Freshman quarterback Haynes King’s backup began out slowly, completed treasured few drives and even fumbled the soccer a whisker from the purpose line.
Sophomore Zach Calzada got here up clutch ultimately, although, throwing an 18-yard landing cross to operating again Isaiah Spiller with 2:41 remaining to assist fifth-ranked Texas A&M edge Colorado 10-7 Saturday.
“The one factor you’ll be able to say he made the performs on these drives that mattered, proper there on the finish,” Aggies coach Jimbo Fisher mentioned.
And Fisher did not wish to hear about how his Aggies ought to have walloped the Buffaloes, both.
“In the beginning, Colorado performed a heck of a soccer sport. We acquired an excellent soccer workforce,” Fisher mentioned. “They have been a number of the explanation why we had points as we speak. We will sit right here and say we blame it on ourselves, however they did a very, actually good job, bodily and schematically.
“We have been lucky to come back out of that one.”
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Unbeaten if not unscathed.
Spiller’s TD gave the Aggies (2-0) their first lead on a day by which they misplaced their star freshman beginning quarterback to a decrease proper leg damage and eight of their first 9 drives have been three-and-outs.
Colorado’s hopes of an upset over the 17-point favourite Aggies ended when Brendon Lewis’ cross to Dimitri Stanley on fourth-and-13 from his 22 lined simply 12 yards earlier than he was smothered by a bevy of defenders.
“It offers us an identification,” Spiller mentioned of the hard-fought victory. “It was our first adversity sport, it was an ideal problem for us.”
Possibly it will give the Buffs an identification, too.
“There’s no purpose to hold our head low for something,” Colorado coach Karl Dorrell mentioned. “We had an opportunity to win a sport, a major sport, and our locker room is extra disenchanted about not ending the sport.
“I believed defensively we performed rather well, however offensively we had some good moments however struggled at occasions, couldn’t put something collectively within the second half.”
The Aggies (2-0), whose 10-game successful streak is second longest within the nation to Alabama, took over with 1:39 left and ran out the clock on the Buffs (1-1), who managed only one first down after taking a 7-Three halftime lead.
The previous Large 12 adversaries hadn’t performed one another since 2009 earlier than the Aggies bolted to the Southeastern Convention and the Buffs headed to the Pac-12.
The previous rivals placed on a stunning defensive efficiency, however an offensive dud in entrance of 61,203 followers on the dwelling of the Denver Broncos.
The Buffs had an opportunity to tug off their first win over a top-five workforce in 14 years when Joshka Gustav compelled a fumble inches from the purpose line and cornerback Mekhi Blackmon recovered it ultimately zone to stop a landing by the Aggies halfway by way of the fourth quarter.
The Buffs went three-and-out once more, nonetheless, and the Aggies started their game-winning drive from their 23 with 7:50 remaining.
The Buffs misplaced their greatest rusher, Jarek Broussard, to an unspecified damage halfway by way of the third quarter after he was smoked by nickelback Antonio Johnson simply as he caught a cross in the correct flat. He slowly walked off and did not return.
King hobbled off the sphere favoring his proper leg after a 2-yard keeper on the Aggies’ second possession. He spent the second half watching from the sideline in road garments, on crutches and with a strolling boot on his proper foot. Fisher mentioned he had no replace after the sport on King’s damage or his prognosis.
Calzada, a sophomore, accomplished simply two of his first eight passes for two yards till heating up within the two-minute drill simply earlier than halftime and Seth Small’s 41-yard subject purpose pulled A&M to 7-Three at halftime.
That drive started with a 15-yard run by Devon Achane. Earlier than that, the Aggies have been at risk of turning into the primary workforce to move into halftime with out a first down towards Colorado since Nebraska in 1961.
Broussard scored from 2 yards for Colorado within the first quarter, however one other lengthy drive ended with a missed subject purpose by Cole Becker and a 3rd ended when Lewis was stuffed on back-to-back makes an attempt to realize just a few inches contained in the Aggies 5-yard line.
Dorrell wasn’t second-guessing any calls.
“We misplaced a very robust sport, the place we had an ideal probability of successful, that’s actually the underside line,” he mentioned.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Texas A&M escaped an enormous upset and has huge questions at quarterback. “In the present day is judgment day,” Fisher mentioned. “We came upon that we’ve got coronary heart, however we’ve got to seek out out if we will get execution and precision.”
THE TAKEAWAY
Texas A&M: Though Calzada accomplished simply 18 of 38 passes for 183 yards, he acquired it performed in crunch time. And the Aggies restricted Lewis to simply 89 yards by way of the air and 76 on the bottom. Johnson had 9 solo tackles and two of A&M’s seven cross breakups, outshined solely by Colorado LB Nate Landman (10 solo tackles, two of them for loss and two cross breakups).
Colorado: The Buffs nonetheless have not crushed a workforce within the high 5 since knocking off No. Three Oklahoma 27-24 in Boulder on Sept. 29, 2007. However a defiant Dorrell insisted his workforce proved it is on its manner again: “Rattling proper I’m optimistic! I feel all people thought that we wouldn’t be near this workforce. I instructed you all we’re a greater workforce than you assume.”
UP NEXT
Texas A&M hosts New Mexico on Sept. 18.
Colorado hosts Minnesota on Sept. 18.
Supply
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