Buffs Roundup: Another disappointing week of Pac-12 play

BOULDER, Colo. — Varsity sports continued to struggle in conference play this week, as teams are struggling to gain footing against league competition.

Here’s what went down:

Football

The Buffs lost on Friday to the tune of 45-3 against No. 13 Oregon as their season record dropped to 3-3.

The Buffs, coming into the game as 22-point underdogs, ensured Vegas could breathe fairly early, as they were behind 24-3 entering halftime behind an uninspiring effort by the offense and a similar showing by the defense.

One of the biggest takeaways from the disappointing night is the poor play by quarterback Steven Montez who completed 55.9 percent of his passes to go along with a mere 131 yards and four interceptions. This Buffs team has a lot of holes in it, and they were incredibly exposed over the weekend.

Looking ahead, the Buffs will now travel to Pullman, Washington in a Saturday evening showdown with the Washington State Cougars.

Soccer

The Buffs fall to 9-4-1 on the season as they dropped consecutive matches in Los Angeles against UCLA and USC.

The Buffs have now gone the last four matches (three losses in a row) without a victory, as they were unable to overcome deficits early. First, against UCLA on Thursday, the Buffs lost 0-3 as they were unable to generate any offense. as they had a mere two shots with none on goal as opposed to the Bruins 25 shots with 11 on goal.

The offensive struggles poured into the next match against USC, as the Buffs five shots (two on goal) were little compared to the Trojans 24 with 14 on target. The lone bright spot of the LA road trip is the continued strong play from goalkeeper JJ Tompkins, as her season-high eleven saves pushed her in the history books with the most saves in Colorado history (322 and counting).

The Buffs will try and bounce back next week against ASU on Saturday at home.

Volleyball

The Buffs drop to 8-8 on the season with back-to-back losses against USC and UCLA, bringing their losing streak to six matches.

Playing both matches at home, the Buffs continued to struggle to put together sets. First, against USC, the Buffs dropped three out of four sets despite relatively similar stats. They had a hitting percentage of 24.8% behind eight aces and 11 blocks, but could not get ahead of the Trojans.

Next up against the Bruins, the Buffs dropped all three sets and struggled tremendously offensively. Behind only 35 kills and a mere 12.1% hit percentage, the Buffs never seemed to find their rhythm. The usual leader on the team, Justine Spann, earned 25 kills on the weekend to add to her impressive season.

The Buffs will look to get their season back on track next week as they travel to California to take on Stanford and California.

Golf

The Men’s team finished first and the Women’s team finished sixth in their tournaments this past week.

The Men’s team was able to win their seventh straight Simpson-Colorado Invitational behind six top-five finishers. Daniel O’Loughlin led the Buffs in a tie for first at 204 on the weekend, with Ross MacDonald coming in tied for eighth at 208.

The Women’s team was led by a strong performance by Kirsty Hodgkins with a 206 score, good enough to earn her a tie for second. However, the next highest-scoring Buff came in at a tie for 22nd, leading to a disappointing sixth-place finish.

Looking forward, the Men’s team will play in the Les Fowler Invitational on Oct. 21st at the Boulder Country Club while the Women’s team will have a few weeks off before traveling to Hawaii for the Pac-12 Preview.

Cross Country

The Cross Country teams look to build off the impressive finishes at Notre Dame last week when they travel back to Indiana in the Pre-National Invitational on Oct. 19th.