Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: Tuesday Tidbits
October 20, 2015 | Football, B.G. Brooks
THE RUNNING QB, REVISITED: When Arizona changed quarterbacks late in last Saturday night's third quarter, the Buffs defense encountered all sorts of problems stopping the Wildcats' run-oriented backup, Jerrard Randall.
But as they prepare this week for Oregon State (8:30 p.m. MDT, Pac-12 Network), the Buffs know what they're going to see from the first quarter on. Meet OSU freshman Seth Collins, a dual threat QB with "excellent speed" as a runner, according to CU coach Mike MacIntyre.
Through six games, Collins is averaging 216.5 yards a game in total offense, including 81.0 yards on the ground. He's run for five touchdowns and passed for six.
The 6-3, 195-pound Collins, from San Diego (Granite Hills HS), is on pace to rush for 972 yards this season. The Pac-12 rushing record for a quarterback is 986 by Washington's Jake Locker in 2007.
In the Buffs' 38-31 loss to the Wildcats, Randall replaced starter Anu Solomon for Arizona's final series of the third quarter and led his offense on drives of 97 and 94 yards. CU had taken a 24-17 lead into the fourth quarter but fell behind and never caught up when Arizona called on its running QB.
CU corner Ken Crawley noted that the Buffs have faced similar quarterbacks in their past three games and that the defensive staff "put us in good position" to stop them. But he added that fundamental breakdowns, including not plugging gaps and the wrong pursuit angles, helped Randall run for 81 yards on 11 carries and one touchdown.
Arizona scorched CU for 616 yards in total offense, including 291 rushing. Tailback Jared Baker accounted for 207 of those, with scoring runs of 79 and 45 yards.
Crawley said Oregon State's running game features "similar plays to Arizona's" and that pursuit when he crosses the line of scrimmage is imperative in slowing down Collins, who rushed for 124 yards last weekend in the Beavers' 52-31 loss to Washington State. It was his third 100-yard rushing game this season.
In addition to Collins, Oregon State's running attack features tailback Storm Woods, who averages 58.5 ground yards and 83.0 all-purpose yards a game.
The Buffs are last in the Pac-12 in rushing defense (conference games only), allowing 294.3 yards a game, and No. 11 in total defense, yielding 548.0 yards a game. The Beavers are allowing 550.7.
LOSING ISN'T INHERENT, BUT . . . : The Buffs have lost a school-record tying 14 consecutive conference games and 13 straight Pac-12 road games. MacIntyre was asked at his weekly Tuesday news conference if losing "can seep into a team's DNA."
He said he didn't think so, but added, "I think it's just tough to overcome. The lows of losing are lower than the highs of winning, you've probably heard that a million times. You have to bounce back, look deeper into your soul, so-to-speak, and then you just have to find ways to win. Sometimes, a win just falls in your lap at times, but you have to find ways to win and finish it off."
In conference play so far this season, not much has fallen into the Buffs' collective laps and they haven't yet found ways to successfully finish games.
MacIntyre said he hoped his team "would struggle with the losing. If they don't you're not going to be able to get them out of it; it needs to hurt them. You put a lot of time and effort into trying to do something and do it well, it should hurt when you're not as successful at it as you would like to be. Hopefully that is in their makeup that the losing does hurt them and they want to keep working to overcome it."
Quarterback Sefo Liufau also discounted the DNA theory, but noted, "People can fall into a lull, or a rhythm of 'this is the norm.' It can kind of feel like the norm, which is really frustrating and you don't ever want to feel that way. I don't think that is what this team is feeling. A lot of guys are really upset after games; we want to win."
QUOTABLE: ". . . you have to keep chopping wood, however you want to say it, hammering the nail, you know all the different clichés . . . if you stop then you have no chance. And that goes with anything in life, you have to keep taking one step at a time and go forward." – MacIntyre on the process of getting a breakthrough 'W'
NOTABLE: With receiver Shay Fields (high ankle sprain) missing the Oregon State game, the Buffs will have had a starter miss at least one game at eight of the 22 positions . . . . Duel of desperation? The Beavers and the Buffs are the Pac-12's only two winless teams in conference play (0-3). They're also the league's only two teams with losing records overall (CU 3-4, OSU 2-4) . . . . The Buffs must win four of their remaining six games to become bowl eligible. They need seven wins rather than six because of their 13th game – the opener at Hawai'i. Said Liufau: "There is little for error left in the season. For us especially, this is a really important game not because of who we're playing, but because of how many games are left and what we want to accomplish." . . . . Maybe CU can find inspiration or solace in this figure: In 20 conference games played through last weekend, the visiting teams are 12-8. The Buffs' last Pac-12 road win: 35-34 at Washington State on Sept. 22, 2012.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
