Woelk: Tuesday Buffalo Bits

BOULDER — If Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre had the chance, he might be tempted to throw a flag on Lady Luck for piling on.

Already down one starting inside linebacker, MacIntyre lost another Saturday night when linebacker Kenneth Olugbode suffered a leg injury that will sideline him for four to six weeks. Also injured in the loss to Oregon and still questionable for Saturday's game at Arizona State is left tackle Sam Kronshage, who is undergoing concussion protocol after getting "dinged" against the Ducks.

MacIntyre said Olugbode suffered the injury early in the game but attempted to keep playing.

"Basically he got hit in the leg and it started swelling up," MacIntyre said. "It (the swelling) had nowhere to go, so they had to take him to the hospital and cut his leg and drain it."

Olugbode's absence means the Buffs will face Arizona State without two of their most experienced defenders, as two-year starter Addison Gillam hasn't played since the second game of the season, when he suffered a knee injury.

Olugbode, still CU's leader in total defensive snaps (298) and tackles (39), will be replaced in the starting lineup by junior Ryan Severson, who has spent most of his career at CU as a special teams player. Severson has played 51 snaps on defense this year and has been credited with six tackles, with five of those coming against the Ducks.

Severson did have a part in two big stops against Oregon. Early in the fourth quarter, he was in on back-to-back tackles on Ducks running back Royce Freeman, including a fourth-down tackle that gave the ball to Colorado near midfield.

Kronshage is the second left tackle to be injured this year, as he stepped into the lineup after Jeromy Irwin suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 2. While Kronshage is still being monitored, MacIntyre said the Buffs are "preparing for him not to be there."

If Kronshage can't play, the Buffs can move senior right tackle Stephane Nembot to the left side and play either redshirt freshman freshman John Lisella or junior Shane Callahan to the right side. Callahan has played mostly guard this year, but has played tackle in the past, and could also possibly play the left side. Lisella played 42 snaps against Nicholls State two weeks ago, and got in another 18 vs. the Ducks.

"The injuries are piling up, and that's what happens when you're playing game after game," MacIntyre said. "The good thing is we've got guys that are going in there and doing a good job."

In the lineup for Gillam the last three games has been redshirt freshman Rick Gamboa, who has delivered some big plays thus far. Gamboa is third on the team in tackles with 34.

LIUFAU HEALTH: CU quarterback Sefo Liufau, who has been battling a shoulder injury since early in the Colorado State game, said Tuesday his shoulder is "feeling great."

"It's not a factor right now," Liufau said. "I thought I did a lot better against Oregon than I did the week before. It already feels better than the Tuesday the previous week. I'm definitely feeling good; we'll be ready for ASU."

Liufau said he's thrown more in practice this week than in either of the previous two weeks. Still, he admitted he's "struggling" on some throws.

"It's frustrating," Liufau said. "We just have to go back and look at film, fix the corrections, and just try to be more fundamentally sound, so I can hit my receivers and continue drives."

SOLIS SHINES: One of the more pleasant surprises for the Buffs this year has been the play of defensive linemen Justin Solis, who has stepped into a starting role with solid results. Solis has 24 tackles this season and his quarterback sack against Oregon gave him two for the season, tying him for the team lead with Jimmie Gilbert.

"Everybody thinks that I am just a run-stopper, but I've been really trying to prove that I can rush a quarterback a little bit," Solis said. "They take me out sometimes in third-and-longs, but I'm really trying to prove that I can stay out there in those third-down situations and really press the quarterback. That's something that I have been working on, my pass rush, and you know I feel like I have been getting better at it. And hopefully they give me the opportunity."

GETTING HIS KICKS: MacIntyre said he would have no qualms about sending kicker Diego Gonzalez onto the field to attempt a 60-yarder.

"He can make it from 60 if he has to," MacIntyre said. "It's a long kick, but I wouldn't hesitate if we had to get a game winner from 60, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him make it. I feel really good about Diego and he has a lot of confidence."

While Gonzalez did whiff on one of his longer attempts of the year, a 48-yarder at the end of regulation against Colorado State, he does have two 52-yarders to his credit.

MacIntyre also said Gonzalez could figure into the kickoff equation this week. While regular Chris Graham had a better camp, MacIntyre said now that Gonzalez has his routine down, he may give him a try this week.

But overall, the Buffs have had decent success with Graham's kicks. He's kicked off 33 times, and the Buffs have stopped the opponent inside the 25-yard line 13 times, and the average starting yard line has been the 24.

MACINTYRE APOLOGIZES: At the end of his press conference Tuesday, MacIntyre apologized for a sideline incident in which he was seen pushing assistant coach Joe Tumpkin back from the field after Tumpkin had been flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct by the officials.

"That's not who I am or who my character is," MacIntyre said. "But, this is exactly what happened. After the play was over, Ryan Moeller got slammed to the ground late and I asked the official if they were going to call that. He goes, 'Coach you better get your coaches off the field or I'm going to throw a penalty.' I turned, saw some of our coaches on the field, got Joe (Tumpkin) and pushed him back. I turned around and saw the flag. Turned back around and said 'Joe you just got us a 15-yard penalty.'

"I was intense at the moment in the heat of a battle. I will not handle it that way again. … I have to do a better job of our coaches controlling themselves and me controlling myself. I'm sorry the way it was handled, and Joe and I are fine. There's no issues there whatsoever and that's something that will not happen again."

Tumpkin told the Associated Press, "I was in the wrong. He was right. It is over. It's done. Coach Mac was in a sense trying to protect me. In the heat of the game, in the heat of the battle, you are looking at it as an emotion."

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu