Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: Switch The Power On
September 10, 2009 | Football, B.G. Brooks
BOULDER - It's only been one game, but here's a whimsical classified ad few imagined now might be posted for Colorado football: Wanted - An offensive identity.
A month ago, almost to a man, the Buffaloes swore they had one - that being a power running game ready to be sprung by four capable tailbacks and a massive offensive line, with a more efficient passing game chief among the beneficiaries.
But after Sunday's opening loss to Colorado State, when their running game accounted for all of 29 yards, the Buffs offense remains nameless and faceless.
There are no easily identifiable physical features, the emphasis being on physical. It's a shortcoming the Buffs didn't count on having, not with an O-line that averages a shade below 300 pounds per man.
In this instance, size should matter - and the players and their coach know it.
"We're going to have to be more physical and show more of our strengths . . . we're big, tough dudes and we need to show that a little more," said left tackle Nate Solder, who stands 6-foot-9 and weighs 305 pounds.
The get-tough message was underscored by new line coach Denver Johnson, who said, "Yeah, we're big, physical people and we have to play like it. And as coaches, we've got to see that it happens."
But truth be told, Solder & Co. didn't really need to hear it from anyone who didn't spend most of Sunday night in a three-point stance.
The message, said right guard Ryan Miller (6-8, 320) "came from everyone. I mean, we've got a ton of potential, but like coach Johnson says, 'Potential and a buck 69 will get him a Diet Coke.' So it's definitely on us to start this wagon train."
Eastward, ho . . . the Buffs get a swift second chance to make something of themselves Friday night (7 p.m. MDT, ESPN) at Toledo against a Rockets run defense that surrendered 315 ground yards in 52-31 opening loss at Purdue.
Toledo's front four is undersized, with senior tackle Maurice Hill (6-2, 286) the heavyweight. That doesn't offer Johnson a large helping of solace.
"They're very active, very quick, very agile . . . they chase the ball well and swarm," Johnson said. "They play hard, and I think that's the biggest compliment you can give them - they just play extremely hard."
CU's lack of productivity on the ground in the opener resulted partly from CSU jumping ahead 20-3 by halftime. The Buffs entered the second half in a catch-up mode, with quarterback Cody Hawkins throwing 26 of his 40 passes after intermission.
"We've just got to get better; we were not always assignment correct up front," Johnson said of the run game being lost in the loss. "But part of it, too, was you look up and we're 17 points behind, and establishing the running game is really not the first priority.
"We wound up throwing the ball a lot more than we'd have liked to. You wind up with 29 yards rushing, but you take the quarterback sacks out of that (four for minus-38 yards) and your productivity was a little better.
"The stats were skewed, but to be sure, we're not happy with our offensive performance in anything - we gave up some sacks and had some communication problems in both the running game and the protection part of it.
"But our kids have the right attitude and know we've got to get things fixed. It's a matter of concentrated effort and being very conscious of our fundamentals and assignments. It all goes hand in glove.
"We've just got to get better; it's certainly not the opening performance we were hoping for."
Neither was it the opening night sophomore tailback Darrell Scott was hoping to have. Scott wound up with one carry for one yard and one reception for 14 yards. He was more productive returning kickoffs (five for 138 yards), but being sparsely used on offense left him and others perplexed.
Scott spoke with running backs coach Darian Hagan on Monday and was told he'll have a prominent offensive role against Toledo.
"He's going to try and get me more involved in the offense and see how it goes this week," Scott said. "It was (disappointing), but live and learn. We'll all learn from it and hopefully, I'll grow from it."
Tuesday's full-padded practice was crisp and efficient, the kind of work that made the coaching staff believe the Buffs' focus has indeed turned to Toledo.
Of Tuesday's work, Scott said, "I pushed it; I wanted to see what my body would do - see if I still had it. And I've still got it. Never a question; I'm ready to go."
But sophomore Rodney "Speedy" Stewart might be more questionable. A nagging hamstring pull limited him to six carries (38 yards) in the opener.
The prospect of the Buffs drawing their identity from a power run game received reams of attention in August and was anticipated being a CU strength in the opener.
The game's early flow aside, why wasn't it? Solder and Miller said CSU's defensive surprises were minimal but that the Buffs' assignment errors magnified those.
"It was the first game and I think there were a lot of different things going on in our heads," Solder said. "We need to clear that out and just start playing our game."
Better execution is the answer, Miller said: "It's as simple as that. We need to get everyone going the right way, every guy doing that and our running game will increase exponentially.
"(The CSU tape) was just difficult to watch as on offensive line - the missed assignments, bad technique, just things you hate to see, but things that can be easily fixed. So that's encouraging."
Added Johnson: "There are several things we can do better, and I'm sure (Toledo) will recognize that . . . that's kind of the nature of game-planning for people. Just like I'm sure we see some things on film that we'll see if they've got straightened out.
"That's just kind of the nature of preparing for one another, particularly after an opener. There are a lot of mistakes out there on both sides. I'm sure they feel like they've got to improve on a lot of things as well."
New offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau, who called his first game Sunday, said the only play he second-guessed himself on was a fourth-and-one try that had tailback Demetrius Sumler swing wide left rather than run straight ahead. He was stopped for no gain.
Kiesau would have liked to "have it back" before the ball was snapped. Otherwise (and discounting the final score), he called his debut in a new role fairly smooth and wholly enjoyable.
"But the loss hurt more than any I've had here," he said. "It was worse even than Georgia (a last-minute 14-13 defeat in Athens in 2006)."
But the question remains, can the Buffs take a no-frills approach and run straight ahead? Miller believes too much work has been done on the running game and too many capable players are in place for it not to be successful.
"It's coming; it'll be here," he said. "Unfortunately it wasn't a powerful as we hoped it would be, but I think I can speak for the entire offensive line in saying we'll get the job done."
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
