Buffs Begin Preparation For Minutemen's Air Attack

BOULDER — For the second week in a row, the Colorado Buffaloes will face an opponent that will be playing its first game of the season.

In normal circumstances, that would make it difficult for the Buffs and head coach Mike MacIntyre to prepare for this week's game — but these are not normal circumstances. The Buffs are already quite familiar with their opponent.

After all, it was only a year ago the Buffs saw all they wanted from the University of Massachusetts and the Minutemen's standout quarterback, Blake Frohnapfel. The Buffs barely escaped Foxborough with a win last year, overcoming a 31-20 third-quarter deficit to take a 41-38 victory.

This week, the Buffs will see UMass and Frohnapfel again, when the Minutemen march into Folsom Field for a noon contest Saturday. The game, to be televised by the Pac-12 Networks, will be the Buffs' home opener and the Minutemen's season opener.

It's the "season opener" part that has MacIntyre concerned. While there's no doubt a degree of familiarity with UMass, there's no way of knowing what wrinkles the Minutemen have added in the offseason. UMass coach Mark Whipple, who led the Minutemen to the 1998 FCS national title, left the school in 2003 and served as an assistant with the Steelers, Eagles and Browns, as well the University of Miami, before returning to coach UMass again in 2014.

At each stop, he's earned a reputation as an offensive guru. Last season, the Minutemen were the No. 11 passing team in the country.

"That's two weeks in a row we've opened up really kind of blind, which makes it tougher for us," MacIntyre said after Sunday evening's practice. "Of course, they got to see us play. … It helps to have some familiarity, but I don't know if they've changed a bunch of stuff or not. We'll see in the first quarter and go from there."

The Minutemen are in just their third full year of FBS play and finished fifth in the Eastern Division of the Mid-American Conference a year ago with a 3-5 record (3-9 overall). They also are coming off a season similar to the one the Buffs experienced in 2014: in five of their nine losses, they were leading or tied in the fourth quarter.

"They've got a good football team," MacIntyre said. "Coach (Mark) Whipple does a good job. They've got a really good quarterback who can really throw it, and they've got an excellent receiver. Defensively, they've got a really good corner (Randall Jette, who had an interception against CU last year) and some excellent linebackers."

A year ago, the 6-foot-5, 230-pound Frohnapfel threw for 267 yards and three touchdowns against the Buffs. For the season, he finished with 3,345 yards and 23 touchdowns. His favorite receiver from a year ago, Tajae Sharpe, is also back. Sharpe caught 85 passes for 1,281 yards and seven touchdowns last season, and had a five-catch, 83-yard day against the Buffs.

Overall, the Minutemen return their starting quarterback, their top two rushers, four of their top five receivers and their entire offensive line from a team that rang up 38 points and 372 yards in total offense a year ago.

The Buffs began implementing their UMass game plan at Sunday's practice, one that will no doubt make Frohnapfel and his receivers the focus. But while it's the second week in a row the Buffs will see a big, strong-armed quarterback, the UMass attack is different than the one CU saw last week in Hawai'i with quarterback Max Wittek.

"They're more of a pro-style-type dropback, a little more depth in the pocket," MacIntyre said. "We're going to have to affect him some for us to be successful."

The Buffs did get two sacks against UMass last season, and also intercepted Frohnapfel once. A Tedric Thompson interception midway through the fourth quarter helped keep the Minutemen at bay.

Offensively, the Buffs had an excellent day against UMass last season. Quarterback Sefo Liufau completed 26 of 42 attempts for 318 yards and three touchdowns, with wide receiver Nelson Spruce hauling in 10 of those passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns.

INJURY UPDATE: MacIntyre said he wasn't sure if linebacker/nickelback Jaleel Awini would be available for the UMass game. Awini was penciled in as a starter against Hawai'i, but suffered a quadriceps injury walking down steps from class and has been out of action since.

"Hopefully he'll be able to play this week," MacIntyre said.

MacIntyre also said he expected starting guard Gerrad Kough to be ready to play this week. Kough injured an ankle in the Hawai'i game in the first half. "He should be ready to go," MacIntyre said.

ON CARR: MacIntyre said the decision not to redshirt true freshman running back Patrick Carr was not a difficult one. Carr had a standout fall camp, and is expected to see some playing time as the year progresses.

"He's going to play more and more," MacIntyre said. "Running backs get beat up and he'll play more and more as the year goes along for us."

Carr made his debut against Hawai'i, lining up once for a kick return, but choosing to down the ball in the end zone after briefly fumbling the kick.

BLOOM IN THE BOOTH: Former Buff standout Jeremy Bloom will provide color commentary for Saturday's Pac-12 Networks broadcast of the game. Josh Lewin will be on the play-by-play call and Drea Avent will be reporting from the sidelines.

This week will be Bloom's only appearance in the booth this fall. He'll spend the rest of his weekends providing analysis in the studio for the network's halftime shows.

THIS WEEK: The Buffs will begin their regular schedule this week, taking Monday off before practicing each day the rest of the week.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu