Hawaii Preview

The Buffs made dramatic improvements in all phases of the game against ASU and that must continue against their last non-conference opponent.  Colorado is expected to win, but Hawaii did give both Washington and Oregon St. all they could handle (although both games were at home).  One distinct advantage the Buffs should enjoy with the early noon kickoff is that it will be 8:00 AM Hawaiian time for the Rainbows’ first road game of the year, having rarely fared that well on the mainland.

§  Line: The Buffs opened as 7 point favorites, and it has risen as high as 8 ½.

§  Depth Chart moves/Burn the Redshirt: WR Donovan Lee was the fifth freshman to burn his redshirt and was used on two reverses, one going for 29 yards.  Coach MacIntyre has insinuated that a couple more true frosh could still get on the field and WRs Lee Walker and Jay MacIntyre are still listed on the depth chart.

§  R-Fr. George Frazier not only lined up as FB, but it also the third TE in certain packages and now has added DE to his job description.  MacIntyre realized he was a little short on d-ends and made the move, which is permanent.  Frazier is the first two-way player at CU since John Guyton played a few snaps on each side of the line in 2006.  This move probably saves the redshirts of DEs Michael Mathewes and Jase Franke.

§  R-Fr. Jonathon Huckins came in at LG while Kaiwi Crabb moved out to LT when Jeromy Irwin was concussed.

§  Injuries: DE Markeis Reed and Garrett Gregory are still out. Jeromy Irwin supposedly was back to normal with his concussion protocol on Sunday and should be cleared to play.  RB Tony Jones (who had his best day as a Buff) is a gametime decision with a chest bruise.

§  Buff notes and Connections: WR Nelson Spruce, who leads the nation with six receiving TDs, was added to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List.

§  Four buffs hail from Hawaii: three seniors DT Juda Parker, LG Kaiwi Crabb and backup LB KT Tu’umalo, plus redshirting freshman CB Jaisen Sanchez.

§  There are three Hawaiians making a sort of homecoming this weekend: Former All-American Buff and NFLer Chris Naeole is the offensive line coach for Hawaii, Chatfield’s Ben Clarke plays tackle for the Warriors and DE Kory Rasmussen came to Boulder for one year before returning home to play.

When the Buffs have the ball:

§  The Hawaii defense is much improved and limited both Washington and Oregon St. and are not to be taken for granted.  That being said, the Buffs should own a talent edge across the board and should find some success.

§  The offensive line started to gel a little and had its best day yet against ASU, finally opening some holes for the RBs who were finally able to break a couple of big gains. Powell, Jones and Lindsay all had success last week but Michael Adkins has not looked good at all.   This rotation should continue this week and the hot hands will keep getting the rock and I think they will find some running room.  They do have to deal with 320-pound Moses Samia in the middle. DE Kennedy Tulimasealii leads the team with six tackles for loss.  However, the line is still letting Sefo get hit a little too often.  Nembot was certainly better, and there doesn’t seem to be a viable option.

§  Sefo should have a lot of success as he seems to be clicking with all his receivers now.  He should be able to rack up some yards this week with so many weapons.  Even with attention from teams Nelson Spruce continues to find space.  T-Fr. Shay Fields is Sefo’s second favorite target, but Bryce Bobo, DD Goodson and Tyler McCulloch are all starting to get involved, not to mention Donovan Lee.

§  I hope they can find a way to get the TEs involved at least a little (only 3 catches for 23 yards between them).  This position could be dynamic for this offense and would really open up the field for those speedy receivers.  It is a shame that Dylan Keeney injured his knee-although he recently returned to practice, MacIntyre said they won’t burn his redshirt at this point, without an injury anyway.  Maybe we will finally get to see Connor Center.

When the Rainbows have the ball:

§  Hawaii is a run oriented team, but will be without its best RB Joey Iosefa, so bigger but slower Steven Lakalaka will be getting the majority of the carries now. He rushed for 124 yards last week, but that was against Northern Iowa and on like 30 carries.

§  QB Ikaika Woolsey is mobile, rolls out a lot and will take off running if need be, although he is not the most explosive runner and even this defensive line should be able to contain him.  His career passing high is only 236 yards (and by all of us printing this we are guaranteeing he breaks it this week).  He has two main receivers, Quinten Pedroza and Marcus Kemp, each with double digit catches, plus versatile former Aussie Rules player Scott Harding (see more below).

§  All in all, the CU defense should be able to handle this group, but I have said that before and they are still very young, especially those defensive ends.  I am hoping that Baer mixes in some blitzes again to take some pressure off them, but they will be wary of the QB getting outside the tackles, so they might not do it that often.

§  Addison Gillam has not been his spectacular self, but he has still been good, is second on the team  in tackles, and should only get better as the season rolls on.  He still has not put back on all the weight he lost during a summer illness.  The other LBs have been relatively quiet, but Woodson Greer likely will play more this game, and maybe a little Brady Daigh, since they are playing a more run=oriented team.

§  I have only noticed minor substitutions in the Buff secondary, after the coaches said they would be rotating quite a bit to rest players, but not so far.  Tedric Thompson leads the team in tackles and has the one interception. Kenneth Crawley, even with a handful of bonehead plays, is light years ahead of last season, while Greg Henderson has been solid, but has been beaten a few times and teams are not afraid to go at the senior.  Chidobe Awuzie is now the free safety and seems to be a natural fit.  John Walker appears to have nailed down the nickel slot.  True frsoh safety Evan White has gotten in for a decent amount of snaps, but I don’t think I have seen much of Terrell Smith or Marques Mosley, nor Yuri Wright. Akhello Witherspoon has been hampered by injury and struggled in his brief appearances.

Special Teams:

§  The best aspect of this group was that Wil Oliver bombed all his kickoffs deep into or out of the endzone and the unit didn’t have to cover any kicks.  That should continue on Saturday (although will become a problem when they go on the road and play at sea level).

§  Darragh O’Neill was his usual self booming punts and pinning half inside the 20.

§  His counterpart, Hawaii punter Scott Harding will also be catching O’Neill’s punts as Harding is also a backup receiver and main punt returner.

§  Phillip Lindsay showed what he can do as a kick returner busting an early kickoff for 46 yards (after that however, Zane Gonzalez booted perfect high kicks that landed almost exactly at goal line, within a few feet of the sideline, making them very difficult to return). 

§  Overall, this will mark the third time the Buffs are favored to win, so they should not have too much problem with this one.  However, I think it will be close and that Hawaii will find a way to stick around.  In the end, the altitude and relentless Buffaloes will be too much for the Warriors to handle, Buffs 34-27.

§  If  you have some more time before the early kickoff:

Stuart’s TIPS: http://www.cuatthegame.com/2014/cu-vs-hawaii-a-preview/

Plati’s CU Game Notes: http://www.cubuffs.com/fls/600/gameday/uh14/cunotes.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=600

Hawaii Game Notes: http://www.cubuffs.com/fls/600/gameday/uh14/uhnotes.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=600