§
There should be some continued shakeup in the
lineups as the Buffs have to find answer to their spiraling season woes,
especially on defense. Who knows what
those will be? To paraphrase a Denver
Post writer (Kizla I think): Who knows what really goes on behind those closed
practices fences.
§
Upon viewing game film, Embree said most of the
problems were attention to detail-that’s a lot of details I guess.
§
Surprisingly, some writers are still giving CU a
chance, if they can do a number of things from better offensive line
play, QBs taking advantage of weak WSU secondary, catch balls thrown to them,
get some pressure on the Coug QB, not give up the big play, tackle well. Like I said, a lot of details, a lot of ifs,
too many to have any confidence.
§
Embree met individually with every player on the
team this week to check in, keep them up and talk about the future. I hope he is doing the same with his committed
recruits.
§
There are numerous wildfires burning in the
state of Washington and the air quality near Pullman is reportedly very
smoky. Residents are being advised to
stay inside as much as possible and many high school and smaller college games
in the area have been moved or postponed.
It will be interesting to see how this affects the players and the game.
§
Burn the
Redshirt! The total rises to 13 as DE Samson Kafovalu (incorrectly reported
as having played vs. Sac St.) and OG Jeromy Irwin got some serious garbage time
vs. Fresno St. as they played all backups and got all but 3 dressed players (of
62) into the game, with six starting the game (Powell, Hobbs, Topou, Crawley,
Wright, Mosley). As there is still
uncertainty at RB, we still might get to see Terrence Crowder, and I wouldn’t
be surprised if TE Austin Ray gets his shot some time soon. On the d-line I also wouldn’t be surprised if
Kory Rasmussen has to or gets to play. There’s
not too many left though.
§
Game Captains:
Srs. DT/E Wil Pericak and S Ray Polk along with Jrs. LT David Bahktiari and LB
Derrick Webb were the captains for Fresno St.
These might be the usual captains for the rest of the season as they
have been the leaders on and off the field, for whatever that is worth.
§
Depth
Chart moves: There will be no coaching changes as have been called for by
many outside the program, and no apparent depth chart moves, although Wil
Pericak is listed as “co-starter” at both DE (with Kirk Poston) and DT (with
Nate Bonsu). R-Fr. walk-on Clay Jones is
listed as number two inside Mike LB behind Brady Daigh (with Doug Rippy out one
more week) but I would be surprised to see him play with Greer, Washington and
Vigo having gotten the backup reps so far in Rippy’s absence.
§
Injuries:
Woodson Greer III had a neck stinger but returned to the Fresno St. game. S Ray Polk and LB Doug Rippy (expects to play
vs. UCLA next week) are still out on the defense; C Gus Handler will travel but
is questionable; his backup, Brad Cotner “ruptured a capsule in his foot” and
is out a few weeks. Greg Henderson is
questionable, but reportedly will play. S
Marques Moseley tweaked a knee (was taken out at halftime of FSU, but snuck
back onto the field) but should play this week.
CB Yuri Wright also sprained an ankle and CB Jeff Hall had a minor
injury, but both are expected to be available. Not sure on RB Tony Jones who
missed the trip last week with shoulder and ankle injuries and is listed
“day-to-day”.
§
WSU is one of the growing number of schools that
are not releasing any injury information, so we only know that their number one
RB Ricky Galvin is out, QB Jeff Tuel is
unofficially questionable (likely will be backup), and numerous other players
appear to have been held out or limited in practice.
When the Cougs have the ball:
§
Mike Leach and Washington St. are going to spread
the field and throw all over the place against the young Buffs secondary. They are literally drooling. It doesn’t matter if it is Jeff Tuel or
Connor Holliday at the helm. Probably
Holliday starts but Tuel will get his stats as well. Tuel offers more as a runner, but Holliday is
more of a gunslinger, who will go deep more often, but will also try to fit the
ball in tight windows and is somewhat susceptible to interceptions.
§
They will spread out with five wide often,
trying to hit the short crossing routes on the run. CU will need to react quickly and either “blitz
the shit out of them” (as former Buff LB Akarika Dawn suggest on NetBuffs.com) and/or
play tight and jump the routes, going for big plays and taking the risks. However, they will more likely sit back in a
soft zone, give up a ton of short completions, hoping to tackle well and hold
them to FGs.
§
Marques Wilson, as he showed last year in
Boulder, is a big-time receiver and even “containment” of him would be
considered a success. Isaiah Myers and
Gabe Marks are also capable.
§
They don’t really bother to run the ball and are
therefore one of the lowest ranked rushing teams, which means they will
probably go off on the ground today, or at least break a few big plays on
unexpected draws.
§
The CU defense for Fresno St. was supposed to
have been simplified, and it definitely appeared that way, as the Bulldogs seemed
to know exactly what was coming. Once
again, no adjustments were made and even the backups were killing the Buffs
starters.
§
CB Greg Henderson should be able to play, which
can only help the defense, but they still miss way too much without Polk in
there keeping everyone in position and focused.
§
On top of that, the Buffs will continue to play
numerous true freshmen on defense, including at least three starters: CB
Crawley, S/Nickel Mosley, and Topou at DT.
Even though Yuri Wright may not start again for Henderson, he will play a
lot regardless. At least six other true
frosh played on the defense last week and most should play again this week. Expect many more growing pains though.
§
Crawley can stay
with just about anyone; he just has no technique when the ball gets
there. He actually seems to be able to
read the receiver’s eyes and know when the ball gets there but he doesn’t turn
around, and gives up the reception, pass interference, or both (which is really
embarrassing). Teams will continue to
pick on him until he corrects this.
§
DEs Sr. Wil Pericak and Jr. Chidera Uzo-Diribe are supposed to be
the leaders of the defense but (sorry guys) both were non-existent for much of
that game. The d-line got little
pressure on the QB and did little to stop the run. Another position group
playing a lot of guys who probably shouldn’t be out there yet or ever.
§
T-Fr. Samson Kafovalu is listed number two at
one DE and Kirk Poston at the other, leaving former 4-star recruit Juda Parker
number three on both sides.
§
The linebackers have made most of the plays, but
too many were downfield. They are
supposed to be the strength and leaders of the defense, but they are not
controlling the middle of the field. This
will be especially important with the way the Cougs throw the ball across the
middle. All the rotating here keeps them
from being as sharp as they could be, even if they are all fresh.
When the Buffs have the ball:
§
Eric Bienemy will be pacing the sidelines for CU
for the first time since his debut as coordinator. This was a big topic of discussion at the
onset of the first season, and has been discussed by many including EB and
Embree, but it was ultimately decided that he would remain there…until this
week, when EB again asked to come down to the sidelines. Embree, who some say is not pleased with
Bienemy because of some of his decisions have been contrary to Embree’s requests,
finally gave the okay and we will see if it makes any difference. QB Coach Rip Scherer will remain in the box
with graduate assistants and EB will likely (hopefully) rely on Rip’s
suggestions in the heat of the moment on the field. He will certainly add more energy and fire to
the sidelines (and loud cursing), and LT David Bahkitiari said that no one will
be allowed to hang their head with EB nearby.
Coach Mac is a little worried about EB being too fiery and said, “"the single most competitive guy I've ever been around. I
don't know whether that will work or not. He's a live wire…This will be
interesting; keep the cameras on him. Probably,
too little too late with this one.
§
In all likelihood, it will be Jordan Webb to
start at QB, but Wood will definitely get some time again. I don’t even know what to think about this
position, where it appears we have three decent backups and nothing more.
However, we certainly don’t know who will finish the game. Here’s a prediction: Hirschman gets in the
game again when it’s out of hand late.
Until someone takes control as the QB (and that may be Sefo or Shane
next year or 2014), this offense will never find its groove under Bienemy.
§
WSU has given up a ton of yardage through the
air, unbelievably ranking lower than the Buffs, and they are surprisingly solid
against the run. If the CU QBs are ever
to do anything, this is the time to shine.
§
Their 3-4 attacking D utilizes a “Buck”
linebacker, Travis Long, who moves all over the field and makes a lot of plays
for the defense. Webb and Wood and the
offensive line will need to account for him at all times.
§
RB Christian Powell’s second effort was not
nearly as significant as his first, but they were not able to get him as many
touches since they were down 21-0 in the blink of an eye. Unfortunately, this could be the trend more
often than not. They also tried almost
everyone else (Ford, Abron, Creer, Goodson) for at least a series, without a
lot of production (Ford’s, as usual was against backups), so I have no idea
what their plan will be here either. Although he is not listed among the top
five RBs on the depth chart, they have got to give Ford his shot in real game
minutes. And why not see what T-Fr. Terrence Crowder can do, especially if he
can catch and block out of the backfield, since they will be passing situations
a lot.
§
The wide receivers are pedestrian at best and
there is no number one, only a bunch of “threes”. Gerald Thomas has a lot of potential, but the
coaches have not gotten him enough touches, nor does he have the whole offense
in his grasp yet. He still needs to
learn how to get open through other means than just his speed.
§
The tight ends are very similar to the
receivers, in that no one has really stepped up. Many of us were overanxious for Hobbs, but he
too still relies on his speed which is not as big of an advantage anymore.
§
The offensive line…sigh…is a disaster, the
biggest disappointment on the team, but all the younger guys got to
play-Stephane Nembot and Marc Mustoe (bookends of the future?), T-FR. Jeromy
Irwin, Alex Kelley, Brad Cotner. With
Cotner and Handler out, Munyer should slide to center, Harris to guard and
we’ll see if its Dannewitz (hope not) or a younger guy like Nembot (hope so) or
Mustoe. The next center would either be
starting LG Alex Lewis or T-Fr. backup guard Alex Kelley (who has played
center). I would not be surprised to see
some other changes in the lineup here, regardless. Of course, with “coach” Steve Marshall and
this team, I wouldn’t be surprised with basically status quo either.
§
Overall, the offense is comprised of a lot of
backup caliber players, who are not in tune with their offense and who do not
get consistent, creative play calls that set them up for success.
§
Washington St. plays an aggressive 3-4 defense
that has been getting pressure on the QB.
This sounds scary, but the offense could
take advantage with some well-timed screens to the RBs, but it will probably
just be scary.
Special Teams:
§
This area has not given up the big play and has
been fairly consistent overall, making this the strength of the team so far, which
is sad, since it too can only be considered mediocre, except maybe Darragh
O’Neill (will he really be the team’s MVP at season’s end?) and the punting
game.
§
Overall, it is just plain
depressing.
§
If you really feel you need some more:
Plati’s
CU Game Notes: http://www.cubuffs.com/fls/600/gameday/wsu12/cunotes.pdf?SPID=255&SPSID=3843&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=600
Washington
St. Game Notes: http://www.cubuffs.com/fls/600/gameday/wsu12/wsunotes.pdf?SPID=255&SPSID=3843&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=600
Coug
Center’s CU offensive and defensive previews: http://www.cougcenter.com/2012/9/19/3358998/wsu-cougars-vs-colorado-buffaloes-football-preview-game-time-tv-schedule-stats
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