Woelk: Buffs Still Respect Ducks, Other Notes

BOULDER — Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre and his players had a simple message Sunday afternoon:

Oregon is still a very good football team. Despite the 62-20 beatdown the Ducks suffered at the hands of Utah on Saturday night in Eugene, the Buffs are making it very clear they have nothing but the utmost respect for a team that has manhandled CU the last four seasons in a row.

"Utah's very good," MacIntyre said after Sunday evening's practice, one in which the Buffs began working on their game plan for Saturday night's nationally televised encounter with the Ducks at Folsom Field (8 p.m., ESPN). "They kind of got on a role. (But) Oregon is still an excellent football team. They've got speed, they've got athleticism, they've got a lot of good football players."

It's not the first time in the Mark Helfrich era at Oregon that the Ducks have suffered a lopsided loss. Just two years ago, an unbeaten and fifth-ranked Oregon team went to Arizona and absorbed a 42-16 loss in the desert.

But no doubt, there's an obvious difference in this 2-2 Ducks team that fell from the AP Top 25 this week — namely no Marcus Mariota at quarterback. The 3-1 Buffs, meanwhile, will enter the game with more confidence than in any of their recent encounters with Oregon, thanks to a three-game winning streak, their best in MacIntyre's three seasons in Boulder.

"We're excited about starting the Pac-12," MacIntyre said. "Oregon is kind of the benchmark of the Pac-12 over the last few years, them and Stanford. Playing them in our home opener is exciting for us. I know Oregon wants to get back on the winning trail after the other night, so it's going to be a great game."

LEE STILL AT RB: MacIntyre also said Donovan Lee would continue to practice at running back this week. Lee, a sophomore who has spent most of his time as a slot receiver at Colorado, moved to running back last week after two running backs — Michael Adkins II and Patrick Carr — were injured and could not play.

Lee carried 10 times for 103 yards in the 48-0 win over Nicholls, including an electrifying 59-yard touchdown run. MacIntyre said Lee will continue to practice at running back — at least in the near future — but could also continue to line up at slot receiver.

"He can do both," MacIntyre said. "Donovan's very capable. He'll do well running in the Pac-12 in the backfield and we might have to put him back at receiver. He's a very good dual athlete for us that can make some plays for us for sure."

MacIntyre said he wouldn't know the status of Carr and Adkins until later this week.

MISSING STARTERS: At least six players who had started or played regularly in the first three games did not play against Nicholls. The list included Adkins, Carr, linebacker Addison Gillam, defensive end Leo Jackson III, defensive end/linebacker Derek McCartney and offensive tackle Jeromy Irwin.

Irwin is out for the season after suffering a knee injury in the second game of the season. Gillam also hasn't played since the UMass game, but MacIntyre has expressed hope that he'll be back soon. The status of the others should be known later in the week.

"We've got more depth," MacIntyre said. "We had seven starters that didn't play Saturday. That's something I don't think they've been able to do around here in a while."

YOUNGSTERS IN ACTION: Four of the top eight tacklers from Saturday's game were true freshmen, redshirt freshmen or sophomores. Redshirt freshman linebacker Rick Gamboa led all tacklers with six stops and an assist while redshirt freshman Michael Mathewes was next with four solo tackles and an assist. Sophomore linebacker Christian Shaver had three solos and an assist and true freshman defensive back Isaiah Oliver had three unassisted tackles.

It was Mathewes' first start of his career and while Oliver did not start, he saw plenty of playing time.

"Michael keeps getting better," MacIntyre said. "He got stronger and bigger over the offseason. Isaiah is a true freshman that comes in very talented, long, athletic and extremely tough for a corner. I'm excited about Isaiah's future. I thought both of those guys did well."

MORE MAC ON PUNTS? While coaches haven't made any final decisions, special teams coach Toby Neinas said after Saturday's game that it's possible redshirt freshman Jay MacIntyre could see more time returning punts.

MacIntyre stepped in for Nelson Spruce in the role midway through Saturday's game, and had two returns for 35 yards, including a 31-yarder that was CU's longest punt return since 2010. His 35 yards also more than doubled CU's punt return production on nine previous returns this season (14 yards on nine returns).

"I don't see why we wouldn't use him again," Neinas said. "He's very quick, he's got good speed and good hands. It definitely allows us to spread the workload around."

Spruce has been the Buffs' most dependable returner, but Mike MacIntyre has said they'd like to reduce Spruce's returns if possible in order to limit the hits he takes.

SCORING DEFENSE: The Buffs are now 23rd in the nation in scoring defense, giving up just 16.5 points per game. They've held all four opponents to 28 points or less this season.

RED ZONE OFFENSE: One area MacIntyre said the Buffs definitely needed to improve is red zone offense.

The Buffs scored on just five of their nine drives inside the 20 Saturday, with the empty possessions including a fumble and a missed field goal. The Buffs have now committed two turnovers in the red zone this year, and have come away empty seven times.

TURNOVER RATIO: Overall, the Buffs' turnover ratio continues to grow, as CU's defense has produced nine takeaways this year while the offense has given it away just four times. The Buffs are now tied for 16th in the nation in turnover ratio, averaging 1.25 more takeaways than giveaways per game.

QB SACKS: While quarterback Sefo Liufau has yet to put up the big numbers CU fans became accustomed to a year ago, he's also reduced his numbers in two key areas:

Liufau has now gone three games without an interception, and he hasn't been sacked in the last three games.

Much of that is due to two things: Liufau is better at avoiding the rush and he's making better decisions. Instead of forcing passes where it would be unwise, he's simply throwing it away. While Liufau was the first to admit Saturday that he missed some open receivers, CU coaches are also pleased with his decision making process thus far.

SILVER AND BLACK: The Buffs are calling Saturday's game against Oregon the #SilverAndBlackAttack and asking fans to help "stripe" Folsom Field. Fans in even sections are asked to wear black and odd sections silver or gray. CU and the football student section, the Folsom Frenzy, is asking all students to wear silver or gray.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu