Sanford Reinstates Victory Club
BOULDER — University of Colorado football coach Mike Sanford announced Monday the reinstatement of the "Victory Club," first conceived under coach Bill McCartney when he arrived at CU in 1982, singling out players who graded out over 80 percent playing a significant amount of snaps in a game.
CU defeated California 20-13 in overtime Saturday, earning the team's first win of the season and the first with Sanford as the interim coach.
A total of 32 players earned the honor in the win:
Offense (9): OG Tommy Brown, RB Anthony Hankerson, WR Montana Lemonious-Craig, OG Casey Roddick, TE Brady Russell, RB Deion Smith, WR Jordyn Tyson, C Van Wells, and OT Jake Wiley;
Defense (19): ILB Robert Barnes, CB Nigel Bethel Jr., ILB Josh Chandler-Semedo, ILB Marvin Ham II, S Simeon Harris, DT Justin Jackson, DE Terrance Lang, DE Chance Main, DT Tyas Martin, CB Kaylin Moore, OLB Jamar Montgomery, CB Jason Oliver, ILB Quinn Perry, CB Nikko Reed, DT Jalen Sami, OLB Aubrey Smith, S Tyrin Taylor, OLB Guy Thomas, and S Trevor Woods;
Special Teams (4): PK Cole Becker, S Anthony Lyle, CB Toren Pittman, ILB Mister Williams.
Players of the Game were also awarded by the coaching staff. Those included Lemonious-Craig for offense, Woods for defense and Lyle for special teams. Leading up to the game, the Scouts of the Week were Trey Ortega III and Chernet Estes.
Lemonious-Craig caught eight passes for 119 yards and a touchdown, which game in the first overtime and proved to be the game-winner. He caught every pass he was targeted on, three of which were contested, and he had 53 yards after the catch and 28 yards after contact. He had three plays over 15 yards, made four defenders miss tackles and was responsible for five first downs.
Woods tied for the team lead with nine tackles, including eight solo stops, and had a critical pass breakup in overtime of a seemingly game-tying touchdown from the Bears. He also had one third down stop.
Lyle leads the Buffs in special teams snaps on the season and has played a significant role in five of six special team's units. He was credited with four special teams points in the game against Cal, including two tackles on punt coverage and a knockdown or springing block on both punt return and kick return.
The Buffs travel to Oregon State Saturday in a 6 p.m. MT game with the Beavers, to be televised by the Pac-12 Network. The Buffs are next in Folsom Field the following week against Arizona State for Homecoming. Tickets can be purchased at cubuffs.com/tickets.