Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Ready For Another Game Vs. Pac-12 Top Rush Defense
December 01, 2016 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Twice this season, the Colorado Buffaloes have faced a team that was leading the Pac-12 in rushing defense at the time of their game.
Friday night, the Buffaloes will make it three — and if you believe in omens, it's a good one for Mike MacIntyre's 10-2 eighth-ranked Buffs as they prepare for Friday's 7 p.m. Pac-12 Championship game (Fox) against No. 4 Washington.
In the two previous games against the conference's top run defenses, the Buffs ran wild.
The first game came Oct. 15 against Arizona State. The Sun Devils entered the game giving up just 89.5 yards per game on the ground — not only best in the Pac-12, but fifth in the nation.
When the game was over, the Buffs had run for 315 yards and five touchdowns, including a 219-yard, three-touchdown performance from junior running back Phillip Lindsay.
The second time came just a couple of weeks ago, when Washington State paid a visit to Folsom Field on Nov. 19. The Cougars came into the game allowing just 116.9 yards per game on the ground.
They left Boulder having given up 258 yards rushing, with Lindsay (31 carries for 144 yards) and quarterback Sefo Liufau (23 carries, 108 yards, three touchdowns) teaming up to do the damage.
Now the Buffs have another shot at the conference's top-ranked rush defense, a group that has allowed just 127 yards per game on the ground this season.
"They're a good team and a good defense," Buffs offensive line coach Klayton Adams said. "They have a good front seven and an excellent secondary. They're leading the conference in rush defense for a reason. It's definitely going to be a challenge, but anytime you are facing a challenge, you want to perform well when you have that opportunity."
The Buffs are by no means counting on replicating the numbers they produced against ASU and WSU. But they also know that some teams have had success running against the Huskies. Arizona ran for 308 yards in an overtime loss to Washington and Utah ran for 199 yards in a 31-24 loss to the Huskies.
"It no doubt gives you some incentive to run the ball well," Buffs left tackle Jeromy Irwin said. "To know that you are coming in and facing the No. 1 rush defense is a challenge, and if you believe you have a good line, you want to rise up to that challenge. They have a great defensive line and a great secondary, but we're going to go out there and try to use our game play. Hopefully we get some movement in the run game."
FAMILIAR FACES: CU's Adams, by the way, is quite familiar with not only Washington head coach Chris Petersen, but many members of the Huskies' staff.
Adams lettered as an offensive lineman at Boise State in 2003 and 2004 when former CU coach Dan Hawkins was the Broncos' head coach and Petersen was the BSU offensive coordinator. After graduation, he worked as a graduate assistant for the program, working one year for Petersen when he became the head coach.
It's one reason that last summer — July 16 to be exact — Adams sent Petersen a text saying, "Good luck. See you in Santa Clara," basically predicting that the Buffs and Huskies would be playing in the championship game.
Petersen recalled the text on a conference call with reporters earlier this week.
"I remember thinking, 'OK, that would be good, (but) I don't know if that's going to happen, to have both of us there,'" Petersen said. "Sure enough, here we are."
Petersen isn't the only Boise State connection for Adams on the Washington staff. Adams' offensive line coach at Boise, Chris Strausser, is currently Washington's O-line coach, and the man with whom Adams will be matching wits on Friday night — Washington defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski — served in the same capacity at BSU when Adams was there.
"Lot of familiar faces," Adams said. "It should be fun."
FIRST TIME ON GRASS: Friday night's game at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., will be the first time this year the Huskies have played a game on natural grass.
All 12 of Washington's previous games this year have been played on artificial turf. Washington's Petersen, though, said he's not worried about playing on the real stuff.
"We're the only team in the country that hasn't played on grass this year, I think," Petersen said earlier this week. "But the grass is good, so it's like people talking about going to Utah and playing in the altitude. I think it's completely overrated. As long as it's not a muddy field, we're good to go."
One more note about Levi's Stadium: another team from Colorado played there last February and experienced some success. The stadium hosted Super Bowl 50, when the Denver Broncos defeated Carolina, 24-10. Yet another tidbit from the game: the Broncos wore white jerseys and white pants in the game, the same combination the Buffs will be wearing Friday night.
ASU TURNING POINT: CU's MacIntyre was asked at his weekly press conference when he knew this team had truly turned the corner. MacIntyre didn't hesitate with his answer.
"I said after the Arizona State game (a 40-16 CU win), that was our breakthrough game," MacIntyre said. "We haven't lost since. The dam broke and the water's flowing and they're riding that raft and the water keeps rising. Hopefully we can keep going this week. They definitely understand it and they're locked in. Washington's going to be locked in. I'm so proud of them that they get to have this moment."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
