rushing touchdown to his passing total. Most importantly, Liufau did not turn over the ball once. Picks and fumbles have been his Achilles heel throughout his tenure leading the offense, but this time it was Colorado who had a game-changing turnover late in the game.
Liufau ought to share his “Stud” honor with Chidobe Awuzie, who picked off Oregon State quarterback Nick Mitchell on fourth down with less than 1:30 on the clock as the Beavers were driving for a last-ditch effort.
The ultimate game-winner was Liufau’s four-yard touchdown run on an 85-yard drive that extended across the third and fourth quarters.
The win squares CU’s record at 4-4 overall. Colorado next faces No. 24 UCLA in Los Angeles on Halloween afternoon. The Bruins beat the 20th ranked Cal Bears 40-24 this weekend, so that ranking will likely improve before the Buffs face them, hoping for an upset and their second conference win.
Dud No. 1 – Patrick Roy
When Denver Post hockey writer Terry Frei asked Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy following the team’s 4-3 home loss to the previously winless Columbus Blue Jackets if he was angered or embarrassed losing to an 0-8 team, the four-time Stanley Cup-winning goaltender-turned-coach said simply, “Not at all.”
The boos that echoed off the walls of Pepsi Center at the end of the night on Saturday preceded those comments, but there’s good chance that fans echoed the same sentiment when they read those words the following morning.
The Post called Roy’s reaction “seeming denial.” That seems to be just one of the problems with Roy early in the 2015-16 campaign.
At 2-4-1, with just five points to their name, Colorado is again in the basement of the highly-competitive Central Division that boasts (the other) six clubs already with double-digit points.
Two years ago, Roy’s magic wand was to pull his goalie early when down late. The spell ran out on that one last season and so this year Roy again reached into his bag of tricks and came up with a way to conjure wins in a new way this year. Roy decided to scrap morning skate the day of games, breaking with NHL tradition from as long as anyone can remember.
He’s going to need another strategy, and soon, as the only thing his new plan has evoked is doubt among the fan base. The alumni game at Coors Field against the Red Wings is still four months away (tickets go on sale Tuesday, FYI). It will make things mighty awkward if Roy’s announced as “former goalie” and “former head coach,” but if things stay on this course, it could be hard to keep Roy in his current role. And no one wants to see Craig Billington in goal for the Avs alumni squad.
Stud No. 1 – Martin Truex Jr.
Marlon Brando “coulda’ been a contentda,'” which is fine with Martin Truex Jr., who’s now officially an “Eliminator” after a seventh-place finish in the field of 25 at the CampingWorld.com 500 at Talladega on Sunday.
Truex entered the day likely needing to finish eighth or better to secure his place in the Eliminator Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. He did just that, moving up from a 15th place starting position to secure a spot in the final eight driving for NASCAR’s ultimate crown.
The Denver-based Furniture Row Racing is the only single-car team to qualify for the Chase, let alone progress to the “semifinal” rounds. Credit crew chief Cole Pearn for keeping Truex’s Chevrolet running in top form, but heap the lion’s share of praise on the driver himself.
Not only has Truex steered Furniture Row Racing to the team’s best-ever finish already, he’s done so with no teammate and often having to drive from in the hole. Throughout the year he’s been set back with penalties, bad pit stops and little to no help on the track; still, Truex has driven like a man possessed and now he’s just four races away from a possible Sprint Cup title.
The points reset for the eight remaining Chase drivers as they enter the three-race Eliminator Round, so it’s anyone’s game. But with the lowest driver rating and worst average finish among the remaining contenders, NASCAR.com says Truex has the longest odds to advance to the Championship 4 at Homestead.
Good thing for Furniture Row Racing and its fans, Truex hasn’t cared much for odds this year.