USC Escaped Boulder with a win

In yet another night game, in another situation where the scene was set perfectly, in another game that they controlled a large portion of, the Buffs fell short yet again.

Jordan McLaughlin scored 20, Elijah Stewart added 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Southern California cruised to an 83-45 victory over San Diego in the season opener for both teams on Friday night.

Helton remains adamant that the Trojans should not take the Buffaloes lightly even though USC has outscored Colorado by an average of almost 29 points in their last four meetings.

USC was unable to put any pressure on either quarterback early, leaving the playbook wide open for the Colorado offense.

Liufau spent the final three quarters on crutches, and ultimately his teammates limped off the field with him. It was announced after the game that Liufau had a Lisfranc injury. “He was trying to tape it up…”

“If you had said at the beginning of the year that you would have an opportunity to win the Pac-12 South with two games left_that’s where you want to be”, interim coach Clay Helton said.

“It was OK but I could do better for sure”, Apsay said of his performance. Apsay stepped in after Liufau went down with an injury late in the first half.

Colorado defensive back Jered Bell, left, is tackled by Southern…

A field goal by each team before the half would make it 17-6 at the break.

The second half could not have been more disappointing.

But USC would not go away easily. “But we just fumbled the ball to them… lined up offsides on a big third down play, which would have made them kick a field goal, but they score on the next play”.

The Buffs 11-point halftime lead had turned into a 10 point defeceit in the blink of an eye.

“They destroyed us the last two years”, macIntyre admitted”.

So close, yet so far.

This wasn’t the script Spruce envisioned in his final game at Folsom Field. Apsay hit Nelson Spruce on a slant for a 9-yard touchdown, tying Spruce with Scotty McKnight’s school record for career touchdown receptions (22).

Liufau, a junior, threw for 2,418 yards, nine touchdowns and six interceptions this season. Just another play Spruce makes look easy that other receivers do not.

Turning point: After taking an 11-point lead into the second half, CU got the back to start the third quarter, but couldn’t do anything with it and punted.

The Trojans had six sacks, their second consecutive game with six. No matter. So long as he’s on the field, he’s a beast.

Mike MacIntyre had tears in his eyes as he delvered this quote. “I just look at them and I know the wins aren’t coming to them like they would like”.