Colorado University Athletics
Wednesday's Fast Five: Keys For Buffs Vs. UCLA
November 02, 2016 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — After enduring two agonizingly close defeats to UCLA in the last two seasons, the No. 21 (AP) Colorado Buffaloes don't want to leave anything to chance Thursday night when the two teams square off at Folsom Field.
Unlike the last two years, however, the scripts are flipped in this matchup.
This year, it's the 6-2 Buffs (4-1 Pac-12) who are battling for a Pac-12 South title. The Bruins, meanwhile, a top-25 pick in the preseason, have struggled to a 3-5 overall record, are just 1-4 in the Pac-12 and are now battling for bowl eligibility.
UCLA has been battered by injuries. Quarterback Josh Rosen, a preseason first-team all-Pac-12 pick, has missed the Bruins' last two games with a shoulder injury and reports say he's out for the rest of the season. Now, the Bruins will turn to Mike Fafaul, who threw a school-record 70 passes in a 52-45 loss to Utah on Oct. 22.
But despite their recent struggles, the Bruins are a dangerous, talented team. Their offensive output against a strong Utah defense was impressive, and their defense — at least prior to the Utah game — has been a strength. Before the big output from Utah, the Bruins hadn't given up more than 27 points in their previous six games.
UCLA has played virtually everyone close. They took Texas A&M into overtime before losing their season opener and while the Bruins have lost their last three contests, they have all been one-score games. They were down 14-0 early to Utah and battled back, and they've been in just about every game they've played well into the fourth quarter.
They are also a team fighting for their bowl lives. UCLA has been to five straight bowl games and desperately needs a win Thursday to keep alive the hopes of making it six. They'll come to Boulder on a mission.
For the Buffs, it's the latest game in a "redemption tour" of sorts against teams that have dominated them since entering the Pac-12. UCLA leads the all-time series 9-2, including wins in the last five games, all coming since CU entered the Pac-12.
The Buffs haven't forgotten that. What they'll need to do to end that stretch:
1. Run the ball. Given that the Buffs are 6-0 this year when rushing for at least 200 yards — and 0-2 when held to under 100 on the ground — this is a rather obvious area.
But against the Bruins, it could turn out to be even more important.
UCLA has a solid pass defense, currently ranked third in the Pac-12 in yardage allowed and second in pass efficiency. The Bruins are seventh in the league in sacks (18) and they're tied for third in the conference in interceptions with nine. While they've had their troubles, pass defense hasn't been at the top of that list.
But UCLA's run defense is another matter. In their last game, the Bruins gave up 332 yards rushing and four touchdowns to one player, Utah's Joe Williams. The Ute senior had touchdown runs of 3, 43, 55 and 64 yards in the game as the Bruins ended up yielding 360 yards on the ground. Overall, they've given up 15 touchdowns on the ground and an average of 173 yards rushing per game.
It's an area the Buffs need to exploit in Thursday's game. If they can develop a running game and control the clock and tempo, they can take advantage of the altitude and keep UCLA's defense on its heels.
Do that, and the chances for a successful night are good.
2. Force some early 3-and-outs. Three-and-outs are always good for a defense, no matter when they come in a game. But for the Buffs, whose offense has displayed a great penchant for putting points on the board early in home games this year, some early three-and-outs will be a huge help to the offense.
In four games in Colorado this year (three in Boulder and one in Denver), the Buffs have outscored opponents by a whopping 140-16 in the first half. The offense has gotten a huge assist from the defense in that regard, as the defense as handed the ball to the offense on a regular basis.
Continue that trend Thursday night, and it will help in two regards. One, it will give the offense a chance to build an early lead and tire UCLA's defense early. That, in turn, will force the Bruins offense to play catch-up and put the ball in the air — something the Buffs should not only be ready for, but something their outstanding secondary would like to see happen.
3. Improve in the red zone. Everybody in Buffs nation remembers CU's red zone struggles in the 10-5 win at Stanford. Colorado came away empty on two trips inside the Stanford 20, with one of the scores just a field goal.
Buffs fans will also remember last year's trip to UCLA, when Colorado racked up an amazing 278 yards offense in the first half — and had just two field goals to show for the effort by intermission. Red zone woes and turnovers were a problem, and although the Buffs managed to rally in the second half, they still dropped a 35-31 decision.
The Buffs need to make sure that's not problem Thursday. With Colorado's kicking game still a big question mark, there's one simple answer, voiced quite succinctly by co-offensive coordinator Darrin Chiaverini after the Stanford game, "We need touchdowns instead of field goals."
4. Force UCLA to throw and come up with turnovers. On the surface, that shouldn't be much of a problem. In their last game, Bruins running backs ran the ball just 10 times and UCLA finished with just 46 yards rushing in the loss to Utah.
In that same game, quarterback Fafaul attempted 70 passes and completed 40 for 464 yards and five touchdowns. That was the good news for the Bruins. The bad news was that Fafaul also threw four interceptions, was sacked twice and lost a fumble.
The Buffs don't want UCLA to control the clock and game tempo with a running game. They'd rather take their chances with Fafaul throwing the ball against a CU secondary that is second in the Pac-12 with 11 interceptions this year — including three in the last game.
5. Continue to take care of the ball. One big difference in this team all season has been its ability not to give the opponent extra possessions because of turnovers. Buffs quarterback Sefo Liufau has attempted 135 passes this season and has not thrown an interception.
In eight games overall, the Buffs have turned it over just eight times while collecting 18 defensive takeaways — a margin of plus-10 that is second-best in the Pac-10. The offense has gone nine straight quarters without a turnover, and CU has had three games this year without a turnover.
There's nothing that can change momentum more quickly than a turnover. It's been a big part of CU's success this year on both sides of the ball.
If the Buffs can continue their string of games with at least one defensive takeaway (now at 21) and continue to take care of the ball on offense, it will go a long way in helping CU end that five-game losing streak to the Bruins.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
