Buffs' Focus On Takeaways, Turnovers A Top Priority
September 04, 2019 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — "The Ball. The Ball. The Ball."
Just about everywhere the Colorado Buffaloes go in the CU Champions Center, they are greeted by this simple but crucial reminder. It is in hallways, meeting rooms and prominent in the main auditorium. It is something CU coaches want the Buffaloes to never, ever forget.
"The Ball. The Ball. The Ball."
"It's not complicated," said CU head coach Mel Tucker, who made sure those signs were installed as soon as he arrived in Boulder. "You have 22 guys out there and it's all about this ball. Everybody wants it. Everybody's fighting for it. It's all about the ball. That's all that matters."
It is a philosophy the Colorado coaching staff has instilled since Day One of the Tucker Era. Take care of the ball on offense; take the ball away on defense. When you do those two things consistently, good things usually happen.Â
— According to a study by the SBNation in 2014, college football teams that had at least a plus-four margin in turnovers won 90 percent of those games.
— FootballScoop did a study of seven years of college football turnover margins. In that span, 53 teams had a turnover margin of plus-1.0 or greater — and 52 of those teams had winning seasons; 50 won at least eight games; 40 won at least nine and 27 won or shared at least a division championship.
— In the 2018 season, of the top 50 FBS teams in the nation in turnover margin, only six had losing records. Six teams had a margin of at least plus-1, and five of those teams won at least nine games.
Those are statistics Tucker and his staff remind the Buffs of constantly, and the topic has been a particularly hot one this week for a couple of reasons.
One, Colorado had four defensive takeaways — one for a touchdown — and no offensive turnovers in last week's season-opening 52-31 win over Colorado State. Two, the Buffs this week face a Nebraska team that had five takeaways — including two that produced touchdowns — in a 35-21 opening win over South Alabama.
Kickoff against the Huskers in CU's nationally televised home opener is set for 1:35 p.m. Saturday at Folsom Field (Fox).
"Turnovers are the name of the game," Tucker said when asked about Nebraska's opportunistic defense. "Taking care of the ball, taking the ball away. That's probably the biggest determining factor in winning, is the turnover margin. They do a great job."
The takeaways by CU's defense in the win over CSU were no doubt a huge factor. Colorado's defense struggled for much of the night slowing down the Rams, as CSU finished with more than 500 yards offense. But two of CU's takeaways led to offensive touchdowns and a third produced a defensive touchdown.
It was a similar story in Nebraska, where the Cornhuskers' offense struggled but the defense came up with the game-changing plays, plucking three interceptions and recovering two fumbles.
But the difference in the two games came on the offensive side of the ball. Colorado did not have an offensive turnover against the Rams. The Cornhuskers' offense endured two lost fumbles and an interception.
That focus on taking care of the ball is something CU offensive coordinator Jay Johnson has stressed since coming to Boulder. In his first interview after taking the job, Johnson said, "First and foremost, we will respect the football. If you take care of the football, you have a chance to win games. If you don't, you're probably not going to win many games. That's the first thing our entire team will understand and know — we have to have great respect for the football."
The Buffs regularly dedicate a portion of practice to takeaways and turnovers. Running backs practice carrying the ball high and tight and quarterbacks are taught to throw the ball away and not force the ball into coverage. Defensively, defensive backs practice tip drills and work on their hands and all defenders work on fumble recoveries — when to dive on the ball and cradle it and when to employ a "scoop and score" mentality.
Both came in handy against CSU. Cornerback Delrick Abrams Jr. helped tip a ball that produced safety Mikial Onu's second interception of the night and defensive lineman Mustafa Johnson executed a perfect scoop and score after a sack by linebacker Jonathan Van Diest.
Onu, by the way, matched in one game the total number of interceptions by CU's leader in all of 2018, when linebacker Nate Landman led the Buffs with two in 12 games.
How important will turnovers be Saturday? Figure this: in last year's game, a 33-28 Colorado win in Lincoln, the Buffs did not have an offensive turnover while coming up with three defensive takeaways, two of which led to early touchdowns. That 3-0 turnover margin proved to be a decisive factor in the game.
"It's all about the ball," Tucker said. "It bounces funny. It does weird things. But you have to protect it and take care of it — and when you're on defense, you have to go get it. Every play. There's 22 guys out there on the field and their biggest job is the ball. It's all about the ball."
Indeed. Coaches spend countless hours devising game plans and schemes, and countless more hours installing and teaching those plans. They spend late nights and early mornings watching film, trying to find a weakness in an opponent they can exploit. Football games have rightly been called living chess matches.
But in the end, it all comes down to one little item:
"The Ball. The Ball. The Ball."
RESPECT FOR MONTEZ: Nebraska's defensive coaches are no doubt focused on CU wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr., who had 10 catches for 177 yards and a touchdown in last year's 33-28 CU win.
But the Cornhuskers' coaching staff also has plenty of respect for CU quarterback Steven Montez, who last year completed 33 of 50 attempts against NU for 351 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.
"Shenault is an unbelievable player but Montez makes that thing work," NU defensive coordinator Eric Chinander said this week. "The thing he does best is run that offense. He makes all the throws. He made some unbelievable throws against us last year."
CU-NU SERIES NOTES: Nebraska leads the all-time series 49-19-2, which includes a 23-10-2 edge in Boulder. CU's last win at Folsom in the series was a 65-51 victory in 2007 … The Buffs and Huskers combined to win the last conference eight championships in the Big Eight … Shenault's 177 yards receiving last year are the most by any player from either team in the history of the series … CU's Tucker has never faced the Cornhuskers as an assistant … NU head coach Scott Frost is 0-1 against the Buffs as a head coach; he was 5-0 vs. Colorado as an assistant at Oregon from 2011-15 … Colorado is 5-0 all-time on Sept, 7,Â
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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