Buffs Return To Work, Begin Preparation For No. 13 Ducks
October 07, 2019 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — With a Friday night game at Oregon now directly ahead, the Colorado Buffaloes (3-2 overall, 1-1 Pac-12 play) ramped up their practice schedule Monday morning.
Instead of their normal lighter Monday sessions, the Buffs conducted a full-length workout that was much more like their regular Tuesday practices. While they didn't don full pads for the workout, they still had some "good on good" work, as well as plenty of practice against the scout teams.
"We had to come in on Sunday and put the (Arizona) game away and introduce Oregon to our guys in a walkthrough," head coach Mel Tucker said after practice. "Then we come out here today and it's like a Tuesday practice. Burn the midnight oil a little bit as a staff, make sure we keep those guys on track in terms of the game plan. It just moves everything up a day."
Friday's game at Autzen Stadium against the 13th-ranked Ducks (4-1, 2-0) is set to kick off at 8:05 p.m. (Mountain Time) with FS1 carrying the broadcast.
One major focus for the Buffaloes this week will be eliminating what Tucker called the "self-inflicted wounds" that made the difference in CU's 35-30 loss to Arizona on Saturday. In that game, the Buffs played well at times, but also committed key mistakes on both sides of the ball, from penalties to dropped passes to miscommunications that led to big plays for the Wildcats.
"The explosive passes, whether it was at the intermediate level or the deep ball, is what really got us," Tucker said. "Both sides of the ball we feel like we're really, really close, but we have to make adjustments. We have to make changes to get the result that we want as a staff."
Explosive plays by opposing offenses — generally defined as gains of 15 yards or more — have been an issue for CU's young defense for much of the season. Saturday, Arizona hit eight pass completions for 265 yards, including touchdowns of 75 and 33 yards.
The Wildcats' other 33 pass attempts, which included 23 completions, produced just 139 yards.
"That's where we know that we're close — but we weren't able to ever really stop them," Tucker said. "There were times we were stopping the run (CU held the Wildcats to a season-low 83 yards on the ground), but then you have an explosive. If we can eliminate the explosives then we can play more consistently on defense and we can hold people to lower numbers."
One area with which Tucker was pleased was Colorado's run defense, which held the Wildcats to just 83 yards on 26 carries. UA entered the game leading the Pac-12 in rushing, averaging more than 255 yards per game. The Buffs managed that feat despite playing a number of freshmen on the defensive line because of injuries.
Another area Tucker and his coaches will address this week is penalties. The Buffs were flagged eight times Saturday for a season-high 85 yards. Some were for illegal blocks and one for a horse collar, but there were also false start penalties and an unsportsmanlike conduct call — all of which came at the most inopportune of moments.
"You have aggressive penalties and you have foolish penalties," Tucker said. "Sometimes you'll have some aggressive penalties on a pass interference or something like that. We just have to have more attention to detail, continue to emphasize discipline on and off the field. Each guy has to focus in just a little bit more."
It all adds up to the Buffs needing to play as close to error-free football as possible, especially against the No. 13 team in the nation.
"When you play good teams mistakes will kill you," Tucker said. "You have to play mistake-free football. When you're at this level and you're competing with the best of the best, the margin for error is very, very slim."
WASHINGTON STATE TIME SET: The Pac-12 announced Monday that CU's Oct. 19 game at Washington State will kick off at 5 p.m. (Mountain Time) and will be televised by either ESPN2 or ESPNU, with that decision to be made Sunday.
SHORT WEEK EXPERIENCE: Tucker is no stranger to preparing for games in a short week. When he was the interim head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2011, the Jags' first three games under his direction came on a Monday, then Sunday, then Thursday.
"Those are some short weeks right there," Tucker said. "This is moderate. We should be fine."
ANOTHER RANKED FOE: The Ducks, currently ranked 13th in the Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches polls, will be Colorado's third ranked opponent this season. The Buffs are 2-0 in those games, having knocked off No. 25 Nebraska and No. 24 Arizona State in September (ASU has since climbed to No. 18 in the AP poll).
The last time the Buffs and Ducks met was 2016, when the Buffs took a dramatic 41-38 win in Eugene. It was the first career start for Colorado quarterback Steven Montez, who stepped in for an injured Sefo Liufau. Montez had a record-setting day in the game, throwing for 333 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 135 yards and another score to become the first player in CU history to have 300 yards passing and 100 yards rushing in the same game.
The game will also be remembered for an Ahkello Witherspoon interception in the end zone in the final second that sealed CU's win.
DUCK DEFENSE SOLID: Oregon's defense is yielding just 9.8 points per game, best in the Pac-12 and sixth in the nation. UO has held its last four opponents to single digits, the first Power 5 team to do so since Michigan in 2015.
In five games, opponents have reached Oregon territory just 19 times in 60 possessions, with three of those already starting on UO's side of the field.
INJURY UPDATE: The Buffs have a number of players who either missed the Arizona game completely or were hurt during the game.Â
 "I'm encouraged by what I see, they're going to be day to day," Tucker said. "Hope to get some of those guys back healthy this week."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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