Colorado Football: 3 takeaways from overtime loss vs. Air Force

Colorado football faced an overtime battle with Air Force in Week 3 before losing a heartbreaker. What’d we learn from the Buffs’ first loss?

Mel Tucker’s tenure got off to a hot start in Boulder, but he probably didn’t expect his first hiccup of the 2019 season to come against Air Force at home.

The Buffaloes were unable to take down the Falcons in overtime at Folsom Field, losing a heartbreaker, 30-23.

While this isn’t the end of the season for a Colorado team that’s just trying to turn things around, it does hurt the image of a quick fix with Tucker. No, the Buffaloes, like Maryland, aren’t perfect and there’s plenty of work to do.

What’d we learn from the Buffaloes’ first loss of the year?

3. Air Force just wore Colorado down

Air Force did what Air Force does best: run the ball down opponents’ throats. Colorado was ready for it, but still managed to allow 289 yards and two touchdowns on 52 carries — that’s over five yards per touch. That’s how you win games.

When you’re picking up five yards every time you run the ball, you’re going to win games, especially ones you’re not supposed to. You’re melting the clock down and forcing Colorado to have to score on each possession. The Falcons had the ball for 35 minutes and just wore down that Colorado defense.

These things can happen against service academy teams and the Buffaloes found that out the hard way. It’s time for Tucker to get back to the drawing board.