Buffs Offense Developing Ball-Control Philosophy
October 16, 2017 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — It's a simple philosophy based on simple math.
Play to your strengths — and when your strength has been a ball-control offense fueled by a power running game and a short, pinpoint passing game, that's what you do.
It is, at least, what the Colorado Buffaloes have been doing over the last few weeks, and the results are hard to argue with.
In the last two games, the Buffs have produced 10 scoring drives of 70 yards or longer, averaging more than 10 plays per drive on those possessions (three have been 15 plays or longer). One of those drives consisted mainly of a 74-yard Phillip Lindsay touchdown run; the majority of the others have been steady, grind-it-out drives that produced scores.
"We're really trying to play to our strengths right now," Buffs co-offensive coordinator Darrin Chiaverini said. "We have a senior running back who's seasoned and gets the tough yards. At the end of the day it's about winning football games, so we're trying to put ourselves in the best situation to win games."
Indeed, the Buffs' recent strategy has been predicated a great deal on the performance of running back Phillip Lindsay. The CU senior has carried the ball 69 times for 466 yards and five touchdowns in his last two games, and he has been a focal point of those long drives. While he did have the 74-yard touchdown gallop against Oregon State, the majority of his runs have been shorter, powerful bursts that help to consistently move the chains — and keep the clock rolling as well.
That, in turn, provides an added benefit.
"It helps the defense stay off the field and try to stay fresh," head coach Mike MacIntyre said after Monday's practice. "We're not playing a ton of guys on defense and we've had some injuries, especially on the D-line."
There was perhaps no better example of the strategy than the fourth quarter of CU's 36-33 win over Oregon State. With the Buffs trailing 26-21 heading into the final period, Colorado put together two scoring drives of 88 and 82 yards that took more than nine minutes off the clock. The Buffs ran for 102 yards on the two drives and passed for 68. The longest play on the 88-yard drive was 12 yards; the longest play on the 82-yard drive was 13 yards — a Steven Montez touchdown pass to Bryce Bobo.
Thus, even though OSU scored one touchdown in between, the Beavers had just 1:30 left on the clock on their last possession, forcing them into hurry-up mode that ultimately resulted in a missed 52-yard field goal try.
The Buffs are now one of just two programs in the country with four scoring drives of at least 15 plays.
"That's ball control and that's being efficient on offense," Chiaverini said. "The last couple of games we've been a lot more efficient. We've wasted a couple of drives here and there, but I think we had four drives in the second half against Oregon State and we scored on three of them. We had two in the fourth quarter and scored on both of them. That's being efficient and playing to your strengths."
Lindsay was the power on those fourth-quarter drives, carrying nine times for 49 yards. But the Buffs also got four carries for 29 yards from Montez, who was also 8-for-10 passing with a pair of touchdowns.
It's not quite what the Buffs envisioned when the season began — but it is a matter of using what works.
"If it means more 11 and 12 personnel (using tight ends), we'll do it," Chiaverini said. "We're going to do what helps us win games. I still think our 10 package (four wide receivers) is good, and there's going to be games for that. We'll see how it plays out, but I'm really excited about how Phil's been playing. We're getting better. It doesn't always show up all the time, but I'm excited about those guys gutting it out."
MAC ON WASHINGTON STATE: If there is a blueprint on how to beat Washington State, the Cal Bears provided it last Friday. The Bears forced seven WSU turnovers and sacked Cougars quarterback Luke Falk nine times in a 37-3 stunner, a loss that dropped Washington State from No. 8 in the nation to No. 15 in the latest AP poll.
MacIntyre's Buffs will try to replicate at least some of that blueprint Saturday when CU plays at Washington State in an 8:30 p.m. game (ESPN).
"Washington State is excellent on offense," MacIntyre said. "They had an anomaly last week. On defense, they're stemming and moving everywhere. They played good defense last year, too. They're a very good football team and I think they're better than they were last year."
It's hard to imagine the Cougars experiencing another turnover meltdown this week. WSU had committed just nine turnovers in the first six games before the seven-miscue disaster at Cal.
Still, MacIntyre said, the key for the Buffs will get getting to Falk and at least forcing some mistakes if they can't get a sack.
"We're going to have to be all over him," MacIntyre said. "He's going to make some plays. Hopefully we can slow him down enough and hopefully cause enough turnovers to be able to make a difference. That's how you stop them — cause a few turnovers and make them kick some field goals (instead of scoring touchdowns)."
OLIVER FAMILIAR WITH FALK: Colorado cornerback Isaiah Oliver is no stranger to WSU's Falk.
In last season's 38-24 CU win over the Cougars in Boulder, Oliver played a season-high 66 snaps against a quarterback who was leading the nation in completion percentage (.739), was second in passing yards per game (361) and fifth in touchdown passes (33).
Oliver finished with four tackles, two pass breakups and one third down stop in the contest while helping limit Falk to 26-of-53 passing (49.1 percent) and 325 yards. Falk targeted the receiver Oliver was covering nine times in the game (including penalties), with three completions for 84 yards.
BUFFS BITS: MacIntyre said he liked the Buffs rotation at right tackle last week that saw Isaac Miller get the start, but also saw Aaron Haigler get some playing time. "Both of those young men are getting better every week, they really are," MacIntyre said. "They really work hard, they're really smart, they're big, they're athletic. They're just getting better and better." … While cornerback Trey Udoffia was ready to play last week after missing the Arizona game with an injury, the Buffs stayed with Dante Wigley at the position. It's possible both will see time at the spot this week. ... Now with 995 yards rushing, Lindsay needs just 5 more yards to become the first player in CU history to rush for at least 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. Eric Bieniemy had two 1,000-yard seasons, but he did it in 1988 and 1990. In last year's 38-24 win over WSU, Lindsay carried 31 times for 144 yards and two touchdowns... Saftery Evan Worthington picked off his third pass of the season while recording a career-high 12 tackles in CU's win at Oregon State. He returned his pick 43 yards and his three picks are tied for the third-most by any Pac-12 defender. Worthington also added two pass breakups in the victory to give him seven passes defended on the year, which is four off the league lead that his held by his teammate in CB Isaiah Oliver (who has 11).
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
