Dirty dozen: CU loses 12th straight road game

AMES, Iowa — As ugly as the weather was in the Denver area Saturday, the scene on the field in Iowa wasn’t any better. In a 17-10 loss to Iowa State, the Colorado Buffaloes looked — dare it be said — like the Raiders of college football.

Both teams share silver and black as official colors, so it’s only fitting CU mimicked two other traits that define the franchise from Oakland: too many penalties and an ineffective offense.

The Buffs must have had runny noses because the yellow hankies were everywhere — 11 penalties cost CU 110 yards. The most glaring example came when Colorado was in position to score at the ISU 9-yard line. On first down, freshman Bryce Givens lost his mind, collecting a 15-yard hands to the face penalty, and then seconds later incurring another 15 for screaming at the referee. All that resulted in first-and-goal from the 39-yard line for the Buffs and eventually an errant field goal attempt by Aric Goodman.

The offense looked like a herky-jerky 16-year-old learning to drive a stick shift. And just when something would get going, the engine would stall. CU made four trips inside the Cyclones’ 15-yard line but came away with only a field goal. Along with the setbacks from Givens’ penalties, there was a fumble by Rodney Stewart (his second of the day) and a turnover on downs when Demetrius Sumler was stuffed at the ISU 1.

The three points Colorado scored in the second quarter would be their only achievement until Tyler Hansen found Markques Simas for a 36-yard touchdown pass with 3:17 left in the game. Not only did CU fail when they had chances with a short field, but also it passed up many more opportunities to move the ball. The team converted only two of 14 third-down tries.

Proof that yardage numbers can mean nothing, the big names for Colorado had good days on paper. Hansen threw for 258 yards and ran for 50 but had an interception. Receivers Scotty McKnight and Simas both caught passes for over 100 yards. The last time CU had two receivers over the century mark was the Toledo game, and well, we all know how that turned out. Stewart rushed for 85 yards on 19 carries.

The Colorado defense did its part, even though it was down two men. Linebacker B.J. Beatty was out with a concussion, and safety Ray Polk was recovering from a foot injury. The 17 points the Buffs’ D allowed was its second-lowest total of the year, bested only by the 24-0 shutout against Wyoming eight weeks ago.

Cyclones’ starting quarterback Austen Arnaud gained only 116 yards through the air and was picked off once, but two of his 12 completions found the end zone. The rushing attack that was held to 54 yards last week got its rhythm back against Colorado. Running back Alexander Robinson racked up 138 of the team’s 194 yards on the ground.

At the end of the game, CU players had to sort through students storming the field yet again, but this time in defeat. Iowa State became bowl-eligible for the first time since 2005, something the Buffs lost any chance of with their seventh loss. The season doesn’t get easier for a demoralized group of players because five days from now Colorado travels to Stillwater to play Oklahoma State in another Thursday night ESPN matchup.

Editor’s note: Comments have been turned off on football stories involving CU to meet the university’s requirement for giving media credentials to Web site reporters and photographers.