Colorado University Athletics
Woelk: Upon Further Review For Buffs ...
September 14, 2015 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Roughly 24 hours after the Colorado Buffaloes notched their first victory of the season, they were back on the practice fields Sunday afternoon, beginning preparations for next weekend's Rocky Mountain Showdown.
There's no doubt the Buffaloes remember last year's disappointing 31-17 loss to in-state rival Colorado State in the Showdown. The Buffs let a 17-7 third-quarter lead in that game slip away, setting the tone for a season in which the Buffs ended up seeing too many similar results.
But if nothing else, this year's set-up for the game is much, much different than most years.
Instead of the game being the season opener — which is more often than not the case — it's the third game of the year for both squads. The Buffs are coming off a commanding 48-14 win over UMass; the Rams are still smarting from Saturday's heartbreaking 23-20 overtime loss to Minnesota. Both teams will now have had ample opportunity to see current game film on the other.
The Rams led for much of Saturday's game, only to see Minnesota take a 20-17 lead with just more than two minutes remaining. CSU came back to kick a field goal and send the contest into overtime, but a CSU fumble on the Rams' first possession gave Minnesota the opportunity to kick the game-winning field goal in overtime.
CSU used a pair of quarterbacks in the game, as head coach Mike Bobo turned to backup Coleman Key midway through the third quarter after starter Nick Stevens was ineffective for much of the game. It's also not known whether the Rams will have star receiver Rashard Higgins available; Higgins did not play in the Minnesota game because of an ankle injury.
CU head coach Mike MacIntyre wasted no time in starting his Colorado State preparation, taking the opportunity to review the CSU game Saturday night.
"Unbelievable game; a game that CSU should have won," MacIntyre said after Sunday's practice. "I thought it was a heck of a football game. I honestly felt bad for CSU losing like that. It was a tough game for them to lose."
But MacIntyre also had time to watch a replay of his team's win over the Minutemen — and while he definitely saw plenty of things to like, he also saw plenty of areas that needed improvement.
"There were a lot of mistakes we made in that football game," MacIntyre said. "We really need to improve this week to be able to beat CSU."
Here's one last look at the UMass game:
ON THE RUN: After two games, the Buffs have rushed for 605 yards. That's nearly one-third of their season total from a year ago (1,855) and their per-game average of 302.5 yards is nearly double last year's average (154.6).
Nobody's expecting them to continue to put up those kinds of numbers, but MacIntyre made it clear the Buffs plan to keep running the ball until someone stops them.
"If you can run the football consistently like that, you've got a good chance of winning a lot of football games," MacIntyre said. "We're going to play some teams and they're going to stop the run some and we'll be able to throw it. But they're going to have to commit to stop the run."
LIUFAU'S GOT LEGS: When the season began, the Buffs weren't exactly planning on using quarterback Sefo Liufau as a running threat. But when Hawai'i forced him to scramble, he proved he can make things happen with his legs.
Against the Minutemen, the Buffs dialed up several designed runs for Liufau, including a quarterback draw that produced a 7-yard touchdown run. It was the first rushing touchdown of Liufau's career, and surprisingly, came before his first touchdown pass of the year (he had 28 last season).
Liufau finished with 36 yards rushing on eight carries, and he was not sacked once in the game. It won't be a surprise if the Buffs continue to use Liufau as a threat in the running game.
Liufau, by the way, is now among that rare group of players who has thrown for a touchdown, run for one and caught a touchdown pass (he had a 7-yard TD reception from Nelson Spruce last year against Arizona).
RARITY: Saturday was the 1,200th game in Colorado football history, and the Buffs improved their all-time record to 682-482-36.
But it was also an extremely rare moment in CU history: for only the 17th time in Buff football annals, CU did not give up a sack or turn the ball over to the opposition.
DEFENSE: While the Minutemen did rack up an impressive 397 yards in total offense, the number that mattered most was the 14 UMass put on the scoreboard — particularly when you consider virtually the exact same offense scored 38 on CU a year ago.
Holding anyone to 14 points in this day and age is a solid defensive effort. While yardage totals look pretty, points are the stat that counts.
Example: A year ago, the Oregon Ducks were the nation's 87th ranked team in total defense, giving up nearly 430 yards per game. Ouch, right?
But in scoring defense, the Ducks were a very respectable 30th in the nation. They gave up yards, but not points. If the Buffs continue to do the same, nobody's going to complain.
TAKEAWAYS VS. TURNOVERS: A year ago, the Buffs were a minus-10 in turnover differential, giving the ball away 21 times and taking it away from the opposition only 10 times.
Already this season, CU's defense has three interceptions — matching last year's total — and a fumble recovery, while the offense has turned it over three times, putting the Buffs into positive territory in a very important category. If they can continue that trend next Saturday, it will be another nice step forward.
Colorado State, by the way, has shown a tendency to turn the ball over thus far: the Rams had five turnovers in their opening win over Savannah State (four fumbles, one interception) and four more against Minnesota (two of each).
WALKER TIMES TWO: The pancake block thrown by wide receiver Lee Walker on Christian Powell's 35-yard touchdown run got plenty of attention Saturday, and for good reason: it was a spectacular effort.
But also turning in a nice effort was defensive back John Walker, who came in when starter Ahkello Witherspoon struggled. Unofficial press box statistics credited John Walker with three tackles, and it was his perfect hit on UMass running back Shadrac Abrokwah that forced a big fumble early in the third quarter.
"John's physical for his size," MacIntyre said. "He's powerful."
YOUNGSTERS: A host of Buffs made their first appearances in a game for CU, including true freshmen Patrick Carr and N.J. Falo. Carr carried 10 times for 55 yards, including an outstanding 36-yard burst around the corner. Falo was credited with a tackle assist.
ALL-PURPOSE LINDSAY: Lost a little in the shuffle of 100-yard games from Michael Adkins II and Powell was the performance of Phillip Lindsay. The sophomore running back carried the ball 10 times for 73 yards (a hefty 7.3 average per carry), caught two passes for 48 yards and had a kick return for 18 yards.
He also had the longest run (37 yards) and reception (34) of the day for CU, and now 240 yards on 23 touches this year — meaning he's averaging 10.4 yards every time he touches the ball.
NOT WORRIED ABOUT PASSING GAME: In two games this year, the Buffs have a total of 324 yards passing (162 per game). That's a far cry from last season, when they averaged nearly 285 yards per game in the air.
MacIntyre, though, isn't worried.
"We haven't thrown it as much," he said. "If we need to throw it 50 times a game to win it, I'll bet you our passing game will look good."
Liufau threw the ball just 24 times against the Minutemen, the second-fewest attempts in his career in games he's started (he threw just 20 times against Charleston Southern as a freshman).
MISSED TACKLES: A concern for the Buffs for two games now has been missed tackles, particularly in the secondary, allowing opponents to turn short gains into long ones.
"We have to drive on it and wrap it up," said cornerback Ken Crawley. "It's something we'll correct."
Crawley was credited with a team-leading eight tackles Saturday.
GOOD PLAY FROM GAMBOA: Redshirt freshman Rick Gamboa has had two solid appearances as a reserve inside linebacker. The 6-0, 230-pounder was in on three tackles in Hawaii, including a quarterback sack for zero yards; and while he was credited with just one tackle against UMass, it was for a 2-yard loss. In both games, he's proven to be a stout defender in the middle.
"Rick's a really heady football player," MacIntyre said. "He's very physical, understands the game and has gotten himself into phenomenal shape. We trust Rick out there completely."
SPECIAL TEAMS: CU kicker Diego Gonzalez continues to be consistently on target, as he is now 4-for-4 on field goal tries this year.
Punter Alex Kinney, however, started off slowly again with a 16-yarder against UMass, before rebounding to get off a nice 46-yarder on his next attempt. Kinney also had a nice kick inside the UMass 20 that was downed at the 12-yard line.
PASS PROTECTION: While the Buffs didn't give up a sack, Liufau did have to scramble from the pocket on a couple occasions and also had to hurry a couple of throws. The Buffs have been outstanding in their run blocking, but this is an area they believe they need to continue to improve.
Colorado State had just one sack against Minnesota.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
