# 2011 Colorado Buffaloes football team

The 2011 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado at Boulder in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by first-year head coach and alumnus Jon Embree, the Buffaloes played their home games on-campus at Folsom Field in Boulder and were first-year members of the newly expanded Pac-12 Conference. They finished with a record of 3–10, 2–7 in Pac-12 play, in a tie for last place in the South Division.

## Preseason
### Recruiting

National Signing Day was on February 2, 2011 and Colorado signed high school athletes from around the country.
US college sports recruiting information for 2011 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | 40$^‡$ | Commit date |
| Brent Burnette QB | Maryville, TN | Arizona Western College | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | – | Jan 7, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A |||||||
| Paulay Asiata OL | Honolulu, HI | Saint Louis School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 295 lb (134 kg) | – | Feb 2, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 76 |||||||
| Jermaine Clark ATH/OLB | Winston-Salem, NC | Oak Ridge Military Academy | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 4.70/4.6 | Jan 23, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 45 |||||||
| Malcolm Creer RB | Los Angeles, CA | Palisades Charter High School | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 4.52 | Feb 2, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 45 |||||||
| Brady Daigh LB | Denver, CO | Mullen High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 222 lb (101 kg) | 4.7/4.80 | Jul 15, 2010 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 73 |||||||
| Steve Dorman QB | Somerset, TX | Somerset High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | 4.8 | Jan 14, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 72 |||||||
| Woodson Greer LB | Gardena, CA | Junípero Serra High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | 4.7 | Jan 17, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 74 |||||||
| Rashad Hall RB | Forest, VA | Oak Ridge Military Academy | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | – | Jan 23, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 77 |||||||
| Will Harlos OLB | Somerset, TX | Somerset High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 4.5/4.60 | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 76 |||||||
| Sherrard Harrington DB | Washington, D.C. | Howard D. Woodson High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | 4.4 | Jan 15, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 77 |||||||
| Gregory Henderson DB/CB | Norco, CA | Norco High School | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | – | Jan 22, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 66 |||||||
| Alex Kelley OL/C | Vista, CA | Vista High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 295 lb (134 kg) | – | Oct 4, 2010 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 75 |||||||
| Marc Mustoe OL/OT | Arvada, CO | Arvada West High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 270 lb (120 kg) | 5.3 | Dec 11, 2010 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 78 |||||||
| Stephan Nembot DE | Van Nuys, CA | Montclair College Preparatory School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 280 lb (130 kg) | – | Feb 2, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 78 |||||||
| Will Oliver K | North Hollywood, CA | Harvard-Westlake School | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | – | Jan 26, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 75 |||||||
| Juda Parker DE | Honolulu, HI | Saint Louis School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | – | Feb 1, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 75 |||||||
| Nelson Spruce WR | Westlake Village, CA | Westlake High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 4.5 | Dec 18, 2010 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 75 |||||||
| K.T. Tuumalo LB | Honolulu, HI | Punahou School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 4.7 | Jan 19, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 68 |||||||
| Kyle Washington ATH | Florence, AZ | Florence High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 4.70 | Jan 30, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 45 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 61 |||||||
| ‡ Refers to 40 yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2011 Colorado Recruits". Scout.com. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. "2011 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 3 | 8:15 p.m. | at Hawaii* | Aloha StadiumHalawa, HI | ESPN2 | L 17–34 | 37,001 |
| September 10 | 1:30 p.m. | California* | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | FCS | L 33–36 $^{OT}$ | 49,532 |
| September 17 | 11:30 a.m. | vs. Colorado State* | Sports Authority Field at Mile HighDenver, CO (Rocky Mountain Showdown) | FSN | W 28–14 | 57,186 |
| September 24 | 1:30 p.m. | at Ohio State* | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | ABC/ESPN2 | L 17–37 | 105,096 |
| October 1 | 1:30 p.m. | Washington State | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | FCS | L 27–31 | 51,928 |
| October 8 | 5:30 p.m. | at No. 7 Stanford | Stanford StadiumStanford, CA | Versus | L 7–48 | 50,360 |
| October 15 | 1:30 p.m. | at Washington | Husky StadiumSeattle, WA | RTRM | L 24–52 | 62,147 |
| October 22 | 1:30 p.m. | No. 9 Oregon | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | FSN | L 2–45 | 52,123 |
| October 29 | 4:30 p.m. | at No. 23 Arizona State | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ | RTRM | L 14–48 | 53,168 |
| November 4 | 7:00 p.m. | No. 21 USC | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | ESPN | L 17–42 | 50,083 |
| November 12 | 12:30 p.m. | Arizona | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | FCS | W 48–29 | 48,111 |
| November 19 | 5:30 p.m. | at UCLA | Rose BowlPasadena, CA | Versus | L 6–45 | 57,344 |
| November 25 | 1:30 p.m. | at Utah | Rice–Eccles StadiumSalt Lake City, UT (Rumble in the Rockies) | FSN | W 17–14 | 45,026 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Mountain time ||||||||
The California game on September 10 was designated as non-conference

## Game summaries
### Hawaii

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buffaloes | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 17 |
| Warriors | 3 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 34 |
Colorado lost their 18th consecutive road game with their 34–17 loss to Hawaii on September 3 in Jon Embree's debut as Colorado head coach. The Buffaloes' last road win came on October 27, 2007 against Texas Tech. Hawaii quarterback Bryant Moniz ran for a career-best 121 yards and three touchdowns and threw for one touchdown and 20 completions on 33 attempts. Although Hawaii led most of the evening, Colorado made it interesting at the start of the fourth quarter, and took advantage of a fumble by Moniz; the Buffaloes cut the lead to 24–17 with a 34-yard field goal by placekicker Will Oliver. That was the last Colorado score, as Hawaii scored the game's last 10 points to secure the win.
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | Colorado | Hawaii |
| 1 | 9:49 | 9 | 63 | 3:16 | Hawaii | 38-yard field goal by Kenton Chun | 0 | 3 |
| 2 | 10:39 | 1 | 57 | 0:10 | Hawaii | Bryant Moniz 57-yard touchdown run, Kenton Chun kick good | 0 | 10 |
| 2 | 0:24 | 7 | 87 | 1:50 | Hawaii | Bryant Moniz 14-yard touchdown run, Kenton Chun kick good | 0 | 17 |
| 3 | 12:02 | 6 | 73 | 2:50 | Colorado | Paul Richardson 15-yard touchdown reception from Tyler Hansen, Will Oliver kick good | 7 | 17 |
| 3 | 5:59 | 10 | 48 | 5:53 | Hawaii | Bryant Moniz 1-yard touchdown run, Kenton Chun kick good | 7 | 24 |
| 3 | 1:51 | 4 | 63 | 1:08 | Colorado | Paul Richardson 21-yard touchdown reception from Tyler Hansen, Will Oliver kick good | 14 | 24 |
| 4 | 14:51 | 5 | 17 | 1:53 | Colorado | 34-yard field goal by Will Oliver | 17 | 24 |
| 4 | 6:17 | 8 | 45 | 4:05 | Hawaii | Joey Iosefa 22-yard touchdown reception from Bryant Moniz, Kenton Chun kick good | 17 | 31 |
| 4 | 4:52 | 4 | 6 | 0:16 | Hawaii | 22-yard field goal by Tyler Hadden | 17 | 34 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 17 | 34 |

### California

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Golden Bears | 0 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 36 |
| Buffaloes | 3 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 3 | 33 |
Although both teams are members of the Pac-12, this game counted as a non-conference game in the standings as this game was scheduled before Colorado joined the Pac-12.
Things started off rough for Cal, but after a failure at 4th and goal for Colorado and later a field goal, Cal capitalized on the momentum shift and raced out to a 16–6 lead at halftime. Cal continue to score, but the Buffaloes rebounded strongly by outgaining Cal offensively and later tied the game. In overtime, Colorado was held to a field goal and Zach Maynard later connected to Keenan Allen for a game-winning touchdown.
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | California | Colorado |
| 1 | 2:51 | 6 | 50 | 2:15 | Colorado | 27-yard field goal by Will Oliver | 0 | 3 |
| 2 | 14:14 | 10 | 81 | 3:33 | California | Nico Dumont 2-yard touchdown reception from Zach Maynard, Gior Tavecchio kick no good (blocked) | 6 | 3 |
| 2 | 9:21 | 7 | 52 | 2:22 | California | 39-yard field goal by Gior Tavecchio | 9 | 3 |
| 2 | 4:18 | 11 | 46 | 5:03 | Colorado | 52-yard field goal by Will Oliver | 9 | 6 |
| 2 | 1:13 | 7 | 62 | 2:49 | California | Anthony Miller 7-yard touchdown reception from Zach Maynard, Gior Tavecchio kick good | 16 | 6 |
| 3 | 10:30 | 10 | 80 | 4:30 | Colorado | Ryan Deehan 37-yard touchdown reception from Tyler Hansen, Will Oliver kick good | 16 | 13 |
| 3 | 4:28 | 4 | 35 | 1:52 | California | Anthony Miller 20-yard touchdown reception from Zach Maynard, Gior Tavecchio kick good | 23 | 13 |
| 3 | 1:41 | 8 | 86 | 2:41 | Colorado | Paul Richardson 66-yard touchdown reception from Tyler Hansen, Will Oliver kick good | 23 | 20 |
| 4 | 14:48 | 2 | 78 | 0:52 | Colorado | Paul Richardson 78-yard touchdown reception from Tyler Hansen, Will Oliver kick good | 23 | 27 |
| 4 | 9:55 | 11 | 80 | 4:53 | California | C.J. Anderson 19-yard touchdown run, Gior Tavecchio kick good | 30 | 27 |
| 4 | 0:30 | 16 | 70 | 6:40 | Colorado | 32-yard field goal by Will Oliver | 30 | 30 |
| OT | | 6 | 20 | | Colorado | 22-yard field goal by Will Oliver | 30 | 33 |
| OT | | 6 | 25 | | California | Keenan Allen 5-yard touchdown reception from Zach Maynard, no kick attempt | 36 | 33 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 36 | 33 |

### Colorado State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Colorado State | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| • Colorado | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 28 |

### Ohio State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buffaloes | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
| Buckeyes | 10 | 10 | 14 | 3 | 37 |

### Washington State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cougars | 7 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 31 |
| Buffaloes | 3 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 27 |

### Stanford

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buffaloes | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| #7 Cardinal | 13 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 48 |

### Washington

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buffaloes | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| Huskies | 21 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 52 |

### Oregon

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #9 Ducks | 29 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 45 |
| Buffaloes | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Notes: Darragh O'Neill punts four balls inside the five yard-line, one causing the Ducks to retreat in their end zone from the momentum of the punt, and them being tackled forcing a safety, the Buffaloes' only score.

### Arizona State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buffaloes | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| #23 Sun Devils | 21 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 48 |

### USC

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #21 Trojans | 7 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 42 |
| Buffaloes | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |

### Arizona

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Arizona | 3 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 29 |
| • Colorado | 7 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 48 |
Colorado recorded their first ever Pac-12 win and avoided the first winless season in Folsom Field history.

### UCLA

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buffaloes | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Bruins | 21 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 45 |
First Quarter scoring: UCLA – Shaqell Evans 54-yard pass from Kevin Prince (Tyler Gonzalez kick); UCLA – Johnathan Franklin 14-yard run (Gonzalez kick); UCLA – Joseph Fauria 5-yard pass from Prince (Gonzalez kick)
Second Quarter scoring: CU – Toney Clemons 20-yard pass from Tyler Hansen ( Will Oliver kick failed)
Third Quarter scoring: UCLA – Gonzalez 22-yard field goal
Fourth Quarter scoring: UCLA – Fauria 15-yard pass from Prince (Gonzalez kick); UCLA – Nelson Rosario 11-yard pass from Prince (Gonzalez kick); UCLA – Malcolm Jones 1-yard run (Gonzalez kick)

### Utah

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Colorado | 7 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
| Utah | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14 |