Buffs Review: Colorado can't hold on against #5 Texas A&M

This is the second part in a new series looking back on the 2021 season. Every couple of days we’ll review another game and work our way through the season.

Colorado led the #5 Texas A&M Aggies for almost 45 minutes of gametime but couldn’t hold on late in a 10-7 loss at Empower Field in Denver. The defense was stout but the offense couldn’t hold up its end of the bargain against an SEC opponent. In fact, CU could only muster one second-half first down.

Turning Point: Colorado gives up an easy 3

The CU defense was almost impenetrable against A&M, especially in the first half.

Take a look at these drive stats:

Series 1: 3 plays, 4 yards; punt

Series 2: 3 plays, 8 yards; missed field goal

Series 3: 3 plays, 6 yards; punt

Series 4: 3 plays, -5 yards; punt

Series 5: 3 plays, -1 yards; punt

Series 6: 3 plays, 2 yards; punts

These numbers are almost surreal; over their first six A&M possessions of the game, Colorado gave up 14 total yards and no first downs.

But then, with 1:43 remaining in the first half, the Buffs relaxed.

The first play of the drive was a 15-yard run from Devon Achane, which was more yards than the Buffs had allowed in the game to that point. Then, running back Isaiah Spiller caught another 15-yarder on the next play.

All told, the Buffs gave up a 8-play, 57-yard yard drive, which ended with a 41-yard field goal.

Asking a defense to play perfect football is unreasonable. But in a game in which the offense can only provide a touchdown, this minor slip-up from the defense played a massive part in determining the outcome of this game. If CU could have closed the half out with one more staunch effort, who knows what the outcome of the game would’ve been.

3 Stars

Nate Landman – Every hope that you could have had for the Buffs’ defense came true against Texas A&M. It looked like one of the tippy-top groups in the country.

Nate Landman, of course, was at the center of it.

Of Landman’s 11 tackles, eight were counted as stops by Pro Football Focus, which means the runner didn’t pick up half of the yard to gain on first down, 75% of the yards to gain on second down, or all of the yards needed on a third or fourth down. Or, more simply, Landman’s tackles weren’t hollow stats gained by dragging somebody to the grass downfield. They were valuable contributions. Two of them were for a loss.

Oh, and he didn’t allow a catch in the game.

Christian Gonzalez – The Buffs’ secondary was lockdown in this game. And that’s an understatement. CU went man-heavy and everybody locked up their man on just about every play. It was an impressive showing that raised the bar for the group over the course of the rest of the season.

Gonzalez gets the edge over the two other corners because of his contributions in the running game. He finished with six tackles, the second most on the team, two of which were for a loss.

Alex Fontenot – This spot could just as easily have gone to Jarek Broussard, but we’re going with Fontenot. Why? Because when I watched the game without looking at stats—Broussard had 12 more yards on the same amount of carries—it felt like Fontenot was more impactful. Then when I pulled up the PFF numbers, they listed Fontenot as the second-best offensive player for CU, behind Brendon Lewis. That was enough for me. (For what it’s worth, Broussard was third by a slim margin.)

Broussard could’ve gotten the edge for being the back on the field for the Buffs’ lone scoring drive—and for scoring the lone touchdown—but Fontenot had some great runs late in the drive down to the A&M 4, which ended on a turnover on downs. The vet showed off his contact balance, vision and cutting ability. The most impressive run was an eight-yarder, in which he charged two steps forward, came to an immediate stop, then took a hard right and hit top speed almost immediately. His 39 yards on 12 carries were hard-earned and are promising looking toward 2022.

CU Spotlight: Offensive coaching decisions

Colorado’s offense was not good against A&M. They were at a talent disadvantage in the trenches and out wide, plus the CU quarterback was starting a game against an FBS opponent for the first time in his career. Scheming that group into a win was always going to be difficult. Even turning the ball over just once should be applauded.

But there’s plenty that shouldn’t be applauded.

Take this series of plays for example…

1st & 10: A zone run behind a freshman tackle who is trying to block DeMarvin Leal, one of the top defensive linemen in the country. The guard goes to the second level, but there’s a 3-tech that the center needs to reach out to and get in front of. Neither linemen make their blocks, as probably should’ve been expected. To be fair, you need to be balanced and can’t avoid every bad matchup. Still, the play was virtually dead from the jump.

2nd & 14: Alex Fontenot lines up in the wildcat for a read option. The play works. He has a huge running lane and may even have a chance to pick up the first down. But he hands the ball off instead and Dimitri Stanley gets stuffed. It’s a creative idea, and maybe it would even work more often than not, but we can’t be too surprised that a running back made the wrong read in this situation.

3rd & 15: A passing play that is dead from the jump.

4th & 15: Cole Becker misses a 46-yard field goal.

Would Becker have made it from 41? That’s the distance if the Buffs could’ve held serve and faced a 4th & 10.

What about a 36-yarder? That’s the distance if CU could’ve picked up five yards over three plays.

The biggest what-if of the game came on the next series, late in the second quarter.

The Buffs drove down the field but faced a 3rd & 1 at the A&M 5-yard line. They ran a QB sneak. It looked like it worked. The refs called it short. CU didn’t challenge.

Then, on 4th & inches, CU ran another QB sneak and this one was clearly short.

It could’ve been an easy three points. It could have been a TD if the calls had worked. Instead, CU earned 0 points in a game that ended 10-7. Yikes.

The gameplan was not sharp on the offensive side, which was a sign of things to come.

Opponent Spotlight: Isaiah Spiller

The biggest challenge for CU coming into the game was supposed to be stopping running back Isaiah Spiller.

Spiller put up a pair of 1,000-yard seasons at A&M and is now playing for the Los Angeles Chargers. He’s a bulky back who can bruise between the tackles in A&M’s power-running system but he can also catch passes out of the backfield.

Against CU, Spiller did next to nothing on the ground.

The Buffs switched to a penetration-based one-gap system and somebody made their way into the backfield on just about every play. Terrance Lang did great work, as did Guy Thomas and Carson Wells. The second level of the defense, typically Nate Landman and Quinn Perry, but also Isaiah Lewis, was there to clean up the leftovers.

At the end of the game, Spiller had 20 yards on eight carries. It was the least efficient and least productive day of the year for a back who averaged over 90 yards per game over the course of the rest of the season.

But Spiller had the last laugh.

When the Aggies ripped off an 11-play, 77-yard drive to take the lead, Spiller was at the center of the action… as a receiver.

Spiller caught his first ball of the drive on a simple check-down after the Buffs pushed too far upfield in zone coverage. The he caught a ball on some sort of hitch with Robert Barnes in very tight coverage to convert a 3rd & 8. Then, Spiller essentially ended the game with an 18-yard catch in the end zone on a wheel route with Guy Thomas trailing behind him.

Keep an eye on: Daniel Arias

Every year we hear about Daniel Arias being primed for a breakout.

Against A&M, we saw the potential.

Sure, three catches for 37 yards doesn’t sound like much but you have to remember the context of the game. The Buffs only produced 89 passing yards and what Arias provided was enough to lead the team in yards and longest catch, and tie for the team-lead in receptions.

He also had the chance to bring in a ball 30+ yards downfield that would’ve set the Buffs up at the A&M 41. There’s no guarantee CU would’ve converted that positioning into points, but it would have been one of the better opportunities in the game.

Still, what Arias provided is enough to keep an eye on him heading into Week 3.