Instant Analysis: Colorado

(Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

Well... the streak(s) is over. The Beavers beat Colorado 41-34 in overtime on the road in Boulder. The win snaps a 22 game road, 13 conference, and 17 FBS game losing streak.

Much like it has been for the Beavers the last few years, it was a game of two halves where the Beavers came out slow and sluggish in the first half, but a QB change to start the 2nd half ignited a 28 point comeback. The comeback matches the largest comeback in school history which was set in 1981 when the Beavers came back from 28-0 to beat Fresno State 31-28.

There is certainly a lot the unpack after that game but we'll start by looking at the biggest positives, negatives, and surprises from the game.

Biggest Positive: This will probably be the easiest choice of the season but the clear choice is Jake Luton. The Beavers offense of stagnant in the first half when Jack Colletto was in at QB. The Beavers scored just 3 points and had just 118 yards of offense (35 passing, 83 rushing) But exploded in the second half for 38 points and 341 yards (310 passing, 31 rushing). Luton finished the game completing 28-39 passes for 310 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. He was making reads and getting the ball out faster than Colletto and it was easy to tell that the offense looked much more confident with him in. It was also apparent that Luton was playing hurt because anytime he wasn't playing he was hobbling heavy on his ankle. It truly was an astounding performance that really came out of nowhere but it will go down as one of the best 2nd half performances in school history.

Biggest Negative: The pass defense really struggled the whole game, Steven Montez was hitting his receivers with relative ease. The defense played much better in the second half only giving up 10 points and 320 yards (171 rushing, 149 passing). Montez struggled to hit receivers in the second half which helped out the defense but the defensive line was still having serious trouble getting pressure on the QB. Personally, I think Colorado should have ran the ball a bit more in the second half instead of trying to force the ball passing, but the Beavers did just enough to get the win in the end.

Biggest Surprise: Well that's easy... the Beavers won!!! that is a huge surprise in itself, but there are multiple surprises that helped reach that outcome. We already talked about Luton, but another surprising second half performance was from WR Isaiah Hodgins. Hodgins had just one catch in the first half but ended the game with 11 catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns. This is his second dominant performance this year going along with his game against Nevada. Both of those games involved Luton in at QB. These two players have developed a good connection and you can tell the Luton was looking for Hodgins first when he dropped back to pass.

In the end, the Beavers did just enough to end their losing streak and go back home with some confidence going into next week. The Beavers are back at Reser next Saturday to play USC at 7:00 PM. USC obviously has more talent than OSU and should be a heavy favorite going into that game but this performance will certainly make the game more intriguing, at least to start.