Buffs Roundup: Fall sports are a combined 13-0

BOULDER, Colo. — While it seemed like a red plague had infected Boulder this weekend, the Buffs came away with some important victories and close finishes across all its varsity sports.

Here’s the breakdown:

Football

In one of the most exciting and memorable games in recent Folsom Field history, the Buffaloes completed a 17-point comeback to stun the Cornhuskers on Saturday in overtime to improve to 2-0.

While their offense stalled for the better part of three quarters, the Buffs saw Nebraska take a lead and hold onto it to the joy of a large red contingent. However, with just under two minutes left to play in the third quarter, a Jaren Mangham touchdown gave hope to a Buffs team. Colorado followed it up with a 96-yard flea-flicker touchdown pass, the longest in team history.

For the remainder of the fourth quarter both teams battled back-and-forth until, finally, a missed field goal by Nebraska in overtime saw Colorado take a 34-31 victory. The missed field goal capped an incredible victory for Mel Tucker’s first game in Boulder. Students and fans alike stormed the field.

The Buffaloes now look ahead to Air Force on Saturday, as they bring with them a triple-option attack and a 1-0 record. The game is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Folsom.

Soccer

Buffs soccer’s 6-0-0 start was enough to make the jump into the national rankings, Tuesday morning.

The No. 24 Buffs came away from this week with two key victories, led largely by the performance of freshman forward/midfielder Roo Yarnell-Williams. First, the Buffs topped Austin Peay State on Thursday by a mark of 2-0 behind a Yarnell-Williams goal and 16 total shots. They followed up this performance by beating Baylor on Sunday evening 1-0, again with a Yarnell-Williams goal and 13 more shots.

Still undefeated at 6-0-0, the Buffs homestead comes to an end as they travel to Tallahassee to take on the No. 6 Florida State Seminoles on Thursday. FSU’s only two losses came on the road against a pair of top-five ranked units (UCLA and USC). However, this is the hottest start of Colorado Soccer since 2013, meaning Thursday night is a must-watch matchup.

Volleyball

The volleyball team notched two more victories this week in the Pac-12/Big TEN Challenge to bring its overall record on the season to 5-0.

First, on Friday evening the Buffs won the match 3-0 with freshman Sterling Parker leading the team with 11 kills. They followed this up with another sweep, this time a 3-0 upset of No. 5 Illinois that saw senior Justine Spann take over with 16 kills and five digs. Freshman Jill Schneggenburger also had a big weekend, totaling 20 kills and six digs combined.

The wins were enough for Colorado to gain their first national ranking of the season, debuting at No. 19 in Tuesday’s poll.

The next two games on the Buffs schedule are a home-and-home with Colorado State on Thursday and Friday nights. Thursday’s game will be played in Fort Collins and Friday will be in Boulder. CSU comes in with a 5-1 record, including a key victory against No. 22 Florida State. The Rams are currently the first team listed outside of the Top 25.

Golf

Continuing the victorious theme, the men’s golf team came away to win the 51st Annual Gene Miranda Air Force Falcon Invitation in Colorado Springs.

The Buffaloes finished the day 10-under-par with a team score of 854, overcoming a two-stroke lead by the Falcons entering Sunday. The team saw sophomore John Paterson lead the team, finishing tied for ninth at three-under-par. The Buffs saw four more of its golfers finish in the top 20, pushing CU to a victory over second-place finisher Northern Colorado by a margin of five strokes.

Colorado’s women’s team finished fifth in Trinity Forest Invitational in Dallas, which concluded Tuesday. Heading into the final round, the Buffs were tied for the lead. Senior Kirsty Hodgkins entered the final round as the leader but fell to second following an even-par 72.

The men’s team looks ahead to the Maui Jim Intercollegiate Tournament in Scottsdale, Arizona this weekend, while the women’s team will play in its second tournament on Monday and Tuesday in the Cougar Cup Invitational down in Pullman, Washington.

Cross Country

Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams finished the Wyoming Invitational in second place, although not far behind the top spot.

For the women’s team, sophomore Holly Bent finished just a nose ahead of redshirt freshman Annie Hill, with both women recording times of 18:04:8 and finishing first and second, respectively. Bent and Hill helped the women finished just five points behind the leader with 39 points. The men’s team was led by junior Alex Hornecker’s third-place finish with a time of 15:18:9, with the next Buff, senior Joe Klecker, finishing fifth with a time of 15:19:5. The men also finished just five points out of first place, with a final point tally at 51.

The Buffs have four full weeks off in preparation for their next meet, the Joe Piane Invitational in South Bend, Indiana.