Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: Buffs Don't Want Label Of 'One-Win Wonders'
September 28, 2012 | Football, B.G. Brooks
BOULDER - Far weightier questions were asked on the Colorado campus this week, but this one targeting the school's football program was plenty heavy: "Are the Buffs one-and-done?" In fact, when coach Jon Embree gathered his players around him following Wednesday's practice, his remarks included another couple of queries: "Are you satisfied with one win? Is that who you are?"
The Buffs swear it isn't, and it's difficult to imagine that euphoria over the season's first victory - a 35-34 comeback thriller last weekend at Washington State - could cloud a 1-3 team's perspective for Saturday's Pac-12 Conference home opener against UCLA (4 p.m., Folsom Field, Pac-12 Network).
Nonetheless, Embree was wary of it at mid-week. But his players promised their first win after three frightful losses had been filed away and their full focus was on the Bruins.
"Losing hurts more than anything; this can't be a one-win season," junior linebacker Paul Vigo said. "Some people outside the program expect that - one win, two wins . . . that's motivation for us to get more. That's how everybody on the team has to see it. That feeling of winning, that excitement in us - that's something we want to have on-going in this program."
Asked if it was premature to say a corner had been turned last weekend at Wazzu, senior linebacker Jon Major answered, "No," then added, "But we're really going to have to play a lot better than we have because the competition gets ten-fold better."
UCLA is CU's most talented opponent to date. Embree reminded his team that the Bruins (3-1, 0-1) were a Top 25 team (No. 19) before last weekend's 27-20 home loss against Oregon State. UCLA entered the national rankings (No. 22) in Week Three following its 36-30 win against then-No. 17 Nebraska and climbed three positions after a 37-6 rout of Houston. The loss to Oregon State, which opened with a 10-7 win against then-No. 13 Wisconsin, showed UCLA the poll exit.
At his weekly press conference, Embree good naturedly took exception when the first question about UCLA concerned the Bruins' running game. Shuffling players into more suitable positions and overall defensive improvement in a new 3-4 scheme, Embree said, has keyed the early rise under first-year coach Jim Mora, Jr.
"UCLA, it's about their defense, their defense creates a lot of opportunities for their offense," Embree said. "So our offense has to do a good job of converting third downs and when we get opportunities to get points, you are getting touchdowns not field goals."
Statistics can deceive, but the Bruins' defensive stats aren't nearly as gaudy as those on offense. UCLA ranks No. 8 in the Pac-12 - two places above CU - in total defense, allowing 421.5 yards a game. But the Bruins are first in the conference in total offense at 577.5 yards a game, and of that total, 251.5 yards are gained on the ground. That places UCLA behind only Oregon (303.8) in Pac-12 rushing.
UCLA features the conference's leading rusher - Jonathan "Jet Ski" Franklin, who pounded the Buffs for 162 yards and a touchdown in a 45-6 Bruins win last season and is averaging 146.5 yards this fall.
The Buffs didn't miss many tackles last weekend, and Major - he leads CU with 8.8 a game - and Vigo said repeating that against Franklin and the Bruins is critical.
"It's going to be real important to get him on the ground; he's explosive in cutting back, changing directions," Vigo said. "We just have to stop the run and make plays on the ball. That's going to be our game plan, really. It starts with effort, everybody running to the ball. That has to be our identity. Coach knows that's what it took for us to win that game (last Saturday)."
A former safety, Vigo moved to the "Will" linebacker spot last spring. Against WSU, he made a career-best nine tackles (two for losses and one to save a TD). He also forced a fumble and broke up a pass. Of his new position, he said, "I love it a lot. The coaches have a lot of trust in me there, so that's the one thing I've got going for me. On top of that, it's 'see ball, get ball' most of the time. And I'm comfortable with that, you know? It's about making plays with effort. I just want to help out the team as best I can."
Vigo's hope is that CU can corral the 5-11, 195-pound Franklin like Oregon State did last week, holding him to 45 yards - or 135 below his average for the first three games. Embree said duplicating whatever the Beavers did schematically against the Bruins might not be feasible for the Buffs: "I think sometimes fans, or people, get the mistake of, 'Well, if they did it then, you can do it.' If it's not within your scheme, it's sometimes hard to get some things taught or to try to do things if it doesn't fit with what the background with whatever your basis is for your scheme.
"I thought the key in that game was Oregon State's front did a really good job of tackling when they had opportunities to make plays and that's what you have to do because if not, he will take a 2-yard loss and make it an 80-yard touchdown."
The Buffs, noted Major, need to "try to pick and choose from all the good things (Oregon State) did" and try to emulate those. He also believes CU's defensive front matches up well with UCLA's offensive line, which started three freshmen (two were redshirt freshmen) last week. "We just have to put together a good game like (OSU) did," Major said. "They've got a lot of speed on their defense and they used a different from what (UCLA) had been seeing."
But the Bruins' offense is more than Franklin. Quarterback Brett Hundley is third in the Pac-12 in passing (299.8 yards a game) and passing efficiency (152.0 rating) and second in total offense (337.5 yards). And UCLA's receiving corps will the best the Buffs have faced.
Embree, who spent time as an assistant at UCLA under Karl Dorrell, said the 6-3, 223-pound Hundley "is getting better each game . . . each game you can see him gaining more confidence and getting better - just like I see it in our younger players. It's good to see him doing well. He's a great kid; I know him a little bit, and his father. I just don't want him to have success this week; then he can pick it back up."
CU quarterback Jordan Webb had his best game as a Buff last weekend, accounting for four touchdowns (two running, two passing). Webb completed 29-of-42 passes for 345 yards (one interception) and ran 4 yards for the tying touchdown in the final 9 seconds. Will Oliver's extra point pushed CU ahead by one and completed the largest fourth-quarter comeback on the road in school history.
The Buffs were 1-4 at Folsom Field last season and are 0-1 at home this season. Webb said that has to change: "You want to be good at home. I think that's everybody goal . . . win every home game. I think players being confident on their home field is huge. We want to really take it to heart this week."
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
