Oregon State Post Mortem

Mike MacIntyre and the Colorado Buffaloes plummeted back to Pac12 reality Saturday, being outclassed at every position and in every category as well as on the sidelines and coaches’ box.  Their 34-day undefeated adventure came to a screeching halt with an ugly loss that could have been much worse if not for a bunch of dropped passes by Oregon St. receivers.  One could try to blame it on the rust, 21 days without a game and the flooding, but this performance was just plain awful and went much deeper than the layoff. The second half was eerily similar to much of last season and brought back very bad memories, in fact, I am surprised I slept at all.  The coaching staff must find a way to temper the “here we go again” attitude within the locker room (it is already running rampant elsewhere).  The problem only intensifies with Oregon coming to Boulder next week.  Warning: Read on at your own risk, it isn’t pretty.

§  Line: I am putting the over/under for the Oregon line at 27.5, and would be inclined to take the over on that, as well as take the Oregon with those points, and probably taking the over for the game, no matter how high they set it..

§  Review of the tape: I don’t think I can stomach watching that game again.

§  Game notes: It was pretty bleak across the board, like too often was the case last year, with the few good plays being quite over-shadowed by the uncountable bad ones.  It starts in the trenches, where the Buffs were mauled.  The offensive line could not open holes or give time to Wood (who looked a lot like last year’s version as well).  RT Stephane Nembot had the worst game of his career.  Conversely, the Buff defensive line put little pressure on Mannion, who usually had all day to find Brandin Cooks, or occasionally someone else, and Oregon St. had their best rushing game of the year. Unfortunately, I don’t believe there is anything in the cupboard worth breaking out that could really help either group.

§  The tackling was atrocious.

§  While the defense had a short stretch with some containment of the Beaver offense, and even some early 3-and-outs, the success was short-lived and they never built anything upon it, not was Mannion ever fazed.

§  The secondary struggled mightily against Cooks and crew, with both safeties, Orms and Bell, seemingly a step behind receivers all afternoon. 

§  I had been less impressed than most with Kenneth Crawley through the first two games, but now most everybody should be joining me in criticizing him, realizing he has not improved nearly enough, and that teams will continue to target him.  I would not be surprised at all to see Chido given the starting nod in the near future (he did not have a horrible game, but definitely made some mistakes).

§  Cooks showed he is by far the best receiver in the conference and probably nation, catching balls all over the field, even in double coverage, rushing the ball on end arounds and racking up big stats.  Paul Richardson, on the other hand, was basically shut out with most of his yards in garbage time and his TD really a sympathy uphold on replay.  And no one else really stepped up either while the defense bracketed him.

§  Play-calling:  This was the biggest surprise really that the offensive play-calling seemed somewhat Bienemy-like at times, often forcing the run, trying to swing Powell outside, rolling Connor Wood to his left to throw against his body.  They did not do a whole lot that did put Connor Wood in good position to make plays.  And even with two full weeks could not find creative ways to get Richardson the ball, or even decoy him to open up others-Goodson, Spruce, McCulloch (one catch and TD late) and Ross were all very quiet.

§  Defensively, when they did blitz, it had little effect (the one fumble but that’s about it) and Mannion seemed to have no problem whatsoever reading the coverage and quickly finding weak spots to throw.

§  However, MacIntyre, for the first time, blamed the players a few times in his post-game press conference: about special teams blunders he claimed “Those weren’t coaching mistakes -- those are kids not doing what they are supposed to do -- holding on to the ball correctly and recovering it correctly”; he pointed out numerous times that the defense missed three interception opportunities in the first half, and that the offense stalled itself with penalties and turnovers; he even said of what the team and Connor Wood need to do: “Throw the ball to the right guys!”

§  Special Teams: Well, they were improved…but still sucked.  Although they did not give up any huge returns, they didn’t make any either, and they made a ton of bumbling plays, turning the ball over twice by not being able to field squib kicks.  Note to Neinas: Brady Daigh should NOT be on the “hands” team for onsides kicks.

§  It was so bad that even team MVP Darragh O’Neill shanked a 16-yard punt that set up OSU’s first FG.

§  I wonder when they give in and let Richardson return punts?  He is listed number two and is obviously is the best option out there.  Even if Spruce is a little more sure-handed, he is just not that dynamic with the ball in his hands, and does not have the quick burst a good kick returner needs.  Cooks was returning punts for his team, because he is their best player, and with the ball in his hands, they have the best chance of winning.

§  Bright spot(s?): The one really exciting player and development was true freshman RB Michael Adkins getting his first action and almost racking up a 100-yard day (98). He ran really well, way better than Tony Jones or Christian Powell (Donta Abron did not play), with good vision and strength, picking up yards after contact and he even appeared to block well.  I would love to see him on kickoff return also.  Although a lot of it was late when game was not really in question, this was by far the best Buff rushing game to date, statistically anyway. To my untrained eyes, Adkins should be starting next week, or soon thereafter.  Not sure if that is enough to draw attention and make a difference anywhere else though.

§  LB Addison Gillam also had some nice plays yet again, with probably the best hit of the day in the backfield, and continues to be the shining light on defense.

§  The best news to come out of the day, might be Richardson’s egg-laying, as his draft stock surely took a hit and there is a slightly better chance he stays for his senior season.

§  Sledgehammer: RG Daniel Munyer followed up his previous pancake-fest by shoving a beaver d-lineman to the ground after a play was over and earned himself a spot on the bench the rest of the game, opening the door for Alex Kelley to get some meaningful snaps.

§  Not sure anyone deserves this award this week.  Also, that tool box needs to be cleaned out thoroughly as the commitments the players made this week were mostly crap.

§  Injuries: I don’t think there were any serious injuries reported, except about 70 egos that were badly damaged.

§  Reschedule? When teams watch film of this game, they might be inclined to come to Boulder for a paycheck and a win on Oct. 19 now.  However, I am currently firmly in the camp of “A bowl game is a joke, so just go ahead and lock in an FCS team”, preferably low and crappy, for a scrimmage that can get some reps to the younger guys who are not redshirting.

§  Outlook: With eight games (maybe nine if they can re-schedule someone) remaining I do not see a lot of potential wins left: Oregon once again can rest any injured players and still call their number; Washington and UCLA will also be blowouts; I don’t see the Arizonas having much trouble with the Buffs, nor Utah at home with a bowl game on the line for that matter; and although both Cal and USC are both in shambles, neither one will be a gimme and the Buffs will be hard-pressed to win the shootouts with those teams.  USC fired head coach Lane Kiffin overnight, as well as probably lost WR Marquise Lee for an extended time if not for the season, but they still have a talent edge and a major rallying chip on their shoulder.  Cal is probably the best shot at a win, but the game is on the road and their offense is another fast-paced, explosive spread, and they should have QB issues settled by November.

§  At least players are upbeat in interviews and Twitter. Parker Orms said it was a lesson, and Chido tweeted: “What good story doesn’t have some speedbumps? Our book ain’t close to finished. #BounceBack ”

§  Maybe BoulderDevil can give a more positive spin than I have at Buffwatch.blogspot.com

§  2014 Recruiting: We are back onto the “immediate playing time” could help recruiting kick.

§  Pacific Takes fantasy league: I got destroyed in week 5 with all my Buffs sucking, D’Anthony Thomas and Connor Halliday going down with injuries, and a few guys throwing up zeroes.  And just to add insult to injury the TE I picked up and dropped as a bye week fill in last week, scored two TDs for Oregon St.  Kinda like the Buffs there is not a lot of help for me on the horizon.  I don’t think I can do much waiver wise and not sure I have anything worth trading.  At least I still have the NFL, Broncos and a 3-0 “real” fantasy team.