Colorado University Athletics
Woelk: Dorrell's Influence On Buffs Offense Already Evident
November 11, 2020 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — While the Colorado Buffaloes have played just one game — granted, a very small sample size — it is nevertheless hard to miss Karl Dorrell's influence on the offense.
Indeed, if the future holds anything like we saw in last weekend's 48-42 win over UCLA, the evolution will be fun to watch unfold.
In a nutshell, what we saw was balance, balance and more balance. It is something Dorrell has stressed would be a priority since the day he took the reins of the program last February, and Saturday night he gave us a very good look at what he wants.
The most-obvious numbers are these — 264 yards rushing, 261 passing. That is the very definition of a balanced attack (and the source of migraines for opposing defensive coordinators).
But it was more than just the yardage totals. The Buffs utilized a wide variety of players and positions in the attack, and spread the wealth accordingly.
While Colorado threw just 33 passes — a hair under CU's per-game average the last couple of seasons — eight different players caught passes. That included 13 catches by wide receivers, six by tight ends and three by running backs. Everyone eligible to catch a pass was a threat.
No doubt, the increased targeting of the tight end was clearly a new twist. Brady Russell's team-high 77 yards on five catches proved to be the first time a tight end has led CU in receiving yards since 2012, and also the most receiving yards by a tight end since that same season.
Meanwhile, wide receiver Dimitri Stanley had a team-high six receptions, fellow wideout Maurice Bell snared five and yet another wide receiver, Daniel Arias, had the longest catch of the night for CU, a 38-yarder.
There was even some balance in the run game workload. While sophomore Jarek Broussard was clearly the workhorse — 31 carries, 187 yards — the Buffs also utilized the legs of quarterback Sam Noyer (13-for-64), along with Jaren Mangham (nine carries) and Joe Davis (three).
Of course, Dorrell wasn't the man calling the plays. Offensive coordinator Darrin Chiaverini, in his second go-round in the job, handled those duties and performed them well.
"I thought Darrin called a really good game," Dorrell said. "He knows there's going to be challenges as we move forward."
Chiaverini showed excellent patience all night long. He used his rushing attack early to set the tenor of the game, mixed in a short passing game to get quarterback Sam Noyer into a groove in his first college start, and never approached anything resembling predictability. Even when push came to shove in crunch time, the offense picked its spots, put points on the board and ate up valuable time in the process.
But perhaps most importantly, the offense utilized every weapon available — and that is clearly a Dorrell marker.
"Our systematic approach offensively is really a simple thing — it's for Sam to throw to the open guy," Dorrell said.
That is a major difference from the last couple of years, when CU had a clear workhorse in the passing game and went to him whenever possible. It was a strategy that worked — until it didn't.
Dorrell made it clear that won't be the case this season. Asked whether Russell would continue to be a feature of the offense, Dorrell once again stressed what he believes should be the foundation of a successful offense.
"We're not trying to get the ball to one particular person, particularly in the throwing game," he said. "I'm very encouraged with what Brady did. It's great to have our tight ends involved. I know that in recent history we haven't had a lot of tight end involvement in the passing game, so we want to create that type of balance, being able to throw to our backs, tight ends and receivers."
There's that word again. Balance. When the Buffs have it, they usually win. In fact, according to research by Colorado SID David Plati, the Buffs are 59-11 when they rush for at least 200 yards and pass for at least 200, and Saturday's 3-yard differential ties for the second most-balanced 200-200 game in CU history.
Another interesting connecton? Of the four top 200-200 games in Buffs history, Dorrell has been involved in three of them (and four of the top eight).
So if you're looking for an early Dorrell stamp on Colorado football, you don't have to look too hard.
The Buffs have some weapons — and they plan on using every one of them.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
