BOULDER — The dream of an undefeated Colorado football season ended with a sickening thud, as Buffaloes linebacker Nate Landman pounded both fists on the turf of Folsom Field, his face contorted with agonizing pain.
“I hate to see it,” Colorado safety Derrion Rakestraw said Saturday.
On a snowy December morning not fit for man nor Buffs, the home team had no answer for Utah, which scored 28 unanswered points to trounce Colorado, 38-21.
But what hurts worse is how this dream season ended for Landman, a senior linebacker who has gladly bled in the fight to restore CU football glory.
We’re a nation addicted to the speed and violence of the game. But no matter how many times we see a strong athlete crash in such gruesome pain we avert our eyes before he hits the ground, it’s a shock to our system, a cruel reminder that a wicked sport will break our football heroes.
With 2 minutes, 35 seconds, remaining in the second quarter, Landman fell, his leg twisting in a gnarly, unnatural shape. He knew instinctively and instantly that medical assistance would be required.
“He has an ankle injury … a lower leg injury,” said CU coach Karl Dorrell, who added more tests will be required to determine the full extent of Landman’s injury.
But there’s no doubt. Bad news is inevitable. “He’s down for at least the rest of the season,” Dorrell said.
Nature abhors a vacuum. An eerily silent stadium, with no spectators allowed in this season of COVID-19, was an empty vessel that filled with Landman’s physical anguish. Flat on his back, the 235-pound linebacker pawed at the sleeve of a CU staffer trying to calm him, his body language screaming for sweet mercy. It sent a chill from midfield all the way to the press box, where I cursed under my breath.
After Landman departed to the locker room, carried on the shoulders of people who love him, unable to put any weight on his right leg, the fight went out of the Buffs. He’s not only the most-talented player on this surprising team, he serves as its emotional heartbeat.
“The locker room was in shock,” Colorado receiver Brenden Rice said.
Without Landman, CU was unable to corral Utah freshman Ty Jordan, who ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns. Over the course of the game’s final 32 minutes, the Buffs were outscored 31-14.
“I definitely felt for him and felt like we had to play for him,” Rakestraw said. “It’s upsetting to know we didn’t get it done.”
It’s a compliment to say these over-achieving Buffs have more grit than talent. Minus Landman, a CU squad with little margin for error lost its mojo, its top 25 ranking in the national polls and a shot at appearing in the Pac-12 championship game.
“We’re all disappointed. We had an opportunity, so we didn’t take advantage of it,” said Dorrell, whose team fell to 4-1 in this pandemic-abbreviated season.
What should not be obscured by one ugly pratfall was how far the Buffs had come before stumbling. While Luke Fickell in Cincinnati and Jamey Chadwell of Coastal Carolina are both deserving candidates to be coach of the year, no coach in the United States has done a better job in 2020 than Dorrell. He rescued a CU program after Mel Tucker abandoned the Buffs in the dead of night, bolting for big money in the Big Ten.
Tucker, however, did leave behind a recruiting class that included the son of the greatest receiver in the NFL history. Jerry’s kid not only returned a punt 81 yards for touchdown in the first half, he bolted 61 yards with a short pass to open the third quarter with what proved to be CU’s final score. The Utes barely touched 18-year-old Brenden Rice on either play.
“He reminds me of Laviska (Shenault). He’s big, strong, fast, confident,” veteran CU receiver K.D. Nixon said.
Michigan State, whose five losses this season have been by an average of 26 points, got Midnight Mel. The son of an NFL legend stayed to play for Dorrell.
I’d say the Buffs got the better end of that deal, wouldn’t you?
If the whims of this nasty virus allows, the Buffaloes are not done yet. One more conference game, against a foe yet to be determined, and a well-earned bowl bid await around the next bend of a road rising ahead of CU.
It’s a bloody shame Landman won’t be along for the ride.
The Buffs wouldn’t be here without him.
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