Brooks: Injury-Free Miller Steps Up His Game

BOULDER - Knock on wood or a reasonable facsimile, but Ryan Miller is heading into his second consecutive November in reasonably good health. He feels fine and his play is reflecting it.

Finally injury-free for the longest stretch of his college career, Colorado's starting right guard is close to performing at the level that made him one of the nation's most promising high school offensive linemen in 2007.

The Buffaloes have lost their first four Big 12 Conference games, but it's been no fault of Miller's. O-line coach Denver Johnson says during that four-game stretch, the 6-foot-8, 310-pound junior "has really gotten better" and qualifies as CU's most improved O-lineman since September.

"His game against Oklahoma was the best he's played since I've been here," Johnson said. "He's got immense talent and I think he's starting to grow towards his potential. He's a long ways away from what his potential is, but he's started to move in that direction. I've been real pleased with him."

Miller's first two college seasons were interrupted by leg and forearm injuries that hampered his development.

"He'd never had that long extended time (of being injury free) - and that's when you get better," Johnson said. "He's been healthy now for a good long while . . . he's also grown up and matured a little bit. I think he's realizing now there's a difference between talent and skill, between potential and reality.

"He's certainly not had an attitude problem. I think he's beginning to figure out how good he can be and how good he needs to be. He's a very conscientious guy and he wants to realize his potential, which is immense."

In addition to the injuries, there also was a position switch (tackle to guard) and a change in position coaches (Jeff Grimes to Johnson) that undoubtedly factored into Miller's development. But after having stayed at his current position for the bulk of two seasons, Miller said, "I definitely feel like I've gotten a lot better, but I'm definitely not where I can be. As far as consistency, though, and playing well, it's been going well."

His health and his time on the job, he admitted, can't be overemphasized: "The (lack of) injuries and being here a little longer definitely help. The experience is finally setting in, I guess. There's not nearly as much hesitation on plays; I know what I'm doing and I can be a lot more aggressive, more instinctive.

"You understand the offense more, and that just comes with time. Fortunately, I've had a period to experience that."

Although the running game has hit a figurative wall in its past two games, Miller and Johnson believe the O-line has played decently and been on an upward curve for the past two months.

"We're definitely building off each other," Miller said of a unit that includes Ethan Adkins (guard) and Nate Solder (tackle) on the left side and he and David Bakhtiari (tackle) on the right. Mike Iltis is the starting center.

"Ethan has grown tremendously as a player, so has Mike," Miller said. "We're building that cohesion with five guys. Once it grows on one guy, it starts to grow on another. Really, no one starts it; it's just a group thing, an O-line thing."

In the past two weeks, Texas Tech and Oklahoma succeeded in shutting down the Buffs on the ground. CU gained 28 and 76 yards, respectively, against a pair of defenses that bunched its safeties near the line of scrimmage. The Buffs can expect the same strategy over the next four weekends, putting the offensive onus on quarterback Cody Hawkins and his receivers.

"We have to execute in whatever we choose to do," Johnson said. "If they're loading the box, we've got to be able to protect and throw and catch. If we get them off playing umbrella coverage, we've got to be able to hand it off and get hats on people and run the ball. It really is that simple - you've got to scratch where it itches."

Miller believes the Buffs still will be able to run. "Loading the box" is expected: "That's what we plan for," he said. "You've got to block them wherever they are. It's really a compliment to us, I think. But we can win with the guys up front; we've got the experience to win."

The shift from Tyler Hansen to Cody Hawkins at quarterback, said Miller, hasn't produced any surprises for the older O-linemen: "Cody's always been there; I don't think he really ever took a back seat. As far as the injury (to Hansen) goes, they just switched positions. The older guys have played with Cody before and know how he works. It's not that big a change."

With four games remaining, the Buffs are 3-5 overall and need three wins to qualify for bowl eligibility. Having lost 15 consecutive regular-season road games, they need a win Saturday at Kansas (noon, MDT; no TV) before returning to Folsom Field for two home games (Iowa State, Nov. 13; Kansas State, Nov. 20) that could push them to six victories before ending the season at Nebraska (Nov. 26).

"It's critical," Miller said of the trip to Lawrence. "We can still turn this season around, but that's not to say that this season has been a loss by any means. The growth in this season, as far as the offensive line and our offense, has been there. Unfortunately it's not coming out in 'W's or some other numbers, but this is a good team."

THE HUNGER FACTOR: KU and CU share the same leaky boat. They're the Big 12's only pair of winless teams (0-4 in conference play) and each is eyeing Saturday's game as a prime opportunity for Win No. 1.

Which team wins the Battle At The Bottom?

The Jayhawks believe they improved in last week's 28-16 loss at Iowa State. And they can't help but believe that any home-field advantage is magnified by the Buffs' 15-game regular-season road losing streak.

First-year KU coach Turner Gill opened his weekly press conference with this statement: "This is the week of Colorado; I am excited about this opportunity we have here."

His players quickly picked up on that theme.

"We definitely know Colorado is in the same boat as us," senior defensive back Chris Harris said. "It is definitely a winnable game."

And this from senior running back Angus Quigley on CU's four-week slide: "It's a positive for us; it gives us a little bit of motivation. It's an opportunity to not be last in the Big 12 - and it's exciting."

Doesn't sound like KU has cashed it in.

BUFF BITS: In six of the past eight meetings, the winning team in the CU-KU series has scored at least 30 points. Hitting that total Saturday might be difficult: The Jayhawks have averaged 10.0 points in their four Big 12 losses, the Buffs 14.8 . . . . KU catches the Big 12's departing members - CU and Nebraska - on consecutive weekends. The Jayhawks visit Lincoln, Neb., on Nov. 13 . . . . Like the Buffs, the Jayhawks are on a four-game losing streak. KU has lost 13 of its last 15 games, dating to last season's Oct. 17 visit to Boulder. The Jayhawks were 5-0 and ranked No. 17 before losing 34-30 . . . . November's first weekend has been good to KU over the past five seasons (4-1) . . . . The state of Georgia has been good for CU and KU this season. The Buffs' and Jayhawks' best wins have been against opponents from the Peach State. CU defeated unranked Georgia 29-27, KU defeated then-No. 15 Georgia Tech 28-25 . . . . KU is averaging 46,769 in home attendance this season, second-lowest in the Big 12 behind Iowa State (44,966). CU's average through four games is 49,329 . . . . The second quarter hasn't been pleasant for either the Buffs or the Jayhawks this season. KU has been outscored 103-41, CU 91-32 . . . . CU's Aric Goodman is 5-for-9 in field goal attempts, KU's Jacob Branstetter is 6-for-10 . . . . Johnson, CU's O-line coach, calls KU's defensive line "certainly not a bunch that's totally devoid of talent . . . we know we haven't been totally dominating people offensively, so we're going to have to play well to get anything done on offense."

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU