Tuesday Buffs Bits: 'We Can't Lose Any More'

BOULDER — Pick your favorite description: "Backs to the wall," "Must win" or "Increased sense of urgency."

They all fit.

But the bottom line for the Colorado Buffaloes is simple: now staring at an 0-2 Pac-12 record, the 3-2 Buffs know that every game from this point on is magnified in importance.

Magnified, at least, if the Buffs have hopes of being in the Pac-12 contender conversation when November rolls around.

"The mood of this team is that we can't lose any more," Buffs defensive back Evan Worthington said at Tuesday's weekly CU press conference. "We've got to keep pushing. This is a big week for us so we're just really fighting hard during practice. It's getting physical out there, there were a couple fights today, but it's all part of it."

There's no doubt the stage is set. Colorado plays host Saturday to 2-2 Arizona (0-1 Pac-12) in a 6 p.m. game at Folsom Field (Pac-12 Networks). The game coincides with Family Weekend at CU, meaning the Buffs could see their biggest home crowd of the season at kickoff.

"We still have a chance to do what our goal is and that's win the Pac-12," Buffs senior safety Afolabi Laguda said. "I feel we're going to come out here and play fast and physical."

This is certainly not how the Buffs envisioned opening Pac-12 play. On the heels of a 37-10 loss to Washington in a rematch of last year's conference championship game, the Buffs went on the road last week and dropped a 27-23 loss to UCLA, a game the Buffs feel they could have won.

Now, the task is to make sure the mistakes that led to last week's loss don't become a recurring theme. That means everything from dropped passes in the end zone (the Buffs had two last week) to penalties to missed tackles to missed assignments.

"Attention to detail is the biggest thing," quarterback Steven Montez said. "Making sure that we have all those details fine-tuned so that plays run smooth on offense. ... All the things that can halt drives, we need to stay away from those. I feel like we're extremely close. I feel like we've been extremely close since the second game of the season. We just need to keep paying attention to details and practicing hard."

What the Buffs haven't done is hit the panic button. Tuesday's practice was indeed spirited, but there seemed to be no sense of anxiety.

"I know they understand that any game is important," head coach Mike MacIntyre said. "A Pac-12 game at home, we lost two, this is an important game for us to win. A lot of our guys have played a lot football now and understand the sense of urgency and make sure that we're taking care of business. The only way you can do that is to take care of it during the week. You can't all of sudden get excited on Saturdays. That doesn't do anything."

MacIntyre firmly believes he is still seeing solid preparation from his players.

"It's their work ethic and how they're preparing," MacIntyre said. "I've seen them prepare well the last couple days. I didn't see anybody dragging. I've seen them prepare and keep working. That all builds. You can't all of a sudden just turn it on this week if you didn't do it the week before and the week before that. Their sense of focus, understanding and hopefully their intensity level, keeps rising as the games get more and more important. They understand what we want to do."

IMPROVED WILDCATS: After watching film of all four Arizona games this year — wins over Northern Arizona and UTEP and narrow losses to Houston and Utah — MacIntyre said this year's team is much improved over the 2016 Wildcats, who stumbled to a 3-9 record, including a 1-8 Pac-12 mark.

"Arizona is playing really well," MacIntyre said. "They could easily be 4-0, but they're 2-2. They've gotten beat by two good football teams that have played well for the last few years. It's going to be a very tough contest. They're much improved on defense compared to where they were last year."

The Wildcats indeed appear to have taken a big step forward on both sides of the ball. A year ago, Arizona finished last in the league in scoring offense and ninth in scoring defense. This year, they are fourth in scoring offense (41.2 points per game) and fifth in scoring defense (22.2 points per game).

In a 30-24 loss to Utah two weeks ago, the Wildcats outgained the Utes 448-341, but also committed five turnovers — the difference in the game. The Wildcats are fueled on offense by quarterback Brandon Dawkins, who has thrown for 670 yards and five touchdowns this year, along with leading the team in rushing with 341 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.

"Dawkins reminds me so much of Colin Kaepernick when I coached against him when I was at San Jose State," MacIntyre said. "He's long, athletic, fast and he can throw the ball forever. He has great arm strength. That's what Kaepernick would do in college, he'd run everywhere and do that kind of thing. We've got to be able to stop their running game and hopefully corral Dawkins."

MONTEZ IMPROVEMENT: Lost in the shuffle of last week's loss at UCLA was a nice step forward by Buffs quarterback Steven Montez. One week after throwing three interceptions against Washington, Montez did not have a turnover against UCLA. Montez finished 17 of 26 for 243 yards and a touchdown, but was also the victim of several drops, including a pair in the end zone.

"I think it's been kind of progressing each week," Montez said. "It's just more comfortable in the pocket, staying in the pocket and not bailing out early."

MacIntyre also said he thought his sophomore quarterback continues to improve.

"I thought Steven played well," MacIntyre said. "The quarterback has to play well and then everybody else around him has to play well. In the UCLA game, he played well enough for us to win. Could he have made more plays? Yes, but you can always say that. I thought he played well enough for us to win that football game, there's no doubt."

LAGUDA TO KEEP WARY EYE: CU safety Afolabi Laguda said he has learned his lesson. After absorbing a vicious cheap shot at the hands of UCLA wide receiver Jordan Lasley in last week's game — a blindside blow that sent him to the sidelines for much of the second half — Laguda said he will now be extra vigilant, even when the play is over.

Lasley hit Laguda as the two were trailing a play that was going out of bounds. Lasley was penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct but remained in the game. This week, MacIntyre said he thought Lasley should have been ejected.

"I'm definitely going to be checking around me," Laguda said. "I'm not going to relax once the play is over. They say play until the whistle blows, but I guess that's not too true. I'm definitely going to have my head on swivel at all times, because anything can happen."

UPDATED DEFENSIVE STATISTICS: After the coaches' review of game film, CU linebacker Drew Lewis is still the team's leading tackler, with 55 on the year (11.0 per game). Fellow inside 'backer Rick Gamboa is second with 47 while defensive back Evan Worthington is third with 32.

Defensive end Leo Jackson III still leads the team in sacks with five, while nose tackle Javier Edwards notched his first sack as a Buff with one last week against UCLA. Cornerback Isaiah Oliver has a team-leading eight pass breakups.

The Buffs are also now a plus-1 in turnover ratio after having no offensive turnovers against UCLA while producing a Worthington interception. The Buffs have now produced at least one defensive takeaway in five straight games.

LAS VEGAS TRAGEDY HITS HOME: MacIntyre opened his Tuesday press conference by addressing the recent massacre in Las Vegas, where at least 59 people were killed and hundreds more injured at a music festival.

"It's an absolute tragedy, but I did not realize it would hit this close to home," MacIntyre said. "(CU assistant coach) Darrin Chiaverini lost his brother-in-law and his wife's best friend got killed in Las Vegas. It's been rough on them and us helping him. When a 28-year old loses his life and a 35-year old with kids – all of the situations, no matter what they have – is tragic. ... You can imagine Darrin's family and what they're going through right now with this situation. When we all think about that, I think we all get angry. We don't understand why. It's an extremely, extremely sad situation all the way around. Please remember Darrin and their family and all the things they're going through."

FAMILY WEEKEND: Family Weekend at CU has extra meaning for all players whose families are able to attend — but for a pair of Buffs, their fathers are at every game. CU receiver Jay MacIntyre is the son of the head coach while receiver Curtis Chiaverini is the son of CU's co-offensive coordinator.

Mike MacIntyre knows what his son is experiencing, as he played for his father, George MacIntyre, at Vanderbilt.

"I really enjoyed playing for my dad," Mike MacIntyre said. "He was a phenomenal coach and a phenomenal man. The way he coached me is the secondary coach would coach me. I don't remember him saying two words to me much, except maybe 'Move faster' and 'Get going.' With Jay, I let 'Chev' and them handle everything with that. They handle playing time and all that stuff. With him, I just let them do it so there's no pink elephant in the room. It's fun getting to see him every day, even if I might not talk to him that day. I'll see him at practice. It's good to see him."

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu