Newfound optimism vanishes for CU Buffs in 26-3 loss to California

The Colorado Buffaloes played out a familiar synopsis on Saturday in arguably their most uninspiring performance of 2021. Coming off a dominant shutout win over Arizona, the Buffs fell horribly flat in a 26-3 loss to California.

Colorado, which dropped to 2-5 overall and 1-3 in Pac-12 play, managed just 104 total yards and relinquished a season-high six sacks. Chase Garbers ran and threw all over the Buffs’ defense, which couldn’t make up for the poor offensive performance.

For Karl Dorrell, another “really good week of practice” preceding another brutal loss stumped him.

“That wasn’t the type of game I was expecting at all,” Dorrell said.

While we knew the Golden Bears were better than their 1-5 record said coming into Week 8, their superiority on both sides of the ball was concerning, especially considering the momentum Colorado supposedly had after last week. Cal cruised in the first half and scored two touchdowns and three field goals to take a 23-3 lead. Cole Becker’s 33-yard field goal, which was largely set up by a 67-yard Brenden Rice kickoff return, was the only response CU could muster.

Oct 23, 2021; Berkeley, California, USA; California Golden Bears tight end Keleki Latu (40) catches a pass for the touchdown during the first quarter against Colorado Buffaloes linebacker Quinn Perry (12) at FTX Field at California Memorial Stadium. Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports

Even for the biggest fans of defense, the second half was largely a snoozer. The Buffs recorded one first down and held possession for just seven and a half minutes. They did hold Cal to only three points, however, to mention at least one positive. Nate Landman, who recorded his 400th career tackle in the first quarter, and Mekhi Blackmon each had double-digit tackles on the afternoon.

The special teams’ performance was good, if you care for that. Josh Watts had two punts over 50 yards and two that he finessed inside Cal’s 20-yard line. Rice had an impressive kick return and with Dimitri Stanley absent with a soft tissue injury, Chase Penry returned a punt for 16 yards. Colorado nearly blocked a field goal in the fourth quarter but it was reversed when Christian Gonzalez was found to be offsides.

But the ever-important battle in the trenches was ultimately what lost Colorado this game. In addition to Cal’s 12 tackles for a loss and four QB hits, the Buffs’ running backs averaged just 2.3 yards a carry. Dorrell was once again puzzled by how his O-line got pushed around.

“I can’t quite put a finger on that,” Dorrell said. “I’m trying to figure that out and we’re going to have to really look at that and see what’s going on there. We’ve had some issues up front and I figured that at this point in time we should have some of those things cleared up. But apparently, we’re still struggling with doing some things.”

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Doing his best to navigate meager time in the pocket, Brendon Lewis threw for 69 yards on 9-of-17. Drew Carter replaced Lewis late in the game but attempted just one pass and was more there to just hand the ball off.

With the likes of Dorrell, offensive coordinator Darrin Chiaverini and now O-line coach Mitch Rodrigue receiving heavy criticism, Rice instead argued that it begins with player accountability.

“If you’re not bought in, you might as well just leave,” Rice said. “There’s no room for anybody who’s trying to be out or trying to excuse themselves from the team. We need to all be bought in in order for us to take the next step because the season’s not over.”