With Defeat At Cal, Buffs' 2018 Football Season Comes To An End

BOULDER, CO -- The CU Buffs football team returns to town facing the end of their season after a defeat last night in Berkeley at the hands of the California Golden Bears. The Buffs needed a win on Saturday to qualify for a bowl game. Without it, their season ended prematurely for the second year in a row.

Although the Buffs out-gained their opponents in terms of offensive yardage, they suffered five interceptions in the first half. They were able to pull close, narrowing the Bears' lead to 27-21 in the third quarter, but after a touchdown by Cal, they were unable to score in the fourth quarter and ended the game with a 33-21 loss.

Although the team had begun the season with a raging 5-0 record, they would not see another victory and finished 5-7. Their final loss came just six days after Athletic Director Rick George announced the firing of head coach Mike MacIntyre.

Kurt Roper, currently a first-year quarterbacks coach for CU, was brought on as interim head coach for the game. This has been his eighth collegiate coaching position since 1999.

"We have an opportunity to go out and win another football game," said Roper when asked last Sunday about the significance of this weekend's game. "Here comes round 12, and we've got to prepare for it."

The search for MacIntyre's replacement will now begin in earnest.

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Photo Credit: Charles Baus/CSM/Shutterstock

A previous version of this article referred to the Buffs' opponent as the 'Cal State' Bears. We regret the error.