University of Colorado Athletics
Brooks: Anemic Starts Have Buffs Groping At Finish
November 04, 2011 | Football, B.G. Brooks
BOULDER - Coaches emphasize the importance of "finishing," but you can't finish what you don't start. And that's been a huge problem in Pac-12 Conference play for the Colorado Buffaloes.
In five league games, the Buffs have been outscored 91-10 in the first quarters and, not surprisingly, have led only once (13-10 vs. Washington State) at halftime. In contrast, their Friday night foe at Folsom Field - No. 21 Southern California - has outscored its five conference opponents 36-14 in the first quarter (a 63-17 first-quarter edge in eight games).
CU's non-starts have been collaborative. The only way to turn it, said coach Jon Embree, "is to have some (overall) success. We can't give up four, five (scoring) drives in a row . . . we have to slow teams down."
But the Buffs have struggled to do that. Over the past five weeks, some opponents' drives have required fewer than 90 seconds, others drives fewer than 60, sending CU's offense back on the field for possessions that don't last much longer.
"When we do get a stop, then offensively we have to do something with the ball," Embree continued. "We're not playing well at all as a team. We have to put ourselves in a position where all playing well in the same half . . . let's just start with that and build from there."
The Buffs' offensive numbers in conference play (14.8 points, 304-yard average in total offense) reinforce why they're winless (0-5) in their debut Pac-12 season and have won but once in nine games overall.
Senior quarterback Tyler Hansen said the Buffs' inability to put together a complete game continues to be their undoing: "It's real important . . . we've talked about playing team football. That's everything - all three phases. We get a touchdown, the defense gets a stop next series. It's complementing each other. That's what winning teams do. When we start doing that, figuring that out, then we'll start winning games."
Sophomore linebacker Derrick Webb knows his unit needs to give Hansen and his guys a break.
"If we kick off and force a three-and-out in the first series, that's one of the best things we can do for our offense to get their confidence going and put some points on the board," Webb said. "We don't want to get ourselves in the hole where we're trying to play catch-up all game. We want to go into halftime with a lead. That's the goal for these games."
Making third-down stops, said Webb, has been among the Buffs' biggest shortcomings. When teams are in third-down situations, they convert 50 percent - actually 50.9 percent - of the time.
And that, noted Webb, can't continue: "We've had teams in some third-and-long situations. We've got to convert on those plays; we've got to get off the field as a defense. Knowing we let teams convert on third-and-10, third-and-11 . . . the next play could be a touchdown, whereas we could be receiving a punt. It's our job as a defense to get off the field on third down, point blank."
Embree also mentioned taking advantage of opportunities to make plays, citing a play last weekend when Arizona State quarterback Brock Osweiler made "a Sunday-type throw" and completed a pass when CU safety Ray Polk "was all over" the receiver.
"We were a step away from sacking (Osweiler)," Embree said. "When you have that opportunity you have to do it. You can't be a half step away on the sack and then almost be right there in the coverage. And that's what's happening to us. Teams right now have been having their way with us. It's something we're trying to address . . . but at the same time, you're limited with some of the things you want to do or might be able to do to maybe help it."
Another reason for an effective start - particularly on Friday - is to keep the home crowd engaged. As of early week fewer than 4,000 tickets remained for the school's first Friday night game at Folsom, and Hansen knows the Buffs better take advantage of what could be the season's first sellout (53,613).
"We've got to start early this week, for sure," he said. "With the type of atmosphere we're going to have, it's important to get the crowd into it early . . . when you get a home crowd that's bored and tired, there's nothing worse than that.
"You get a visiting crowd that's into it, yelling and screaming . . . every time you're on the field as an offense, when that visiting crowd is getting after you it's tough. You feel like the world's against you. It's a tough atmosphere. If we can get our crowd into it early, that's real important."
WORD ON USC'S PITCH-CATCH COMBO: USC quarterback Matt Barkley and receiver Robert Woods are hard to slow, much less stop. Barkley has thrown 22 touchdown passes, nine of them to Woods, who averages a league-best 123.8 receiving yards a game (fifth nationally).
CU defensive coordinator Greg Brown sees Barkley, who averages 286.2 yards passing, as the latest in a "murderer's row" of quarterbacks the Buffs have faced in the past five weeks. "But that's what this league is - there's always been great quarterbacks. It's similar to what the Big 12 had maybe three or four years ago, with Chase Daniel, Sam Bradford, those guys . . . a murderer's row."
The 6-1, 180-pound Woods, said Brown, "has got it all. He's silky smooth, got good top-end speed, acceleration off the bat, can go get the ball, great hand-eye coordination, ball skills . . . He's a big-time player playing with big-time players in a big-time system. (USC coach) Lane Kiffin does a tremendous job with these guys. It's an NFL-style offense."
"P-RICH" PLAYING IT COY: CU's version of Woods is Paul Richardson, who is of similar size (6-1, 165) and also is a sophomore. The difference: Woods hasn't missed a game, Richardson has missed the last four after suffering a knee injury in practice prior to the Stanford trip.
Richardson, who still leads the Buffs with 29 receptions for 474 yards and five touchdowns, has been practicing but said he is waiting for final medical clearance before making his return.
"I know how I feel, and I'm not 100 percent yet," he said, but adding, "I don't feel rusty . . . I miss it too much to be rusty. I feel anxious to be able to play again. Right now, I just don't know when. Just being out here with the team and having my jersey on, I feel good about that. So I'm just taking it one day at a time."
Richardson called missing and watching the past four games "really tough, especially when you don't know if you're going to be ready to play it's been even tougher. Even when I don't play, don't travel with the team, I'm still watching and encouraging them through the TV screen. It's something you have to deal with; it comes with college sports."
If Richardson is able to play Friday night, Hansen said his return would have a "huge impact. Defenses have to adjust to him and, obviously, our play calling will be a lot different. Just because he's that speed guy on the outside that can blow the top off coverages and we can get those shots downfield."
BUFF BITS: CU has lost seven straight games against ranked teams. The most recent win was 34-30 against Kansas in 2009 . . . . USC is CU's third consecutive ranked opponent and fourth in five games . . . . USC leads the all-time series with CU 5-0, with the last meeting (2002) producing a 40-3 Trojans win in Boulder. Prior to that one, USC won 17-14 in 2000 in L.A. That game marked the first CU-USC game in 36 years . . . . USC's football program is on NCAA probation until June 9, 2014, but Embree contends Kiffin, in his second season at USC, has been successful in "minimizing the distractions from the past, and they're playing very well. They're just a different colored uniform than the teams we've played for the last five games. It's been quite a stretch." . . . . Kiffin's defensive coordinator is also his father, Monte, who is regarded among the preeminent defensive coaches in college football. Embree says the Trojans are "not the same defensively as they've been in the past under Monte - with the 'Tampa Two' stuff. They're doing more single safety stuff . . . their defense is physical. I like their D-line, their two guys inside (NT Christian Tupou, DT DaJohn Harris); they get a good push." . . . . USC free safety T.J. McDonald will miss Friday's first half as the result of a Pac-12 suspension for a late hit last weekend against Stanford receiver Chris Owusu in the Trojans' 56-48 triple overtime loss. Drew McAllister will start in McDonald's spot, and Hansen said the Buffs need to seize the moment: "We definitely have to take advantage of that . . . obviously they're going to have a backup in there, so we have to go after him." Hansen called McDonald "a good player, one of their leaders. You can tell they feed off his energy; he's real aggressive." . . . . In addition to the Pac-12's post-Stanford action against McDonald, Lane Kiffin also was reprimanded and fined $10,000 for comments made about the officiating . . . . While CU has 29 California players on its roster, USC has one Coloradoan - corner Allen Noble (Eaglecrest High School/Colorado School of Mines/Mt. San Antonio JC). Noble, a senior, is not listed on the depth chart.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
