Colorado’s young kick returners had a case of the dropsies Saturday during Colorado State’s 22-17 victory. That’s not unusual for players not yet accustomed to the big stage, but Buffaloes coach Jon Embree said their performances during fall camp gave no indication that handling the kickoffs and punts would be a problem.
“I wasn’t overly concerned about those guys,” Embree said.
Freshman cornerback Kenneth Crawley, CU’s primary punt returner, muffed one punt but a teammate recovered.
Buffs sophomore D.D. Goodson wasn’t as fortunate. In a big momentum changer, Goodson muffed a punt just before the end of the first half at CU’s 20-yard line. Colorado State recovered, and Rams quarterback Garrett Grayson threw a touchdown pass on the next play, pulling the Rams to within 14-10 at halftime after they had been dominated for much of the first two quarters.
Crawley, a native of Washington, D.C., admitted that he felt a case of the “jitters” although he was in the lineup as the starting left cornerback.
“I was kind of nervous at first,” Crawley said, when asked about the muffed punt. “But I was able to get that one out of the way and come back strong.”
Crawley finished with 38 yards on three punt returns, with a long of 24 yards.
“Other than that one (muffed punt), I thought Crawley did well,” Embree said.
Another freshman, safety Marques Mosley, returned two kickoffs for a total of 50 yards. “I thought he did a decent job or running it up in there,” Embree said.
No access. Because of Colorado State’s new media restrictions this season, many of the key players in Saturday’s win were not made available for postgame interviews.
The new policy has a limited number of players (34) who can do interviews and also prohibits freshmen from doing interviews. Included in that group were freshmen Joe Hansley, who had a 32-yard TD catch, and linebacker Cory James, who had three sacks; and sophomore kicker Jared Roberts, who kicked three field goals.
“I mean, in his first collegiate game? That’s pretty impressive no matter who you are,” said holder M.J. McPeek, discussing Roberts’ field goals. “He’s got a lot of upside.”
Nwoke on mend. Colorado State running back Chris Nwoke left the game in the third quarter and did not return. Coach Jim McElwain did not seem overly concerned about the severity of the injury.
“There’s nothing broken or anything like that,” McElwain said. “The guy’s got a bad ankle. So somebody else has to step up and grab the flag and go forward. But that hurt us a little bit because he’s a good football player.”
Redshirt freshman Donnell Alexander played well in Nwoke’s place, running for 66 yards on eight carries, including a pivotal 37-yard scamper in the fourth quarter to set up the final field goal.
Meanwhile, cornerback Bernard Blake is dealing with a hamstring issue, McElwain said. Senior cornerback Momo Thomas left the game with a cramp, but he said he would be fine.
Buffs injury updates. Colorado had two starting defensive backs leave the game because of ankle injuries: senior free safety Ray Polk and starting right cornerback Greg Henderson.
Polk’s may be more serious, although Embree said he didn’t have an update for the media. Polk might not be available for Saturday’s home game against Sacramento State and perhaps beyond.
“We’ll have to wait and find out, I guess, (Sunday),” the coach said. “I think it is going to be awhile for him regardless.”
Footnotes. The 94-degree temperature at kickoff was the hottest ever for a CU game in the state of Colorado. It eclipsed the 91-degree reading at kickoff for the 2000 game against Washington in Boulder. … Colorado started no seniors across its offensive line for just the fifth time in the past 31 seasons.
Rams’ defense rules
Colorado State assumed control in the second half with terrific defense. Overall, CSU held CU to 245 yards offense. Some highlights:
Held the Buffaloes to three-and-out possessions four times and forced CU to punt six times.
Sacked CU quarterback Jordan Webb five times, including three in the first half by linebacker Cory James.
Stopped CU on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line in second half, the key play of the game.
Colorado had the ball for just 4:51 in the first quarter, 4:33 in the second and 5:13 in the fourth.
