Colorado University Athletics
Woelk: Fast Five Keys For Buffs Vs. Stanford
November 07, 2019 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Three years ago, the Colorado Buffaloes ended a five-game losing streak to Stanford with a 10-5 win on the Cardinal's home field.
But it's been much longer since the Buffs produced a win over Stanford in Boulder — nearly three decades, in fact.
The last time CU beat the Cardinal at Folsom Field came in 1990, when Colorado eked out a 21-17 win. Since then, Stanford has won two in a row in Boulder, both since CU joined the Pac-12 in 2011.
Saturday, the Buffs have a chance to end that skid — along with a current five-game losing streak — when Stanford pays a visit to Boulder for a 1 p.m. game at Folsom Field.
What must the Buffs do in order to claim a win at home and end their slide?
1. Get after Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello. Stanford has allowed 20 quarterback sacks this season, with 15 of those coming in three of their losses (three by USC, five by Oregon and seven by UCLA).
The Buffs haven't been sack masters by any stretch this year, with just 15 to their credit. But they have shown an ability to get to the quarterback over the last few weeks, recording two against UCLA (both by linebacker Nate Landman) and two against USC. The Buffs also had four quarterback hurries against USC, which resulted in a pair of fumbles and helped force an interception.
Colorado's defense needs to dial up some of that pressure Saturday against Costello. While the senior isn't prone to mistakes — he's thrown just two picks in his four games — some constant pressure will go a long way in getting the Cardinal offense off the field early in its possessions.
2. Win third-down battles. This has been a tough one for the Buffaloes this year on both sides of the ball. The Buffs are converting just 43.3 percent of their third-down tries on offense (61-for-141) while allowing opponents to convert 49.1 percent of their tries (57-116).
But the Cardinal hasn't exactly been a third-down machine, converting just 40 percent of its third-down attempts on offense — and that number drops down to 32 percent (14-for-43) in Stanford's three conference losses.
Stanford's offense thrives on long, time-consuming drives that wear out a defense. The Buff need to get the Cardinal off the field early in its possessions and give the CU offense a few extra chances with the ball.
3. Get quarterback Steven Montez into a rhythm early. When Montez finds his groove early, the Colorado offense rolls. It means getting the senior QB a chance at some early completions, but it also helps when the Buffs are pounding the ball on the ground and keeping defenses honest.
The Cardinal defense has recorded 20 sacks this season, but has also allowed more than 260 yards per game in the air. Stanford has also given up more yards on the ground than is normal for a David Shaw defense, with its last two opponents rushing for more than 200 yards.
If the Buffs can find establish some offensive momentum early, it will go a long way in keeping the tempo of the game in their favor.
4. Takeaways, takeaways, takeaways. With a young defense that is prone to giving up the occasional explosive play, Colorado's' best weapon has been forcing turnovers. When the Buffs force at least two turnovers, their record is 2-1. When they have only one (or none), their record is 1-5.Â
The Buffs need at least a couple of those momentum-changing moments Saturday. They left several of those opportunities on the field two weeks ago against USC and they proved to be the difference in the game.
They can't let those chances slip by again against the Cardinal.
5. Play with passion. As safety Mikial Onu said earlier this week, "I know how easy it is to get down. I know how easy it is for guys to start making plans for what they're going to do while bowl season is going on … You can't do that kind of stuff. The biggest thing is fighting that feeling and fighting that feeling of complacency, feeling like the season is over. We still have a lot of ball left to play and a lot of chances to prove we are a good team."
Technically, the Buffs are still mathematically alive in the bowl hunt. With three games remaining, they need to win out.
But the reality is they need to win their next game and not worry about anything else. They need to end the losing streak and prove they haven't given up on the season.
Saturday would be a good day to accomplish that task.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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