
Woelk: Tied Atop Pac-12 South, Buffs Still Control Their Destiny
October 09, 2016 | Football, Neill Woelk
CU hosts Arizona State on Saturday
BOULDER — Nothing has changed. Not a thing.
If there was one overriding message, one dominant theme that came home with the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday night, it's that their goal of playing for a Pac-12 championship is still in their control.
Fact is, they're in as good of a position as anyone in the Pac-12 South.
Not that the Buffs were happy with Saturday's 21-17 loss to USC at the Coliseum. To be honest, they were a bit ticked off. OK, maybe more than a bit. Their terse responses in the locker room and post-game press conferences were a clear signal that they knew they'd let the chance for another "statement game" slip from their grasp.
But if this team has proven anything this year, it's that win or lose, they go back to work on Mondays with the same narrow focus.
One snap and clear, one game and clear. The only thing on their minds now will be Saturday night's Homecoming game with Arizona State (6 p.m., Pac-12 Networks) — one of the teams tied with Colorado for the Pac-12 South lead.
"They'll bounce back," CU head coach Mike MacIntyre said late Saturday. "That's all we talked about in the locker room. We have a ton to play for and they know that. They'll be back, no doubt about it."
The Buffs will bounce back because — in case you haven't noticed — the Pac-12 South is literally anyone's for the taking, and at 4-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play, the Buffs are in as good of a position as anyone to do the taking.
What we saw Saturday — not only at the Coliseum, but around the league — is the only guarantee is there are no guarantees. Not in the Pac-12, where "Pac-12 After Dark" took topsy-turvy to a new level.
For instance:
— One week after dropping a 41-20 loss to USC, Arizona State out-toughed UCLA, 23-20. That put the Sun Devils in a three-way tie with the Buffs and Utah for the Pac-12 South lead.
— Utah, meanwhile, had to rally from a 14-12 halftime deficit to claim a 36-23 win over Arizona and climb into a tie with CU and ASU.
— One week after getting dominated in Boulder, Oregon State turned around and carved out a 47-44 overtime win over Cal.
— Stanford, once considered the conference's best bet for a playoff berth, dropped its second straight game, this time a 42-16 defeat at home to Washington State — the same WSU that opened the season with a losses to Eastern Washington and Boise State.
— Oregon, meanwhile, has found itself in very unfamiliar territory after dropping its fourth straight game, a 70-21 pummeling at the hands of Washington. The Ducks, now 0-3 in conference play, are last in the Pac-12 North.
Wild and wacky indeed — and what does it all mean for the Buffs?
Only this: Saturday night, they'll face a division co-leader with a chance to move one step closer to their goal.
Nothing else matters.
"We're going to move on," vowed Buffs running back Phillip Lindsay, whose 105 yards receiving Saturday was the most by a CU running back since Cortlen Johnson had the same amount in 2001. "We're going to look at the film and learn from it. We're going to see what we have to do to get better and for Homecoming, we're going to come out firing."
The Buffs didn't lose to a bad team Saturday. The Trojans are loaded with talent, and since they moved quarterback Sam Darnold into the lineup, they've been a different bunch.
But along with the Trojans making enough plays to win the game, the Buffs didn't take advantage of the opportunities they created. CU's defense produced four takeaways, but Colorado managed to convert just one of them into a score. CU's defense, meanwhile, also let some chances slip away, both in the first half and late in the game.
"We put our defense in a bind because we didn't go out there and play ball like we're supposed to," Lindsay said. "We need to go back, refocus and come out with the same intensity we had before we got here. Our defense played great. You can't put your defense on the field all day and expect to win the game. We have to help them out more."
But while Lindsay's heart was in the right place, nobody in the CU locker room is pointing fingers. CU's offense has been terrific at times; the defense has been the same. With six games to go, it's a virtual lock that both sides will find themselves in position to win — or lose — another game or two. It's the nature of football.
The big picture, however, is one these Buffs won't lose sight of. This is an experienced, veteran group that has already displayed an ability to move forward — win or lose.
That picture is simple: at the halfway point of the season, 4-2 and tied for first in the Pac-12 South isn't a bad place to be.
If the Buffs can go 1-0 this week, that won't change.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu