Junior tailback Tony Jones (26) celebrates his 10-yard touchdown reception against the University of California Nov. 16, 2013 in Boulder, Colo. (Matt Sisneros/CU Independent)
After picking up its first conference win of the season against the University of California, the CU football team (4-6, 1-6 Pac-12) returns to Folsom this Saturday against the No. 23 University of Southern California (8-3, 5-2 Pac-12).
Because it will be the last home game of the season, Colorado will honor all of the seniors who will be going out for their last hoorah.
“Every week, they talk about how much we fight,” junior wide receiver Paul Richardson said. “That is a good legacy for us to have. I think that they are content with how much we have been fighting. I appreciate how much our seniors put forth for us, but I just wish we could have been more successful early on for these guys.”
The Cal game was a confidence booster for the Buffs, but the Trojans are also coming off an upset against the No. 4 Stanford University Cardinals.
MacIntyre said the outcome of the USC-Stanford game did not change his outlook going into this weekend’s game against the Trojans.
“I thought they were good all along,” MacIntyre said. “And I think Stanford is a very good football team. That wasn’t a huge surprise to me that they beat Stanford, especially playing at home. Those young men wanted to win that one, and I think they hadn’t got (a win over Stanford) in a while.”
The Buffs will host a USC team that is not only in the top 25, but well balanced with a rushing and passing offense. They rank 71st in the country in passing yards with an average of 223.2 yards per game, complemented by a 67th overall ranking in rushing yards with 171.1.
Since freshman quarterback Sefo Liufau took over midseason for CU, the Buffs have transformed primarily into a passing team. They rank 48th in the country with 252.8 passing yards per game, but are only 100th in the nation in rushing yards with 127.8.
On the other side of the field, the Trojans have a strong defense that may pose a challenge for the pass-happy Buffs. They only allow an average of 19.4 points per game, which makes them the 16th best team in the nation for points scored against them.
“They can cover well enough that they can get to the quarterback,” MacIntyre said. “You have to keep them off balance with different formations and different things that we do. That allows our windows to be a little bit more open for our quarterback. Because they are so athletic, it’s kind of like the pros. The window is shut really quick. That’s something we have to help Sefo with for the game on Saturday.”
Although the Trojans have been competing well lately after winning four straight games, Liufau has high hopes going into Saturday’s match up.
“I believe that this game will be different because we are going to come out with the fire,” Liufau said. ”We have something to prove. Obviously we haven’t performed as well in the Pac-12 as we would have liked, but this week is another opportunity to come out and perform really well.”
The Buffs take the field at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday, and the game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Alissa Noe at Alissa.noe@colorado.edu.
