Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: Can CU Flush Recent Grief vs. Mizzou?
October 08, 2010 | Football, B.G. Brooks
CU players aren't really at a loss to explain what's happened or how to prevent it from happening again. The difficulty, though, comes in doing it. MU simply has run its spread offense to perfection and the Buffs have helped tighten the noose by committing errors of all sorts - botched assignments, missed tackles and turnovers creating "short fields" being among the most common mistakes.
But CU's bumbling hasn't solely been its undoing. Earlier this week, coach Dan Hawkins credited MU for its offensive "scheming," and senior corner Jimmy Smith noted, "It's like they know exactly what to do against us. They scheme up so well against us, it's crazy. We play our regular stuff against everybody else . . . Hawaii has the same type of offense, but for some reason Missouri's offense - they just execute it so well."
Coaching continuity hasn't hurt in that area. In 10 seasons at Mizzou, Gary Pinkel has had only two offensive coordinators - Dave Christensen, who also was Pinkel's OC at Toledo, and David Yost, who succeeded Christensen in 2008 when Wyoming hired Christensen as its head coach. Yost also coaches the Tigers' quarterbacks, and that position as well as the entire offense hasn't suffered since Christensen headed west.
"They run a lot of different stuff, stuff you don't normally see," CU safety Anthony Perkins said, probably mindful that some of what the Buffs see on Saturday (5 p.m., MDT, FSN) could be the product of the Tigers having an extra week of preparation for the teams' Big 12 Conference opener. MU hasn't played since mauling Miami (Ohio) 51-13 on Sept. 25 in Columbia.
CU linebacker Jon Major said MU, which averages 431.5 yards (No. 5 in the Big 12) and 37.8 points (No. 4) a game, "is one of the better spread teams in college football . . . they really cause problems because they create mismatches in the open field. We have to be good tacklers and still have everyone run to the ball."
Indeed, defensive pursuit is among the best antidotes for the spread offense, which isolates playmakers on defenders and thrives when the offense wins those one-on-one matchups. Sure open-field tackling is a must.
Spreading out a defense, said Hawkins, is "itself an issue; it gets you in space. Anytime you do that, little mistakes can become big ones."
"It's going to come down to us getting lined up and doing what we need to do," Perkins said. "We're just going to have to be really good in those one-on-one matchups. We're going to have to be solid tacklers, and as a defense we have to fly to the football - no matter where it's at."
Using a base offense that features five receivers - in the past, dynamic ones such as Jeremy Maclin and Danario Alexander - and with a potent running game creating balance, the Tigers have punched up no fewer than 353 yards in total offense against the Buffs in the past four meetings.
That was MU's 2006 total; the average in the three succeeding games has been 496.1 yards. And the Tigers' average point total in the three most recent meetings was 49.2 - a ridiculous number that baffles Perkins.
"I couldn't tell you why, but every year they come after us hard," he said. "They've always got great receivers and great quarterback play . . . the past few years we haven't been able to stop them.
"But you know what? Those are the past few years. This year, we're not thinking about that. All we're thinking about is this week and getting a good game plan together to go out and attack these guys."
The Buffs' best defense might be a sound, ground-oriented offense - something they've shown in back-to-back wins against Hawai'i (31-13) and Georgia (29-27). In both games, CU ran for 230-plus yards (252 vs. Hawai'i, 235 vs. UGA). In Hawkins' college coaching career, his teams are 40-1 - including 8-1 at CU - when rushing for 200-plus yards.
So, if the Buffs can prolong their running success, putting together lengthy, time-consuming drives, their chances of winning improve.
"This is going to be one of those games where it's time of possession (that is important)," CU secondary coach Ashley Ambrose said. "We need the time of possession . . . keep them off the field as much as possible. We need three-and-outs - and this is a hard team to get three-and-outs on."
But an advantage in time of possession can be a deceiving statistic. In its first four games, No. 24/22 Mizzou (4-0) spent an average of 28:05 on offense, while its opponents were at 31:55 - a testament to the Tigers' penchant for big plays and quick strikes.
Ambrose and the rest of CU's defensive staff also are pushing for turnovers, but Mizzou isn't committing many. The Tigers have turned the ball over seven times (four fumbles, three interceptions) in four games, ranking them second (plus six) in the Big 12 behind Oklahoma in turnover margin.
"We need to find a way to get these guys to commit turnovers," Ambrose said. "Everybody has to run, go full speed and get to the ball. Once the first guy gets there, the second guy has to come in and knock it out. What we have to do as defense is keep everything in front of us, make tackles and make them make mistakes. Whenever we get the opportunity, get some turnovers and cash in on them. We need our offense to have the ball so we can eat the clock up and score."
If Mizzou is minus a Maclin or an Alexander in the catching corps, there are sophomore receiver T.J. Moe and junior tight end Michael Egnew. Moe, who caught only two passes in 2009 as a true freshman, currently is the FBS receptions leader (37), while the 6-foot-6, 235-pound Egnew is fifth (33).
Although his group won't face another A.J. Green this week - the UGA receiver made his 2010 debut against CU last week with seven catches for 119 yards and a pair of TDs - Ambrose still is wary of the Tigers.
"They've got a tight end that's pretty good and a slot receiver that reminds me of (CU's) Scotty McKnight - a guy they get the ball to," he said of Moe (6-0, 200). "I don't feel they have a Maclin or an Alexander, but you never know. I just hope they don't break out against us. It's our job to keep those guys contained and play within the scheme of the defense.
"If we play and do what we're supposed to do, we control how we play. If we do our jobs, we can shut them out . . . if we play sound like we're supposed to, we're capable of shutting anybody out. But we can't miss tackles and bust assignments. We can't have mental errors. We just have to play sound."
The Tigers' running game utilizes four tailbacks, with freshman Henry Josey (5-10, 180) accounting for 53 of MU's 154 yards per game. Running out of the spread, said Major, allows the Tigers to "try and crease you. It's very easy to get out of position just because you're getting so used to running around (in coverage) and running far, too."
The Buffs say they gained confidence from their win last weekend and believe they can snap a 13-game road losing streak (counting a postseason loss to Alabama) that dates to 2007. Also, losing four consecutive games to the Tigers gnaws at older players such as Smith and linebacker B.J. Beatty.
"They took it to us the last four years," Beatty said. "I don't know what it was about us, but I feel like they were kind of like making a statement and using us as a stepping stone. I think that's where Jimmy and a lot of us are taking it personally.
"The pain and suffering of the last three years . . . they routed us there then they came here and it was pretty bad. Last year it probably was a little closer than it looked (36-17), but we gave it to them. This year we have to notch it up a level more and play at the level they've been bringing to us."
Smith claims the Buffs are "a different team this year. When we're out there playing now, it's like we already know the worst has happened. It's like if we go all out, good things will happen.
"Defensively, (the past four MU games) give us a chip on our shoulders - like, 'Not again; it can't happen again.' This is the last year. We definitely want to go there and beat them."
It could be CU's final opportunity. The Buffs are leaving the Big 12 and beginning competition in the Pac-10 Conference in 2011. Saturday is good-bye - or good riddance.
BUFF BITS: Mizzou leads the series 41-31-3, but it's tied 7-7 in Big 12 play . . . . The Tigers' four-game winning streak is MU's longest since a six-game streak from 1979-84 . . . . The Buffs' most recent win against the Tigers was 41-12 in Boulder in 2005 . . . . CU hasn't won three consecutive games since opening the 2008 season 3-0 . . . . CU's intention to run was pronounced in non-conference play. Of 281 plays, 166 were runs and 115 were passes . . . . The Buffs continue to be strong on third down. They've converted 50 percent (30-of-60) of their third-down attempts, including 26-of-40 (65 percent) on third-and-eight or less . . . . The Tigers have won 26 of their past 31 games at Faurot Field . . . . MU junior quarterback Blaine Gabbert is 12-5 as a starter . . . . Gabbert has passed for five touchdowns this season - all five coming in the second halves of MU's four games . . . . MU's senior class has helped win 34 games thus far into 2010. The school record is 38 over a four-year span . . . . Following Saturday's game, the Buffs are home on consecutive weekends - Oct. 16 vs. Baylor (5 p.m., FCS) and Oct. 23 vs. Texas Tech (TBA).
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
