Colorado was outgained 346-146 in the second half and outscored 31-7 Friday night in its season-opening loss to TCU.

The Buffaloes opened the game tight with the Horned Frogs, outgaining them 212-67 over the first 30 minutes of game time. TCU went 1-for-5 on third downs and entered the halftime break with just 14 rushing yards. But they had a 7-6 lead at the break thanks to a special teams breakdown from CU.

https://twitter.com/tswcfb/status/1565906405399355392?s=20&t=4GIpNr07q5MRFX9fzKQn5Q

That didn’t immediately change the game, but the floodgates opened in the second half. TCU wore Colorado down and then a little creativity from the new coaching staff — led by Sonny Dykes — started to gash the Buffs’ defense.

TCU finished with 10 explosives (10-plus-yard runs/20-plus-yard passes) in the second half. All eight of the team’s explosive runs game in the third and fourth quarter. The first drive of the half for TCU opened with a 22-yard run and ended with a 43-yard burst up the middle for a touchdown.

Backup quarterback Max Duggan had a 33-yard run. TCU scored on a 27-yard end-around. It gained 67 yards on back-to-back runs midway through the fourth quarter. With a little over three minutes to play, CU trailed 38-6.

Quarterback Brendon Lewis drew the start for CU, but backup JT Shrout played as well. Colorado took its quarterback competition into the opener. Play from the two should settle it going forward. Lewis completed 13 of his 18 passes for 78 yards. A first-half interception was wiped away by a defensive pass interference call, giving Lewis a do-over after throwing a duck off his back foot up into four defenders.

Shrout got the final drive, scoring the only touchdown of the day for CU. He finished 13-for-23 passing for 157 yards and a touchdown.

Daniel Arias had four catches for 66 yards. Tailback Alex Fontenot had 31 rushing yards on eight carries while Deion Smith had 30 on seven.

Colorado (0-1) heads to Air Force next Saturday to battle the Falcons at 12:30 p.m. PT.