Hawaii quarterback Jeremy Higgins loses the ball after being hit by Colorado’s Jimmie Gilbert (98) and Derek McCartney (95) Saturday, Sept. 20 at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo. The Buffs won 21-12. (Kai Casey/CU Independent)
Colorado’s trip to Berkeley is a sort of homecoming for many on the Buffs’ roster.
“It’s just another game,” said sophomore defensive back and San Jose native Chidobe Awuzie during Colorado’s Tuesday morning press conference. “But with more family and friends.”
Awuzie will have 15-plus family and friends at California Memorial Stadium Saturday. He and the rest of the secondary are coming off their best game as a unit.
Sophomore defensive back John Walker defended several passes out of the slot. Sophomore safety Tedric Thompson smacked the Rainbow Warriors around and his fourth-quarter interception sealed the game. Senior corner Greg Henderson was disruptive in coverage and as a rusher on the Buffs’ many corner blitzes.
“We’re getting our swag,” Awuzie said.
Remember, though, that Colorado’s defensive success came against probably the weakest quarterbacking group in the FBS — starter Ikaika Woolsey was benched not once, but twice Saturday. Those defensive back blitzes the Buffs ran so well came out of necessity (they can’t generate pressure with a four-man rush), but also opportunity. Hawaii’s quarterbacks failed to adjust their protection to counter the oncoming corner blitz every time Colorado showed it. That should have been a simple adjustment, especially after Henderson’s early strip sack.
The Buffs won’t be able to blitz their defensive backs nearly as much against Cal, or any Pac-12 opponent. Such blitzes leave teams weaker in coverage because they require a defensive lineman or linebacker to drop back and fill the space the corner vacates, or a safety to cover the corner’s man one-on-one. Either way, it leaves a mismatch in favor of the offense that is only negated if the blitz gets home.
Colorado must also account for the possibility that sophomore linebacker Addison Gillam won’t play. Even if Gillam can play, he shouldn’t. He is reportedly recovering well after suffering a concussion in the first half against Hawaii, but Gillam needs more than a week off. Players should have to sit out the next game if they are concussed, anyway. Even before the concussion, Gillam wasn’t playing like himself. His elbow clearly bothered him (as evidenced by the freakish, JJ Watt-style brace he wore week one) and he wasn’t tackling with the same impact he did as a freshman last season.
Senior Brady Daigh played decently in Gillam’s place against the Rainbow Warriors — he blew up a running play for a loss when he shot in unblocked between the center and guard — but he doesn’t have Gillam’s instincts and quickness chasing down plays from the backside.
Colorado will need its best defense to stop Cal’s explosive offense. Year one under head coach Sonny Dykes was beyond painful. The former Louisiana Tech coach’s air-raid offense sputtered, the defense allowed more points than all but one team in college football and the Bears won only a single game. Now, Cal is averaging 44 points per game (amazingly, only fourth-best in the Pac-12) and has already doubled its win total from 2013.
Sophomore quarterback Jared Goff keys the Bears’ attack. He has thrown 10 touchdown passes already this season after throwing 18 in 2013. He is completing 65 percent of his passes, 5 percent better than last year and especially impressive given how often he pushes the ball downfield.
Cal’s receivers will test the depth of Colorado’s secondary more than any opponent thus far. None of the Bears’ receivers have more than 10 catches, but five of them — juniors Bryce Treggs, Chris Harper, Trevor Davis and Darius Powe and sophomore Kenny Lawler — have at least eight catches and 100 yards. They all average more than 10 yards per reception.
Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre said that the true difference in Cal’s offense is its resurgent running game. The Bears are recording 60 yards per game and almost a full yard per carry better than in 2013. Sophomore Khalfani Muhammad is shining in his first year as the feature back. Last week against Arizona, he busted for 9 yards per carry and two late touchdowns that should have ended the game.
Cal will score on the Buffs’ defense, which is second-worst in the Pac-12. The Bears, though, have the conference’s third-worst scoring defense. They absolutely imploded last week against Arizona. Cal led 31-13 in the fourth quarter and allowed the Wildcats to score touchdowns on their final five possessions. The Hail Mary the Bears lost on wasn’t a fluke, either — their secondary let Austin Hill catch it.
Colorado must take advantage of this. The Buffs’ playcalling in the second half against Hawaii was frighteningly conservative. Colorado played to protect its lead against the Rainbow Warriors. Its 10 drives after freshman fullback George Frazier gave it a 21-6 lead with 8:13 left in the second quarter ended thusly: eight punts, an interception and a kneel-down to end the game. Half of those possessions were three-and-outs. The Buffs never crossed Hawai’i’s 44 yard-line in the final two and a half quarters.
“We were not trying to be conservative at all,” MacIntyre said. “We did feel like we could run the ball on them some and we made some good runs.”
Still, Colorado averaged only 3.3 yards per carry, the third time in four games they were held under 4 yards per rush. The Buffs won’t beat Cal on the ground, but on the arm of Sefo Liufau and the legs of Nelson Spruce and Shay Fields. Spruce leads the nation in touchdown catches and is in the top 10 in receptions and receiving yards. His 13 catches against Hawaii are a Colorado record, as is the seven-touchdowns-in-four-games stretch he just completed.
Fields has been tantalizing. His 13-yard touchdown on a jet sweep was another glimpse. The Buffs need to work him downfield soon, because Spruce shouldn’t produce at this rate all season — Liufau said opponents are already double-teaming Spruce and rotating safeties on top of him. It hasn’t stopped Spruce yet, but it has created some ugly moments, like the opening play against Hawaii. Liufau threw late to a triple-covered Spruce and the Rainbow Warriors’ Ne’Quan Phillips easily intercepted the pass.
Liufau has thrown four bad interceptions over the last two games, and the Bears are a good secondary to break out of a slump against. Liufau has made some breathtaking throws this year too. More of those will come the more Colorado’s offensive line keeps him upright. The line has been utterly unable to protect Liufau all season. Until shown otherwise, that seems as much a cause as any for his inconsistency.
“The hits take a toll,” Liufau said. “But I feel good.”
If the line keeps him good, Colorado should beat Cal. If any team contains Spruce, it won’t be the Bears. The Buffs haven’t faced receivers as deep as Cal’s, but those receivers haven’t played a secondary as deep as Colorado’s. Awuzie, for his part, has faith.
When asked if Goff is the best quarterback his unit has faced all year, he smirked and replied, “We go against the best quarterback every day in practice.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Tommy Wood at thomas.c.wood@colorado.edu.
