The Colorado Buffaloes defense walked out of their home turf Saturday night with a lot more to feel good about than its offense did. At least for one, the 27-24 loss to No. 11 Utah did leave some sting, but the box score shows veterans who made Utah work for everything and an offense that left points on the field.
Here are three Colorado Buffaloes rising and three falling after Week 7.
Rising: Naeten Mitchell, Safety
Safety Naeten Mitchell played like the guy Colorado thought it was getting from New Mexico State, where he led the team with 93 tackles last season. Against Utah, he finished with 10 tackles, seven solo, a tackle for loss, and an interception he returned for 20 yards. He helped keep Utah out of the end zone on the ground all night.
He told everyone what kind of player he was back in the spring.
“I feel like I am a playmaker,” Mitchell said during spring practice. “Getting to the ball and being able to make plays is my game.”
Saturday night, he walked the talk against a top-15 team.
Rising: Randon Fontenette, Safety
Safety Randon Fontenette tied for the team lead with 11 tackles, nine solo. The former Vanderbilt defensive back broke up a pass intended for Utah receiver Larry Simmons, per the official play-by-play.
Utah threw the ball 41 times, so the Colorado secondary had a long night of work. Fontenette arrived with 24 career starts at TCU and Vanderbilt, and it showed. Utah kept the ball for long stretches, and he kept showing up to finish plays before they grew.
Rising: Gideon Lampron, Linebacker
Linebacker Gideon Lampron matched teammate Fontenette with 11 tackles and added 2.5 tackles for loss and a nine-yard sack. He was the most disruptive player on a Colorado defense that kept Utah's running game in check for most of the night.
Honestly, the linebackers who tackle well and get into the backfield are hard to find, and Lampron is doing both. Colorado’s defense has a clear leader in the middle, even in a loss.
Falling: Isaac Wilson, Quarterback
No doubt, quarterback Isaac Wilson deserves some real credit for the second half, but two interceptions and an illegal forward pass with five seconds left keep the former Utah quarterback on this side of the list. He owned up to it after the game.
“I had a bad, bad turnover in that second half, and it really caused the downfall,” Wilson said at his postgame press conference. He explained the second interception, too.
“I just need to be smarter with balls, trying to make a big play," he said. "I could definitely just checked it down or run myself, but I was trying to do a little extra, fit it in a tight window.”
The final sequence will also sting.
“I was thinking in my head, ‘Oh, there's five seconds. I can't get tackled in bounds,’” Wilson said of the illegal forward pass.
Falling: Micah Welch, Running Back
Running back Micah Welch entered the night as Colorado’s leading rusher with 218 yards and two touchdowns on 44 carries. Against Utah, he got one carry for two yards, while fellow running back JaQuail Smith handled 13 rushes.
Smith earned the work, and Colorado will keep riding the hot hand. Still, a leading rusher going from featured back to one-touch is a big swing, and Welch now has to win his role back in practice.
Falling: Charlie Williams, Tight End
Tight end Charlie Williams finished without a catch, and Utah’s first interception came on a throw meant for the Colorado tight end. Wilson described the play after the game.
“I saw it as quarters after the corners dropped, but Charlie bent it in like he was supposed to,” Wilson said. “I tried to put on his chest, and it was just kind of a 50-50 play.”
Williams has caught five passes for 70 yards and a touchdown this season, so fans can’t use one rough night to pass judgment on him. His quarterback made sure everyone knew that.
“But I know Charlie’s going to make more of those,” Wilson said. “I’m not losing any hope in him, so he’s going to keep getting the ball.”
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