⚡ CFB Dashboard

EVANSTON — As expected, sloppy play in a sloppy environment made all the difference in the first half of Colorado's Saturday evening matchup at Northwestern. The Buffs succeeded in moving the ball downfield and produced a few big plays defensively, but three turnovers and a couple of other costly mistakes ultimately held them back. All told, Colorado entered the locker room down 21-0. Here's what we learned from a rainy first half at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium: Costly mistakes Of course, things would've gone much differently for Colorado without two fumbles (Micah Welch and Damian Henderson) and Lewis' first career interception. Colorado, more than likely, would've come away with points on the two drives that ended in fumbles. Those weren't the only mistakes that held CU back. Lewis failed to connect with a wide-open Joseph Williams early; cornerback Cree Thomas had a costly holding penalty on third down, and the Buffs were fooled by a wheel route that produced a touchdown. Finally, the Buffs mismanaged the final two minutes of the first half by using only one of their three timeouts on what could've been a scoring drive. Expanded Go-Go Colorado offensive coordinator Brennan Marion opened things up a bit, especially early. The Buffs ran some trickery in the backfield, including a flea-flicker and an end-around to Quentin Gibson, and found some success early. However, once Colorado began falling behind, the creativity slowed down. Marion's offense averaged 6.2 yards per play in the first half, with Julian Lewis throwing for 80 yards. JaQuail Smith totaled 39 yards on three carries, and DeKalon Taylor had 24 yards on four carries. All pressure, no reward Colorado had some success in pushing through Northwestern's offensive line but brought down quarterback Aidan Chiles only once. The Buffs' defense closed the half with four TFLs and one quarterback hurry while holding the Wildcats to 3.1 yards per rush. The most telling stat of the night: Colorado totaled 11 more yards than Northwestern (199-189).