Takeaways From Buffs At UCLA
October 29, 2023 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — At the end of his press conference following Saturday evening's 28-16 loss to UCLA, Colorado's Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders had a simple message:
"I'm accustomed to winning and we will win," Sanders said. "We will win. Just put your seatbelt on and hold on. We will win."
Not that the 4-4 Buffs haven't enjoyed some success this year already. This is, after all, the team that opened the season with a dramatic 45-42 win over then-No. 17 TCU, then followed it up with a victory over Nebraska (now 5-3 and tied for the Big Ten West lead) and another over Colorado State.
But while Sanders clearly believes in the potential of the CU program — and what the future could hold for the Buffs — he also isn't blind to what transpired Saturday night in the Rose Bowl.
The Buffs played hard but were overmatched, particularly when the offense was on the field. Colorado's defense forced four first half turnovers to keep CU within reach, but the offense never truly had a chance to stay in the game. Buffs QB Shedeur Sanders was sacked seven times, hit an additional 17 times and knocked down 13 times.
Meanwhile, Colorado finished with just 38 yards rushing and converted only four of 14 third down tries. As a result, the Buffs dropped their second in a row and fourth in their last five to fall to 4-4 overall and 1-4 in the Pac-12.
Sanders was blunt when he said, "Big picture you go and get new linemen."
But that's not something that's going to happen over the last four games. The Buffs have endured some injuries up front in what was already a thin group and now must play the hand they've been dealt.
The road down the stretch is by no means an easy one. Three of Colorado's remaining four opponents have winning records while the fourth — 4-4 Washington State — was ranked in the nation's top 25 just a few weeks ago (as were the Buffaloes in mid-September).
But as Coach Prime pointed out, the Buffs have been in nearly every game this year. Aside from a 42-6 loss at Oregon, a case can be made that every other loss was a winnable game.
"You could see how we could have won those," Sanders said. "We could have done that. That's called hope in our book."
Indeed, despite the loss, there were still some promising moments in Saturday's game. Our weekly takeaways:
1. Shedeur Sanders is a tough dude. We already mentioned the numbers from Saturday. Sanders took a beating, which has been the story for much of the season. He has been sacked 41 times — the most of any FBS quarterback — along with absorbing countless more hits.
But he keeps getting back up, keeps making plays — and refuses to point fingers. He backs his offensive line and instead says he has to improve his game.
Clearly, Sanders belongs on the short list of elite quarterbacks in the nation. The toughness and resilience he has shown only adds to his qualities.
2. Run game woes. Colorado is currently ranked 128th in the nation in rushing yards per game, averaging just 78.6 yards per contest. There are currently 45 individuals in the nation averaging more per game on the ground than the Buffs.
Somehow, some way, the Buffs have to improve those numbers at least a little. When Colorado can't run, it allows teams to unleash the hounds on the pass rush — which then leads to the most-sacked quarterback in the country.
3. Defense stepped up. Coordinator Charles Kelly's much-maligned group gave CU every chance possible to win the game. The Buffs forced four first half turnovers and kept UCLA in check for much of the game.
Even after the Bruins hit the Buffs with a couple big plays and an early score to open the third quarter, Colorado didn't quit. But the defense did finally tire out, which allowed the Bruins to tack on two more TD drives in the fourth quarter.
Kelly is doing an excellent job in mixing and matching coverages, pass rush schemes and run defenses. If CU's defense can continue Saturday's trend down the stretch, the Buffaloes will have a chance to pick up a few more wins.
4. Targeting rules are far too subjective. The call on CU safety Shilo Sanders that resulted in his ejection drew vastly different opinions at the time and social media was still debating the call Sunday.
We're not sure what the answer is. But it seems the standard for the call changes on a weekly basis — and there's no doubt Sanders' absence in the second half was a blow to CU's defense.
5. Travis Hunter makes a difference on defense. When Hunter's top priority is the defensive side of the ball, he is a force. His two interceptions Saturday gave the Buffs a chance to seize control and even though Colorado reaped just one field goal off the two turnovers, he kept CU in the game.
Hunter played 69 snaps on defense Saturday and 38 on offense. He still made plays on the offensive side (three catches), but his biggest impact was on the defensive side.
6. The future still looks bright. CU's 3-0 start and move into the nation's top 25 no doubt sent expectations skyrocketing. Now that the Buffs have slipped to 4-4, those expectations have quieted to an extent — but there's no reason to think the Buffs won't be better in Coach Prime's second year.
Remember, a program that was 1-11 a year ago is now 4-4 and competitive on a weekly basis. The Buffs improved their talent level significantly in just one offseason and they should be able to make a similar jump again.
"We're seven to 10 players away from really doing what we want to do in college football," Coach Prime said.
Guaranteed, the Buffs will spend every possible moment in the offseason looking for those players.
