Brooks: Tuesday Tidbits

THE CONFIDENCE FACTOR: By most accounts, Mike MacIntyre's third CU team is better equipped for Pac-12 competition than his first two. One of the big reasons, claim players and coaches, is confidence.

In seasons past, said junior quarterback Sefo Liufau, the Buffs "haven't really been confident" going into games such as Saturday night's against Oregon. That's changed, he added, "But now we have to go out and prove it."

MacIntyre has sensed more confidence – along with tangible proof of more depth and talent – since last spring. "I've said all along that this team will win a lot of games . . . that (players) believe in themselves," he said.

Although the Buffs overran Nicholls State 48-0 on Saturday, they were down seven starters. Even against an overmatched FCS opponent, MacIntyre said under those same circumstances his first CU team would have had difficulty winning.

Safety Jered Bell, a sixth-year senior, also has noticed more confidence among the 2015 Buffs. But confidence, he added, has to be nurtured from a competitive spirit that he believes has to be present all along.

"You can't call yourself a true competitor if you go in (to a game) thinking you're going to lose," Bell said.

SHOCK, AWE OVER AWESOME 'W': Utah's 62-20 dismantling of the Ducks on Saturday night might have some Buffs fans thinking Oregon is shell-shocked, on the ropes, and ripe to be rolled again.

MacIntyre doesn't want even a hint of those thoughts in his locker room. Truth is, he shouldn't have any trouble shutting them out. Oregon has owned CU since the Buffs joined the Pac-12 in 2011, winning four games by a 216-42 margin.

Moreover, the Buffs were winless in conference play last season (0-9) and lug an 11-game league losing streak into Saturday night's Pac-12 opener.

MacIntyre says Oregon's three-point loss (31-28) earlier this month at No. 2 Michigan State should silence the Ducks detractors. And while he's a believer in the Utes, he also says last Saturday's blowout in Eugene was an "everything-went-right" kind of night for Utah.

"It was one of those night where everything clicked," he said, noting that two or three plays got Utah's snowball rolling and Oregon simply couldn't slow it down.

"To me, Oregon is still a top ten team and Utah is a top ten team," MacIntyre said. Pollsters don't agree on the Ducks; they're out of the AP Top 25 this week for the first time in 98 weeks, but the USA Today (coaches) poll has them tied with California at No. 24.

Utah, meanwhile, is No. 10 in the AP voting and No. 12 according to the coaches.

MacIntyre, Liufau and his teammates don't believe the Ducks will show up at Folsom Field feeling vulnerable. Instead, the general consensus is they'll be smoldering.

Liufau expects "a hungry" Oregon team. "They'll come to play . . . Oregon lost in a big way (to Utah) but I feel like they're a good team with playmakers on offense, defense and special teams."

MacIntyre adds "mad" to Liufau's hungry and notes, "They'll come in thinking they're going to beat us like in years past."

THEIR ONE KEY TO A 'W': MacIntyre, Liufau and Bell were asked to list one key to defeating the Ducks. Their answers (and MacIntyre didn't stop at one):

MacIntyre: "Not give up sacks, don't turn ball over, create turnovers on defense and tackle Royce Freeman – he's a beast." (Freeman is the Ducks, 5-10, 230-pound running back. He's averaging 112.5 yards a game, third in the Pac-12.)

Liufau: "If we do not turn the ball over, speaking from the offensive perspective obviously, if we don't turn the ball over I think we have a really good shot at beating Oregon." (Liufau hasn't thrown an interception since the Hawai'i loss, or in his last 105 attempts.)

Bell: "Stop No. 21 (Freeman) . . . he's a phenomenal player." (And for the record, Bell says unlike in past Oregon-CU games, the Ducks will encounter a more experienced Buffs defense that features "more athletes who can compete with these guys. I like to think the DBs are the strength of our defense; put the game in our hands and we can take care of it."

SAME SONG, DIFFERENT VERSE: MacIntyre recounted that former CU coach Bill McCartney told Michael Westbrook in 1994 that Westbrook's career receiving yardage record (2,548) would stay intact for 20 years.

Mac I was off by one. The mark stood for 21 years; Nelson Spruce eased past Westbrook's record on Saturday. Spruce now has 2,570 receiving yards and nine games remaining.

Westbrook texted Spruce Saturday night, congratulated him on breaking the record and told Spruce, according to Mac II, that Spruce's mark "will last 20 years."

CU INJURY UPDATE: MacIntyre said the status of running backs Michael Adkins II and Patrick Carr for Oregon could be determined Wednesday. Both missed last weekend's game . . . . Linebacker Addison Gillam hasn't played in two weeks and isn't likely to play this week. "He's better but I'm not sure he'll play," MacIntyre said . . . . There was no update on defensive end Derek McCartney or defensive tackle Leo Jackson III. Both sat out the Nicholls State game.

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU