Colorado junior defensive back Richard Yates II (13) celebrates after stopping Washington sophomore wide receiver John Ross (1) during Saturday’s loss in Boulder, Colo. Colorado’s defense will have to step up to get a win in Tucson this week. (Matt Sisneros/CU Independent)
Last week the University of Colorado let a win against Washington slip through their fingers. Going into the second half, CU had a 20-17 lead. Two quarters later the Buffs found themselves on the losing end yet again, suffering their fifth straight defeat, 38-23.
“Last Saturday’s game, we fought extremely hard,” said head coach Mike MacIntyre. “I just keep telling our young men, and I believe this with my heart and soul, how much we have improved. But that still doesn’t take the sting out of the loss, the sting out of wanting to get W’s.”
And Colorado is still fighting, according to quarterback Sefo Liufau.
“We’re not just going out there and going through the motions, which is something that we kind of did last year,” Liufau said. “It’s great to see the guys continue to compete in practice, and I’m really hoping and I’m expecting us to compete in the game on Saturday.”
A lot of people have said that Washington was the Buffs’ last chance for a win — after their trip to Arizona this weekend, the Buffs travel to Oregon before hosting Utah. None of these games are ideal match-ups for the embattled Colorado squad, to say the least.
Arizona has been a surprise contender in the Pac-12. Their 31-24 victory over then-second-ranked Oregon earlier this season vaulted the Wildcats into the national spotlight and the playoff conversation. Those hopes were erased last weekend after a loss to UCLA, but Arizona is still ranked 21st in the country. They need a win to stay alive in the Pac-12.
If Colorado is going to have any chance of pulling off an upset, they need to take care of the ball. Liufau has thrown an interception in every game since the season opener against CSU. Four fumbles and Liufau’s pick-six buried the Buffs last weekend. Liufau addressed his turnovers Tuesday.
“Coach always says, don’t be a robot all the time and expect someone to be open based off a look,” he said. “I just gotta see what the defense gives me and make better decisions out there.”
If you look at Arizona’s defense, the player that stands out the most is sophomore linebacker Scooby Wright. Wright leads the Pac-12 in tackles. He is tied for second in sacks, second in tackles for loss and first in forced fumbles. Wright had his coming-out game against Oregon, when he stripped Oregon’s quarterback Marcus Mariota to seal the game. If anyone is going to cause havoc for the Buffs, it’s going to be him. Despite Wright’s playmaking ability, Liufau does not want to let him dictate the Buffs’ offense.
“I wouldn’t say keep an eye out,” Liufau said. “Obviously you’re aware of their playmakers on defense, but I wouldn’t say we’re going to be running the ball away from him…Every defense has a really good player and he’s just another one. So we’re just going to stay to our game plan, kind of take what they give us and attack what we think are weaknesses in their defense.”
Arizona’s weakness is clearly their secondary. They rank just tenth in the Pac-12 in passing defense. This is something the Buffs will be able to exploit.
If you ignore the interceptions, Colorado’s passing attack has been solid this year. Liufau ranks fourth in the Pac-12 with 287 yards per game through the air. Nelson Spruce is second in the nation in touchdown catches. Slot receiver D.D. Goodson has looked better than ever in recent weeks, highlighted by a 30-yard touchdown catch last Saturday. That’s not to mention wide receivers Tyler McCulloch and Shay Fields, who each have just over 300 yards on the year.
Liufau has weapons, and he’ll have to use them Saturday if Colorado is going to keep up with the Wildcats.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Anu Solomon leads Arizona’s offense. Solomon ultimately won what was described as a fierce quarterback competition this preseason. Since getting the starting job he has more than impressed, throwing for 326 yards per game. He is also a mobile threat, according to Coach MacIntyre.
“A lot of people can throw on the run, but they can’t be accurate on the run,” MacIntyre said. “[Solomon’s] accurate on back shoulders, throwing down the field and throwing it back across. He does a good job with that. The thing that [scrambling] does is it keeps the play alive longer, so therefore you’re covering longer.”
Solomon and his two favorite receivers, Cayleb Jones and Austin Hill, will test Colorado’s depleted secondary. MacIntyre is hopeful that starting safety Tedric Thompson, who suffered a concussion against CU’s game against UCLA, will be able to play this weekend. Either way, look for Solomon to target both Davis and Hill heavily against Colorado’s young secondary.
Alongside Solomon is true freshman running back Nick Wilson. Together they make up the youngest starting backfield in the Pac-12. Wilson and fellow running back Terris Jones-Grigsby rank seventh and eighth respectively in rushing in the Pac-12 and are leading Arizona’s running attack at 180 yards per game.
The Buffs’ dismal run defense has to be mentioned, and this weekend they will have their hands full. Linebacker Addison Gillam could return this weekend. Without Gillam, Colorado gave up 192 yards to Washington running back Shaq Thompson in just the first half. The Buffs absolutely need to improve this weekend. If Gillam plays it will help, but the task won’t be easy.
There is a template for a Colorado victory: take care of the ball, convert in the red zone and get timely defensive stops like they did against UCLA. If they can turn this game into a shootout and stop the Wildcats when they need to (plus forcing a turnover or two), they will have a chance to finally clinch a win in the Pac-12.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Sean Kelly at sean.d.kelly@colorado.edu.
