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.

2011 Colorado Buffaloes football
Conference	Pac-12 Conference
Division	South Division
Record	3–10 (2–7 Pac-12)
Head coach	Jon Embree (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Eric Bieniemy (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Greg Brown (1st season)
MVPs	Toney Clemons Tyler Hansen
Captains	Tyler Hansen Jon Major Ryan Miller Anthony Perkins
Home stadium	Folsom Field
Seasons ← 2010 2012 →

2011 Pac-12 Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
North Division
No. 4 Oregon xy$		8	–	1					12	–	2
No. 7 Stanford x%		8	–	1					11	–	2
Washington		5	–	4					7	–	6
California		4	–	5					7	–	6
Oregon State		3	–	6					3	–	9
Washington State		2	–	7					4	–	8
South Division
No. 6 USC †		7	–	2					10	–	2
UCLA xy		5	–	4					6	–	8
Utah		4	–	5					8	–	5
Arizona State		4	–	5					6	–	7
Arizona		2	–	7					4	–	8
Colorado		2	–	7					3	–	10
Championship: Oregon 49, UCLA 31
$ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant † – USC ineligible for championship and postseason due to NCAA sanctions Rankings from AP Poll

Preseason

Recruiting

National Signing Day was on February 2, 2011 and Colorado signed high school athletes from around the country.

College recruiting information (2011)
Name	Hometown	School	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
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:
Paulay Asiata OL	Honolulu, HI	Saint Louis School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	295 lb (134 kg)	–	Feb 2, 2011
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:    (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
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (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
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (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
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:    (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
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:    (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
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:    (74)
Rashad Hall RB	Forest, VA	Oak Ridge Military Academy	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	–	Jan 23, 2011
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:    (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
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:    (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
	Recruit ratings: Rivals:    ESPN:    (77)
Gregory Henderson DB/CB	Norco, CA	Norco High School	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	–	Jan 22, 2011
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:    (66)
Alex Kelley OL/C	Vista, CA	Vista High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	295 lb (134 kg)	–	Oct 4, 2010
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:    (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
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:    (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
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:    (78)
Will Oliver K	North Hollywood, CA	Harvard-Westlake School	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	–	Jan 26, 2011
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:    (75)
Juda Parker DE	Honolulu, HI	Saint Louis School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	–	Feb 1, 2011
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:    (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
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:    (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
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:    (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
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (45)
Overall recruit ranking:   Scout: 61
‡ Refers to 40-yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, 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. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout. "2011 Team Ranking". Rivals.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 3	8:15 p.m.	at Hawaii*	Aloha Stadium Halawa, HI	ESPN2	L 17–34	37,001	[1]
September 10	1:30 p.m.	California*	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	FCS	L 33–36 OT	49,532	[2]
September 17	11:30 a.m.	vs. Colorado State*	Sports Authority Field at Mile High Denver, CO (Rocky Mountain Showdown)	FSN	W 28–14	57,186	[3]
September 24	1:30 p.m.	at Ohio State*	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC/ESPN2	L 17–37	105,096	[4]
October 1	1:30 p.m.	Washington State	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	FCS	L 27–31	51,928	[5]
October 8	5:30 p.m.	at No. 7 Stanford	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	Versus	L 7–48	50,360	[6]
October 15	1:30 p.m.	at Washington	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	RTRM	L 24–52	62,147	[7]
October 22	1:30 p.m.	No. 9 Oregon	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	FSN	L 2–45	52,123	[8]
October 29	4:30 p.m.	at No. 23 Arizona State	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	RTRM	L 14–48	53,168	[9]
November 4	7:00 p.m.	No. 21 USC	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	ESPN	L 17–42	50,083	[10]
November 12	12:30 p.m.	Arizona	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	FCS	W 48–29	48,111	[11]
November 19	5:30 p.m.	at UCLA	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA	Versus	L 6–45	57,344
November 25	1:30 p.m.	at Utah	Rice–Eccles Stadium Salt Lake City, UT (Rumble in the Rockies)	FSN	W 17–14	45,026
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

^[12]

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

See also: 2011 Hawaii Warriors football team

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.^[13]

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP 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. 17 34

California

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Golden Bears	0	16	7	7	6	36
Buffaloes	3	3	14	10	3	33

See also: 2011 California Golden Bears football team

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.^[14]

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 Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP 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. 36 33

Colorado State

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

• Date: September 17
• Location: Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Denver, CO
• Game start: 1:30 p.m. EST

Scoring summary

1	10:01	CSU	Pete Thomas 4-yard run (Ben DeLine kick)	CSU 7-0
2	2:37	COL	Tyler Hansen 2-yard run (Will Oliver kick)	Tied 7-7
2	0:12	COL	Kyle Cefalo 24-yard pass from Tyler Hansen (Will Oliver kick)	COL 14-7
3	3:16	COL	Toney Clemons 44-yard pass from Tyler Hansen (Will Oliver kick)	COL 21-7
4	14:20	CSU	Crockett Gilmore 23-yard pass from Charlie Lovett (Ben DeLine kick)	COL 21-14
4	1:15	COL	Tyler Hansen 2-yard run (Will Oliver kick)	COL 28-14

See also: 2011 Colorado State Rams football team and Rocky Mountain Showdown

^[15]

Ohio State

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

See also: 2011 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

Washington State

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

See also: 2011 Washington State Cougars football team

Stanford

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

See also: 2011 Stanford Cardinal football team

Washington

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

See also: 2011 Washington Huskies football team

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.

See also: 2011 Oregon Ducks football team

Arizona State

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

See also: 2011 Arizona State Sun Devils football team

USC

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

See also: 2011 USC Trojans football team

Arizona

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Arizona	3	7	7	12	29
• Colorado	7	13	14	14	48

• Date: November 12
• Location: Folsom Field, Boulder, CO
• Game start: 2:30 p.m. EST

Scoring summary

1	10:56	COL	Rodney Stewart 5-yard run (Will Oliver kick)	COL 7-0
1	4:15	ARIZ	John Bonano 25-yard field goal	COL 7-3
2	13:18	COL	Tony Jones 5-yard pass from Tyler Hansen (kick failed)	COL 13-3
2	6:28	ARIZ	Ka'Deem Carey 1-yard run (John Bonano kick)	COL 13-10
2	2:12	COL	Josh Ford 17-yard run (Will Oliver kick)	COL 20-10
3	10:26	COL	Toney Clemons 15-yard pass from Tyler Hansen (Will Oliver kick)	COL 27-10
3	3:50	COL	Tyler Hansen 14-yard pass from Rodney Stewart (Will Oliver kick)	COL 34-10
3	0:11	ARIZ	Tra'Mayne 29-yard interception return (John Bonano kick)	COL 34-17
4	10:33	ARIZ	David Douglas 11-yard pass from Nick Foles (pass failed)	COL 34-23
4	7:42	COL	Rodney Stewart 11-yard run (Will Oliver kick)	COL 41-23
4	4:14	ARIZ	Ka'Deem Carey 2-yard run (pass failed)	COL 41-29
4	1:45	COL	Rodney Stewart 9-yard run (Will Oliver kick)	COL 48-29

See also: 2011 Arizona Wildcats football team

Colorado recorded their first ever Pac-12 win and avoided the first winless season in Folsom Field history.^[16]

UCLA

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buffaloes	0	6	0	0	6
Bruins	21	0	3	21	45

See also: 2011 UCLA Bruins football team

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

See also: 2011 Utah Utes football team and Colorado–Utah rivalry

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

• Date: November 25
• Location: Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UT
• Game start: 1:30 p.m. MST

Scoring summary

1	9:08	COL	Tyler Hansen 1-yard run (Will Oliver kick)	COL 7-0
2	7:09	COL	Will Oliver 23-yard field goal	COL 10-0
3	10:29	UTAH	Tauni Vakapuna 3-yard run (Coleman Petersen kick)	COL 10-7
3	4:47	COL	Evan Harrington 1-yard pass from Tyler Hansen (Will Oliver kick)	COL 17-7
3	0:54	UTAH	Shawn Asiata 6-yard pass from Jon Hays (Coleman Petersen kick)	COL 17-14

^[17]

Roster

2011 Colorado Buffaloes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OL 63 Ethan Adkins Sr FB 47 Tyler Ahles Sr TB 33 Cordary Allen  Fr OL 50 Paulay Asiata Fr TE 43 Matthew Bahr Sr OL 59 David Bakhtari So OL 66 Blake Behrens Sr QB 10 Brent Burnette Jr WR 4 Keenan Canty  Fr WR 35 Kyle Cefalo Sr OL 60 David Clark Sr WR 17 Toney Clemons Sr C 64 Brad Cotner Fr OL 54 Kaiwi Crabb  Fr TB 44 Malcolm Creer Fr OL 68 Shawn Daniels Sr OL 53 Ryan Dannewitz Jr WR 82 Jarrod Darden So TE 34 Ryan Deehan Sr QB 12 Stevie Joe Dorman Fr WR 89 Drew Ebner Fr WR 83 Dustin Ebner Jr WR 15 Jason Espinoza Sr TE 99 Scott Fernandez So TB 29 Josh Ford So ATH 22 D.D. Goodson Fr WR 2 Logan Gray Sr OL 76 Gus Handler So QB 9 Tyler Hansen Sr FB 49 Evan Harrington Sr OL 75 Jack Harris So QB 8 Nick Hirschman  Fr TB 26 Tony Jones  Fr OL 71 Alex Lewis Fr TB 20 Brian Lockridge Sr WR 87 Tyler McCulloch Fr OL 73 Ryan Miller Sr OL 52 Daniel Munyer  Fr OL 72 Marc Mustoe Fr WR 27 Tommy Papillon So FB 38 Nick Plimpton Fr WR 6 Paul Richardson So QB 14 John Schrock Fr TE 88 Kyle Slavin  Fr WR 22 Nelson Spruce Fr TB 5 Rodney Stewart Sr OL 79 Sione Tau Sr TE 85 DaVaughn Thornton So WR 86 Alex Turbow So WR 81 Austin Vincent Fr TE 84 Alex Wood So	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 21 Jered Bell So DL 94 Nate Bonsu So DB 40 Brandon Brisco Fr DB 30 Jermane Clark Fr DT 50 Curtis Cunningham Sr LB 54 Brady Daigh Fr DB 27 Vince Ewing Jr OLB 55 David Goldberg Sr DB 14 Justin Gorman  Fr LB 37 Woodson Greer Fr DB 28 Will Harlos Fr DB 23 Sherrad Harrington Fr OLB 17 Josh Hartigan Sr DB 18 Jonathan Hawkins Sr DB 20 Greg Henderson Fr DB 22 Arthur Jaffe Sr DE 44 Nick Kasa Jr DL 97 Kyle Koch Fr ILB 12 Patrick Mahnke Sr OLB 31 Jon Major Jr DB 36 Jordan Marquez  Fr DB 39 Josh Moten  Fr DE 90 Stephane Nembot Fr DE 58 Andre Nichols Fr OLB 48 Liloa Nobriga So DT 93 Conrad Obi Sr DB 25 Ayodeji Olatoye So DB 13 Parker Orms So OLB 2 Juda Parker Fr DT 83 Will Pericak Jr DB 7 Anthony Perkins Sr DB 26 Ray Polk Jr DE 95 Tony Poremba Sr DL 91 Kirk Poston  Fr DB 16 Makiri Pugh Jr DL 70 Eric Richter Jr ILB 3 Douglas Rippy Jr DB 19 Travis Sandersfield Sr OLB 34 Hunter Shaw Fr DB 41 Terrel Smith So DB 38 River Thompson Fr LB 42 K.T. Tu'umalo Fr DE 51 John Tuso Fr DE 9 Chidera Uzo-Diribe So DB 32 Paul Vigo So LB 92 Casey Walker Fr DB 4 Kyle Washington Fr ILB 5 Derrick Webb So ILB 45 Lowell Williams  Fr DB 33 Richard Yates Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 8 Mark Brundage Sr K 40 Justin Castor So P 15 Zach Grossnickle So LS 69 Ryan Iverson So LS 57 Clayton Jones Fr LS 65 Keegan LaMar Fr P 8 Darragh O'Neill Fr K 91 Will Oliver Fr	Head coach Jon Embree Coordinators/assistant coaches Eric Bieniemy – Offensive coordinator/running backs Greg Brown – Defensive coordinator/secondary Rip Scherer – Assistant head coach/quarterbacks J.D. Brookhart – Offensive passing game coordinator/tight ends/special teams Brian Cabral – Run game coordinator/linebackers Bobby Kennedy – Wide receivers Steve Marshall – Offensive line Kanavis McGhee – Defensive line Mike Tuiasosopo – Defensive line Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster