Five Things: Colorado
Last week's report card:
1) Khalil Tate – Loss. Let’s just move on.
2) Linebackers – Another loss. Not only by not having Devante, but also, generally okay play by this group at best, when okay wasn’t going to cut it.
3) Home Field – Half credit. Crowd didn’t show up too much – we were announced at 35k – but they did appear noticeably more involved, at least from my vantage point at a Santa Monica bar.
4) Avoid Traps – Win. This was not a trap game whatsoever. The team came up ready, guarded against coming out flat. They were prepared. They scripted the Statue of Liberty into our first drive, and despite the statistics, I think we did about as good a job against Khalil Tate as anyone could right now.
5) Trips Inside 40/Explosives – Half credit. Weren’t able to stop enough Arizona explosives. Did score well on every trip inside the 40, so you split that.
2.5 of 5. If they win one more category, they probably take this win – it was that close, essentially by force of will.
1) Whichever Colorado QB – After last week’s 28-0 debacle – wind and rain aided -- Mike McIntyre is looking for a spark, cause Steven Montez isn’t doing it right now. Against Wazzu it was 4 of 13 for 21 yards, against Oregon State (a win!) he was 14 of 24 for 168 and two TDs, and while he’s not exactly turning the ball over at a prodigious rate, the Buffaloes have had middling difficulty moving the ball in general with him at the helm. It’ll likely be either Montez or backup Sam Noyer, who threw 18 passes (completing 7) for 53 yards against that same Cougar defense. Honestly, the Cal secondary is going to be the best either of these guys have faced besides Washington. It’s a winnable matchup, and Colorado has allowed 23 sacks on the year on 265 dropbacks…this is all for Deruyter.
2) Philip Lindsey – While Colorado hasn’t been a particularly effective team by the run – average by success rate, explosiveness/isoPPP, and S&P+ - they aren’t afraid to run this guy repeatedly. In 5 of the 8 games this season, Lindsey has carried over 25 times, and in those other 3, he still took 19. Cal’s a smaller team with not a ton of front seven depth, so if they can force the ball back into long situations where Montez/Noyer has to throw, we’ll be in luck.
3) Colorado Veterans – They lost defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt to Oregon, but this Colorado team does still retain a lot of veteran talent, with their top 8 tacklers as seniors or juniors heading into the Washington State game. That’s going to start with inside linebackers Drew Lewis as well as defensive end Leo Jackson, both of whom will be tasked with slowing down Laird – the two of them have 11.5 tackles for loss between them. They’ve also got DB Isaiah Oliver, who’s playing at an All-Pac 12 level right now. It’s doubtful that Colorado will bring him into the slot to deal with Noa, but he’ll likely face down Wharton a good amount of the time.
4) Turnovers – Up until last week, Bowers was generally doing better protecting said football. You can put this item in every week and it’ll still count. The Buffaloes are +3 in TOs this year, for what it’s worth.
5) Finish Drives – A huge improvement here already against Arizona. Keep that up and the odds of victory shouldn’t be too far off. It’s a winnable – a must win – game.