Brooks: Odds, Ends, Outtakes And Timely Trivia

BOULDER - Sifting through the notebook (and digital recorder) before lifting off for points east - The Buckeye Nation and a Saturday afternoon in "The Shoe" . . .

HANDLER GETS HANDLE ON FOOTBALL: Baseball was close to being Gus Handler's first love, but he was savvy enough to know that football wouldn't jilt him. A significant growth spurt in high school had something to do with it, too.

Handler was a better than average outfielder and infielder (third and first base) at Barrington (Ill.) High School. A four-year baseball letterman and all-area honoree, his odyssey in that sport opened as a 5-10, 180-pound freshman and ended as a 6-2, 265-pound senior.

He'll be almost 30 pounds heavier than that Saturday when he opens at center for Colorado at Ohio State (1:30 p.m. MDT, ESPN2/ABC). It will be Handler's first career start; he's been sharing snaps in the Buffaloes' first three games with redshirt freshman Daniel Munyer.

But Saturday finds Handler on his own; Munyer suffered a sprained ankle in last week's win against Colorado State.

"I'm excited...it's a good opportunity," said Handler, a sophomore. "Growing up in Midwest, seeing all those Big Ten teams...it'll be fun to play a game close to home."

Those Midwestern roots - and this week's thorough tape study of the Buckeyes - have given Handler more than a small clue of what to expect: "They're big, fast and aggressive. Every game you've got into it thinking it's going to be a 9-on-7 physical game - just like coach (Jon) Embree has told us to expect. We just have to match their intensity.

"Every year they put out a good team, that's the Ohio State tradition. They're top notch."

Embree called Handler and Munyer "both outstanding players" and said one could be ticketed for a future position switch: "We have to find a way to play them both - whether one goes to guard or whatever. But I think they're really good football players."

After growing out of baseball and into a tackle in high school, Handler has been a center for only three years.

He believes he's well-versed in CU's playbook but admits, "I'm trying to get a better feel for the position, just get better every day at snapping and stepping, making the calls I have to make."

Line coach Steve Marshall describes him as "very intelligent," adding, "I'd like him to be more powerful, but Gus has been consistent. He needs to continue to work on his technique and running the offense."

EMBREE LIKES THESE ODDS: Expected to open with Handler in the O-line are seniors Ryan Miller (right) and Ethan Adkins (left) at guard, and senior Sione Tau (right) and sophomore David Bakhtiari (left) at tackle.

Bakhtiari has missed the last two games with a knee sprain, but returned to practice this week. Junior Ryan Dannewitz, who can play either tackle, also has been recuperating from a knee sprain, but is expected to be available.

Embree joked this week that the "over/under" is for Bakhtiari to play 85 snaps. "I'm counting on him being able to do that. The thing that helps him with that is good weather - the heat. If it was a cold day and he was coming in and out, it would stiffen up on him."

Saturday's weather forecast in Columbus calls for temperatures in the mid-60s and a 60 percent chance of thunderstorms.

TWO QBS, ONE SOLUTION: An old football adage goes like this: If you've got two quarterbacks, you don't have one. True or not, that's the situation for the Buckeyes.

With Terrell Pryor bolting for the NFL after the school's off-season scandal, Ohio State is filling the position with senior Joe Bauserman and freshman Braxton Miller. Bauserman is considered a pocket passer, having completed half of his 60 passing attempts for 365 yards and four touchdowns. He's rushed 11 times for 36 yards and a score. Miller, meanwhile, has completed 10-of-16 passes for 152 yards and a TD, with one interception. He's run for 62 yards on 13 carries.

Embree contends the dilemma of preparing for two QBs "really isn't, because when you get a running quarterback that's a good passer you have to do that anyway...it's something we're going to have to do, especially in this league when you get the mobile quarterbacks. You kind of have to have two plans - one when they're in shotgun and one when they're under center. It doesn't add that much more added stress."

Defensive coordinator Greg Brown said his unit will be ready for both, but added, "We're spending a great deal of our time getting ready for (Miller) and for them to come out and try to run the ball right down our throats. That's our point of emphasis."

Good plan, especially the part about preparing for Miller. Buckeyes coach Luke Fickell announced Thursday that Miller will make his first career start against the Buffs.

LOVE AT FIRST TOUCH: The 28-14 victory over CSU marked the first time a CU running back other than senior Rodney "Speedy" Stewart got a carry. That distinction went to tailback Tony Jones, a 5-7, 175-pound redshirt freshman.

Running backs coach Eric Bieniemy said Jones "did a great job of stepping up in huge moments, clutch moments. He made some huge runs."

Jones gained 23 yards on his six carries, with a long run of eight yards. By contrast, Stewart carried 19 times for 98 yards against the Rams and has been called on 61 times in three games (223 yards gained). Bieniemy says he must "continue doing a better job of managing my position" - meaning giving Stewart more relief.

That could mean more weekly carries for Jones. The CSU game, said Bieniemy, "should help build (Jones') confidence, and we need him to play at a high level."

Jones plans on doing that, but said there have been no promises made about an increased number of carries - and he doesn't expect any promises from Bieniemy.

"He's never said that to me, and he doesn't have to," Jones said. "I want to keep working hard in practice and do whatever I have to do to get more reps. He doesn't necessarily have to tell me that I'll get more. I'm not going to slow down or stop practicing hard just because I'm getting some reps. I'm going to keep going at it."

Jones, from Paterson, N.J., traveled to Ohio his high school (Don Bosco Prep), but the game was in Cincinnati. "I'm looking forward to playing in Columbus," he said. "I've heard great things about Ohio Stadium."

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT: Different coaches have different ideas. One of the biggest differences in the old and new CU regimes is their offensive approach to opening a game. The old way: one scripted play to start. The new way: 15 scripted plays to start.

Bieniemy, the offensive coordinator, said his scripting the first 15 plays "is the only way I know." It was done when he was a player at CU and in the NFL, when he was an assistant coach at CU and UCLA, and when he was an assistant with the Minnesota Vikings. "Since I've been a player and in the coaching profession, that's just the way it's been done."

Players, he noted, "have seemed to (take to it), but they've never asked. First of all, they know exactly what they're doing. We talk about each and every front we'll possibly, each and every scenario. We want our kids to be prepared. Part of it is being professional, but on top of that we're trying to give the kids the best opportunity to be successful."

Senior quarterback Tyler Hansen said in seasons past, "We knew what we'd call with the first play of the game. But we never scripted the first 15...it's something I like doing; it kind of gets your mindset going early and guys are going to be ready for those first 15 and know what they have to do."

Hansen said he and "a couple" of other players have veto power: "We get to have input but they (coaches) take it with a grain of salt. They're going to call what they want to call. You get in certain situations where you have to change things - third and long and obviously you've got to switch up the play. But they've been pretty consistent with what they've called and scripted out."

Regardless of the script and whoever has in-game input, all the Buffs acknowledge the need to start faster. They've been outscored 40-20 in this season's first halves, and Hansen notes, "We just have to play better and get a mindset going early. We have to create some energy early, someone's got to step up - I have to step up - and make a play early to kind of get our offense going early."

The Buckeyes have been a hot-and-cold first-half team, getting outscored 29-14 in their first quarters this season, but rallying for a 34-3 second-quarter advantage. That's a 48-32 halftime edge in three games.

PLAYING SMART, PASSING ON DUMB THROWS: Hansen, who is third in the Pac-12 in passing (304 yards a game) and total offense (309.7), says his comfort level increases weekly.

"Coach (Rip) Scherer has done a great job of talking me through what I need to do, what my progressions are on every play," Hansen said. "With that, my biggest goal is taking care of the ball. I've done a good job of that so far and need to keep it up."

He's thrown only one interception in 111 pass attempts, completing 61 for 912 yards and seven TDs. He called ditching the ball when an open receiver can't be found "the toughest thing for a quarterback . . . you want to be perfect, score a touchdown on every play.

"That's just not going to happen. Sometimes it's OK to throw the ball away. Coach Scherer says sometimes the best play is an incompletion or a throw-away; sometimes it's the only play. You have to be aware of that and you've got to accept it."

BUFF BITS: CU's leading tackler is sophomore cornerback/nickel back Parker Orms, who is averaging 9.3 a game with a team-best five third-down stops. His coach, Greg Brown, isn't surprised: "He just shows up all the time. That's just his nature; he's going to be around the ball and make plays. He's always been like that, always will be."...Brown says his secondary, which likely will be minus starting senior corner Travis Sandersfeld for another couple of weeks, has held up well, but adds, "It's been three games and three games only. It doesn't mean anything...we'll see where we are at the end of the year.'' CU is third in the Pac-12 in pass defense (208.0 yards a game), but has allowed six TD passes - second-highest in the league ...In team and position meetings this week, the Buffs have been shown snippets of Miami's 24-6 win last weekend over Ohio State, with some of the focus being on the Hurricanes' reaction to their own big plays. "Their players were going crazy celebrating, hitting each other on the head, just going nuts," Hansen said. "That's what we've got to do. We've got to create that energy and be passionate about what we're doing." ...CU punter Darragh O'Neill had one of his punts tipped by CSU last weekend. Embree blamed it on O'Neill being "too close to the shield" and the punt coming off of O'Neill's foot low. "A bad combination for us," Embree said. Overall, though, O'Neill has been stellar in his first season of punting; his 45.9 average places him second in the Pac-12. Consider: his 15 punts are the most in the league, his six punts inside the 20 are a league high and his six punts of 50 or more yards are second-highest...Given the relatively short drive (six hours) from Albuquerque, Tyler McCulloch's parents have seen both of the Buffs' games played in state. They also traveled to Hawai'i for the opener - and a travel snafu on that trip will allow them to go to Columbus for Saturday's game. "Their flight from Hawaii got messed up, so the airline gave them a couple of free tickets," said McCulloch, a freshman receiver. The biggest crowd he's played before was last weekend in Denver (57,186); Ohio Stadium's crowd is expected to be just under twice that...Add CU offensive graduate assistant Matt Thurin to the list of Ohioans returning home and in need of tickets to accommodate family and friends. Thurin, in his first season with the football program, is from Canton but attended high school in Louisville, Ohio. But that hasn't diminished the ticket requests.

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU