I might wager that my below five favorite moments will be pretty flush with what you all would say, if put on the spot. Sound off in the comments if you have any additional moments to add or thoughts in general. Interested to see what you'd all pick.
So from 5-1, 1 being my favorite moment of 2019, here we go.
5. Mikial Onu's two interceptions vs. CSU
***Onu signed with the Buffaloes as a grad transfer in early June of 2019 and from there, essentially had three months to learn Mel Tucker and Tyson Summers' defense before the Buffaloes opened up the season in Denver vs. Colorado State.
One adjusted to his new role swimmingly and was the starting free safety on August 30. That game, and Onu's performance is memorable to me because the interceptions were bright spots on an otherwise ugly day for the CU defense, which allowed 505 yards of total offense to the Rams.
The game was still too close for comfort well into the third quarter. Onu's first pick in the opening quarter would be the only stop Colorado's defense got in the first half — the Rams found the end zone on all offensive possessions but the one where Onu had made a spectacular diving grab in the endzone. CSU had penetrated into Buffalo territory and was at the 32-yard line when Rams' QB Collin Hill took a deep shot that One came down with.
Onu's second pick in the game was borderline more impressive than the first.
At any rate, Onu proved his worth as a grad transfer very quickly for the Buffaloes. 52-31 was the final score from Denver.
4. Laviska Shenault's 71-yard TD against USC
***Colorado has come oh so close to beating USC multiple times since joining the Pac-12. A 27-24 heartbreaker in 2015, the one conference loss CU suffered in 2016, a closer-than-the-score-indicates 38-24 loss in 2017. How could we forget the 30-21 loss on the road in 2018, a defeat that began a catastrophic 7-game losing streak to complete the season, something that would literally change Colorado's football program and serve as a precursor to the arrival of Tucker?
The Buffs hosted Southern Cal at Folsom Field on Oct. 25 and had the Trojans in the palm of their hands for much of the contest. Heading into the fourth quarter, the Buffaloes held a 31-21 lead, but failed to deliver a necessary K.O. punch to USC late that would have handed CU its first ever program victory over the Trojans. But alas, it was not to be.
Early in the third quarter, Colorado led USC, 17-14. On 2nd and 6, from the Buffs' 29-yard line, Steven Montez hit Shenault on a short slant and moments later, he was gone.
Shortly after the TD came this heartwarming moment between Shenault and AD Rick George.
That TD stuck out to me for a multitude of reasons. One, it was a hope-filled play that fueled the narrative that 2019 may finally be the year Colorado takes down the mighty Trojans. Secondly, it was the cherry on top of Shenault's 9-catch, 172-yard performance, one that showed the most glimpses of what Shenault was able to do so consistently during his 2018 campaign. In his last three games prior to USC (he missed all of the UA game due to injury), Shenault had been held to nine catches, 139 yards an no scores.
To see him eclipse all of that in one setting proved he was still the player we all saw in 2018. Shenault has also said that the TD and hugging George afterwards was his favorite moment in his career at Colorado.
The Buffs fell that night, 35-31.
3. Tony Brown's 3-TD performance vs. ASU
***Colorado traveled down to Tempe for a Sept. 21 showdown with No. 24 Arizona State a week after a deflating OT loss at the hands of Air Force in Boulder.
This ended up being the kind of game that epitomized preseason on-paper expectations of Colorado — that it's offense would be able to do enough to win shootout games featuring the D letting up 30-plus points.
Brown found the end zone for the first time in the opening quarter, a 29-yard TD reception coming on 3rd and 4 that saw Montez slip away from pressure and find an open Brown, who'd eluded the SunD evils' secondary.
Next was an impressive, diving 31-yard TD grab in the second quarter that put CU up 21-14 and finally in the third, he reeled in his final TD of the day from 20 yards out. Brown caught all nine passes thrown his way for 150 yards and his three scores in a game which Shenault exited early.
I picked this moment because it was an appetizer as to how much of a weapon Brown would end up being for CU in a season he entered having played third fiddle to Shenault and K.D. Nixon in 2018. Brown proved how dependable he could be and the ASU game for him formally got him on everyone's radar.
34-31 Buffaloes was the final score from Tempe.
4. Laviska Shenault's 4th and 1 motion rush vs. Stanford
***This play/moment absolutely had to be near the top of my list because it encompassed much in terms of Shenault's up and down year, his perseverance through injury while showcasing his otherworldly toughness.
If there was a consistent criticism of CU's offense in 2019, specific to close losses, it would be that there were times (Arizona and USC) where if the Buffs had made just one more play, gotten that first down, or otherwise found a way to not stall out in critical stretches of the game, perhaps the final score would have been different.
With the score tied 13-all into the fourth quarter vs. Stanford, the Buffs looked like they might be close to putting themselves in a similar situation. Facing a 4th and 1 from the Cardinal's 34-yard line, the Buffs sent Shenault in motion, fed him the ball on the right side of the line, and from there, he absolutely pummeled two Stanford defenders that had greeted him well before he would have converted a first down.
With freshman kicker Evan Price handling field goal duties, Tucker obviously was hesitant to test his leg with a 50-yard plus attempt knowing Stanford would have decently favorable field position if he missed. In a critical stretch of the game, the Buffs relied on their best player to get the job done and he did so with flair. CU had lost five straight games to that point. Losing was not an option. Big-name recruits were in the house and largely due to Shenault's play, the Buffaloes pulled off a win.
CU would penetrate as far as Stanford's 19-yard line before Price nailed the chip shot game-winning FG as time expired. Colorado saved its season from spiraling out of control once more and won, 16-13.
5. Montez to Nixon: The 96-yard flea flicker vs. Nebraska
***What infuriates me so much about the aftermath of this play is that 13 seconds after Nixon found the end zone and with Folsom Field, in arguably the most intense fan atmosphere in a decade-plus, Nebraska scored a big, ultra deflating TD of its own, coming via a 75-yard reception taken upfield by the Huskers' Maurice Washington.
But in no doubt did that end up overshadowing the flea flicker. That play will probably go down as the gutsiest and best call Johnson had all year. After failing to do much of anything offensively in the first half and trailing 17-0 to begin the second half, Jaren Mangham got points on the board for CU via an 11-yard run in the third.
After CU's defense forced a quick punt of the Huskers, the Buffs got the ball back, down 17-7 at their own 4-yard line. On the first play of the drive, Montez handed the ball off to Fontenot, who tossed it back to Montez, who heaved it downfield to Nixon. The latter shook off the lone Nebraska DB to stay on him and took it all the way to the house for a 96-yard score.
That play gave Colorado life and hope. It signaled the start of an incredible late-game comeback that saw CU tie it at 31-all with 46 seconds to play, via a Brown TD, that once sent to overtime, a 34-yard James Stefanou FG won.
In Tucker's first year, in a game that saw at least 30,000 Huskers fans take over Folsom Field, the Buffaloes pulled off the improbable, defeating their arch nemesis at home in one of the most exciting games in program history. Buffaloes 34, Nebraska 31
Alright, whatcha got?
So from 5-1, 1 being my favorite moment of 2019, here we go.
5. Mikial Onu's two interceptions vs. CSU
***Onu signed with the Buffaloes as a grad transfer in early June of 2019 and from there, essentially had three months to learn Mel Tucker and Tyson Summers' defense before the Buffaloes opened up the season in Denver vs. Colorado State.
One adjusted to his new role swimmingly and was the starting free safety on August 30. That game, and Onu's performance is memorable to me because the interceptions were bright spots on an otherwise ugly day for the CU defense, which allowed 505 yards of total offense to the Rams.
The game was still too close for comfort well into the third quarter. Onu's first pick in the opening quarter would be the only stop Colorado's defense got in the first half — the Rams found the end zone on all offensive possessions but the one where Onu had made a spectacular diving grab in the endzone. CSU had penetrated into Buffalo territory and was at the 32-yard line when Rams' QB Collin Hill took a deep shot that One came down with.
Onu's second pick in the game was borderline more impressive than the first.
At any rate, Onu proved his worth as a grad transfer very quickly for the Buffaloes. 52-31 was the final score from Denver.
4. Laviska Shenault's 71-yard TD against USC
***Colorado has come oh so close to beating USC multiple times since joining the Pac-12. A 27-24 heartbreaker in 2015, the one conference loss CU suffered in 2016, a closer-than-the-score-indicates 38-24 loss in 2017. How could we forget the 30-21 loss on the road in 2018, a defeat that began a catastrophic 7-game losing streak to complete the season, something that would literally change Colorado's football program and serve as a precursor to the arrival of Tucker?
The Buffs hosted Southern Cal at Folsom Field on Oct. 25 and had the Trojans in the palm of their hands for much of the contest. Heading into the fourth quarter, the Buffaloes held a 31-21 lead, but failed to deliver a necessary K.O. punch to USC late that would have handed CU its first ever program victory over the Trojans. But alas, it was not to be.
Early in the third quarter, Colorado led USC, 17-14. On 2nd and 6, from the Buffs' 29-yard line, Steven Montez hit Shenault on a short slant and moments later, he was gone.
Shortly after the TD came this heartwarming moment between Shenault and AD Rick George.
That TD stuck out to me for a multitude of reasons. One, it was a hope-filled play that fueled the narrative that 2019 may finally be the year Colorado takes down the mighty Trojans. Secondly, it was the cherry on top of Shenault's 9-catch, 172-yard performance, one that showed the most glimpses of what Shenault was able to do so consistently during his 2018 campaign. In his last three games prior to USC (he missed all of the UA game due to injury), Shenault had been held to nine catches, 139 yards an no scores.
To see him eclipse all of that in one setting proved he was still the player we all saw in 2018. Shenault has also said that the TD and hugging George afterwards was his favorite moment in his career at Colorado.
The Buffs fell that night, 35-31.
3. Tony Brown's 3-TD performance vs. ASU
***Colorado traveled down to Tempe for a Sept. 21 showdown with No. 24 Arizona State a week after a deflating OT loss at the hands of Air Force in Boulder.
This ended up being the kind of game that epitomized preseason on-paper expectations of Colorado — that it's offense would be able to do enough to win shootout games featuring the D letting up 30-plus points.
Brown found the end zone for the first time in the opening quarter, a 29-yard TD reception coming on 3rd and 4 that saw Montez slip away from pressure and find an open Brown, who'd eluded the SunD evils' secondary.
Next was an impressive, diving 31-yard TD grab in the second quarter that put CU up 21-14 and finally in the third, he reeled in his final TD of the day from 20 yards out. Brown caught all nine passes thrown his way for 150 yards and his three scores in a game which Shenault exited early.
I picked this moment because it was an appetizer as to how much of a weapon Brown would end up being for CU in a season he entered having played third fiddle to Shenault and K.D. Nixon in 2018. Brown proved how dependable he could be and the ASU game for him formally got him on everyone's radar.
34-31 Buffaloes was the final score from Tempe.
4. Laviska Shenault's 4th and 1 motion rush vs. Stanford
***This play/moment absolutely had to be near the top of my list because it encompassed much in terms of Shenault's up and down year, his perseverance through injury while showcasing his otherworldly toughness.
If there was a consistent criticism of CU's offense in 2019, specific to close losses, it would be that there were times (Arizona and USC) where if the Buffs had made just one more play, gotten that first down, or otherwise found a way to not stall out in critical stretches of the game, perhaps the final score would have been different.
With the score tied 13-all into the fourth quarter vs. Stanford, the Buffs looked like they might be close to putting themselves in a similar situation. Facing a 4th and 1 from the Cardinal's 34-yard line, the Buffs sent Shenault in motion, fed him the ball on the right side of the line, and from there, he absolutely pummeled two Stanford defenders that had greeted him well before he would have converted a first down.
With freshman kicker Evan Price handling field goal duties, Tucker obviously was hesitant to test his leg with a 50-yard plus attempt knowing Stanford would have decently favorable field position if he missed. In a critical stretch of the game, the Buffs relied on their best player to get the job done and he did so with flair. CU had lost five straight games to that point. Losing was not an option. Big-name recruits were in the house and largely due to Shenault's play, the Buffaloes pulled off a win.
CU would penetrate as far as Stanford's 19-yard line before Price nailed the chip shot game-winning FG as time expired. Colorado saved its season from spiraling out of control once more and won, 16-13.
5. Montez to Nixon: The 96-yard flea flicker vs. Nebraska
***What infuriates me so much about the aftermath of this play is that 13 seconds after Nixon found the end zone and with Folsom Field, in arguably the most intense fan atmosphere in a decade-plus, Nebraska scored a big, ultra deflating TD of its own, coming via a 75-yard reception taken upfield by the Huskers' Maurice Washington.
But in no doubt did that end up overshadowing the flea flicker. That play will probably go down as the gutsiest and best call Johnson had all year. After failing to do much of anything offensively in the first half and trailing 17-0 to begin the second half, Jaren Mangham got points on the board for CU via an 11-yard run in the third.
After CU's defense forced a quick punt of the Huskers, the Buffs got the ball back, down 17-7 at their own 4-yard line. On the first play of the drive, Montez handed the ball off to Fontenot, who tossed it back to Montez, who heaved it downfield to Nixon. The latter shook off the lone Nebraska DB to stay on him and took it all the way to the house for a 96-yard score.
That play gave Colorado life and hope. It signaled the start of an incredible late-game comeback that saw CU tie it at 31-all with 46 seconds to play, via a Brown TD, that once sent to overtime, a 34-yard James Stefanou FG won.
In Tucker's first year, in a game that saw at least 30,000 Huskers fans take over Folsom Field, the Buffaloes pulled off the improbable, defeating their arch nemesis at home in one of the most exciting games in program history. Buffaloes 34, Nebraska 31
Alright, whatcha got?
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