Buffs Aim To Get Back On Track At Arizona
November 02, 2018 | Football, Neill Woelk
TUCSON, Ariz. — In most instances, college football teams aren't exactly overjoyed at the thought of a Friday night road game. It means a shorter week of preparation and a travel day, followed by a long day of sitting around a hotel waiting to play.
But for the Colorado Buffaloes, this hasn't been one of those instances. In this case, Friday's 8:45 p.m. Pac-12 matchup at Arizona couldn't have gotten here soon enough. The Buffs (5-3 overall, 2-3 Pac-12) have been itching to get back on the field ever since last Saturday's stunning 41-34 overtime loss to Oregon State.
"Everybody on the team, we want to get back out there as soon as possible," senior linebacker and team captain Rick Gamboa said earlier this week. "There's a lot of guys on the team that feel like we messed up. There's one or two things we could have done as a team that could have helped us win. Everybody has the energy; we just want to get out there and fix what we messed up."
The Buffs will get their chance against a suddenly hot Arizona team that improved to 4-5 overall and 3-3 in Pac-12 play last week with a convincing 44-15 win over No. 19 Oregon.
"We have a lot of good players and we need to step in and play," head coach Mike MacIntyre said. "Hopefully their brotherhood, their team unity, understanding what they have to do and going to Arizona and playing well. I feel like this is a tight group of guys, I think that will definitely make a difference."
In the wake of their current three-game losing streak, the Buffs' 5-0 start to the season now seems like a distant memory. But they also know they can reverse that course in a hurry with a win against the Wildcats, who seem to have found their footing under head coach Kevin Sumlin.
"We need this game to get back on track," said senior linebacker Drew Lewis. "We need to win this one. It's a must-win game for us. I'm not going to be content with anything until we get a win. I think everybody here is just itching to get out there and win a game."
To do that, the Buffs will have to contain an offense that scorched Oregon last week for the most points (44) and yards (465) given up by the Ducks this year, and move the ball against a defense that held Oregon to season lows in points (15) and yards (270).
Defensively, it means the Buffs must contain an Arizona offense that starts with quarterback Khalil Tate. While Tate is not the threat on the ground that he was a year ago when he ran for 327 yards against Colorado in a 45-42 UA win, he is still a dual-threat weapon. He threw for three touchdowns against Oregon while leaving the running duties to J.J. Taylor, whose 212 yards against the Ducks boosted his season total to 1,029.
"Taylor's extremely quick and explosive," MacIntyre said. "He can make jump cuts in the hole where he can get there and he can jump all the way over here and you're going, 'How did he get over here?' He's really good at that. They're utilizing him well, getting him on the edge on some plays where they get wide splits and pull guards, and he can hit anywhere from all the way backside to frontside. They really allow him to use his vision. He does a good job making linebackers miss in space."
Thus far this year, the Buffs have fared relatively well against the run. CU is sixth in the league in rush defense, yielding just 142 yards per game.
"Their running backs are legit," Lewis said. "They're fast, speedy dudes who can outrun everybody and slither through some gaps. We have to stop the run and force them to throw the ball, and I think our DBs can handle that."
That will be a test the Wildcats will try to pose. Colorado's secondary — in particular the cornerback spot — has been under fire in recent weeks, giving up 283 yards and three touchdowns in a loss to USC, and 345 and three in the loss to OSU.
"That's a tough position to play," MacIntyre said. "We haven't played as well there, at least the last three games, as we have in the past. For you to win games, you have to play good at corner. That's the bottom line in major college football now. If you don't, you're going to have a hard time winning. We've got to play better at corner."
Offensively, the Buffs will have to re-establish the consistency and rhythm that helped them jump out to their 5-0 start. While CU had big numbers last week, the offense produced just three points in the final 29 minutes of the game.
But most of all, CU's players said this week, they need to make sure they don't let the hangover from last week affect this week's performance.
"The way we've been practicing this week has me confident and should have our defense confident," linebacker Nate Landman said. "We have been preparing hard and everybody has been focused. There has been a new attitude. What happened last week was tough, but we are willing to forget that and move on. This week we are going to have a great game."
MATCHUP TO WATCH: Colorado's Landman vs. Arizona's Taylor. The 'Cats will try to get Taylor to the second level; the Buffs hope to have Landman in the gap to prevent him from getting there. Keeping Taylor contained will be a key for Colorado.
KEEP AN EYE ON: Colorado's wide receivers. The Wildcats love to play one-on-one press coverage on the corners and will challenge the Buffs to beat them on the outside. It will be a great test for CU's wideouts — and if they can get open deep early, it could put the UA defense on its heels.
THE SERIES: Colorado has a 14-6 edge in the all-time series, but the Wildcats have won five of seven since CU joined the Pac-12 in 2011. The Buffs are 9-2 all-time in Tucson, including a 49-24 win on their last visit, in 2016.
NUTS AND BOLTS:
Kickoff: 8:45 p.m., Arizona Stadium, (53,646).
Broadcast: FS1 will televise the game with Brian Custer (play-by-play) Ben Leber (color) and Jennifer Hale (sidelines). The radio broadcast will be carried by AM 850 KOA with Mark Johnson and Gary Barnett in the booth and Bobby Pesavento on the sidelines.
In-game live blog, stats: A live in-game blog as well as continually updated statistics will be available on www.CUBuffs.com
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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