Colorado University Athletics
Woelk: Buffs Want To Prove They Still Belong On Big Stage
September 19, 2017 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Saturday's rematch with defending Pac-12 champion Washington is not so much a matter of revenge for the Colorado Buffaloes as it is redemption.
No doubt the sting from last season's 41-10 loss to the Huskies in the Pac-12 title game still exists. The Buffs had an entire offseason to think about what happened in the game, and they've spent much of this week reminding themselves of what went wrong while watching film of their last meeting with the Huskies.
But what the Buffs want to accomplish now is prove they still belong on the conference's biggest stage. It just so happens the first step in that process will be a rematch of last year's conference title game when the No. 7 Huskies pay a visit to Folsom Field for an 8 p.m. conference opener for both teams (FS1).
"I think it's about proving to ourselves that we're capable of playing in the Pac-12 and we're capable of playing for a Pac-12 championship," Buffs cornerback Isaiah Oliver said at Tuesday's weekly press conference. "That starts this Saturday. Opening up Pac-12 play, we know we have to take our game to the next level. We're not really looking at it as a big game against Washington, we're looking at it as a big game in the Pac-12 as a whole. It wouldn't matter which team we're playing, just opening up Pac-12 play is a big deal for us."
While every player and coach will tell you that every game is important — because they are — there's no doubt the beginning of the conference season has added a little juice to CU's preparation this week.
"Today and yesterday that focus has showed," Buffs wide receiver Shay Fields said. "The offense was clicking, defense was clicking too. You could feel the sense of urgency that we had."
MacIntyre agreed that the intensity level has been ramped up just a notch this week.
"Any time you step up in the Pac-12 there's more added to it," MacIntyre said. "The game counts toward a conference championship, there's more at stake. … That's why they came here. They came here to be a Pac-12 football player and play in big games, play on Folsom Field, play on national television and play against the best. That's what you want to do. You want to step up play against the best and see if you can beat them."
The Huskies will provide exactly such a test, and the Buffs have a very good idea what they'll be seeing Saturday because they've spent the week reviewing last year's game.
"I would say the biggest gap was physicality, physicality from all phases of the game and all positions," Oliver said. "They came out more physical than us. We knew what they wanted to do, we knew they wanted to run the ball, and they were able to. And they were able to stop our run game. So I'd say that's what hurt us the most, that they were just much more physical than us."
The Huskies did indeed dominate the game, particularly in the second half. After taking a 14-7 lead after two quarters, they returned an interception early in the third quarter for a touchdown, then simply wore the Buffs down with a running game that finished with 265 yards.
"Basically with about 10 minutes left in the third quarter until the end of the game they just ran the ball down our throat," MacIntyre said. "They feasted on us when we got down since we had to throw it. They pretty much dominated us for the last 25 minutes of that game."
But the Buffs say last year's game film, while obviously not enjoyable to watch, has proven to be a valuable learning tool.
"It came down to (them) being more physical," said Buffs running back Phillip Lindsay, who was held to just 53 yards on 19 carries last year. "They had a great scheme and they came out there ready to play. We learned from it, it was a good learning experience for all of us. ... Now it's time for us to go out there and show what we've got."
The Buffs take an eight-game home winning streak into Saturday's game, a stretch that includes all six home games last year and two this season. It's CU's longest such win streak at Folsom Field since the 1993-95 seasons, when Colorado won 10 in a row at home.
"It's going to be exciting," Lindsay predicted. "Folsom Field is going to be really crazy, the fans are going to be loud, so it's going to be a great feeling. You're going to be able to see the Folsom magic play out at 8 o'clock. It's a later game, but we're going to be ready for it."
NOTHING PERSONAL: Colorado linebacker Drew Lewis played his first year of college ball at Washington after signing with the Huskies out of Eastlake High School near Seattle.
But Lewis, who transferred to Coffeyville CC after his freshman year at UW and then came to Colorado a year later, said his history with the Huskies isn't on his mind this week.
"I'm just going to treat it as another regular game," Lewis said. "We're going into Pac-12 play, so obviously we're going to up the ante a little bit, but we're just going to fall back on what we know — Colorado football."
Asked if there were any "personal" feelings involved, Lewis dismissed the possibility.
"Nothing personal," Lewis said. "I'm not looking at it like that. I want to treat it as another football game. I don't want to get my emotions mixed in."
RARE UW FUMBLE: CU's MacIntyre has always taken pride in his team's ability to limit fumbles, and his Buffs have usually been among the better teams in the conference in taking care of the ball.
But the Huskies are a prime example of the skill. When UW running back Myles Gaskin lost a fumble last week against Fresno State, it was the Huskies' first fumble by a running back since the 2015 season.
"We do a tremendous amount of drills with it every day," MacIntyre said. "We call it the 'Winning Edge,' it's a ball-security period. We do it every single practice and even do it before every game. … You're going to throw an interception every once in awhile. You'd like not to, but balls get tipped or somebody runs the wrong way. (But) you can control fumbles if you're carrying it correctly. … That's what we do and I'm pretty sure that Washington does something like that. We constantly stay on it. It's kind of like brushing your teeth. You better be brushing your teeth every day or nobody will talk to you. It's the same thing for carrying a football correctly."
DEFENSIVE PLAYMAKERS: After film review by CU's defensive coaches, Colorado's updated statistics have four players with at least 20 tackles: Drew Lewis with 35, Rick Gamboa with 27, Leo Jackson III with 21 and Evan Worthington with 20. Lewis is also tied with true freshman Jacob Callier for the team lead in quarterback hurries with four.
In the secondary, redshirt freshman cornerback Trey Udoffia has five pass breakups, followed by fellow corner Isaiah Oliver with four.
Jackson still leads the team in sacks with four.
BROWNING HEALTHY: In last year's game, UW quarterback Jake Browning wasn't a huge factor. Browning completed just nine of 24 passes for 118 yards, but he did have two touchdown throws. The Buffs also sacked Browning twice in the game.
"Their quarterback's throwing the ball better," MacIntyre said. "He was a little banged up going into our game last year I thought. Watching him as the season's gone along, he's throwing it really well."
Oliver said one of Browning's biggest assets is his decision-making ability.
"I would say his decision making is what makes him a great quarterback," Oliver said. "He rarely ever makes bad decisions. He puts the ball where it's supposed to be, usually where only his receivers can get it so he doesn't have a lot of turnovers. That's something that we saw a lot of last year. If we're going to take advantage of him we're just going to have to play great defense, lock onto receivers and hope that he makes mistakes."
Browning has indeed been efficient this year, completing 58 of his 78 attempts for 798 yards, eight touchdowns and just one interception.
FS1 CREW: The broadcast crew for this week's game will be Tim Brando (play-by-play), Spencer Tillman (color commentary) and Holly Sonders (sideline reporter). Along with the regular broadcast by KOA radio with Mark Johnson and Gary Barnett, the game will also be carried by Westwood One radio.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
Players Mentioned
