UCLA midweek notes

 The Buffs are back under .500 and sitting at 0-4 in conference.  Coach MacIntyre continues to keep it positive but not sure if I can.  The Cal game on the 16^th will be basement battle. In the meantime there will be two huge road losses.  Here are a few mid-week tidbits before the team goes to LA to get thrashed by the Bruins:

§  Review of the tape: I still might be masochistic enough to watch this recording tonight on Halloween, how bad the lines are and what some of the younger players look like.

§  Line: UCLA is still ranked number 20 and is favored by 27 (opened at 24).

§  Team notes: No reason has been given at the time, but Sunday night practice was cancelled. They are a little banged up, played late Saturday and have been practicing well.  The team still watched film of the loss and of UCLA and lifted some weights. This time is often dedicated to conditioning and to younger players getting some reps, and not any huge game prep, so I don’t believe it to be a big deal. 

§  The team practiced inside the bubble the last couple days with the crappy weather, I guess since they know they won’t be facing that this week in SoCal, but kinda wimpy in my opinion.

§  Saturday was the first time since Arizona’s 2011 trip to Boulder that the Buffs did not give up a sack.  Let’s not freak out about the offensive line just yet though, as the Wildcats did not blitz that often, and more credit should go to Sefo, who was poised in the pocket, always kept his eyes downfield, was able to scramble a few times and usually was able to throw the ball away.

§  While MacIntyre defended the terrible fake punt from the 15, punter Darragh O’Neill came out and said it was his decision, not the coaches.  Either way, it was a stupid move, and it is the coaching staff’s duty, here specifically Toby Neinas and MacInytre himself, to make sure players know when it is and when it is not an acceptable situation to call for a fake, no matter what you think you see.

§  We should see a little more of defensive lineman Samson Kafovalu, who can play inside and out.  He has gotten his proverbial shit together and back on the good graces of the coaching staff, although he still has to check in daily with MacIntyre.

§  The biggest lineup change of late has to be that of Woodson Greer (also got himself together after almost “flunking out”) surpassing Derrick Webb as the second LB in the nickel package.  Webb is one of three captains who are not playing much (Connor Wood and LB Paul Vigo), but is taking it well and still going all out on special teams.  The two LBs will alternate some moving forward, both to keep them fresh as each plays special teams, and to take advantage of their strengths. They will both be on the field together if teams lineup in traditional non-spread formations, but MacIntyre quipped, “I don’t even know if schools that do that even exist anymore.” [The youth is taking over more and more, especially at the lower echelon Pac12 teams.  At Cal, Sonny Dykes has only one starter that comes from the team’s 2009 and 2010 recruiting classes, that’s their fourth and fifth year seniors and some juniors.]

§  Injuries: Paul Richardson sprained an ankle late against Arizona and was in a boot but claims to be fine. Everyone is saying he is “feeling much better” (have read that phrase like fifty times) and will probably play, going back home to LA, in the Rose Bowl, against his momentary former team and many friends, but I’ll admit I am a little worried that he doesn’t play or is just not effective. On Tuesday MacIntyre said, “He’s a skinny little guy so a little ankle does hurt him a little bit. I know he wants to play…hopefully he’ll be able to go because we definitely need him. It’s definitely still day-to-day.” P-Rich tweeted Wednesday that he is planning to play.

§  RB Michael Adkins, who has given the offense some spunk, suffered a concussion and is questionable.  He had not practiced as of Wednesday so I doubt he can clear all concussion tests before Saturday.

§  Alex Wood has not yet been cleared from his concussion.  Josh Ford is practicing but not ready yet.

§  Some credit needs to be given to Dave Forman, who brought in an entirely new conditioning and weightlifting regiment and has kept this space very small as the team has had very few injuries this season (everyone collectively knock on any nearby wood please), and most pleasantly surprising, Parker Orms has not been listed at all (more wood-knocking).

§  UCLA is actually carrying a lot of injuries, but many of those could be back, or Jim Mora may just decide to rest them one more week.  Numerous Bruin offensive linemen have been out, forcing them to start three true freshmen.  RB Jordon James has missed three weeks and two of his backups Steven Manfro and Damein Thigpen are are banged up, but Paul Perkins and Malcolm Jones have performed well, LB Eric Kendricks and DE Ellis McCarthy were injured last week but should be available this week.

§  Connections: Gus Handler’s little brother Sam is a redshirt freshman for UCLA.  There are quite a few players from California, so there will also be quite a bit of friendly banter on the field with old friends, teammates and rivals.

§  Honors, mentions and recognitions: Addison Gillam still leads league with 9.3 tackles per game.

§  Coach MacIntyre praised Parker Orms for his effort and attitude (13 tackles and tears after the game) “played his absolute heart out” (he also pointed out his two missed tackles that ended up going for almost 100 yards more, although on one “another guys should have been overlapping” to finish it).

§  P-Rich is still third in the nation in yards per game with 130.6 (still 2^nd in Pac12 behind Cooks). He has accounted for 38% of the team’s offense with 50 catches for 914 yards and 7 TDs (plus a few rushes and the TD pass), closing in on CU single season records of 78 catches (DJ Hacket, 2003), 1,149 yards (Charles E. Johnson, 1992)  and 11 TDs (Derek McCoy, 2003).

§  2014 recruiting: It sure would be nice to get some new commits, adding to the current 14 and giving us a little hope for the future. Here is Stuart’s latest update: http://www.cuatthegame.com/2013/recruiting-prospects-2014/

§  The Camera’s “Monday Afternoon Drive” on recruit’s high school results: http://www.buffzone.com/cu-news/ci_24405104/afternoon-drive-cu-commit-defensive-lineman-lopez-records

§  There are five defensive line commits so far (although one will take a mission before coming to Boulder) and a couple of them should certainly play next year. 

§  TE Dylan Keeney is almost a shoe-in for playing time next year as that is the weakest and thinnest position grouping on the team, and it will lose two seniors. They will almost assuredly sign at least two tight ends. (How bad was Austin Ray?)

§  Other Notes: With nebraska’s loss to the Golden Gophers, the fuskers joined the Bottom Ten this week, so we got that goin’ for us. Not a good week for the Pelini’s with Bo’s choke then brother Carl resigns as head coach at FAU along with his DC for openingly smoking pot at a party; he should try to get hired in the Pac12 next.

§  Pacific Takes Fantasy League: I am too thin at too many positions and lost a fairly close one with no real QB or TE, plus De’Anthony Thomas only playing on a limited basis and Jordon James still out.  I dropped all defense because the scoring goes negative when a team gives up 28+ points, which is almost always not that we are in conference play. Next week I have a ton of byes-so does everyone, but my team will be hard-pressed to win again.  However, I am tied with three others for second best record in league full of parity.

Sunday morning streamofconsciousness wildcat rant

Charlie Brown probably said it best: “AAAAARRGHHHH!!!!”  While I am not sure he was right, MacIntyre was visibly and audibly frustrated after the loss and thought this was a team they could have beaten, but there were just too many mistakes by everyone in black and pink (helmets were cool, but Oregon’s uniforms are really cool because they actually win games). The defense once again gave up video games numbers to the opposing offense. This was just a frustrating but becoming all too typical Buffs game where the team shows small flashes of hope and then manages to follow it up with a bad play or decision, or just plain give up a huge play.  And it happened all day, at the most inopportune times, again. A few of the many examples: A couple of times the defense made a big third down stop only to give it up easily on 4^th down.  Just as everyone was talking and tweeting about how Parker Orms was playing great, he got toasted.  After Chidera blocked a pass like Dikembe Mutumbo and pounded his chest, he got beat around the end a few plays later.  Arizona was flagged for some really stupid penalties (including a Pac12 ref classic of personal foul for abusive language) but the Buffs rarely were able to take advantage.  When they took a 13-10 lead late in the second quarter, they immediately allow Arizona to easily drive down the field and score a touchdown.  To compound matters the offense then went three and out, and forced the defense back onto the field where they promptly gave two big plays, including a jump ball in the endzone: 24-10 at half, seventeen point swing in just a few minutes.  The end of the second quarter and beginning of the third has generally been terrible for the Buffs and it was no different here as Arizona then easily extended the lead after halftime.  While the Buffs did get a TD to close back within 14 points, and then get the ball back to drive for a 1^st and goal, they came away with squadoosh. Sefo showed some poise and made some nice plays at times, but also showed he was a freshman playing big boy football.  I don’t beileve the Buffs succeeded in any of their keys to the game from anyone’s list. Although the defense “held” Ka’Deem Carey to 119 yards, he did score 4 touchdowns, and while the defense was gang tackling him even when he didn’t have the ball, QB BJ Denker jogged for 192 yards (15 carries at almost 13 yards a clip) and a couple more TDs of his own. The coaches made a ton of questionable calls on fourth down: three times kicking 50+ FGs (going 2-3 but only six points); going for it at 4^th down from the 5 and failing, down only 14 and the defense having stopped Arizona the previous possession; then, the most inexplicable, although Macintyre swears he would call it again, having Darragh O’Neill try to run for five yard from inside his own 20 still only down 14-he gained one yard. I had said they needed to try some risky things but that play was one of the many joke calls on the day, another being P-Rich running the exact same reverse pass he has done before and Arizona sniffing it out like fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies (P-Rich made a nice play to throw the ball away).  Overall, P-Rich got the better of his cousin in the one-on-one battles, but Shaquille has the true bragging rights at Thanksgiving. The offensive and defensive lines are just so overmatched in this league, both terrible in regards to the run, and no better versus the pass, the talent gap is just huge and not sure any help is on the way in recruiting.  There were probably some more positives hidden within that game, but they are hard to sift out.  The next two weeks on the road are going to be bad, very bad, with UCLA and Washington taking out their personal frustrations on a weaker, smaller, slower team.  On top of the schedule, P-Rich sprained an ankle (says he’s fine but we’ll see) and Michael Adkins sustained a concussion.

Beat dem Cats and we can legitimately utter the "B" word!

This game is a 6:00PM kickoff and has been designated a “blackout” game.  The Buffs will need to take a few risks to win a game like this one; a conservative game plan just won’t cut it.  I expect to see a wide open game (take whatever the over is), with a few instances of trickery from both sides, as each team sees this game as a crucial W possibility.  

Paul Richardson sent the CU student body an email asking them for support. I hope everyone is on time (c’mon you’ve got all day to drink!) to see Ralphie (~6:02) and support the team early. Let’s fill Folsom and get rowdy Colorado!

§  Interesting Notes: CU leads the series 13-2, 5-1 in at home, and won the last game in Boulder.

§  Stuart from CUattheGame notes that Friday (October 25) was the 27^th anniversary of the 1986 20-10 upset of Nebraska here in Boulder that was the turning point for the program under Bill MacCartney, the original and only Coach Mac.

§  Sometimes I do forget how young this team still is, and one stat floating around has been that there are only two players on offense who have 20 career starts-Gus Handler and Daniel Munyer.  On defense it’s only four: Henderson, D Webb, Chidera and Orms.

§  If you were thinking of wearing pink to the game, you might think again: http://buffwatch.blogspot.com/2013/10/university-of-colorado-calls-for.html

§  Line: Arizona is opened at -17, but had gone down to 15 pretty quickly, and has fallen as low as 13.  Is everyone betting on the Buffs?  Well, Matt Barrie of ESPN is not as he picked Arizona -13 as his pick of the week, and he is an ASU grad and fan.

§  Injuries: Tackle Marc Mustoe is out for the season with a broken fibula; Nelson Spruce played last week; Alex Wood is still day-to-day with a concussion.  Otherwise, outside of Ford (down to 1-2 from 2-3 weeks) and Irwin (season/redshirt), they look to be healthy, but there always seems to be a surprise scratch on game day.

§  Wildcat safety and star Tra’mayne Bondurant is out with a concussion and his backfield mate, Jared Tevis is doubtful with his knee.

§  Depth Chart moves/Burn the Redshirt: There really are no redshirts left to burn and MacIntyre says he doesn’t foresee any more unless there are further injuries. MacIntyre said that if something were to happen to offensive tackles Harris or Nembot, then Munyer or Crabb would move outside and Alex Kelly would come in at guard, and that Sam Kronshrage will still redshirt.

§  The only changes on offense really last week were that Adkins and Powell started together in the backfield and no other RB got any quality snaps. They will probably continue to tinker with and use this formation a lot more.

§  Connor Wood got a garbage series which had to be tough, but better than having Jordan Webb out there for all concerned.

§  On defense, Woodson Greer and not Derrick Webb stayed on the field when Chido Awuzie (not John Walker) came in for the nickel package, and De’Jon Wilson broke into the d-line rotation.

When the Buffs have the ball:

§  The Buffs need to do two main things on offense: run the ball, keeping control for extended drives, to keep the Arizona offense off the field as much as possible, and then make sure the Buff drives end with some touchdowns, because Arizona will score some points.

§  Arizona is by no means one of the top defenses in the conference, have some vulnerabilities and the Buffs will have some chances to make some plays against them.

§  Sefo Liufau looked good in his starting debut, completing around 70% of his passes with no turnovers.  However, that was with a pretty conservative game plan.  In order to really give them a chance in this game, they will need to take a few more risks and make some plays, preferably earlier than later. I would expect to see some new wrinkles in the offense this week from Brian Lindgren, with Sefo both running more (some zone read, although Arizona runs it and therefore practices against it) and also throwing downfield more.

§  They need to involve more receivers than just P-Rich and Spruce.  DD Goodson has to touch the ball more than one or two times a game. I would love to see more Devin Ross also.  I wouldn’t mind seeing some more trickery. And please, any tight end, let’s catch a ball or two and make the defense be accountable.

§  The one-two rushing punch of Powell and Adkins was very effective against an injury-depleted, smaller, FCS defense, but they need a repeat performance against the Wildcats.  I really like it when they line up both in the backfield, either with Powell as the fullback, or with them both behind Liufau, or flanking him in the pistol formation.

§  It looks like both Wildcat safeties will be out: S Tra’mayne Bondurant is usually the Wildcats’ best playmaker but is out with a concussion, and his backfield mate Jared Tevis doesn’t appear ready to return to action with a knee injury, leaving youngsters William Parks and Anthony Lopez for Sefo to work against.

§  LB Marquis Flowers leads the defense and d-lineman Sione Tuihalamka and Reggie Gilbert clog the middle.

§  In one of the most talked about matchups, senior NFL prospect cornerback Shaquille Richardson will likely cover his cousin Paul (yes, that one) and both teams have been utilizing the scouting report of one cousin about the other.

When the Wildcats have the ball:

§  Ka’deem Carey set a ridiculous record (sorry to remind you but it was 366 yards) against the Buffs last season and led the nation in rushing yardage, and is on pace for an even bigger year with 161 per game.  The Buffs must limit him somewhat, to that average or below, to have a chance in this game. They will need to wrap him up and not let him get by the first guy, though easier said than done.

§  They must limit the big play, either on defense or special teams, especially late in the second and early in the third quarter, when games have usually gotten away from them.

§  BJ Denker surprised some by winning the starting job, but might be the most underrated QB in the conference if not nation.  When he isn’t handing off to Carey, he has been improving just about every game, and is effective not just as a runner with the zone-read option, but also continues to progress and produce as a passer. Their best receiver, Austin Hill, was injured in preseason and Denker’s options are limited to some young, but fast players like Samjie Grant and Nate Phillips.

§  In general, the CU defense will have to be more consistent in tackling.  Pac12 players will make you pay if you give them a second chance and a little space, especially a back like Carey, who will hit the smallest crease quickly and powerfully.

§  LB Addison Gillam has been a tackling machine, (stats from Brian Howell at the Camera) averaging a tackle every 6.13 snaps, with 67 so far (13 for loss) on pace for one of the best Buff seasons ever. He will need another big game against the Wildcats. PacificTakes' Jack Follman and others tapped him as Pac12 freshman of the year, over Cal LB Myles Jack and QB Jared Goff.

§  Woodson Greer, not Derrick Webb, was the second LB on the field with Gillam when Chidobe Awuzie came in for the nickel package.  That was a little surprising to me, but Greer is faster and although he made a couple of mistakes and mis-tackles, he also had a few nice plays.  The other senior captain LB, Paul Vigo, has been relegated to special teams duty only.

§  The Colorado defensive line was stout in the second half last week, against a tiring, smaller defense, and after getting trashed by MacIntyre at halftime and making adjustments to get back to the game plan.  Their work will be much more difficult this week and they won’t have time to get settled in as Arizona will come at them right away.  It would be fabulous if they could get a couple of hits on Denker.

§  De’Jon Wilson was the star of the scout team and was expected to do big things this year, but the coaching change might have been a shock and it took him awhile to get back on track. Now it appears he is a steady part of the rotation and is starting to rack up tackles and recovered Chidera’s latest strip; certainly would help if he could do that trick this week also and they think Arizona is a little susceptible to fumbles.

Special Teams:

§  The Wildcats have not put up big numbers, but they are another very fast Pac12 squad that could still test Toby Neinas’ crew.  Although the CU coverage teams have improved dramatically since the first two games, they are still a worry. It would benefit greatly if Oliver could continue getting kickoffs deep into the end zone. 

§  We will likely see Darragh continue some rugby punting, but one of these times he is going to take off and get the first down, and he and MacIntyre have hinted as much. I would also expect some new wrinkle on their first TD conversion try.

§  The Colorado return teams have definitely improved as well.  Ryan Severson was back on kickoff return duty and was fine, but just does not provide an explosive burst that you really need to break the big ones.  However, he is willing to “run to darkness” and follow the plan, even if it does appear open yet. He is actually 4^th in the conference with 23.5 yards per return and MacIntyre said he has come close to breaking one, but I just don’t ever see him taking one all the way without exceptional blocking, as someone will catch him from behind.

§  Nelson Spruce also is just fine on punt return, but was very conservative in fair-catching, or just letting punts go last week, although that could be coaching.  If ever there was a time to give young Devin Ross a shot, or just bite the bullet and get the ball automatically into P-Rich’s hands a few more times a game, this divisional conference home game would be the week.

§  Arizona has highly rated coverage teams both on kickoffs and punts, so we will see just how good our return game is.

§  BoulderDevil’s Keys to the Game: I’ve got to agree with him, except that maybe the first number is a little high.

–Liufau needs to continue to complete nearly 70% of his passes.
–Buffs need to convert 50% or more of their third downs.
–Buffs need to win the turnover game.
–Defense needs to limit Carey to 150 yards at most. The guy is the best in the country, so we can’t really ask the D to shut him down.
--Buffs need to be less predictable in their passing game, and get other guys involved besides Paul Richardson (or he'll end being doubled and tripled).
–Special teams need to continue their turnaround. They have been solid lately after starting the season horribly, when every return offered to put points on the board for our opponents.

§  Overall, I can’t really predict a Buff win, but maybe they keep it close under the lights.  They led after the first quarter last year, and were only down four at half, but this team is not quite ready to compete with even the middle of the Pac12 yet.  We’ll get revenge on the basketball courts.  ‘Zona 38 CU 27

§  It’s a long time until tailgating, longer until kickoff, so here are a plethora of posted previews for your perusal:

Stuart’s TIPS: http://www.cuatthegame.com/2013/colorado-v-arizona-a-preview/

Rumblin’ Preview: http://rumblinbuff.blogspot.com/2013/10/2013-arizona-football-preview.html#more

Ralphie Report’s Keys to the Game: http://www.ralphiereport.com/colorado-buffaloes-arizona-wildcats/2013/10/25/4866058/arizona-colorado-preview

RR’s Key Matchups: http://www.ralphiereport.com/colorado-buffaloes-arizona-wildcats/2013/10/24/5023088/colorado-vs-arizona-key-match-ups

DesertSwarm preview: http://www.azdesertswarm.com/2013/10/23/5023174/arizona-wildcats-football-colorado-buffaloes-preview

Plati’s CU Game Notes: http://www.cubuffs.com/fls/600/gameday/ua13/cunotes.pdf

Arizona Game Notes: http://www.cubuffs.com/fls/600/gameday/ua13/uanotes.pdf

ESPN Pac12 blog did an interview with Addison Gillam: http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post/_/id/64230/qa-colorados-addison-gillam?ex_cid=espnapi_public

Black and Pink Notes

Here are just a few mid-week tidbits leading up to the “Black and Pink is the new Black and Pink” Breast Cancer Awareness Game:

§  Review of the tape: I can’t believe I forgot to record the Charleston Southern game?!  It would be enjoyable to watch a win again, and I would really like to watch the lines to see how bad they really were.  Maybe I can find it on ESPNClassic.

§  Line: Arizona (4-2, 1-2) opened at -17, but that had gone down to 15 quickly.  Is everyone betting on the Buffs?

§  Injuries: Backup tackle Marc Mustoe broke his fibula in jumbo package duty and is done for the year.  Otherwise the Buffs are still relatively healthy, waiting for Josh Ford and Jeromy Irwin to heal.  FB/TE Alex Wood might play, but will anyone but his parents notice?

§  Both Arizona safeties, Tra’mayne Bondurant (not cleared from concussion) and Jared Tevis (knee), are questionable and very well may not play.

§  Team notes: True frosh San Kroshrage has been listed as the next tackle if something happened to Harris or Nembot (not playing well as it is), but they prefer not to use him.  Daniel Munyer and Kawai Crabb will work some at tackle this week and one of them would move outside, with Alex Kelley taking their guard spot, if something happens. If Jeromy Irwin does get fully healthy, they would prefer to also redshirt him this year since he lost last year to just a few plays. 

§  Sefo is really impressing everyone, not just with his play on the field, but his maturity and comfort in the interviews and press conferences.  He leads a group of young players who give some hope to the future.  Here’s a great article from his hometown. http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/10/22/2849777/from-graduation-to-college-starter.html

§  Honors, mentions and recognitions: Chidera Uzo-Diribe is getting some press (mention at Athlon and article in Camera) for his knack for forcing fumbles, as he leads the nation in that stat with 5 this season (and 10 in his career-one behind Brain Cabral’s team record).  He is looking forward to playing the Wildcats as they have been susceptible to fumbling, although they have recovered most themselves.  He also said that this staff doesn’t just talk about causing turnovers, but they spend a period every practice rotating through stations with different coaches working on stripping, catching the ball and other skills-so linemen work with DB coaches and DBs with others on causing fumbles.

§  An interesting stat from Athlon: “Colorado is 3-0 against the last three visiting teams from the Eastern time zoneCharleston Southern was a late addition to Colorado’s schedule, after its Sept. 14 game against Fresno State was canceled due to the flooding in Colorado. In its fifth-ever game against a FCS opponent and first home game against an Eastern time zone opponent since Georgia left with a 29-27 loss in 2010, the Buffaloes handed the previously 7-0 Buccaneers a 43-10 loss. Colorado also defeated visiting Miami (Ohio) 42-0 in 2007.”

§  RB Michael Adkins had a stellar week but was overlooked somewhat with some big days by other backs, but no worries as he could still catch someone off guard.

§  P-Rich has dropped to 4^th in the country with 130.3 receiving yards per game, ninth in overall receiving yards with 782, well on his way to most of CU’s single season receiving records.

§  Arizona RB Ka’Deem Carey is coming off a strong performance himself, having been named Pac12 Offensive player of the week for his school record 40 carries, picking up 236 yards and a 44-yard game-winning TD.

§  Connections: Paul’s cousin Shaquille Richardson is a DB on the Wildcats and the two could go head-to-head at times just like Grandma’s backyard at Thanksgiving. They are talking a lot of friendly, cousinly trash to each other and a huge contingent of Richardson will be in attendance.  Paul admitted that the holidays will be awkward for someone. I guess they did a funny joint interview on Pac12 Networks, so keep your eye out for it.

§  Other Buffs Notes: Sean Embree, former Buff TE and little brother of Jon, won his third straight European Football championship in Serbia.

§  2014 Recruiting: Verbal commit Evan White, an in-state recruit, has taken three visits to CU and is more excited than ever to come to Boulder.

§  Pacific Takes Fantasy League: Michael Adkins made up for the injury loss of both UCLA’s Jordon James and Oregon De’Anthony Thomas (and for basically no TE-Kyle Slavin) while Connor Halliday again threw for over 500 yards as “Bringin’ the Buff” rolled again.  We are up to 5-3, second best record behind the league founder.  I am without Halliday on bye next week, going Utah’s Adam Schulz who came on for Travis Wilson, although I have no idea who will actually play.

Sunday streamofconsciousness postgame response

Well, the Buffs are 3-3 halfway through their season, and back in August, any of us would have taken that record no questions asked, but this does feel a little dirty.  The scoreboard and stat sheet say they dominated, covering any spreads that were put out there, and they won big, as should be expected 43-10.  The offense of the future was on display as true freshman QB Sefo Liufau directed his first starting drive down the field for a TD and 8-0 lead, and then to his first win, with his best play being a handoff to fellow newbie RB Michael Adkins who had a career day for the Buffs (not to mention my fantasy team as a replacement for De’Anthony Thomas and Jordon James) with 13 carries for 137 yards (more than 10 yards per) and a CU frosh record FOUR touchdowns.  Christian Powell’s bruising style complemented Adkins speed and vision and they were often out there together, including starting the game.  Paul Richardson (on pace to beat all of the CU’s single season receiving records) had another stellar day, including taking a nice leading pass from Sefo and then using his blocks well to maneuver 61 yards (actually a lot more as the crow runs) for a TD.  The defense held the Buccaneers to 10 points with Addison Gillam and Greg Henderson leading the way again. Chidera had another forced fumble and Jered Bell got his second pick. Chido Awuzie earned his nickel spot back over John Walker and played very well, including a crushing blindside sack to put an exclamation mark on the win.  Woodson Greer had a big game, staying on field in the nickel package instead of senior captain Derrick Webb.  DE De’Jon Wilson had his most extensive playing time and made the most of it. Special teams didn’t do anything horrendous and Darragh scored a 2-point conversion, running it straight ahead (good choice Lindgren!).

However-and yes, there are a whole lot of howevers-against a smaller, slower, lower division team the Buffs struggled at times, especially early on defense.  The Buccaneers, with their 3^rd string QB were able to engineer two NINE minute drives by running the option (thankfully we don’t play a real option team like Georgia Tech or one of the academies) and picking up third down numerous times with an easy QB draw, therefore keeping themselves in the game.  There were a lot of missed tackles in those two drives (including from Greer and Orms). The defensive line struggled more often than not, enough that Coach MacIntyre screamed to Chad Brown on the radio before going in the locker room, “The defensive line sucks!” They improved greatly in the second half, as the Buc offensive lineman started to wear down.  While the offensive line had some good moments and was able to open some holes for the RBs, they were not very good in pass protection against blitzes and they had the only two penalties. LT Stephane Nembot was especially awful (is he regressing?).  Unfortunately, they have very little behind him and Jack Harris as backup to both Marc Mustoe came in as part of a “jumbo” short yardage package, promptly broke his fibula and is done for the year (hopefully Jeromy Irwin is healthy soon, although they wanted to redshirt him).  The offense still did not get other receivers involved much, although this is partially due to the fact that they did use a pretty vanilla game plan, hopefully holding quite a bit back for the rest of conference play.  Sefo had trouble reading the blitz and the hot receiver so he could unload the ball and this is only going to get harder to read in the Pac12.

Yes the Buffs took care of business.  The team hit all five of BoulderDevil’s keys-50% 3^rd down conversion, 2-0 turnovers, only 2 penalties, and they never gave up a huge play on defense or special teams.  Remember that FCS CSU was playing without its best defensive player and a starting safety on defense, plus their backup QB’s backup (that would be resorting to one of the Jordans for us).  They hardly filled their sidelines with their limited roster depth and their entire defense was sucking wind on the last TD drive.  The Buffs did what they were supposed to do here, and no more, and that leaves me a little concerned.

The keys to the game will be just about the same for next week, against a much better team in Arizona.  The Buffs went 3-3 in the first half of the season, and now we’ll see if they have the moxi to go 3-3 in the second half against all Pac12 opponents.  I would expect to see the offense open up a bit next week with Sefo airing it out a little more, as well as running some zone-option read.  Kent Baer and the defense are going to have to draw up some blitzes to help out that defensive line.

It always feels good to beat up on a CSU

It’s CSU 2 Electric Boogaloo as the mighty undefeated Buccaneers of Charleston Southern University invade Boulder and Folsom Field.  CSU is undefeated at 7-0, ranked #20 in the FCS poll, and coming off a Southern Conference win over VMI.  MacIntyre says they are better than Central Arkansas, but that might be pushing it a little-the combined record of their seven FCS opponents is 11-32.  The Buffs can’t take anyone lightly, but it sure would be nice to see them dominate a lesser team.

§  Line: The line started at 31.5, which seems a little high for Colorado against any team, but has steadily dropped to 19.5 (or possibly lower).

§  CU-CSU connections: CSU DB coach Marcus Woodson was a teammate of CU safety coach Charles Clark when they played under MacIntyre at Ole Miss.

§  Depth Chart moves/Burn the Redshirt: Nothing of consequence happened in this realm last week, except the fact that the coaching staff finally decided to rip of Sefo Liufau’s redshirt and torch it in the Arizona desert.  MacIntyre said after the game he intends to keep playing the true frosh and QB of the future, as long as he “plays good”-we hope coach speak good more too.

§  MacIntyre said they didn’t anticipate any lineup changes.

§  However, WR Jeff Thomas, who has had some off field problems and was supposedly slated to redshirt, tweeted that we might see him out on the field this week.

§  Injuries: WR Nelson Spruce sprained his knee and is questionable and there was no word yet Saturday morning, kick returner Ryan Severson (hamstring) will also be a game time decision and FB/TE Alex Wood has not been cleared yet from his concussion; DT Josh Tupou, who had been questionable last week with a sprained ankle, started in Tempe.

When the Buffs have the ball:

§  All eyes on the Sefo era as the true frosh will make his first start. I am  most curious to see what tricks Brian Lindgren has up his sleeve, or if he will just play it real conservative with his new toy. Sefo was most comfortable looking for Nelson Spruce, who has become a really solid possession receiver, but “Double Deuce” may be out this week. Who else will the freshman look to then? 

§  First and foremost, P-Rich needs to get the ball in his hands; Lindgren needs to put him in position and Richardson himself has got to get more physical or DBs (even these guys) will push him around and neutralize him.  Sefo has a strong, accurate arm, especially in the medium range, so I would expect to see him target P-Rich more, even if he is covered. Overall, there will be a few less deep balls from Liufau than Wood though. 

§  If they are going to employ the decoy strategy with Richardson, then they need to dink and dunk more like Sefo did mostly with Spruce in the 2^nd half last week.  He is so much more accurate in the short to medium game than Connor. They will need to take what the defense gives them, but they need to get others besides Spruce involved (especially if he is out), so the safeties will have to lay off P-Rich some and then he will open up; once he makes a few plays, it will open up for everyone else.

§  I’d like to see them get Devin Ross more involved.  As much as we like DD Goodson and his story, he is limited in what he can do, while Ross offers a lot more out of that slot position.  Jeff Thomas has hinted he might make it on the field as well, which would provide another familiar target for Sefo.

§  They finally got the TEs involved a little and I think Liufau will do more of that as he rolls out of the pocket.  Kyle Slavin is poised for a mini-breakout, but this is by far the thinnest position on the roster and that is saying a lot.

§  One big question is how much of the zone-read-option thing will they run with a more mobile, but inexperienced QB? Overall, I think we will see more designed running plays called as Sefo is more athletic, and since he also appears to see the field well, a little more of Sefo taking off when the situation warrants (rather than hanging on the ball and standing back there forever).

§  Christian Powell and Michael Adkins have become a nice one-two combo, although Lindgren does not always put them in the best positions for their strengths.  Both should be able to put up big numbers here.  Tony Jones will still get a few third down chances, and could also have a good game.  Ideally, the Buffs would get up big and give Donta Abron some more touches and even get Malcolm Creer some playing experience.

§  CSU has given up quite a bit of yards, but have held many drives to field goals.  Sefo’s short accuracy and running ability will also aid them in their redzone offense, making it more dangerous and hopefully effective.

§  They have also got be better on third down (only 28% with most of the conversions against backups and soft defenses in blowouts), and his accuracy should help them there; led by Wood the offense was on a 3-33 conversion streak before Sefo went 7-11, (albeit against a soft backup defense). 

§  Liufau should be a little better this week at taking care of the ball and limiting turnovers (2 INTs, fumble, safety in endzone).  They definitely need to win the turnover battle-that was what ended up deciding the UCA game, but it would be better to not have to rely on a late defensive TD to spark a win.

§  Safety Demaris Freeman leads the Buc defense and had 10 tackles against VMI and Eli Lee is their top corner who will likely draw P-Rich often.  LB  Calvin Bryant is in the middle and has 47 tackles and 2.5 sacks to date.  They also have two fast defensive ends who might give Nembot some trouble-although the best one, Will Hunt, will not play, which would certainly help the Buffs as he might be their best player and was getting some NFL looks.

When the Buccaneers have the ball:

§  Freshman QB Danny Croghan (starter tore up knee) leads “an option offense out of the gun.  Kind of like a pistol option offense, more veer related and speed-option oriented,” according to MacIntyre, who also called it a Nevada-Navy hybrid.  So, they will run it a lot and test our defense’s speed on the edge.

§  The offensive line is neither deep nor experienced, but the group has clicked well together and is considered a strength of the team.  However, they are on the smaller side and the Buff defensive line should have its best game, although they still have to worry about containing Croghan. Chidera was very quiet last week, so I would expect a big game from him here.

§  JC transfer RB Christian Reyes is about to surpass the team season record for rushing yards (needs 46 for 768) and the Bucs will want to try and run the ball, eat some clock and rest their defense at the altitude.

§  However, they can also throw the ball, maybe better now with Croghan, who has completed 62% of his passes without and interception.  His favorite receivers are Larry Jones, who caught five passes for 103 yards and TD last week, and Kevin Gears, who has 20 catches for 303 yards and 5 TDs.

§  LB Addison Gillam continues to get a ton of attention and hype even nationally, and he continues to make plays.  He is still averaging over 10 tackles per game (he went down a little as he hardly played in the second half at ASU) and he should easily get double digits again here.  Derrick Webb is solid and teams are definitely aware of him.  Woodson Greer has also played some solid ball as well and has held off Sr. and captain Paul Vigo when they do use a third LB.

§  Even this team will know they can pick on Crawley, and that they should stay away from Greg Henderson. So, this should be a good week to test out the younger guys some more so expect to see lots of John Walker (got the start at nickel last week) and Chidobe Awuzie at corner and nickel and hopefully less of friggin’ Crawley moving forward.  I am not sure why Walker was promoted as I have not been as impressed with him as Chido.  I wonder if Parker retains his starting spot or if Tedric Thompson stays there for his speed, now that he has a little experience under his belt.

Special Teams:

§  We always have Darragh O’Neill. Maybe we’ll go for two again with him, because that worked well. I can’t believe that MacIntyre and Neinas have wasted time practicing Oregon’s (other teams like ASU do it as well but they have popularized it) spread out PAT formation to go for two if the defense shows what they want, or re-aligning to kick the point.  They have enough trouble with the basics, I see no reason to get tricky, and it looked really stupid when they tried it down 25-6 (although maybe that was the time to test it out and now they hopefully have scrapped it).  If they are going to fake with Darragh, let the former multi-sport star run it.  In his press conference, MacIntyre did say that they have to practice it some at least for the defense that will face this type of play, so they can work on implementing it as well; he also pointed out that the CU player was more open than the ASU player, but that the Sun Devils just made the play.

§  Wil Oliver has been very good, hitting all but one of his kicks, already surpassing last year’s FG total, and has gotten better each week with his deep kickoffs.  Hopefully, he will get a lot of practice Saturday and we can see how his leg holds up.  He should never allow a return at home with the altitude.

§  Devin Ross did most of the kickoff returns as Severson sat out with a hamstring, and although he momentarily fumbled one, he looked pretty good out there.  Although Ryan Severson has shown good vision, he just doesn’t have that explosive burst you need as a returner, and Ross definitely gives them that. MacIntyre said Severson will be back this week and both will get their chances.  They also tried Jeff Hall once, but he fumbled and almost lost it.

§  LB Brady Daigh, who most expected to grab the starting slot alongside Derrick Webb entering spring ball, has had to find other ways to contribute since losing his spot to talented freshman Addison Gillam.  Playing on all special teams units, Daigh is leading the team in ST points.  (He did get to play most of the second half on defense last week and ended up leading the team in tackles with ten.)

§  Keys to the game: Here are BoulderDevil’s five keys to winning this game and getting on track for the rest of the conference schedule:

-- Convert 3rd downs at a high level.
-- Win the turnover battle.
-- Cut out the mental mistakes that lead to dumb penalties.
-- Play solid special teams.
-- Limit the home runs on defense.

§  Overall, this game could be, should be, needs to be a blowout, or at least a healthy, double-digit Buff win evening their record at 3-3 (albeit an old school Bill Snyder mid-90’s K-State 3-3).

Buffs 41-CSU 27.

§  If  you need some more:

Stuart’s TIPS: http://www.cuatthegame.com/2013/charleston-southern-preview/

Rumblin’ Buff Preview: http://rumblinbuff.blogspot.com/2013/10/2013-charleston-southern-football.html

Plati’s CU Game Notes: http://www.cubuffs.com/fls/600/gameday/chso13/cunotes.pdf

CSU Bucs Game Notes: http://www.cubuffs.com/fls/600/gameday/chso13/csunotes.pdf