The University of Colorado Buffaloes (0-1) of the Pac 12 hit the road to take on the Air Force Academy (1-0) out of the Mountain West Conference on Saturday afternoon. Colorado dropped its home opener, 38-13 to TCU while the Falcons took out Northern Iowa 48-17 last Saturday. The opening kickoff in this in-state matchup is slated for 3:30pm EST on Saturday.
The Colorado Buffaloes 2022 home opener was attended rudely by Big 12 power TCU last Saturday. The Buffaloes trailed just 7-6 at halftime but their offense never got was able to get on track as the Horned Frogs rolled up 31 second half points while the Buffaloes could only tally seven points in the fourth quarter, with the game far out of reach. Colorado quarterback Brendon Lewis finished the game 13-for-18 for just 78 yards as the starter and turned the offense over to J.T. Shrout on two different occasions during the game as the offense continued to stall. Shrout finished the game 13-for-23 for 157 yards and one touchdown.
“I wasn't expecting that type of game,” CU head coach Karl Dorrell said. “We played decently in the first half … But apparently they made better adjustments. We couldn't stop what they were doing.”
“We've got to get better with the rhythm offensively,” Dor rell said. “That's an area that is really important for us to address this week.”
Colorado's defense played better than its offense, particularly in the first half. They shutout the Horned Frogs in the game's first 30 minutes with the only points coming from a 60-yard punt return touchdown from TCU. The second half was a different story, however, as TCU scored 31 straight points and averaged almost 10 yards per carry on the ground as they dominated the line of scrimmage.
“There's a lot of work to be done and that starts with me,” Dorrell said. “I'm not pointing a finger at any of our players. Our coaches and I have to get this thing done and I'm very confident this group of coaches will do that.”
One quarter to go. #GoBuffs | #CUlture ?? pic.twitter.com/UMCsk6P0HO
— Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) September 3, 2 022
The final numbers were closer than the final score in the Buffaloes first game. TCU out-gained Colorado 413-348 with Colorado doing most of their damage through the air. Colorado's two quarterbacks combined to throw for 235 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Colorado didn't turn the ball over and did win the time of possession battle, holding the ball for just over 33 minutes. Defensively, the Buffaloes did not have any sacks and didn't create any turnovers. It will be interesting to see which direction Dorrell goes at quarterback this week as he has yet to commit to a starter this week.