Interim head coach Mike Sanford leads the Buffs to their first victory of the season

BOULDER — Energy. Energy. Energy.

That has been the Colorado Buffaloes’ motto going into this week’s game, and that is exactly what they brought in their 20-13 overtime win this Saturday against the California Golden Bears.

The student section cleared, and the fans stormed the field as their team soaked in their first victory of the season. The Buffs are now 1-5 and 1-2 in conference play at the halfway point of the season and in Mike Sanford’s first game as head coach.

Mike Sanford was named as interim head coach two weeks ago following the dismissal of Karl Dorrell. Since that moment, he has promised that if nothing else, he will bring new energy to these Colorado Buffaloes. From videos of him doing up-downs with the team to going wild on the sidelines after a Terrance Lang sack, Sanford has not let Buff fans down with his promise of new energy.

From kickoff until the end of the game, that same energy filled Folsom Field as the thousands of voices in a sold-out stadium never ceased. Chants of “Sko Buffs” and the vocalization of “Seven Nation Army” thundered through Folsom Field as students and parents alike energized their team to victory on family weekend.

Colorado found themselves in a dog fight as they stared at a 13-13 tie at the end of regulation. The Buffs had four plays to score but only needed 3 of them as J.T. Shrout found Montana Lemonius-Craig at the back of the endzone for a toe-tap touchdown.

The Game Winner pic.twitter.com/PGnrjP6lHa

— Sko Buffs Sports (@SBS_CU) October 15, 2022

The catch was initially called incomplete, but after reviewing the officials overturned the ruling, putting the Buffaloes ahead and in a prime position to win their first game of the season.

When asked about what was going through his head as the ball was thrown in his direction, Lemonius-Craig’s answer was simple.

“See ball, get ball… not really nothing else to it.”

The Buffaloes went on to hold the Golden Bears’ defense on the following possession including an all-time heads-up play from Trevor Woods to knock away what looked like a sure-fire touchdown from a Cal receiver in the back of the endzone.

The Buffs celebrated in the locker room alongside running back Deion Smith, who was stretchered off the field early in the fourth quarter but is up and walking according to head coach Mike Sanford.

This was by far the best outing from the Buffs this season as they not only won their first game, but they did so convincingly as they held Cal to a total of 35 rushing yards and for the first time this season racked up more yards than their opponents.

The Buffs dominated a low-scoring first half on defense, holding Cal to zero points. Although the Buffs only scored three points themselves, they controlled a majority of the first 12 minutes, forcing an interception on the opening drive, a missed field goal, and a quick three-and-out.

In the first minute of the second quarter, the Buffs stuffed California quarterback Jake Plummer at the 19-yard line to force a turnover on downs. After intercepting Owen McCown, the Golden Bears marched down the field and into Buffs’ territory but missed a second consecutive field goal to tie the game.

The Buffs started the half up 3-0, but after a turnover on downs and a three-and-out on the following offensive possession, the Buffs gave up the first touchdown of the game with 5:49 remaining in the quarter, putting the Golden Bears up 7-3. Colorado would finish the quarter in the Golden Bear red zone.

Colorado opened the final quarter with two positive runs including a rushing touchdown from Anthony Hankerson that put the Buffaloes up 10-3. The game ended on back-to-back-to-back possessions ending in field goals. The Golden Bears scored two field goals, and the Buffaloes scored one leaving the game knotted up at 13.

Both sides of the ball showed up in overtime as Montana Lemonius-Craig laid out for the eventual game-winning touchdown, and Trevor Woods made a game-winning defensive play as he swatted away a game-tying touchdown from an unsuspecting California receiver. The Buffs held on and celebrated their first victory of the season in the middle of the field with their fans.

Mike Sanford continued the streak of unbeaten interim head coaches from CU when the interim has had more than one game remaining in the season. Looking ahead, the Buffs take on Oregon State, who are 4-2 ahead of their game against Washington State. Oregon State’s only losses this season came from two ranked teams, and notably only lost by a field goal to #7 USC.

Finishing up the season, the Buffs have three ranked opponents and six games where they are projected to lose. But the word around Boulder is that this is a new team with Sanford at the helm. And if this game showed anything it was that the re-energized Buffs are not going to just lie down and give up on their season.