2019 Colorado Buffaloes football team

2019 Colorado Buffaloes football
2019 Colorado Buffaloes football
Conference	Pac-12 Conference
	South Division
Record	5–7 (3–6 Pac-12)
Head coach	Mel Tucker (1st season);
Offensive coordinator	Jay Johnson (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Tyson Summers (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Folsom Field
Uniform
	Seasons ← 2018 2020 →

2019 Pac-12 Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
North Division
No. 5 Oregon x$	8	–	1	12	–	2
California	4	–	5	8	–	5
Washington	4	–	5	8	–	5
Oregon State	4	–	5	5	–	7
Washington State	3	–	6	6	–	7
Stanford	3	–	6	4	–	8
South Division
No. 16 Utah x	8	–	1	11	–	3
USC	7	–	2	8	–	5
Arizona State	4	–	5	8	–	5
UCLA	4	–	5	4	–	8
Colorado	3	–	6	5	–	7
Arizona	2	–	7	4	–	8
Championship: Oregon 37, Utah 15
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 2019 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado in the Pac-12 Conference during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by first-year head coach Mel Tucker, the Buffaloes played their home games on campus at Folsom Field in Boulder and finished at 5–7 (3–6 in Pac-12, fifth in the South Division).

Previously the defensive coordinator at Georgia, Tucker left after just one season at CU for Michigan State of the Big Ten Conference.

Preseason

Pac-12 media days

Pac-12 media poll

In the 2019 Pac-12 preseason media poll, Colorado was voted to finish in last place in the South Division.^[1]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
Media poll (South Division)
1	Utah	206 (33)
2	USC	167 (2)
3	Arizona State	118
3	UCLA	118
5	Arizona	85
6	Colorado	46

Coaching staff

Name	Title
Mel Tucker	Head coach
Darrin Chiaverini	Assistant head coach/wide receivers coach
Jay Johnson	Offensive coordinator/ quarterbacks coach
Tyson Summers	Defensive coordinator/safeties coach
Jimmy Brumbaugh	Defensive line coach
Ross Els	Inside linebackers/special teams Coach
Darian Hagan	Running backs coach
Chris Kapilovic	Offensive line coach/Run Game Coordinator
Brian Michalowski	Outside linebackers coach
Al Pupunu	Tight ends coach
Travares Tillman	Defensive backs coach

Schedule

Colorado's 2019 schedule began on Friday, August 30 with a non-conference neutral site game against in-state rival Colorado State in Denver. The Buffaloes will then play two more non-conference games at home, first against traditional Big Eight Conference rival Nebraska, now a member of the Big Ten Conference, and then against in-state foe Air Force, a member of the Mountain West Conference along with Colorado State. In Pac-12 Conference play, Colorado will play the other members of the South Division and draws Oregon, Stanford, Washington, and Washington State from the North Division. They will not play California or Oregon State as part of the regular season.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	8:00 p.m.	vs. Colorado State*	Empower Field at Mile High Denver, CO (Rocky Mountain Showdown)	ESPN	W 52–31	66,997
September 7	1:30 p.m.	No. 25 Nebraska*	Folsom Field Boulder, CO (rivalry)	FOX	W 34–31 ^OT	52,829
September 14	11:00 a.m.	Air Force*	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	P12N	L 23–30 ^OT	49,282
September 21	8:00 p.m.	at No. 24 Arizona State	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	P12N	W 34–31	45,786
October 5	2:30 p.m.	Arizona	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	P12N	L 30–35	52,569
October 11	8:00 p.m.	at No. 13 Oregon	Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR	FS1	L 3–45	50,521
October 19	5:00 p.m.	at Washington State	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	ESPNU	L 10–41	28,514
October 25	7:00 p.m.	USC	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	ESPN2	L 31–35	48,913
November 2	7:00 p.m.	at UCLA	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA	P12N	L 14–31	47,118
November 9	1:00 p.m.	Stanford	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	P12N	W 16–13	49,224
November 23	8:00 p.m.	Washington	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	ESPN	W 20–14	44,618
November 30	5:30 p.m.	at No. 6 Utah	Rice–Eccles Stadium Salt Lake City, UT (Rumble in the Rockies)	ABC	L 15–45	46,879
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 5 released prior to game All times are in Mountain time

Source:^[2]

Game summaries

Vs. Colorado State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	7	14	3	7	31
Buffaloes	7	17	14	14	52

Nebraska

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
No. 25 Cornhuskers	7	10	0	14	0	31
Buffaloes	0	0	7	24	3	34

Air Force

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Falcons	6	14	0	3	7	30
Buffaloes	10	0	0	13	0	23

At Arizona State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buffaloes	14	10	7	3	34
No. 24 Sun Devils	0	21	3	7	31

Arizona

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	7	7	14	7	35
Buffaloes	3	17	7	3	30

At Oregon

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buffaloes	3	0	0	0	3
No. 13 Ducks	7	17	14	7	45

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	Colorado	Oregon
1	11:37	9	75	3:23	Oregon	Jacob Breeland 7-yard touchdown reception from Justin Herbert, Camden Lewis kick good	0	7
1	2:46	13	72	4:47	Colorado	27-yard field goal by James Stefanou	3	7
2	14:10	11	62	3:36	Oregon	32-yard field goal by Camden Lewis	3	10
2	7:39	7	69	2:42	Oregon	Cyrus Habibi-Likio 1-yard touchdown run, Camden Lewis kick good	3	17
2	0:20	8	80	1:07	Oregon	Jaylon Redd 3-yard touchdown run, Camden Lewis kick good	3	24
3	12:54	5	40	1:23	Oregon	Jaylon Redd 13-yard touchdown reception from Justin Herbert, Camden Lewis kick good	3	31
3	10:40	1	7	0:04	Oregon	Cyrus Habibi-Likio 3-yard touchdown run, Camden Lewis kick good	3	38
4	14:36	6	85	2:17	Oregon	Cyrus Habibi-Likio 1-yard touchdown run, Camden Lewis kick good	3	45
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							3	45

At Washington State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buffaloes	3	0	7	0	10
Cougars	21	3	7	10	41

USC

USC Trojans at Colorado Buffaloes

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Trojans	7	7	7	14	35
Buffaloes	3	14	14	0	31

at Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado

Date: October 25, 2019
Game time: 7:00 p.m. MST
Game attendance: 48,913
TV: ESPN2

Game information

First quarter

USC (14:01) – #8 Amon-Ra St. Brown 37 yard run TD
(#40 Chase McGrath kick) – USC 7–0
COL (9:04) – #48 James Stefanou 22 yard Field Goal – USC 7–3

Second quarter

COL (14:55) – #12 Steven Montez to #3 K.D. Nixon 7 yard pass TD
(#48 James Stefanou kick) – COL 10–7
COL (5:52) – #12 Steven Montez to #3 K.D. Nixon 7 yard pass TD
(#48 James Stefanou kick) – COL 17–7
USC (2:48) – #9 Kedon Slovis to #23 Kenan Christon 3 yard pass TD
(#40 Chase McGrath kick) – COL 17–14

Third quarter

COL (14:15) – #12 Steven Montez to #2 Laviska Shenault Jr. 71 yard pass TD
(#48 James Stefanou kick) – COL 24–14
USC (12:15) – #9 Kedon Slovis to #21 Tyler Vaughns 21 yard pass TD
(#40 Chase McGrath kick) – COL 24–21
COL (9:16) – #12 Steven Montez 17 yard run TD
(#48 James Stefanou kick) – COL 31–21

Fourth quarter

USC (11:25) – #9 Kedon Slovis to #6 Michael Pittman Jr. 44 yard pass TD
(#40 Chase McGrath kick) – COL 31–28
USC (2:15) – #9 Kedon Slovis to #6 Michael Pittman Jr. 37 yard pass TD
(#40 Chase McGrath kick) – USC 35–31

Passing

USC – #9 Kedon Slovis – 30/44 406 Yds – 4 TD 1 int
COL – #12 Steven Montez – 27/43 324 Yds – 3 TD

Rushing

USC – #23 Kenan Christon – 14 Runs 76 Yds
COL – #8 Alex Fontenot – 16 Runs 57 Yds

Receiving

USC – #6 Michael Pittman Jr. – 7 Rec 156 Yds – 2 TD
COL – #2 Laviska Shenault – 9 Rec 172 Yds – 1 TD

At UCLA

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buffaloes	0	7	0	7	14
Bruins	17	0	7	7	31

Stanford

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinal	3	3	0	7	13
Buffaloes	7	3	0	6	16

Washington

Washington at Colorado – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	0	0	7	7	14
Buffaloes	3	10	7	0	20

at Folsom Field • Boulder, CO

Date: November 23, 2019
Game time: 7:00 p.m. PST
Game attendance: 44,618
TV: FOX

Game information

Top passers

UW – Jacob Eason: 21/34, 206 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception
CU – Steven Montez: 17/28, 223 yards, 1 touchdown

Top rushers

UW – Richard Newton: 12 rushes, 32 yards, 1 touchdown
CU – Alex Fontenot: 24 rushes, 105 yards, 1 touchdown

Top receiving

UW – Hunter Bryant: 5 receptions, 82 yards
CU – Laviska Shenault: 7 receptions, 100 yards, 1 touchdown

At Utah

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buffaloes	7	0	0	8	15
No. 6 Utes	0	17	14	14	45

Players drafted into the NFL

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL club
2	42	Laviska Shenault	WR	Jacksonville Jaguars
3	103	Davion Taylor	OLB	Philadelphia Eagles
7	226	Arlington Hambright	OT	Chicago Bears

References

^ "Utah picked as Pac-12 favorite in preseason media poll". pac-12.com. July 24, 2019. Archived from the original on July 24, 2019.
^ "2019 Colorado Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved February 25, 2019.

[1] "Utah picked as Pac-12 favorite in preseason media poll". pac-12.com. July 24, 2019. Archived from the original on July 24, 2019.

[2] "2019 Colorado Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved February 25, 2019.

[1]

[2]

v t e Colorado Buffaloes football
Venues	Campus fields (1890–1901) Gamble Field (1901–1924) Folsom Field (1924–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Colorado State: Rocky Mountain Showdown Kansas State Nebraska Utah: Rumble in the Rockies
Culture & lore	Ralphie the Buffalo "CU Fight Song" "Golden Buffalo" Marching band Fifth Down Game Miracle at Michigan
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees
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National championship seasons in bold