Colorado University Athletics
Woelk: Friday's Fast Five Goals For Buffs Vs. Stanford
November 06, 2015 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — The Colorado Buffaloes aren't expecting any surprises Saturday from the ninth-ranked Stanford Cardinal at Folsom Field (11 a.m., Pac-12 Networks).
As Buffs defensive line coach Jim Jeffcoat said earlier this week, “They do what they do and they're very, very good at it. They don't change. They're going to do what they do.”
What 7-1 Stanford does is eat up the clock and score points. The Cardinal are fourth in the Pac-12 in scoring offense, averaging 36.5 points per game; and first in time of possession, holding the ball for almost 10 minutes per game more than their opponent. When they're on defense, it's the same story: third in scoring defense, giving up less than 22 points per game; and first in total defense, yielding just more than 352 yards per game.
What the 4-5 Buffs need to do to flip those stats:
Contain McCaffrey: Do-everything running back Christian McCaffrey is a Heisman Trophy candidate for a reason. He's the Cardinal's leading rusher and leading receiver, and he leads the nation in all-purpose yardage.
It's no secret that Stanford's success is hinged closely to McCaffrey's production. Only one opponent this season has limited McCaffrey to less than 100 yards in total offense. In the season opener, he managed just 89 yards offense (66 rushing, 23 receiving), and Northwestern claimed a 16-6 win. Since then, McCaffrey has posted seven straight games with at least 100 yards offense, and six straight with at least 100 yards on the ground.
Granted, it's easier said than done, but if the Buffs can keep McCaffrey in check, they'll have a much better chance of eliminating some of those long Stanford drives and getting the Cardinal offense off the field. Washington State did a good job of containing McCaffrey last week — he had just 107 yards rushing — and came within a missed field goal of upsetting the Cardinal.
If the Buffs contain McCaffrey, it puts the game in the hands of quarterback Kevin Hogan, an efficient dual-threat guy. Hogan had just 86 yards passing against Washington State, but ran for a team-leading 112 yards. WSU sacked him four times and picked off one of his passes by keeping him under pressure all night, another reason the Cougars were in the game until the bitter end. If the Buffs can do the same, they can make it a four-quarter game.
Produce long offensive drives. The best way to keep McCaffrey and Hogan in check is to keep them on the sidelines.
CU is just one of just 17 teams in the nation with more than half of its touchdown drives consuming two minutes or less off the clock. That's a great stat if you're trying to come from behind — as the Buffs did against Arizona and UCLA — but not the perfect way to run time off the clock and keep the opposing offense off the field. If the Buffs can produce sustained, time-consuming drives, they'll be in the game down the stretch.
Win the red zone. The Buffs have had no problem reaching the red zone this year, penetrating the opponent's 20-yard line 39 times.
But, they've produced only 21 touchdowns on those drives and have come up empty four times — including three turnovers.
Last week, the Buffs had two 16-play drives produce nothing when they lost the ball inside the 10 on an interception and missed a field goal. It will be absolutely imperative for them to pound the ball into the end zone Saturday when the opportunity arises.
Stop big plays. Yep, this is still on the list because it's still an issue for the Buffs. The Buffs have given up 48 plays of at least 20 yards this year, and eight touchdown plays of 38 yards or more. The big-play list includes last week's 82-yard touchdown run by UCLA's Paul Perkins, a 51-yard pass that set up another touchdown and a 38-yard touchdown pass.
Those are the types of plays that have doomed the Buffs in nearly every loss this season. Eliminate those and the Buffs have a much, much better chance of winning.
Run the ball. Technically, this is an extension of the long drives item, but it's something the Buffs have yet to do consistently.
Last week, they surpassed the 200-yard mark on the ground for the first time in Pac-12 play — but they still came up short in too many third-and-short situations, particularly in the red zone. The Buffs had a chance to pound the ball and establish an identity, but let that opportunity slip away.
Stanford's rush defense is stout — second in the conference, giving up just 128.6 yards per game. But part of that number can be attributed to the fact that most teams have been forced to throw while playing catch-up. Northwestern ran for 225 yards on the Cardinal because the Wildcats trailed only once — 3-0, early in the game.
If the Buffs can establish a consistent running game early, they can keep the tempo of the game in their control.
