Brooks: Buffs Running Game Slows To A Walk

BOULDER - If an offense goes on a steady diet of three-and-outs, who's the biggest loser? Let's put it this way: there are very few winners, but an undermanned, overworked defense can suffer the most.

So it is at Colorado, where September's moderately successful running game slowed to a walk, then a limp, as October slipped by. Those 230-yard plus ground performances the Buffaloes pieced together in Weeks 3-4 have eroded to 104 yards total in their two most recent games, the back end of CU's four-game losing streak.

Tight end Ryan Deehan speaks for everyone on his side of the ball when he says of the escalating number of three-and-outs, "That's frustrating the crap out of us. It's one simple mistake that one person makes . . . and it's never the same person. It's a different person here or there, and it costs us the ability to get us the first down. That's really frustrating. We know we can do it; we've already done it this year."

But it seems so long ago that the Buffs rushed for 252 yards against Hawaii, then backed it up with a 235-yard effort against Georgia. Not coincidentally, the win against UGA was CU's last before the current four-game skid started.

In those four games, the Buffs have rushed for over 100 yards only once (192 vs. Baylor). In the other three, they've been held to 61 (Missouri), 28 (Texas Tech) and 76 (Oklahoma), a measly 55-yard average that's put pressure on the passing game to uphold the offense and offer a break to the defense.

That hasn't happened, accelerating a statistical slide in the Big 12 Conference. CU is ahead of only Texas Tech in rushing (129.2 yards to 116.1) and Kansas - the Buffs' opponent Saturday in Lawrence (noon MDT, no TV) - in scoring (18.8 points to 16.1). CU and KU rank Nos. 10 and 11, respectively in total offense (341.2 yards to 323.5).

Injury has dictated a change in CU's starting quarterbacks - the more mobile Tyler Hansen to the drop-back oriented Cody Hawkins - but Deehan and his position coach, Kent Riddle, contended the running game's drop-off shouldn't be a by-product.

"Things haven't changed a whole bunch, and really our technique hasn't changed at all," Riddle said. "It's more that defenses have changed; they're trying some different things and said we're going to make you throw the ball to beat us. Against Texas Tech we didn't win, but we threw the ball pretty well (336 yards, two touchdowns). That was because they had everybody up there to stop the run."

Added Deehan: "I think the big thing we've done is we just haven't run the ball as well - and that's evident by our numbers. We've just got to get back to what we did at the beginning of the year when we were 3-1. We've got to run the ball. That's the success for all teams . . . the defense might disagree with this, but the best defense is a good offense because you're keeping theirs off the field."

"We need them to put points on the board . . . that would help a ton," senior corner Jimmy Smith said.

Deehan believes the way back to success in the ground game is to "use our technique and be tough. I'm not saying we haven't been tough, I'm just saying that we've got to be mentally tougher than we've been recently. We've got a bunch of guys who can get the job done, we just need to get back to doing what we did."

DOING WHAT'S NEEDED: A lack of depth and experience at running back has forced Deehan into more of a backfield protector role for Hawkins, but Riddle says the 6-foot-5, 245-pound junior has handled that job.

"He's done a nice job in protection," Riddle said. "We've put him in at tailback and asked him to be our main protector . . . We know 'Speedy' (Rodney Stewart) can only take so much, so when we need to give him a blow, if it's a must-pass situation and we're not running anyway, we're just as well off putting Ryan back there. He's a smart guy; he understands the system and the concepts. He can fill in at a lot of different spots."

Deehan has caught 19 passes for 197 yards, with seven of those receptions (70 yards) coming in the final minutes of the three-point Baylor loss as CU's drive for a winning touchdown fizzled at the gun. Riddle said Deehan is capitalizing on opportunities when the ball comes his way.

"I feel like I've done a good job, but I want to do better because that means helping out the team more," Deehan said. "I'm always working to get better at what I'm doing. You never know, I could be the block that breaks a play."

A block he didn't make cleanly in the loss against Texas Tech still makes him cringe - as it does his roommate, Hansen. On an option right, Hansen stopped a little inside of where he was supposed to make the decision to keep or pitch to Stewart.

Deehan, lined up on that side of the formation, believes he was "a little too aggressive up-field" and allowed Tech's defensive end "a bunch of room to work." Hansen said the tackler slid underneath Deehan's block and hit him cleanly as he pitched to Stewart. Hansen left the game with what was later diagnosed as a ruptured spleen, costing him the rest of the season.

"It was weird . . . a freak accident," Deehan said. "But Tyler's a tough kid; he'll be able to lift in a couple of weeks and will get better."

And just for the record, Hansen doesn't blame his roomie for his injury, calling it "a part of football."

A GIMME ROAD WIN? YEAH, RIGHT: The Jayhawks (2-5, 0-4) are struggling under first-year coach Turner Gill. But embarking on a road trip overconfident is a laughable concept for the Buffs (3-5, 0-4).

First, there's the current four-game slide. Then, there's the 15-game regular-season road losing streak. CU hasn't won on the road since 2007 at Texas Tech.

Deehan said KU's problems should mean nothing to him and his teammates: "I feel like you have to have the same mentality every week. Like 'Hawk' (coach Dan Hawkins) says, you've got to play every team like they're the Green Bay Packers. If you take one team for granted, you're going to get your butt kicked. You'll get beat when you shouldn't. You have to go in there with the right mentality every week. If you can do that, that's when you get the wins you should."

Junior receiver Toney Clemons called Saturday's trip "an opportunity for us, but an opportunity for Kansas as well. I'm sure they're thinking they can get one on us . . . it'll be a battle of wills."

The Buffs are tired of being asked about their road woes; they've been tired of that conversation for a couple of seasons. Still, the streak continues.

"It's sickening to me," Smith said. "We go on the road and it's like we can't tie our shoes . . . I don't know what it is - if it's leadership or whatever."

NOT A REASON TO BELIEVE? Clemons has an interesting theory: He's not certain that the victory over Georgia meant all that it should to the Buffs.

"I'm not sure if the guys believed in the win . . . that they got that trust and confidence or if it was a one-and-done win," he said.

Being shut out at Missouri following the UGA win, then losing a pair of close home games definitely dropped CU's confidence heading into last week's game at Oklahoma - a loss Clemons pinned on his position.

"I'll put it on the receivers," he said. "We didn't make enough plays (and) I know I could have played better; there's lots of room for improvement."

He made four catches for 27 yards, but also had a couple of drops.

BUFF BITS: The CU-Iowa State game on Nov. 13 at Folsom Field will kick off at 11:30 a.m. and be televised nationally by Fox College Sports . . . . Receiver Travon Patterson (high ankle sprain) was on crutches Tuesday, making his status for Saturday uncertain. Dan Hawkins said freshman Paul Richardson will get more playing time if Patterson is unable to play . . . . Defensive back Paul Vigo (leg) should be ready to play, but perhaps in a limited role . . . . Defensive back Travis Sandersfeld (leg) is "close to 100 percent," Hawkins said. Sandersfeld played last week at OU . . . . Per his doctor's orders, Hansen did not travel last week, but will this week . . . . Gaining bowl eligibility now tops the Buffs' priority list. "Everybody wants to go to a bowl," Clemons said. "But the weeks are getting shorter and shorter . . . our eyes are on that now - sending the seniors off right." . . . . When Aric Goodman kicked his 40-yard field goal in the second quarter at OU, Dan Hawkins wasn't watching - and ESPN2's cameras caught him. Said Hawkins: "I never watch . . . I was looking at 'E-Mac' (team physician Eric McCarty)."

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU