Buffs Hope To Get Offense In Rhythm Against Wildcats
October 07, 2017 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Every game, players and coaches will tell you, is a "must" win.
But some just fit the bill a little more than others — and the Colorado Buffaloes find themselves in one of those situations Saturday when they play host to Arizona in a 6 p.m. game at Folsom Field (Pac-12 Networks).
The Buffs, 3-2 overall and 0-2 in the Pac-12, still have designs on making themselves part of the Pac-12 South contender conversation when November rolls around. It is not impossible to win a division title with three losses — in fact, it has happened twice in the Pac-12 in the last five years — but it is also definitely not something the Buffs would like to test.
Instead, they would much rather get their first Pac-12 win of the season under their belts in front of what is expected to be the biggest Folsom Field crowd since last year's season finale against Utah.
"They understand that any game is important," head coach Mike MacIntyre said of his Buffs earlier this week. "A Pac-12 game at home — we've 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."
It's no secret what the Buffs must do if they plan on taking care of business against the 2-2, 0-1 Wildcats.
One, they need to keep UA quarterback Brandon Dawkins under wraps. The Arizona junior is the catalyst for a Wildcats offense that is eighth in the nation in rushing (296 yards per game), and he can also throw. Dawkins is averaging 6.6 yards per carry and 85.2 yards per game on the ground and 167.5 yards per game in the air. He has run for six touchdowns and thrown for five.
The Wildcats are usually successful when they get their running game up and going. Under head coach Rich Rodriguez, they are an impressive 28-9 when rushing for at least 200 yards.
But one of those losses came at the hands of the Buffs just a year ago, when Arizona rushed for 257 yards — and the Buffs still delivered a 49-24 smackdown in Tucson.
Thus, the big key for the Buffs on Saturday might be getting their offense untracked for four quarters against a seemingly improved Arizona defense, which has not been good for the last couple of seasons.
The last time the Wildcats held a Pac-12 opponent under 30 points came in their third conference game in 2015. Since then, they've given up at least 30 points in 16 straight conference games, including a 30-24 loss to Utah two weeks ago (when the offense pitched in by committing five turnovers).
But overall, UA's defense has been better this season, holding opponents to 24 points or less in three of four games. Arizona has forced 20 three-and-outs, and junior safety Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles has three interceptions in four games.
Offensively, Colorado has seemingly been on the cusp of finding its groove — but has yet to hit that rhythm for an entire game. The Buffs rang up 434 yards offense last week at UCLA, but some key mistakes kept them out of the end zone on at least two occasions in a 27-23 loss.
"Attention to detail is the biggest thing," Buffs quarterback Steven Montez said. "Making sure that we have all those details fine-tuned so that plays run smooth on offense. When big plays happen (make sure) we're not holding downfield, and don't have any missed throws, dropped balls. 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."
Two Buffs to watch on the offensive side of the ball will be senior wide receiver Shay Fields and senior running back Phillip Lindsay. In three games against Arizona, Fields has caught 19 passes for 370 yards and five touchdowns — an average of more than six passes for 120 yards per game. His six-catch, 108-yard, two-touchdown effort last year was his last 100-yard Pac-12 game and his last multi-touchdown game. Lindsay, meanwhile, has carried 65 times for 330 yards and six touchdowns against the Wildcats in three games — an average of 110 yards and two touchdowns per game.
Despite a two-game losing streak, the Buffs haven't hit the panic button. They played well enough defensively for much of the game a week ago to win — but a six-minute drive UCLA drive at the end of the game still sticks in their craw. The Bruins converted two second-and-10 plays and one third-down play on the drive, and finished the game converting on 9 of their 16 third downs.
"Those little opportunities are what determine the game sometimes and we just always have to be 100 percent on everything," said Worthington, who helped the Buffs stretch their streak of games with at least one takeaway to five with an interception. "Once we get that all fixed we're going to be cruising."
Other areas to watch:
— The Wildcats are solid on third-down tries — 27-of-61 — and an exceptional 9-for-11 on fourth-down conversions. Colorado is 29-of-74 on third downs and 3-for-6 on fourth.
— Colorado has just eight touchdown in 18 trips to the red zone, but the Buffs have also allowed only five red zone touchdowns. Arizona, meanwhile, has 13 touchdowns on 16 red zone trips and has allowed seven TDs in 17 red opportunities.
— CU kicker James Stefanou is 10-for-11 on field goal tries; the 'Cats missed two field goal opportunities in the loss to Utah because of bad snaps. Also, Arizona's Shun Brown has a pair of long punt returns (66 and 63 yards) for touchdowns.
MATCHUP TO WATCH: Colorado linebacker Drew Lewis vs. Arizona quarterback Brandon Dawkins. Lewis is a fast, athletic linebacker who will no doubt be keeping a close eye on Dawkins all night. Lewis has been a weapon rushing the passer and forcing early throws, but equally importantly, he will likely play a big role in trying to keeping Dawkins contained on the read-option offense that Arizona runs.
KEEP AN EYE ON: Colorado's offensive line. There have been moments when the line has been the power behind some outstanding long drives. But the consistency has yet to come. If the Buffs can find that missing piece, the opportunity for a breakout game is there.
THE SERIES: Colorado leads the all-time series 14-5, including a 5-3 edge in Boulder and 9-2 in Tucson. The Wildcats, however, won the last meeting in Boulder, rallying to take a 38-31 win in 2015.
NUTS AND BOLTS:
Kickoff: 6:07 p.m., Folsom Field.
Broadcast: The game will be televised nationally by the Pac-12 Network with JB Long, Yogi Roth and Jill Savage. The radio broadcast will be carried by AM 850 KOA with Mark Johnson, Gary Barnett and Andy Lindahl.
In-game live blog, stats: A live in-game blog as well as continually updated statistics will be available on www.CUBuffs.com
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
