Buffs Report: CU Defense Prepares For NU Dual Threat Martinez; Cornhuskers Bring Road Woes To Boulder
September 05, 2019 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — In a season that will see the Colorado Buffaloes face some of the top quarterbacks in the nation, they may not see a better dual-threat player than Nebraska's Adrian Martinez.
The Buffs and Cornhuskers will square off Saturday in CU's nationally televised home opener at 1:30 p.m. at Folsom Field (Fox).
Martinez does everything well. The Nebraska sophomore is an accomplished passer — he threw for 2,617 yards and 17 touchdowns last year — as well as a dangerous runner, accounting for 629 yards and eight scores on the ground last season.
But CU players don't need to look at his season stats to know what kind of threat Martinez poses. They have seen it up close and personal. In their matchup last year in Lincoln — a 33-28 Colorado win — Martinez threw for 187 yards and a touchdown and also led NU in rushing with 117 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. The Buffs did get two sacks on Martinez last year, something they would no doubt like to repeat.
"He's an excellent playmaker," said CU head coach Mel Tucker, who will get his first in-person look at Martinez on Saturday. "It's rare to see a quarterback that can throw the ball accurately in the pocket and is also a threat to run at any moment ... He puts a lot
of pressure on you defensively because of all the things that he can do. Everyone's going to be at the point of attack on every play. We'll have to be at our best."
Martinez, whose name appeared on plenty of preseason Heisman Trophy watch lists, did not have a sterling season opener in NU's 35-21 win over South Alabama last week. While most folks expected Nebraska's offense to jump out to a fast start in its second year under head coach Scott Frost, the Cornhuskers' offense struggled for much of the day. Martinez was just 13-for-22 for 178 yards, no touchdowns and an interception; and he finished with just six net yards rushing on 13 attempts (he was sacked twice for 23 yards in losses).
But the Buffs believe last week's performance was more aberration than trend. Frost has had a week to fix NU's offensive woes, and he has expressed confidence that his offense will bounce back.
"This week's a lot better," Frost said after Thursday's practice. "Defense had a good week and offense was considerably better, leaps and bounds better. We tell the guys all the time that you don't all of a sudden show up on Saturday and play well. They have to earn that and practice how they play. I'll feel a lot better about things if we play the way we practiced this week."
While the Huskers haven't played in Boulder since 2009, several members of their coaching staff are quite familiar with Folsom Field. Frost led NU to a win over the Buffs in Boulder in 1997, and also served as an assistant coach on the Oregon staff when the Ducks visited Folsom in 2011, 2013 and 2015.
Meanwhile, NU offensive coordinator Troy Walters was an assistant coach at Colorado under former head coach Mike MacIntyre, serving as CU's wide receivers coach for three years.
Walters said this week's NU practices have been much better after an "average" week preparing for South Alabama.
"The guys aren't satisfied with the product we put on the field," Walters said. "They have come back this week with great focus, energy, and detail … I told our guys to embrace it. It doesn't get any better than this. This is the type of game I dreamed of when I was a player. It doesn't get any bigger or any better. The guys had a good week of practice so they should be confident, and we are confident as a staff that we are going to go out and do a lot better than we did last week."
Along with Martinez, the Huskers have other potential game-breakers. Running back Maurice Washington had six carries for 39 yards in the second half last week and tight end Jack Stoll and wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson each had three catches in the game. The Huskers also have their typical big, physical offensive line.
Still, it is Martinez that stirs the drink for the NU offense.
"I believe your quarterback has to be your number one competitor, and on tape, he looks that way," Tucker said. "Some players you can win with, and some players can win for you. He's the type of guy that can win for you."
TWO-MINUTE OFFENSE: In a game that featured all kinds of big plays and momentum-changing moments, one possession that may have been slightly overlooked in last week's 52-31 CU win over Colorado State was the Buffs' last drive of the first half.
It's worth mentioning for more than just the fact that the Buffs regained the lead heading into the locker room. Equally important is how they managed the drive — calmly and efficiently.
Colorado took possession after a CSU touchdown gave the Rams a 21-17 lead with 1:35 left in the half. But instead of panicking and coming out throwing on every down, the Buffs ran the ball twice on the drive, forcing CSU to at least respect the run game. The Buffs were methodical in their approach.
The Buffs also threw twice to the tight end on the drive, with the second completion to Brady Russell forcing Colorado State to call a timeout. Colorado then ran the ball once more and called a timeout of its own, setting up a 25-yard Steven Montez touchdown throw to Laviska Shenault Jr.
It was, simply, a textbook two-minute drive, something that hasn't always been in the Buffs' arsenal in recent years.
CORNHUSKERS HUNGRY FOR ROAD WIN: It's been a while since Nebraska has won a game on the road — in fact, close to two years.
NU went 0-5 away from home last year in Frost's first season in Lincoln. The last time NU won a road game was Oct. 28, 2017, at Purdue.
Since then, it hasn't been pretty. Folks at the Lincoln Journal Star this week came up with this: since the win over Purdue, the Cornhuskers have allowed 54, 56, 56, 41, 34, 36 and 31 points while losing seven straight games on the road. That's an average of 44 points per game.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
