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Bottom Line: Game was lost in the 1st half

Buffnik

Buffnik

Real name isn't Nik
Club Member
Junta Member
4 drives into the Red Zone for the Buffs and the net result of them was the Buffs getting 6 points and the Bruins getting 7.

Yes, there was opportunity to come back and plays that could have been made that would have completed that comeback. But the simple fact is that you can't go on the road and piss away the 1st half in such a ridiculous way.
 
Buffnik said:
4 drives into the Red Zone for the Buffs and the net result of them was the Buffs getting 6 points and the Bruins getting 7.

Yes, there was opportunity to come back and plays that could have been made that would have completed that comeback. But the simple fact is that you can't go on the road and piss away the 1st half in such a ridiculous way.
Click to expand...

9 times out of 10, you are going to lose any game that you get down 21-3. We cannot keep spotting teams 2 or 3 scores before we start playing football.
 
Buffnik said:
4 drives into the Red Zone for the Buffs and the net result of them was the Buffs getting 6 points and the Bruins getting 7.

Yes, there was opportunity to come back and plays that could have been made that would have completed that comeback. But the simple fact is that you can't go on the road and piss away the 1st half in such a ridiculous way.
Click to expand...
Playing the Buffs fave game of woulda, coulda, shoulda, we coulda scored 28 pts in the red zone if this team and coaches woulda knew how to win. This game shoulda been a blowout actually.
 
Shldr2Shldr said:
9 times out of 10, you are going to lose any game that you get down 21-3. We cannot keep spotting teams 2 or 3 scores before we start playing football.
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The worst part about Saturday was we actually came out clicking on offense and defense and it still didn't materialize into points.
 
Bufffan68 said:
Playing the Buffs fave game of woulda, coulda, shoulda, we coulda scored 28 pts in the red zone if this team and coaches woulda knew how to win. This game shoulda been a blowout actually.
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The stats agree with this. We probably could have added another 75yds rushing and 2 rushing TD's if they kept running between the tackles in the redzone. IDK why lindgren started running jet sweeps as soon as we got inside the 20.
 
Shldr2Shldr said:
The stats agree with this. We probably could have added another 75yds rushing and 2 rushing TD's if they kept running between the tackles in the redzone. IDK why lindgren started running jet sweeps as soon as we got inside the 20.
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I posted this elsewhere...this seems like good evidence Brian "All-WAC" Lindgren is in over his head. If something is working you keep using it until the D figures it out - and if we are just dominating physically there's not much they can do. That's what Oregon, AZ and ASU did against us...I don't recall Oregon changing things up much once they were gashing our D for 7+ yds a run in the second half.
 
We're like a puppy that get's all excited and pees on the floor.....oh, wait.

That was one of the more frustrating games, specifically first halfs, I have ever seen. To sit there and watch your team dominate play on the field during 90% of the contest, and yet watch the other team pull away from you due to a litany of reasons is purely emblematic of this team STILL not knowing how to finish. I wanted to throw punch that puppy in the head....

IMO, the WHOLE team takes blame on this one sans Leavitt. Offensive play calling/player mistakes, special teams, and the Defense cannot expect to win by playing that well on 90% of the snaps only to give up multiple explosive plays.
 
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Bill Cody said:
We're like a puppy that get's all excited and pee's on the floor.....oh, wait.

That was one of the more frustrating games, specifically first halfs, I have ever seen. To sit there and watch your team dominate play on the field during 90% of the contest, and yet watch the other team pull away from you due to a litany of reasons is purely emblematic of this team STILL not knowing how to finish. I wanted to throw punch that puppy in the head....

IMO, the WHOLE team takes blame on this one sans Leavitt. Offensive play calling/player mistakes, special teams, and the Defense cannot expect to win by playing that well on 90% of the snaps only to give up multiple explosive plays.
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Leavitt takes responsibility for the defense. It is a reoccurring problem that our defense gives up those gasher type plays. The defense has improved a lot, but still Leavitt still has work to do.
 
Shldr2Shldr said:
The stats agree with this. We probably could have added another 75yds rushing and 2 rushing TD's if they kept running between the tackles in the redzone. IDK why lindgren started running jet sweeps as soon as we got inside the 20.
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Yep. Because UCLA's coaching staff are stupid and never would've adjusted.
 
Shldr2Shldr said:
Leavitt takes responsibility for the defense. It is a reoccurring problem that our defense gives up those gasher type plays. The defense has improved a lot, but still Leavitt still has work to do.
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Don't necessarily disagree. My point in saying that is I thought he called an exceptional game. Guys making mental mistakes, is one thing, but being flat out athleted is another. That's what I saw on the explosive plays.
 
Bill Cody said:
Don't necessarily disagree. My point in saying that is I thought he called an exceptional game. Guys making mental mistakes, is one thing, but being flat out athleted is another. That's what I saw on the explosive plays.
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Happens too often for it to just be mental. Buffs give up 3 or so of those 60+ yard plays a week.
 
agree Nick...gotta get points when down there that much especially. That pick six and missed FG on top of those close but no cigar drives did us in.

I am as tired of hearing this as any of us, but we really are close. I think once this team breaks through on one of these games, the bottom will fall out.
It's like your first piece @ss that first one is hard, after that,they come easier.
 
Buffnik said:
4 drives into the Red Zone for the Buffs and the net result of them was the Buffs getting 6 points and the Bruins getting 7.

Yes, there was opportunity to come back and plays that could have been made that would have completed that comeback. But the simple fact is that you can't go on the road and piss away the 1st half in such a ridiculous way.
Click to expand...

Said this in a thread about the game earlier in the weekend. Cannot go into the red zone 4 times and come away with 6 pts in the first half. We need to find a way to finish these drives in the end zone or give a 96 yd pick six for a minimum of a 10 pr 14 pt swing. Just convert one of these trips to 7 and the game is different. Such a tough, gut wrenching lose when you dominate the stats but fail to finish early and put yourself in such a hole.
 
Even if those four trips resulted in 12 points off of four field goals the game is way different. Pick 6 was brutal and I was surprised they rallied after that.
 
Shldr2Shldr said:
Happens too often for it to just be mental. Buffs give up 3 or so of those 60+ yard plays a week.
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Of course it is not mental...or coaching either. It is physical. Some of our players on defense are simply outclassed.
 
Idot Buff said:
Of course it is not mental...or coaching either. It is physical. Some of our players on defense are simply outclassed.
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On that, UCLA's got good players. They're going to make some plays. I don't know that anyone is particularly upset that Rosen made some throws, Perkins made some runs, Payton made some catches or Adams kept Spruce in check. That's to be expected. Props to UCLA and their playmakers.

The issue I'm having with that game is different than all that. The Buffs have their own opportunities to make plays, guys who are in position to make them and coaches who are paid a lot of money to stick with a game plan where it's being successful while adjusting it where it isn't. The Buffs didn't take advantage of the opportunities that were there for them and they created for themselves... for a variety of reasons. In fact, when we look at the first half they completely pissed away all of that and dug themselves into a hole they couldn't quite get out of. It is where they pretty much lost the game.
 
Bill Cody said:
Don't necessarily disagree. My point in saying that is I thought he called an exceptional game. Guys making mental mistakes, is one thing, but being flat out athleted is another. That's what I saw on the explosive plays.
Click to expand...

The defense was almost equally responsible for this loss. Everyone likes to blame the OC here, but those 3 play touchdowns by UCLA were daggers. Big improvements visually, but also the offense had an incredible day *most* of the time. It was a team loss, IMHO.
 
Bufffan68 said:
I posted this elsewhere...this seems like good evidence Brian "All-WAC" Lindgren is in over his head. If something is working you keep using it until the D figures it out - and if we are just dominating physically there's not much they can do. That's what Oregon, AZ and ASU did against us...I don't recall Oregon changing things up much once they were gashing our D for 7+ yds a run in the second half.
Click to expand...
Agree, Lindgren falls into the outsmart himself category. During the infamous drive that ended in the pick 6, we should have kept pounding the ball. Instead we run the sweep losing 4 yards, putting us in a 3rd and long situation. UCLA knows we have to pass and Sefo has proven to be a bit "shaky" in those situations. The end result is a huge mistake and a TD in the other direction. Hell, Sefo could have probably walked it into the end zone on 2nd down.
 
CUBUFF80 said:
Agree, Lindgren falls into the outsmart himself category. During the infamous drive that ended in the pick 6, we should have kept pounding the ball. Instead we run the sweep losing 4 yards, putting us in a 3rd and long situation. UCLA knows we have to pass and Sefo has proven to be a bit "shaky" in those situations. The end result is a huge mistake and a TD in the other direction. Hell, Sefo could have probably walked it into the end zone on 2nd down.
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Okay so BL didn't outsmart himself, he made a good playcall. It also becomes a lot harder to run the ball in the redzone because the safeties do not have to be as far back and no one is worried about getting beat deep, especially inside the 10 yard line. Maybe that is the biggest issue, in the red zone you have to be able to make throws into small windows and we don't have the QB to do so.
 
I've been thinking about this thread because initially I agreed with the OP, but then changed my mind. The first quarter in particular seemed to sink the game.

However, CU had a lead in the fourth quarter. Failure to get another score and build on that lead (along with UCLA's final quick score) is what lost this game. Once the score was 31-28, nothing in the first half mattered anymore. You can't say that something that happened in the 1st half lost the game if the team fought back to overcome it and were able to take the lead heading down the final stretch. It came down to 3 things in the final quarter:
  • Inability to capitalize on the momentum when leading by 3 and the defense gets a stop. CU needed to burn clock and get another score.
  • The UCLA 3 play drive that resulted in a touchdown. The defense gives up a big play after setting themselves up very well most of the half.
  • Sefo's injury. I really think he needed to come out for any hope of a game winning drive.
I really would like to see CU get off to a better start though. They have continued last year's habit of spotting the opponents 14 or so points every game.
 
onealcd said:
Okay so BL didn't outsmart himself, he made a good playcall. It also becomes a lot harder to run the ball in the redzone because the safeties do not have to be as far back and no one is worried about getting beat deep, especially inside the 10 yard line. Maybe that is the biggest issue, in the red zone you have to be able to make throws into small windows and we don't have the QB to do so.
Click to expand...
Point being, run what has been working until the D stops it in the red zone or not. Why go wide when we had success up the middle all half? It makes no sense, it's not just Lindgren, almost all coaches are guilty of it. They get too cute when they don't need to.
 
How can you say we lost it in the first quarter when we had a lead in the fourth? If the game was a comeback that came up short, I would understand the logic but we had a lead and failed to hold it or build on it.
 
While I agree with the premise of this post, the simple fact is we blew a chance to score to go up by two scores, then blew a chance and turned over on downs with a bad pass thrown behind Ross and more questionable play calling. We then had two minutes after a big defensive stop to put points on the board and threw an INT that you can't throw.

Sooner or later, you have to finish off drives and finish off a game off. We still can't enough. It takes about 40 points to beat the better teams in the Pac 12. Just the nature of the beast.
 
CUBUFF80 said:
Point being, run what has been working until the D stops it in the red zone or not. Why go wide when we had success up the middle all half? It makes no sense, it's not just Lindgren, almost all coaches are guilty of it. They get too cute when they don't need to.
Click to expand...

Like when we are running at will, and Lindgren dials up a double reverse flea flicker?
 
While I agree with the premise of this post, the simple fact is we blew a chance to score to go up by two scores, then blew a chance and turned over on downs with a bad pass thrown behind Ross and more questionable play calling. We then had two minutes after a big defensive stop to put points on the board and threw an INT that you can't throw.

Sooner or later, you have to finish off drives and finish off a game off. We still can't enough. It takes about 40 points to beat the better teams in the Pac 12. Just the nature of the beast.
 
then blew a chance and turned over on downs with a bad pass thrown behind Ross

I disagree completely. The pass was a back shoulder throw that Ross needing to turn and receive it, it would have scored. Instead he tried to receive it over the shoulder and it bent him backwards and made the play difficult. It was well defended. And if Ross would have turned to the ball, it was right there. That was a perfect back shoulder throw that Ross played completely wrong. I wish that Spruce would have run the route because he would have played it right. imo
 
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