Woelk: 10 Takeaways From Buffs Game Vs. Arizona

BOULDER — Two weeks in a row, the Colorado Buffaloes have come up one score short.

In a 27-23 UCLA loss two weeks ago, the missed opportunities came on the offensive side of the ball while the defense kept the Bruins' high-powered offense relatively in check.

Saturday night, the offense found its groove, but the defense never found an answer for Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate, whose record-setting evening paved the way for a 45-42 Arizona victory and left the Buffs at 3-3 overall and 0-3 in Pac-12 play.

The question, of course, is whether the Buffs can put both sides of the ball together and produce a complete game. If they can, there's a good team waiting to emerge over the last half of the season.

What we learned from Saturday night's Folsom Field point explosion:

1. Arizona backup QBs are bad news for the Buffs. Two years ago, the Buffs held a seven-point lead over the Wildcats heading into the fourth quarter at Folsom, only to see Arizona backup Jerrard Randall come in and engineer three straight scoring drives in a 38-31 UA win.

This time around, it was Tate replacing starter Brandon Dawkins. There's a moral to the story here somewhere … we're just not sure what it is.

2. It's good to see tight ends back in the equation for the CU offense. The most obvious benefit of the increased appearances of CU's tight ends Saturday was a pair of touchdown passes from Steven Montez to Chris Bounds. The sophomore tight end was wide open on both scores, and tacked on a nice run after catch for a 39-yard score.

But the tight ends' presence was also a big boost to the running game, especially when the Buffs lined up both Bounds and George Frazier in the formation. The two were instrumental in helping add some extra power up front, opening holes for running back Phillip LIndsay (41 carries, 281 yards, 3 touchdowns), and it's something opposing defenses will have to respect from here on out.

3. The offensive line is coming together. CU put its fourth starting combination on the field against Arizona, inserting Isaac Miller at right tackle.

It was no doubt the line's best performance of the season, particularly in the running game. The Buffs were as physical up front in their run blocking as they've been all year, giving Lindsay a chance to get downhill and pick up steady yards.

The pass protection also improved as the game progressed. Montez was sacked four times, but all came in the first half. By the second half, as Arizona was forced to respect the CU run game, CU's pass protection was also solid.

Overall, it was no doubt CU's best offensive performance of the year — not just in terms of yards (which it was), but also in terms of consistency. The Buffs did not turn the ball over and they put together six long scoring drives: five of 75 yards and one for 85. That's the very picture of consistency, and the line played a big role. If the Buffs can continue that kind of progress up front, it bodes well for the last half of the season.

4. The deep ball is still evasive. Colorado's longest offensive plays of the year are still runs, two 45-yard gains by Lindsay.

But it's not because the Buffs aren't trying. Montez attempted to go up top to Shay Fields on multiple occasions Saturday, coming close a couple of times but ultimately failing to connect.

For some inexplicable reason, Montez and Fields are just missing on their timing — but it's not as if they haven't connected before. Last season, Fields' second-longest catch of the season, a 63-yard touchdown catch, came from Montez. The two also hooked up for a 51-yard score.

This year, they've barely missed on several occasions. They'll get that timing down; the only question is when.

5. The pass rush still needs a boost. The Buffs have recorded just two sacks in three Pac-12 games, and did not have any against the Wildcats.

Of course, Arizona attempted only 13 passes in the game, and only one was a deep pass on which the quarterback stayed in the pocket for any length of time. Still, Arizona's 11-for-13 completion rate (Tate was 11-for-12) was not something the Buffs want to see again.

The Buffs will see more conventional pocket quarterbacks in the second half of the season, beginning with Oregon State's Darrell Garretson next week. Also looming ahead are Washington State's Luke Falk and USC's Sam Darnold. The Buffs need to find a way to increase pressure on the pocket to keep those quarterbacks in check.

6. CU's defense will bounce back. OK, we didn't learn that Saturday night. But the thought here is that a defense that had played well for five games — including well enough for much of the game against UCLA to get a win — will come back and give a good account of themselves.

No doubt, Saturday night's effort was unsettling. The Buffs stopped only two of Arizona's nine drives. They didn't tackle well, they didn't execute their scheme and they were fooled by Tate all night long (those are CU defenders' descriptions). It is the first time this year we've seen Colorado's defense have no answer for an opposing offense (actually, no answer for one player).

But there are playmakers on CU's defense. If anything, Saturday night's game will be a source of motivation — and they have a great opportunity next week to put that motivation to good use.

7. Running back Beau Bisharat has potential. It was nice to see the sophomore back get more than just a tiny taste of action Saturday. Bisharat carried eight times for 32 yards and showed some nice power inside. It won't be a surprise if he continues to spell Lindsay on a regular basis in the coming weeks.

8. CU's special teams continue to be consistent. While kicker James Stefanou did see his streak of consecutive field goals come to an end at nine, he still showed enough leg on his 50-yard attempt to give coaches confidence to try more from that distance the next time the occasion arises.

Meanwhile, CU's punt and kick coverage teams are playing well, something that shouldn't be underestimated.

9. Phillip Lindsay should make every Colorado fan proud. No doubt, Lindsay's numbers are outstanding. He's CU's all-time leader in all-purpose yards, and with six game to go, he'll quite likely add significantly to that total. That's enough for CU fans to always remember him fondly.

But he is also one of those players who exudes all of what is right about college ball. A lightly recruited player out of high school, he has made himself into a quality Division I player. He is tough, humble, possesses a terrific work ethic, is a great team player — and he dearly loves the program. He is proud to wear black and gold and he makes no bones about it.

Lindsay means it when he says the only numbers that matter are wins. His legacy will be one that will stretch far beyond his statistics — and for someone who is one of the most productive players in CU's proud history, that's a considerable legacy.

10. Right now, these Buffs are closer to the 2015 version than the 2016 team. This isn't meant to be a harsh knock; but rather an indicator of how a couple of plays here and there can set the tone for a team.

Sunday afternoon, ESPN's Kyle Bonagura wrote, "They're a few plays from being 5-1, but the Buffs are in the same spot in the Pac-12 standings as Cal and Oregon State."

That's incredibly reminiscent of the 2015 Buffs, whose Pac-12 losses included four games by a total of 20 points. That season, the Buffs had the lead in the third or fourth quarter of three of those games and were tied in the third quarter of a fourth conference game — and lost all four.

Last year, the Buffs reversed the storyline en route to their 10-4 finish. They came from behind to win four close Pac-12 games and pulled away from a tie late in the third period to win another. In each game, they made a couple of plays that made the difference — big plays on offense and crucial plays on defense.

In short, they finished.

This year, that hasn't been the case, at least not yet. They have already lost a pair of one-score games (two losses by a total of seven points), games in which one or two plays — as Bonagura pointed out — could easily have them 5-1.

But this season, despite the 0-3 Pac-12 start, is far from over. As we mentioned earlier, if they can put a complete game together, a good team is waiting to emerge.

Next week in Corvallis, Ore., would be a great place to start that process.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu