Here are a few late-week pre-preview tidbits
with the “full” preview up Saturday morning.
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Review of the tape: I actually was only able to watch the
first half before going to a Dia de los Muertos party on Saturday so I had to
come back this week and check out the second half. I started from the beginning and came away
impressed with a lot of things, but especially how good Sefo looked and
acted. He was a pillar of poise and
strength, repeatedly getting knocked down from the start and throughout the
game, but always jumping back up ready to go.
He put up great stats, connected some nice touch passes, and made smart
decisions for the most part in the zone-read, and most importantly, zero
turnovers. He has taken coaching to
heart with throwing the ball where only his receiver can catch it (low and or
outside), even if it is incomplete. He certainly took the reins of this team
and earned a lot of respect for his play and grit. He gives Buff nation some hope looking to the
future.
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It
was a really nice start to the game, a couple of three and outs for the
defense, some good play-calling, running and throwing to move down the field
twice, but it was really disappointing not to be able to close, then give up
one play and suddenly be losing after basically dominating the first few
series. The team has got to learn how to
close out drives and get through what MacIntyre called “that wall that’s at the
28 yard line.” They did it again late in
the first half when the game was still in reach. This is compounded when they are in short
yardage. A lot of this lack of success has
to do with play-calling, which has been very generic inside the ten especially.
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Chido
started in the nickel and played well with a big blitz and pass breakup, and
almost had Hundley before his first TD. Jeffrey
Hall got the start for Kenneth Crawley.
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The
run game was okay and gained some yardage, but also stalled at times, specifically
struggling inside the redzone and on short yardage (again). The combination of Powell-Jones is just not nearly
as effective or dangerous as Powell-Adkins. Hopefully the true freshman can
return for the Washington trip. Abron
looked pretty good and I think I like him better than Tony Jones, whose big
play was a result of the safety slipping and falling down.
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The
false start and procedure penalties on LT Jack Harris (a senior captain) among
others are absolute killers though. MacIntyre
said the penalties definitely cost them some scores. Also not very impressed with the short hop
snaps Handler was sending Sefo. The coaches said they have it taken care of but
this is a recurring problem with him and teams are going to target him even
more after this one.
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The
defensive line is still the weakest link as mobile QBs can do whatever they
want against them and running backs have some success as well.
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The first
long UCLA TD was just awful on Jered Bell’s part; even though he was beat, he
still should have been able to at least bring Fuller down at the spot but
flailed instead; also, in college you can tackle him before the ball gets there
and only get penalized 15 yards, so if you are beat, make sure he doesn’t catch
it!
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Severson’s
fumble was just as bad as an even worse time and killed their chances, 21-10
and all the momentum rolling to UCLA.
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The
late skirmishes with Anthony Barr’s consecutive cheap late hits led to some
late game excitement, energized the players and fanbase, and could be a
catalyst for the team moving forward behind Sefo’s leadership and toughness. Even P-Rich got into it with a DB. It’s great that they had the UCLA starters
playing still and frustrated.
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BoulderDevil
sees the UCLA game as the turning point for this team, as they learned to hang
with the big boys, fight back a little and defend teammates, and I think I must
agree, especially if they can come out and show the same grit and give the
Huskies a run for their money as well. http://buffwatch.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-day-sefo-liufau-became-man-and.html
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Line: Even though Colorado is improving and
covered last week, and Washington has had its share of struggles lately, losing
three games in October before getting Cal and a bye, the Huskies still opened
as a 26 point favorite, which has continued to rise to 28.
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Team notes/Injuries: It appears LB Woodson Greer, who has
really come on as of late, will be out this week.
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The
Buffs started the UCLA game in the nickel package with Chido in the slot and CB
Jeffery Hall (#16) ended up starting for Crawley (who sprained an ankle late in
the week, but is practicing again and likely to play) and Hall looked pretty
good. John Walker was leap-frogged by Hall on the depth chart.
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Great
stats blog by Camera’s Brian Howell, showing among other things how Sefo has
been much more efficient than Connor Wood was: http://www.buffzone.com/ci_24468075/howell-blog-numbers-show-liufau-getting-job-done?source=most_viewed
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Devin
Ross has been working his way into the lineup more and more and had 2 catches
last week. The odd man out (and I am not
surprised at all) appears to be Tyler McCulloch, who has wowed more in practice
than gameday-he looks the part, but is skinny, has trouble getting separation
and is terrible fighting for a ball with a DB. Even Keenan Canty is getting
more snaps. And next year add Jeff
Thomas, Elijah Dunston, Bryce Bobo and likely a true frosh or two ready to play.
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There
were no new Colorado injuries reported after the UCLA game.
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The
biggest question is if Michael Adkins will be cleared to play with his
concussion, and on Sunday MacIntyre said he expected the true freshman to play.
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Washington
has lost their best receiver Kasen Williams for the season.
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I
think the Buffs need a “Shaq” on the team in order to be successful in this
conference. Every team in the Pac12
seems to have a “Shaq” who plays a significant role. Last week it was Bruin WR Shaq Evans, before
that Wildcat CB “Shaq” Richardson, and this week, Husky LB Shaq Thoompson.
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RalphieReport
got a great interview with Matt McChesney who always tells it like he sees
it. In general he likes what he has
seen, but he doesn’t hold anything back in trashing the two offensive tackles
and more. http://www.ralphiereport.com/colorado-buffaloes-football/2013/11/5/5068892/the-state-of-buffs-football-an-interview-with-matt-mcchesney
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2014 Recruiting: Buffzone at the Camera has their weekly
update on verbal commits: http://www.buffzone.com/football/ci_24451438/afternoon-drive-brown-gets-first-win-but-wavering
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It
sounds like the coaching staff has been active with a lot of prospects
reporting recent offers from the Buffs, including some JC players (includes
intriguing San Mateo offensive guard prospect Haniteli Louisi) and highly rated
Texas LB/DE prospects twins Kolin and Kaleb Hill .
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A
couple of verbals are still being recruited by others including recent RB
commit Jomon Dotson (UW) and LB Zac Brown (San Jose St?!).
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2015
news: Buffs supposedly are recruiting Koy Detmer Jr. among their QB interests.
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Honors, mentions and recognitions: Wil Oliver has been named as one of 20
finalists for the Lou Groza Award for kickers. He is perfect on
PATs and 14-18 on FGs with two from 50+ and the only misses from 45 yards or
beyond, plus he is improving weekly as a kickoff specialist. Oliver said that
Mason Crosby has been a mentor and coach to him, that redshirting Diego
Gonzales has provided him competition and has made him better, and he added
that he has hit a 65-yarder in practice.
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Chidera
lead nation in forced fumbles with 5.
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P-Rich’s
123 yards per game now 5th in country, he is only 16 yards from 1000
and 165 for the single season CU record, 3 TDs and 21 receptions away from
those individual marks as well.
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Addison
Gillam is still one of top tacklers, but going down a little as teams are quite
aware of him now. He is 4 tackles away from Matt Russell’s freshman record of
85, with four games to go!
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ESPN
Pac12 blog had some nice things to say about CU and Sefo: “Colorado is gritty: Say what
you want about the wins and losses, but Colorado is a tougher team than it was
last season. UCLA won 45-23, and the final score isn't particularly shocking.
But the Buffs led midway through the second quarter, and true freshman
quarterback Sefo Liufau looked very poised on the road, going 25-of-36 for a
touchdown and zero interceptions. They matched UCLA's physicality and even
showed a bit of swagger -- be it from receiver Paul Richardson or Liufau.
Culture change takes a long time. But we are starting to see the makings of a
team that isn't satisfied with being pushed around.” and “Colorado quarterback Sefo
Liufau looked extremely poised, and there was a sense that, even down 18 points
in the fourth quarter, the Buffs believed they could win. And yes, even in
defeat, it’s nice to see a little swagger out of the Buffs. I like seeing
Liufau, a true freshman, shove back when Anthony Barr, a probable top-five
draft pick, was penalized for excessively slamming the quarterback. I like the
entire Colorado offensive line rushing to its quarterback's defense.”
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Other Buffs Notes: Former Buff WR Lance Carl has returned as
an associate AD.
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USA
Today did a piece on salaries that highlighted Colorado somewhat: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2013/11/06/college-football-coaches-salary-colorado-pay-mike-macintyre/3449695/
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Former
o-lineman Alex Lewis had another charge tacked on. Supposedly he is enrolled in school but not
positive it is Nebraska-they are really idiots if they are paying his
scholarship, although they’ll probably hook him up with some past fusker great as
a role model and mentor, someone like maybe richie notso incognito.
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Pacific Takes Fantasy League: My opponent had more byes than I so I
pulled out a win last week!
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I
will be without Halliday and would have been going with a backup who might not
even play at QB, but the rest of the team should have been available…except I
guess I never submitted changes so I lost my Oregon players and weakass QB for
the week to my own stupidity and only realized as Stanford game started. Oh
well.
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