Buffs Defense Comes Up With Big Second Half
October 06, 2018 | Football
BOULDER — Similar to last week's victory against the UCLA Bruins, the No. 21 Colorado Buffaloes' 28-21 win over Arizona State on Saturday incorporated second half defensive adjustments and a string of defensive stops.
After the Buffaloes allowed 118 yards on the ground in the first half, they allowed only 36 yards rushing in the second half. It started with Colorado preventing ASU tailback Eno Benjamin from running downhill as the game went on.
Benjamin rushed for 97 yards on 20 carries in the first half. The Buffaloes made the necessary adjustments and allowed just 23 yards on the ground in the second half.
"(The Sun Devils) were doing a good job of picking up our slants a little bit with their big linemen washing us by and (Benjamin) was cutting back, as you noticed," head coach Mike MacIntyre said. "So we stopped slanting as much and started plugging our linebackers to get (Benjamin) in the backfield. Our kids just got better at being stout and getting rid of their linemen and then tackling (Benjamin) lower."
Colorado's defensive unit made some big stops for most of the second half.
In last week's game vs. UCLA, the Buffaloes forced three consecutive three-and-outs that helped Colorado's offense score 17 points off those defensive stops.
Colorado's defense upped the ante by making it five consecutive stops against the Sun Devils to hold ASU scoreless for that stretch. The Buffaloes forced three three-and-outs in the last four drives during that time. The Colorado offense scored seven points during the stretch to give the Buffs the lead the rest of the way.
"In the second half our guys adjusted," MacIntyre said. "I thought the way the defensive line and the front seven played in the second half was pretty amazing for what was going on in the first half."
There were key moments during Colorado's defensive stretch at the beginning of the fourth quarter when Arizona State marched deep into the red zone.
On second and goal from the 2-yard line, sophomore defensive lineman Mustafa Johnson made a crucial sack on ASU quarterback Manny Wilkins, who was trying to run a bootleg to the right. The sack put Arizona State back at the 10-yard line.
"The biggest play was when they ran the bootleg and Mustafa (Johnson), a 285-pound defensive tackle, plays the boot correctly, comes out and tackles the quarterback," MacIntyre said. "That was huge."
After Wilkins completed a 7-yard pass on third and goal, the Sun Devils decided to go for it on fourth and goal from the 3-yard line.
Wilkins looked to his right and threw it to 6-foot-8 wideout Curtis Hodges, who was covered by junior cornerback Delrick Abrams Jr. The 6-foot-3 Abrams made a huge pass breakup to turn the ball over on downs and give the Buffaloes an opportunity to kill time off the clock.
"I knew they were going to come my way because (Hodges) is 6-foot-8," Abrams said. "He's a big receiver. But it came out the right way. It felt great to stop them on fourth down."
The Buffaloes not only make adjustments with their defensive schemes, but also with their personnel. Senior linebacker Drew Lewis went back to playing inside linebacker midway through the second quarter after sophomore inside linebacker Nate Landman was ejected for targeting.
"It felt like I was just going back to what I was doing last year," Lewis said. "I remember still learning what I was supposed to do and getting better on the inside. Shifting to outside linebacker felt like starting at a new position. So, it was just going back to what I knew."
With Lewis moving inside, the Buffs turned to redshirt freshman Carson Wells on the outside. Wells, who has had significant playing time this year already, had three tackles and a pair of quarterback hurries.
The Buffaloes are now 5-0 on the season, but next face a tough road trip ahead, as they travel to USC next Saturday for an 8:30 (MT) game.
"We will get ready for them Sunday," MacIntyre said. "It will be a great game on a Saturday night."
Players Mentioned
