Buffs Report: Stakes Growing Every Week, O-line Looks For Consistency, Defense Stays Steady
October 22, 2018 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Win or lose, the Colorado Buffaloes are guaranteed five more games this season.
But with every game Mike MacIntyre's 5-2 Buffs win — beginning with Saturday's 1 p.m. homecoming matchup with Oregon State at Folsom Field (Pac-12 Networks) — the stakes and potential rewards will continue to grow.
It's why that most common cliche in sports is more applicable than ever for these Buffs:
One game at a time.
"You have to go win every week," head coach Mike MacIntyre said after Monday's practice. "We still have an opportunity to do well. We're concerned about this next game, then the next one and the next one and the next one."
The immediate rewards aren't hard to figure.
A win Saturday would improve the Buffs record to 6-2 overall (3-2 Pac-12) and make CU bowl eligible for the second time in three seasons. A win over the Beavers would also give Colorado 21 wins over the last three seasons, the most in any three-year stretch since the 2002-04 Buffs won 22 games.
A win over Oregon State would also bump up the stakes the following week, when the Buffs travel to Arizona. There, CU would have a chance to clinch a winning season — only the second winning season at Colorado since 2005.
Win those two, and the stakes are magnified again with a home game against what will likely be a nationally ranked Washington State squad, followed by a home game against Utah that could hold significant Pac-12 South implications.
Then comes the season finale at Cal, by which time all kinds of things could be at stake, ranging from the Pac-12 South title to bowl placings.
But as MacIntyre said, it all hinges on winning this week.
One game at a time.
"If we take care of our business, that gives us another week to kind of keep surviving and keep playing," MacIntyre said. "That's what we'd like to do."
OFFENSIVE STRUGGLES: After putting up numbers that had them among the nation's top offensive squads in the first five games, the Buffs have hit a wall over the last two weeks.
Colorado was averaging 37.8 points per game after five games; that number has dropped to 31.7 after seven. The numbers are similar in offensive yardage. After five games CU was averaging 490 yards offense; that number has dropped to 425.
"First of all, the guys on the other side of the ball had something to do with that," MacIntyre said. "Second of all, (it) sounds simplistic, but we just missed on a few things. We've had some penalties that hurt us on a couple plays that got called back that would have been in scoring areas. Then we just have to execute a little bit better. We've gone back and looked at all that and looked about what they did against us."
The Buffs did indeed miss some opportunities in the game, both in the run game and the pass game. They also hurt themselves with some key penalties.
One area CU coaches will look at closely is the offensive line. Colorado put its fourth different starting combination of the season on the field last week. While CU did give quarterback Steven Montez solid protection — just one sack — the running game struggled for the second straight week, finishing with just 119 yards.
The Buffs had back-to-back solid games up front in wins over UCLA and Arizona State, but that consistency wasn't there the last two weeks.
"We've showed signs of playing really well, we've showed signs of it being a little tough," MacIntyre said. "We have to be more consistent in certain times when we have to be. We've showed glimpses of that this year, so I know we can do it. We have to get it down and be consistent with it."
CU's starting lineup last week saw William Sherman at left tackle, Brett Tonz at left guard, Colby Pursell at center, Tim Lynott at right guard and Josh Kaiser at right tackle. Only Pursell has started every game thus far for Colorado, while Haigler — who had started three games at tackle and three at guard — missed his first start.
Of the starting five, Pursell, Sherman and Tonz played every snap. Lynott played 50 snaps (all at guard) while Haigler played 13 at guard and 11 at tackle. Kaiser had 33 snaps at tackle and freshman Frank Fillip — who had 48 snaps the previous week against USC — had 19 snaps at tackle.
MacIntyre said his preference is "whatever works."
"I've seen people shuffle people in and out and it works; I've seen people play with five guys the whole time and it works," he said. "We've had guys nicked up, we've had different things happen. We have to figure out exactly what we feel like works."
DEFENSE STAYS STEADY: While Colorado's defensive numbers have dropped slightly with the last two losses, the numbers are not nearly as precipitous.
After five games, CU was allowing 18.4 points per game. That number is now 21.4 (although it includes a defensive touchdown by USC), and the Buffs are still fifth in the Pac-12 and 35th in the nation in scoring defense.
"We have to start playing better offensively and I definitely believe we will," MacIntyre said. "Defensively we have to keep going and keep improving every week … we have to be intense every game and be physical or we can get a lot of points scored on us."
FAMILIAR FACE: The Buffs will see a familiar face on the Oregon State sidelines on Saturday. Former CU offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Brian Lindgren now holds the same title for the Beavers.
"I am looking forward to seeing Brian," MacIntyre said. "I don't think we're looking forward to going against each other. ... It will be great to see Brian. Of course when the game starts he wants to kick our butt and we want to kick his butt. Then after the game's over we'll be friends again. But for that four-hour period, we're not friends. That's the way it is in sports."
Lindgren coached one year with MacIntyre at San Jose State before following him to Colorado, where he was on the CU staff for five seasons. MacIntyre knows his former assistant will share everything possible with his current cohorts about Colorado's players and tendencies.
"He'll definitely tell them what different guys do and what he thinks, there's no doubt about that," MacIntyre said. "He'll tell them how big (a player) really is, what size he really is, all those types of things. That's all part of it."
Lindgren's offense has been relatively productive this year. The Beavers are sixth in the Pac-12 in scoring, averaging 28 points per game. But it is the defense that has been the downfall for 1-6 Oregon State (0-4 Pac-12). OSU is giving up 47.3 points per game, last in the Pac-12 — 16 points more than any other team in the conference — and 127th in the nation.
Since entering the Pac-12, the Buffs are 3-2 against Oregon State, including wins in each of the last three seasons.
PAC-12 BOWL TIES: Here are the seven bowls with direct ties to the Pac-12:
Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas — Dec. 15, 1:30 p.m. Las Vegas (Mountain West or BYU vs. Pac-12), ABC
Cactus — Dec. 26, 7 p.m., Phoenix, (Big 12 vs. Pac-12), ESPN
Valero Alamo — Dec. 28, 7 p.m., San Antonio (Big 12 vs. Pac-12), ESPN
Hyundai Sun — Dec. 31, Noon, El Paso, Texas (ACC/Notre Dame vs. Pac-12) CBS
San Francisco — Dec. 31, 1 p.m., Santa Clara, Calif. (Big Ten vs. Pac-12) FOX
S.D. County Credit Union Holiday — Dec. 31, 5 p.m., San Diego (Big Ten vs. Pac-12) FS1
Rose presented by Northwestern Mutual — Jan. 1, 3 p.m., Pasadena, Calif. (Pac-12 vs. Big Ten) ESPN
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
Players Mentioned
