Three takeaways from Colorado's loss to Air Force

BOULDER — Colorado rallied in the second half to force overtime for the second-straight week. But unlike their last time out, the Buffs weren’t able to continue their heroics past regulation.

Air Force beat Colorado 30-23 Saturday afternoon at Folsom Field.

Here’s what we learned:

The defense wasn’t disciplined

All week, the question in Boulder was how the Buffs would respond to Air Force’s triple-option attack.

The answer: Not particularly well.

Air Force torched the Colorado defense in the first half. The Falcons scored touchdowns on three of the first six drives, which isn’t a groundbreaking stat until you notice that the other three were stopped by turnovers.

In the first half, Air Force averaged over eight yards per play and didn’t punt.

The Falcons pounded the ball inside and found success. When the Buffaloes committed to stopping the inside run, the Falcons pitched the ball outside and picked up even bigger gains. After throwing the ball once in their season-opener, the Falcons completed seven on Saturday and averaged nearly 13 yards per attempt.

“They hit us with what we knew they would hit us with,” safety Mikial Onu said.

It wasn’t until the second half that the Buffs got something going defensively, allowing just three points.

“In the second half those scheme runs were tightened down and we eliminated those,” Buffs head coach Mel Tucker said. “We were able to get off the field on third down and that is why we were able to hold them in the second.”

Mikial Onu is something different

While the Buffs defense had highs and lows on Saturday, safety Mikial Onu strung together another outstanding performance.

Late in the first half, with Air Force on the doorstep of adding another touchdown to its 20-10 lead, Mikial Onu came up with a ball tipped in the air. It was his third interception of the season.

Then, on the Falcons’ first drive of the second half, Onu knocked the ball out of a fullback’s arms and Nu’umotu Falo jumped on it. That was Onu’s second forced fumble of the season.

Put those numbers together and Mikial Onu has already forced five turnovers, just three games into the 2019 season. He isn’t interested in the numbers.

“I could care less about what kind of turnovers I had, how many I have this season,” Onu said. “I want to win. So whatever I have to do to win, that’s my approach.”

Colorado came into Saturday tied for the second-most turnovers forced in college football. Only Arizona (8) had more than the Buffs (7).

Onu notched two more takeaways and fellow safety Aaron Maddox forced a fumble that Davion Taylor recovered. That brings Colorado’s total to 10.

Maddox left the game early when he slid into a mist machine on the sideline. He was carted off the field with what was later called a lower-leg laceration. He’s hoping to return for the Washington State Oct. 19.

The running game took a step back

Colorado’s running game has been a surprising bright spot early in the season, with both sophomore Alex Fontenot and freshman Jaren Mangham proving capable of producing on the ground.

But on Saturday, the Buffs’ backs took awhile to get going.

At halftime, Colorado had only mustered 17 yards on the ground.

The running lanes opened up in the second half, but the Buffs never dominated on the ground the way they should be able to against Mountain West opponents. Usually, the biggest advantage for a Power 5 school playing a Group of 5 team is in the trenches, since they’re capable of overpowering lesser recruits.

By the end of the game, Colorado had racked up just over 100 yards, but it took over 30 carries to do so. Mangham led the way with 56 yards on 10 carries, followed by Fontenot with 42 on 13.

As the Buffs enter Pac-12 play, establishing a physical offensive presence will do wonders opening up the passing attack for Steven Montez and his slew of receivers.