Hot Dog! What a Game! (Week 3)

Jettwing Wed Jul 17, 2013 5:54 pm

Boulder, Colorado - Your Colorado Buffaloes stepped onto Folsom field with a sold out crowd at their backs. It seemed as though everyone in the state of Colorado had come to see just who these new Buffaloes are and if they were the real deal. The opponent they faced next would not be a cake walk. The Fresno State Bulldogs have had a history of pounding the Buffs into the ground with their aggressive defensive play. The tension was building as both teams captains took the field.

The Buffaloes received the ball. Henderson ran for a good 17 yards before being crushed and knocked out of bounds. He got up, but he was slow at first. The coaches tended to him as the offense took the field. Quarterback Shane Dillon, who seems to be coming into his own after that outstanding game last week, looked extremely confident and some might say a little overconfident. Either way, that would not last long. The first play of the offensive was a catastrophe. Dillon dropped back, found a target, and launched the ball straight into the other players arms. The only problem was that the player he threw it to was on the other team. The linebacker caught it and was brought down inside the 20 yard line. Not a great start to the game to say the least. The Bulldogs then imposed their ground and pound offense without mercy. The drive ended with Bulldogs quarterback Greg Watson walking in a 2 yard run untouched by the defense.

On the following drive by the Buffs, offensive team captain Christian Powell put together a few thunderous runs bouncing off hit after hit, but the drive ended in a punt. Nothing seemed to be working for the Buffaloes offense and what made it worse was the fact that the other teams passing attack could not be stopped. The Bulldogs marched 80 yards down the field hitting one open receiver after another and scored on a one yard goal line run by their running back Marteze Waller. The first quarter came to a close with the Bulldogs out in front 14 - 0.

The second quarter began and Shane Dillon and the offense took the field. They seemed determined to put some points up on the board. His overconfidence had turned into acknowledgement that if they lose to the Bulldogs, then the Buffs have no hope of beating the other PAC 12 teams in their division. Dillon drove them downfield with precise passes and the going was slow until Powell broke a tackle and ran 15 yards for the first Buffaloes touchdown of the day. The defense followed suit and held the Bulldogs to a field goal after allowing them to reach their goal line. It was an outstanding defensive stop that allowed the Buffs to have a chance to fight their way back into the game before halftime. The next drive was where the game seemed to completely turn around for the Buffs. Dillon continued on his streak of completions as he shredded the secondary of the Bulldogs and connected with his leading receiver Paul Richardson as they reached the redzone. Senior Fullback Alex Wood got the play call and ran it in for a 5 yard touchdown that brought them within one possession. The defense held strong and the game went into halftime with the Bulldogs leading 17 -14.

Halftime came and went, and as everyone knew, the game continued to be a close one. The Buffs kicked off and found themselves being pushed harder than they had been the last two weeks. The Defense held the Bulldogs to a punt and very soon the Buffs found themselves in field goal range with a 4th down and inches staring at them in the face. Coach Arthur Dayne is a man known to take a risk, but in this case he took the field goal when he had the chance. The following Bulldogs drive seemed like it lasted a blink of the eye. On the second play of the drive, after a long throw that was caught well passed midfield, the Bulldogs used some play action trickery which the young free safety Mosley bit on, leaving a wide receiver for the Bulldogs way down field with one on one coverage. The Dogs receiver caught the pass and continued on into the endzone for a 35 yard touchdown reception. Just like that the Fresno Bulldogs were out in front again 24 - 17.

Before the end of the third quarter, Buffs quarterback Dillon would have another shot to come away with more than a field goal for this quarter. All I can say is he delivered. It was a short drive of no longer than two minutes and that was due to the 28 yard touchdown pass to Tyler McCullough who is breaking out and becoming a threat on the other side of junior receiver Richardson. As it would happen though, the Bulldogs had the ball with 50 seconds left after the recurring kickoff. It took one missed assignment for the Bulldogs to find Josh Harper wide open 43 yards downfield for the touchdown.

The fourth quarter began with Fresno State Bulldogs ahead 31 - 24. The Buffaloes game plan would be a game of attrition as they continued to pound the ball with Powell until the unthinkable happened. During a drive that lasted nearly four minutes, junior running back Christian Powell was injured 13 yards from the endzone and had to be carried off by his teammates. As Powell was getting helped to the locker room, freshman quarterback Shane Dillon must of been feeling the pressure of a sold out Folsom field as well as his own that he puts on himself. Even feeling all that, Dillon's next pass was on the money. The play the Buffs called worked to perfection as Richardson blew past the corner and into the endzone, as well as tied the game 31 - 31. The Buffaloes would not go down without a fight. The Bulldogs would not either though as they flew down the field and into field goal range. It seems as they were just going to run out the clock and kick the game winning field goal until a big 3rd and short stopped forced them to kick the field goal with just over a minute left in the game. The score was now 34 - 31 in favor of the Bulldogs and time was not on the Colorado Buffaloes side.

The kickoff return was modest, but nowhere near what the Buffs needed as the offense trotted out onto the field. The pressure was even higher then before for the young gun quarterback as he was now being asked to go out their and win the game without his junior running back to lean on. Even through all that adversity, the Buffs drove down the field. Dillon was hitting every open receiver he could find and the Buffaloes eventually reached the goal line with just seven seconds left. It was likely their last play and head coach sent out the call......and it wasn't a field goal. Dillon set up and offense and snapped the ball. The line held out as long as they could but before they collapsed, the quarterback found his target. McCullough was all but forgotten running towards the middle of the endzone. Dillon fired and McCullough pulled the pass in. The Buffs were ahead 38 - 34 with 3 seconds left in the game. The kickoff that followed seemed just a formality as Colorado fans were cheering as the return man for the Bulldogs was brought down inside his own 15 to end the game for good.

As a Colorado Buffaloes fan, I have to say that game was something else. After so many years of teams that give up after their down by over 2 possessions, it feels good to have a team that doesn't know how to quit. The victory Coors tasted extra special after a win in that fashion. The Silver lining is that the next game may be even tougher than this weeks as the Buffs face off against the Oregon State Beavers. Next week is the Buffaloes first bye week so party hard and follow me for up to date Buffalo happenings. This is your numero uno reporter signing off, and remember to save me a victory Coors.