Colorado University Athletics
Tucker Shakes Up Routine As Buffs Return To Work
October 21, 2019 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — With the Colorado Buffaloes beginning a short week of preparation — they play host to USC Friday in a 7 p.m. game at Folsom Field — coach Mel Tucker shook up the routine a little on Sunday.
Instead of position groups watching film separately with their respective coaches, Tucker gathered the entire team together and they watched Saturday's 41-10 loss to Washington State from beginning to end.
"I wanted everyone to see what everyone was doing and what the issues were in the game," Tucker said. "See whatever problems we had or whatever we did well and see how we have to complement each other — offense, defense, special teams, how everything works together."
It's not something the Buffs (3-4 overall, 1-3 Pac-12) can do every week. Film sessions with position groups take less time and can offer more specific coaching.
But in the wake of two lopsided losses, Tucker wanted to make sure his players saw that win or lose, everyone has a role — offense, defense and special teams.
Tucker is a huge proponent of "complementary football," meaning each unit has to support the other through the course of a game. It means taking advantage of opportunities when they present themselves — and stemming the tide when momentum shifts occur.
Over the last two weeks, those momentum shifts have been more like tidal waves and the Buffs haven't been able to answer. Saturday's loss to WSU came on the heels of a 45-3 loss at Oregon, giving the Buffs back-to-back games when almost nothing went right.
"I thought it was a good exercise for us," Tucker said of the extended team film session. "Obviously we can't do it every week because of time. But I thought it was appropriate and we got a lot out of it."
Monday morning, the Buffs returned to the practice field and Tucker said he saw a team that was ready to put the last two weeks behind them and concentrate on Friday's game (7 p.m, ESPN2).
"When we came out today, I felt that new sense of purpose, more of an appreciation of what the man next to me has to do," Tucker said. "Everyone knows that everyone's counting on everyone to do their job on every play so we can be efficient and have success."
The Buffs are currently mired in a three-game losing streak, a situation that every head coach knows can be the source of locker room rifts. But Tucker said he has seen no signs of finger-pointing or division within the team.
"We have a very unselfish football team," Tucker said. "I haven't seen any finger pointing. I'm always going to have a pulse of the team. (Strength coach) Drew Wilson in our weight room … I consult with him and he hasn't sensed or heard any finger pointing."
While the Buffs no doubt have to find a way to correct the errors that have led to their three losses, Tucker isn't wavering from his core fundamentals.
"We're on the same page," he said. "We all have to do better. We have to play harder, we have to play tougher, we have to play smarter. It's not just one guy. It's a team effort. You win as a team, you lose as a team."
TURNOVERS AND TAKEAWAYS: One specific area Tucker continues to address with his team is turnover margin — the number of takeaways compared to turnovers.
The Buffs started the year with excellent numbers in that regard. After five games, the Buffs had produced 12 takeaways by the defense and turned it over just four times. CU had a 3-2 record in that span, with one of the losses coming in overtime and the other by just five points.
But over the last two games, that number has taken a decided turn for the worse. CU has committed seven turnovers in the last two games — all interceptions — while recording just one takeaway, also an interception.
"I laid out a chart that was a summary of our turnover margin this season," Tucker said. "It's very, very telling in terms of taking care of the ball and taking the ball away. When we've won or been in very close games, we've won the turnover margin, or at least been even. In games we've lost it hasn't been close, we've been on the negative side of the turnover margin."
USC ROAD WOES: The Trojans (4-3, 3-1) are unbeaten at home, including a win over Utah (the Utes' only loss this season), but have yet to win on the road, with losses at Notre Dame, BYU and Washington.
But there's no doubt they are an extremely talented and deep team. In last weekend's 41-14 win over Arizona, they received a 103-yard, two-touchdown effort from true freshman running back Kenon Christon in his first action for USC, and a 13-tackle, forced fumble and interception effort from sophomore linebacker Kana'i Mauga in his first start.
"It's going to be a good challenge for us," Tucker said. "We're looking forward to coming back home after being on the road for a couple of weeks. Our crowd has been great, our stadium has been full, we've been energized."
While the Trojans haven't won on the road this year, they are 13-0 all-time against Colorado, including a 6-0 mark in Boulder.
BUFFS BITS: Friday's game will see brothers on opposite sides of the field. Outside linebacker Nu'umotu Falo Jr. is a senior for Colorado while tight end Josh Falo is a junior for the Trojans … Tucker said backup quarterback Tyler Lytle, who suffered an injury on his first play in relief of Steven Montez at Washington State, is day-to-day with a shoulder injury. Tucker also said they are not considering moving safety Sam Noyer back to quarterback. Noyer made the switch in fall camp this year … Revised coaches statistics, compiled after each game, have linebacker Nate Landman leading CU with 85 tackles in seven games. That's nearly twice as many as the No. 2 player on the Colorado list, with Mikial Onu in second with 44 … Coaches stats from the WSU game also credited linebacker Jash Allen with three tackles in 19 snaps, his most extensive time of the year. The Buffs have moved Allen to outside linebacker, and he responded well in the WSU game ... Tony Brown continues to lead CU in receiving with 37 receptions for 480 yards and four touchdowns ... Alex Fontenot is currently seventh in the Pac-12 in rushing with 568 yards on 114 carries.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
