Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Gear For Huskies' Rushing Attack
September 20, 2017 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Run the ball and stop the run.
No matter how the game of football changes, no matter how many exotic offenses and corresponding defenses are created, no matter how many different ways coaches try to spread the field, the ability to win the battle in the trenches is far more often than not the deciding factor.
Saturday's game between 3-0 Colorado and 3-0 Washington at Folsom Field (8 p.m., FS1) will almost certainly fit that bill. The last time the two teams met, in last year's Pac-12 championship game, the Huskies rushed for 265 yards; the Buffs ran for 82. Final score: Washington 41, Colorado 10.
Now in his fifth season in Boulder, Mike MacIntyre has seen his team win just two games when rushing for less than 100 yards in that period. At the same time, his Buffs are 8-0 since the beginning of the 2016 season when holding opponents to less than 150 yards on the ground.
"They ran for over 260 yards on us last year, completely dominated us, especially in the second half," CU head coach Mike MacIntyre said Wednesday morning. "They did an excellent job and we have to do a better job or we don't have a chance to beat them if we can't slow down their run game."
Thus far this year, the seventh-ranked Huskies have leaned more on their passing game. They are averaging 266 yards per game in the air and just 129.7 on the ground. But it is hard to use those numbers as a gauge because the Huskies have had big leads early in all three of their games and have substituted liberally, with 11 different players having at least one carry.
The workhorse, though, is not in question. Junior running back Myles Gaskin, who ran for 159 yards in last season's Pac-12 title game, has carried 24 times this season for 153 yards (6.4-yard average) and three touchdowns.
"Quick, fast, powerful — he's pretty much all those things," Buffs defensive lineman Leo Jackson III said. "When you see him on film, you can definitely see that he's a dynamic back as far as being able to catch the ball, run out of the backfield, make plays pretty much out of nothing. He's a real good back and it's going to be a good challenge for us."
Not that the Buffs aren't concerned with the Huskies' passing game. In fact, head coach Mike MacIntyre said UW quarterback Jake Browning is operating at a higher level than he was a year ago. Thus far, Browning has completed nearly 75 percent of his passes (58-for-78) for 798 yards, eight touchdowns and just one interception.
"He rarely ever makes bad decisions," Buffs cornerback Isaiah Oliver said. "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."
Offensively, the Buffs will likely want to get running back Phillip Lindsay in a rhythm early. In their last meeting, Lindsay managed just 53 yards on 19 carries. There is no doubt he is on the Huskies' radar again this year.
"He is a unique back," Washington head coach Chris Petersen said earlier this week. "I was watching him a lot this morning, and he's one of those backs that plays with a great base. He's very quick. He's very sudden. I think he's really tough. He doesn't cross his feet over much when he plants – he is a north-south runner. He does a really good job. I think he's a hard-nosed, tough running back. It seems like he has really good vision. Sometimes there's not a lot there, and he'll find a crease and get positive yards."
The Huskies have a pair of massive defensive linemen in their four-man front in Greg Gaines (6-foot-2, 322 pounds) and Vita Vea (6-5, 340). The two have combined for 14 tackles and a pair of sacks, but more importantly, make it difficult for opponents to run up the middle.
"Their inside guys are the same guys we played against last year," MacIntyre said. "We couldn't hardly block them."
Petersen, meanwhile, said he's been impressed with what he's seen from Colorado's defense.
"Coach MacIntyre is a defensive guy, so that's not changing," Petersen said. "That's his baby. They have all their offensive coaches intact with most of their players. It's not dramatically different. They are playing really well on both sides of the ball but really on defense for how many guys they've graduated. That's a tribute to him and his influence and probably where he spends most of his time."
Along with their 3-0 records, the two teams also have something else in common this season: they are two of six teams remaining in FBS play — and the only two Pac-12 teams remaining — who have yet to give up a rushing touchdown. The others are Clemson, Michigan State, Virginia Tech and Rutgers.
MONTEZ VS. RANKED TEAMS: Colorado sophomore quarterback Steven Montez is currently 5-1 as a starter for the Buffs (2-1 last year, 3-0 this season), but this weekend, he'll get his first start against a ranked team. Last season, he did start against USC, but that was before the Trojans were ranked. He also appeared in a relief role for injured Sefo Liufau last year against Michigan, Washington and Oklahoma State, all ranked teams at the time.
In the game against Washington, Montez led the Buffs to their only touchdown of the game, a 7-play, 55-yard drive in the first quarter that tied the game at 7-7.
"He's similar to Liufau," Peterson said of Montez. "We saw it last year when they both played. They are big, strong, physical tough guys, not afraid to run the ball. That's part of their game, running him as a quarterback, as a running back. Also scrambling around and finding receivers open. They've got those three returning really good receivers, couple more than that, in fact. They've got an experienced, experienced receiver crew."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
