3 takeaways from Colorado's win over Washington

BOULDER — It wasn’t pretty, but it was a win.

The Colorado Buffaloes defeated the Washington Huskies 20-17 on Saturday at Folsom Field. The win is Colorado’s fourth in 11 games this season. The Buffs will wrap up their 2021 campaign Friday afternoon against Utah.

Here’s what went down on Saturday:

The defense steps up

We knew coming into the season that the defense was going to have to win the team some games. The offense was inexperienced and featured a freshman quarterback, and much of the talent was concentrated on the defensive side of the ball.

On Saturday, the defense won the game.

The Buffalo defense forced four turnovers, with two of them coming inside their own 20. One of them was a 88-yard fumble recovery and return by Jack Lamb that resulted in a touchdown.

Only three of Colorado’s points came on a drive that wasn’t set up by a forced turnover.

Washington outgained Colorado 426 yards to 183.

Washington converted 14 of 21 third downs, while Colorado only converted two of its 14 attempts.

Washington possessed the ball for more than 60% of the game.

But the Colorado defense stepped up and forced four turnovers, while the offense avoided turning the ball over at all.

Give all the credit to the defense for this win.

Senior Day drops some hints

Saturday was Colorado’s last home game of the season, and the Buffs finished with a 4-2 record at Folsom Field.

It was also the last time the seniors will play in Boulder.

Typically, the list of seniors who will walk for Senior Day is fairly obvious. Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, the list was much less predictable this time around.

The NCAA granted an additional year of eligibility to all football players. Some players who would have been seniors this season may choose to leave instead of taking advantage of the extra season.

The four seniors who walked were Nate Landman, Mustafa Johnson, Matt Lynch and Kary Kutsch.

They were joined by eight others: Carson Wells, Chris Miller, Jon Van Diest, Colby Pursell, Evan Price, John Deitchman, Nico Magri and C.J. Schmanski.

Losing Wells and Pursell is big news. Wells may earn all-conference honors this season and his two sacks, two pass breakups and all-around good play on Saturday will help his case. Pursell has started at center for two seasons.

Miller’s name is another interesting one, as he missed most of the season with a leg injury. His career has been plagued by injuries and it appears as though he’s ready to hang up the cleats, though he could transfer to another school.

Nate Landman wins the Buffalo Heart Award

Only one man has one the Buffalo Heart Award on two occasions: Nate Landman.

The Buffalo Heart Award was created in 1998. Unlike most awards, the honor is bestowed by a group of fans who sit behind the Colorado bench to the player who shows the most heart, determination, desire and grit. The first award was given to current offensive coordinator Darrin Chiaverini.

The award has only been given to seniors. Landman won it in 2020, but returned for another senior season in 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic and won it again.