Colorado University Athletics
Thursday's Fast Five: Keys For Buffs Vs. Huskies
December 01, 2016 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — For the Colorado Buffaloes, every game this season has seemingly been for bigger stakes.
This week is no different.
Friday, Mike MacIntyre's 10-2 Colorado Buffaloes (No. 8 CFP, No. 9 AP) will square off with No. 4 Washington in the 7 p.m. Pac-12 Championship game at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
A win will guarantee the Buffs of at least a berth in the Rose Bowl while also keeping alive their long-shot chances of landing a spot in the College Football Playoffs semifinals. A loss would not eliminate them from Rose Bowl contention, but would enhance the likelihood of a berth in the Cotton or Alamo bowls.
But while the future after Friday is unknown, the Buffs do know this much: they will almost certainly have to play their best game of the year against the Huskies to produce a win.
Friday's game will be the Buffs' second this season against the nation's fourth-ranked team. In Week 3, the Buffs lost a 45-28 decision at Michigan, a game the Buffs led 28-24 in the third quarter when quarterback Sefo Liufau was injured.
To win Friday, they'll have to finish what they started way back in September. The keys to Friday's game for CU:
1. Disrupt Huskies quarterback Jake Browning. The Washington sophomore has enjoyed a spectacular season, throwing for 3,162 yards, 40 touchdowns and just seven interceptions while completing 65 percent of his passes (214-for-329).
But while he's been almost-perfect, he has hit some bumps in the road. In the Huskies' only loss, a 26-13 defeat at home to USC, Browning was just 17-for-37 for 259 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. It was the only game this year in which he threw more interceptions than touchdowns and his only game when he completed fewer than 50 percent of his attempts.
The Trojans made it happen by playing a good deal of man-to-man coverage and disrupting Browning in the pocket. USC had three sacks in the game — the second-most by an Washington opponent this season — and two came from outside linebacker Porter Gustin, meaning the Trojans got pressure off the edge.
Browning's other sub-par game came against Arizona, when the Wildcats sacked him four times and picked off a pass in a game the Huskies won in overtime.
The Buffs need to manufacture a similar effort, but it won't be easy. The Huskies have given up just 18 sacks all year. It will likely mean some creativity from CU defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt, who loves to bring pressure from unexpected places.
If the Buffs can produce some pressure and knock Browning off his "spot," it will go a long way in reducing his impact.
2. Control the clock on offense. CU's "spread" offense is actually more of a hybrid, one in which they utilize not only the running of Phillip Lindsay, but also the legs of quarterback Sefo Liufau. Earlier this week, UW coach Chris Petersen gushed about the "toughness" and "durability" of Liufau, who adds another dimension to CU's offense.
When the running game is successful, the Buffs are able to eat up some clock and keep their defense rested. Against the highest-scoring team in the Pac-12, it will be important to keep CU's defense as fresh as possible, particularly the defensive backs, who will be chasing a bevy of fleet-footed wide receivers all night long.
Conversely, a running game can also wear out a defense. We've seen it happen more than once this year, when the Buffs simply wore down foes in the second half by grinding out long scoring drives. It's also one reason CU's defense has been fresh in the second half and kept opponents' scoring in the third and fourth quarters to a mininum.
One factor in the Buffs' favor this week is on the injury front. The Huskies have lost two of their top defenders to injury this year, linebackers Azeem Victor and Joe Mathis. Victor, injured in Week 10, still leads the team in tackles and his absence in the middle leaves a hole in Washington's run defense.
The Buffs will also have to throw the ball successfully. But they need to establish the run first to keep UW's defense honest. If they do that, it will be another important piece to the puzzle.
3. Manage the moment. This is one thing the Buffs have done well all year. They weren't intimidated in the "Big House" in Michigan; they ignored the noise at Oregon's raucous Autzen Stadium; and they didn't let the pressure of clinching a Pac-12 South title affect their performance last week against Utah.
It is a credit to the upperclassmen, who have provided strong leadership throughout the year. They've kept a narrow focus and a sense of composure each week, and as the noise from the outside has grown, they've managed to tune it out.
There will no doubt be some butterflies in their bellies Friday night. This is quite clearly the biggest game any of the Buffs have played in during their college careers, and some early nervous moments are to be expected.
But nobody in the CU locker room, from the coaches on down, expect those nerves to last. Rather, head coach Mike MacIntyre has encouraged his players to enjoy the moment — then play some solid football. The Buffs have displayed great poise and composure all year, and there's no reason to expect anything different on Friday.
(It's also worth noting that the Huskies will no doubt be experiencing similar nerves, as this is also their first appearance in the Pac-12 title game.)
4. Don't give up big plays on special teams. By this point in the season, this is a given — but after Utah had a punt return for a touchdown last week and nearly followed that with a kick return for a score, it's worth mentioning again.
In tight games, big special teams plays can be the momentum shift that makes the difference. The Buffs survived those miscues against Utah because the punt return came early and Chidobe Awuzie prevented the kick return from being a touchdown and the defense then produced a goal-line stand.
The Huskies have a very capable punt returner in Dante Pettis, who has two touchdown returns this year. The Buffs have to make sure Pettis doesn't break a big one Friday.
The Huskies, though, haven't exactly distinguished themselves in other special teams area. They are 12th in the league in net punting (Colorado is 11th) and the two teams are separated by only a yard in kick coverage.
The Buffs are also capable of big plays on special teams, and they seem to have found some consistency in their field goal kicking. If they can keep this area relatively even Friday, it will be a plus for the Buffs.
5. Win the turnover battle. The Buffs have actually won some games this year when they've lost the turnover battle. It hasn't been a requisite for a win.
But the Huskies are outstanding on both sides of the turnover equation: they've forced the most defensive takeaways in the league this year (30) and they have given the ball away the fewest number of times (12) for a differential of 18, far and away the largest in the conference. They thrive on forcing mistakes and taking advantage of them — and they don't give the opponent many opportunities to do the same. It's a big reason they are 11-1.
The Buffs have survived some games this year when they've made mistakes. But against a team the caliber of Washington, every mistake will be magnified. The team that makes the fewest miscues has the best chance of coming away with a Pac-12 title.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
