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USC Football: Trojans’ defense crushes Colorado

By John Mitchell

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 21: Head coach Clay Helton of the USC Trojans calls for a touchdown during a video review late in the second quarter against the Washington State Cougars at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 21, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 21: Head coach Clay Helton of the USC Trojans calls for a touchdown during a video review late in the second quarter against the Washington State Cougars at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 21, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
(Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /

2. Colorado was exposed as a pretender

Colorado was on pretty shaky ground as a legitimate PAC-12 contender. They had started the season 5-0, but had yet to take on an opponent ranked in the S&P+ Top-50. Sagarin had the Buffaloes with the 94th ranked strength of schedule in the country coming into Saturday night’s tilt in Los Angeles.

They held dominant wins over also-rans Colorado State and UCLA with another coming against FCS New Hampshire. Their two toughest opponents – Nebraska and Arizona State – had been competitive contests that could have flipped in either direction with a play-or-two.

Colorado has been too one-dimensional this season, with not much offense coming other than Laviska Shenault, who has been one of the country’s most electrifying players. Outside of Shenault, Colorado managed just 147 yards of offense on 72 plays – a paltry 2.04 yards-per-play average.

Steven Montez struggled mightily after being extremely efficient through the first five games, needing 45 attempts to reach 168 yards – a 3.7 yards-per-pass average. Montez threw a back-breaking pick-six in the third quarter that effectively put the game to bed.

The Buffaloes didn’t enter the season with high expectations, but an unexpected 5-0 start put them in the forefront of the PAC-12 race, and for a brief moment on Saturday, following Washington’s loss to Oregon, Colorado held the PAC-12’s best chance at a playoff berth. Those dreams were dashed quickly on Saturday night.

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