Colorado University Athletics
Woelk: Leavitt Sees Progress In Buffs' Defense
September 23, 2015 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — When Jim Leavitt took the job as Colorado's defensive coordinator, he warned there would be no overnight fixes. He didn't come equipped with a magic wand, and he knew there are no silver bullets in college football — not at least, at the Power Five level, where just about everyone's offense is loaded for bear.
But Leavitt and the man who hired him, CU head coach Mike MacIntyre, did believe there was potential for improvement — and thus far, their optimism is proving to be warranted.
"We're getting there," Leavitt said earlier this week. "We're not good enough yet, not by any stretch of the imagination. But you see glimmers of hope, places where we're doing some good things."
Those "glimmers" would include such situations as the overtime red zone stand against Colorado State in last weekend's 27-24 CU win. Glimmers such as six defensive takeaways in the first three games, including an interception returned for a touchdown; and times when the run defense has played well.
Statistics back up that optimism, and while it's not wise to put too much stock in early season numbers, they are still one way to at least get a rough gauge of where a team stands. In CU's case, that gauge looks a whole lot better than a year ago, when the Buffs were among the nation's lowest ranked defenses in almost every category.
In some of the areas, the improvement is nominal.The Buffs are 66th in rushing defense (155 yards per game), 87th in passing yards allowed (244.7 per game) and 83rd in total defense (399.7 per game). While nothing to write home about, those numbers are still an improvement over a year ago.
But of the defensive statistics that matter most, the Buffs have improved significantly.
In turnover margin, the Buffs are tied for 23rd nationally at a plus-3. Given that they finished last year at a minus-10 — a year in which they finished with three interceptions in 12 games — that's a big step forward.
And, in the most important defensive statistic of all, the Buffs are 57th in the nation in scoring defense, yielding an average of 22 points per game. This season, they've held three consecutive opponents under 30 points — something they haven't done since early in the 2010 season.
"We've made some plays," Leavitt said. "Sometimes, we do some good things, like stopping the run. We've been pretty dang good at that at times. Really, they (CSU) had that one big run play, that toss sweep. You take that away, we had a decent day against the run."
Indeed, while the Rams did finish with 218 yards on 49 carries, nearly 20 percent of those yards came on one play, when Dalyn Dawkins gashed the Buffs on a 42-yard scamper. Take that away, and the Rams would have finished with a much more pedestrian 176 yards on 48 carries — a 3.6-yard average.
But the part of the CSU game that still left Leavitt shaking his head came just after linebacker Kenneth Olugbode returned an interception 60 yards for a score. Immediately thereafter, the Rams answered with a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive to tie the game at 24-24.
"If we would've stopped them on that drive, that would have been icing on the cake," Leavitt said. "We should've gotten a three-and-out there, but we didn't. We gave up some big plays. We caused our own problems."
Still, Leavitt's defense did rise to the occasion when it mattered most. After a penalty put the ball on the CU 12 in overtime, the Buffs delivered three big stops in a row, forcing the Rams to attempt a field goal that the Buffs blocked.
That might be one of the biggest differences of all in this year's defense: the mental aspect. A year ago, the Buffs faded in those overtime situations, losing a pair of contests in extra time. This year, they provided a different ending — one of Leavitt's glimmers of hope.
"When I took this job, I knew it would be a haul, a process," Leavitt said. "I didn't say we'd be all-world right away. What you have to remember is, this is the third scheme these guys have learned in three years. That's not easy, that's tough. They've done a great job with that, they're working hard and they'll get better."
No doubt, it's early — much too early — to issue any kind of overarching judgment of the CU defense. The Buffs haven't even hit the meat of their schedule, and they won't for another week. Directly on the horizon is one last nonconference affair, a Saturday home matchup with FCS foe Nicholls (11:30 a.m., Pac-12 Networks), a game the Buffs are expected to win. But that rumble of thunder on the distant horizon, the one that starts the big-boy portion of the Buffs' schedule, is defending Pac-12 champ Oregon.
Two weeks from today, we'll know much more about the CU defense. We'll know how they matched up against one of the nation's most potent offenses.
But today, at least, we know there are positive signs, indications that the defense is improving. Those glimmers of hope, as Leavitt calls them, are no doubt a welcome light for Buffs fans.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
