Colorado Daily – WSU

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Colorado Daily – Washington State

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October 19th – Game Day!

… CU in a few minutes … 

Mel Tucker: “It is a consistent message about how to get the job done and what we need to do to”

From the Daily Camera … Just four weeks ago, Mel Tucker’s Colorado Buffaloes bounced back from their first loss of the season by putting together what might have been their best overall effort of the year thus far, a 34-31 win at Arizona State.

Now with a two-game losing streak in hand, the Buffs (3-3 overall, 1-2 Pac-12) need a similar bounce-back effort Saturday when they face Washington State (3-3, 0-3) in a nationally televised game at Martin Stadium.

Kickoff is set for 5:02 p.m. (MT) on ESPNU with rainy, cold and windy conditions expected for most of the game.

Saturday’s game actually pits two teams in need of a win to get their respective seasons back on track. While the Buffs have lost two in a row, Mike Leach’s Cougars have dropped three straight, including a pair of games in which WSU let second-half leads slip away.

 No doubt, eyes will be on both teams’ defenses.

The Buffs are giving up 33.8 points per game this year, and that number goes up to 37.0 in Pac-12 contests. But the Cougars have struggled even more in conference contests, yielding an average of 47.0 points per game. That includes a 67-63 loss to UCLA in a game Washington State led 49-17 in the second half.

For the Buffs to get a win, they will have to reduce the mistakes that have plagued them the last two weeks. Tucker’s team spent the week addressing those issues, ranging from penalties to missed tackles to missed assignments to missed opportunities in the red zone.

… Continue reading story here …

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October 18th

… CU in a few minutes … 

Pat Rooney: Buffs have opportunity to take down reeling opponent

From the Daily Camera … Talk about a contrast in coaching styles.

The newcomer, at least to the collegiate head coaching ranks, isn’t exactly soft-spoken, yet his words typically are as intense and carefully measured as his demeanor. The other is prone to diverging wildly into realms of politics and the perceived ills of society when asked simply to describe how his team might best attack a 3-4 defense.

One is trying to instill a culture of relentless toughness. The other leads a team that is all finesse. One looks like he could still run through a brick wall while prowling the defensive secondary. The other…well, let’s just say he’s not exactly the pillar of fitness for his troops to aspire toward.

One is in the midst of trying to get his program back on the upswing. The other is in danger of authoring a collapse not unlike what Colorado Buffaloes fans witnessed a year ago.

When Mel Tucker leads his Buffs on to the Martin Stadium turf in Pullman, Wash., Saturday evening to take on Mike Leach’s Washington State Cougars the hope, at least for Buffs fans, is that this will be a showdown between Pac-12 Conference rivals trending in opposite directions.

… Continue reading story here …

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October 17th

… CU in a few minutes … 

Delrick Abrams forced into a leadership position – “I didn’t expect everybody to get injured”

From the Daily Camera … Cornerback Delrick Abrams figured he would have to shoulder his fair share of leadership responsibilities this fall for the Colorado defense.

Abrams is a senior, after all, and even though 2018 was his first season at CU after joining the Buffaloes as a junior college transfer, his eight starts and 10 games played overall last year made him just about as experienced as anyone in an extremely green secondary coming into the 2019 season.

Abrams already was the de facto old man of the bunch. Yet as the season has progressed, the faces lining up around him have only gotten younger and younger.

While Abrams has started every game for the Buffs going into the always-tough trip Saturday to Washington State (5 p.m., ESPNU), injuries have put the remainder of the secondary into a continuous shuffle mode. For Abrams, that has meant taking on a bigger hands-on role in mentoring the youngsters.

“We meet every day at five o’clock, trying to get more film,” Abrams said. “Try to stay positive. I’m trying to lead in the right way. If something goes bad, try to pick them up. They pick me up and we communicate with each other. I did expect to be a leader. But I didn’t expect everybody to get injured — Mehki (Blackmon), Chris (Miller). We got younger, so we’ve got more, not real pressure, but more leadership from me.”

… Continue reading story here …

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Steven Montez: “We’ve got to fight through the weather, fight through whatever forces are going to go against us”

From the Daily Camera … Based on the current forecast, the weather is not supposed to be very good on Saturday in Pullman, Wash.

“It’s not? That’s what I figured,” Colorado quarterback Steven Montez said when provided that information on Tuesday. “Pullman’s hardly ever nice.”

When the Buffaloes (3-3, 1-2 Pac-12) face Washington State (3-3, 0-3) at Martin Stadium at 5:02 pm MT (TV: ESPNU) on Saturday, the prediction is that it will be low 40s, rainy and windy.

“Well, that’s fantastic,” Montez said, with more than a hint of sarcasm.

That forecast might provide Montez with a nightmare or two this week. The last time he was in Pullman, in 2017, it was 41 degrees at kickoff, rainy and windy and he had the worst start of his career in a 28-0 loss.

“Last time, the weather wasn’t the best, but I mean that shouldn’t stop us,” said Montez, who also made the trip to Pullman in 2015, when the Buffs lost 27-3 on a cold night. “We’ve got to fight through the weather, fight through whatever forces are going to go against us and do our best to go out there and get the job done.

“I don’t know if it’s supposed to rain or supposed to snow or … whatever the weather is like in Pullman on Saturday. Hopefully it’s nice, but in the case that it’s not, then we’re still going to go out there and play football and play tough and play physical just like we always do.”

… Continue reading story here …

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October 16th

… CU in a few minutes … 

*Video – Laviska Shenault talks with media*

From YouTube, courtesy of CUSportsNation:

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*Video – Defensive Coordinator Tyson Summers talks Washington State*

From YouTube, courtesy of CUSportsNation:

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*Video – Cornerback Delrick Abrams talks with media*

From YouTube, courtesy of CUSportsNation:

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October 15th

… CU in a few minutes … 

Mel Tucker’s Tuesday Press Conference Quotes 

Press release from CUBuffs.com …

Opening Statement
“Good morning, thanks for coming out. I felt really good coming off the practice field today. Lots of focus. Guys were dialed in, really good tempo in practice. We got good work in pads, really good work in our run game, run defense, had some good thud work in, guys were playing fast. Got our game plans in for these guys on both sides of the ball and special teams. We’ve had good meetings and good practice so we’re on track for this week.”

On If It’s Easier To Shake Off A Big Loss
“No, I mean, this is not easy to shake off, but you have to turn the page nonetheless. So, that’s what we do. Anytime you don’t have success, if it doesn’t bother you then something is wrong. There’s a time to think about it and reflect, and then obviously from a coaching standpoint, you have to analyze it, break it down, grade film. Give a guy a percentage grade, you know, just overall themes of the game. On offense, defense, and special teams. Then when the players come in on Monday, a lot of them have seen it already, then you review the game with them and make the corrections, you have a correction period, and then you move on to the next opponent. It’s really systematic. You have to turn the page because you have another game to play.”

On How To Limit The Amount Of Penalties With The Team
“You don’t make wholesale changes, because we emphasize discipline and being accountable and attention to detail every day. But you do have to make some changes and you want to make changes that you think are going to make a difference and are going to be effective. It depends on the player or the nature of the penalty or whatever it is, and then you just find different ways to get them better and eliminate them. Sometimes it’s communication, you’ve got to have dialogue with guys, you have to show guys what they did. Sometimes that’s embarrassing to guys, they feel like they let themselves down or they let their teammates down. You just have to keep it progressive and you can’t keep doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.”

On Facing The Air Raid Offense
“They’re just throwing the ball all over the lot. They run it some, and he’s [Gordon] back there and he’s slinging it. They’ve got receivers all over the place, they’re wide open. It’s the pure air raid, it’s not like a version of the air raid, it’s just a real air raid. They really have it down to a science and they have a quarterback that can run it. He can run the offense, he knows how it works and he can put a lot of pressure on your defense. It’s certainly a different type of offense and I give Coach Leach credit, he believes in what he’s doing and he always finds a way, no matter where he is, or who he’s got, he finds a way to move the ball and score points.”

On Keeping Talent Like Max Borghi In Colorado
“We start in our state first and we’re evaluating as many guys as we can. As a matter of fact, when we go back out on the road we’re putting more and more coaches in the state. We need to fan out to more places, some of these places aren’t easy to get to. But we’ve got to get to them because there’s players all over the place and you don’t know exactly where they’re going to be. You don’t want to miss guys, and then when you evaluate them, we have to know what we’re looking at. That’s a big part of it. Evaluating talent is a talent and a skill in itself. And so, if you see a player and you feel like he can make your team better then you got to do what you got to do to sign him. We’re doing that, we’re offering guys in state, we’re offering guys early, we’re not waiting for someone else to offer them and then say ‘okay maybe we should offer them’. Some of the players are interested, some are not. And the ones who are not we’re trying to get them interested, and we’re continuing to recruit them, and our goal is to keep the best players in the state that can help us win, keep them home.”

On Preparing For WSU’s Offense
“I’m not sure if it’s freelancing or not but they do have quite a few patterns that we need to match. I think he (Leach) was at Kentucky when I went against him when I was at LSU. They got receivers all over the place. I remember he had a big quarterback I think his name was (Jared) Lorenzen. He was slinging that thing all over the place. It was tough. When you have a quarterback that can really throw it and then you have about seven or eight receivers that can play. They got it. They can run it enough and that puts a lot of pressure on your defense. That is the one thing about college football. You can see a different offense every week. It’s not like the NFL where guys line up in I-Pro and I-Slot. You can see wish bone one week and the next week is air raid. It is just different. You have to have enough flexibility in your defensive schemes to be able to handle it and just be comprehensive enough where your kids aren’t confused. There is a challenge that is great.  I love coaching defense It is a different challenge every week.”

On Interesting Mike Leach Soundbites And Their Relationship
“I have kind of noticed that. How does the conversation end up going in that direction? That is pretty interesting. I really didn’t know Coach Leach and I really hadn’t meet him until PAC-12 media day. We had some meetings down in Arizona where all the coaches were thee. We haven’t really had a conversation. He introduced himself and I introduced myself. Nice to meet you, good to know you and that type of deal. He seems like a really nice guy. He is a very interesting guy. I have a lot of respect for him. When you do what he is doing for this long that means you know what you’re doing. Whatever the style is and whatever his personality is, it really doesn’t matter. He gets the job done. He is very effective with what he is doing. He believes and his players believe in him. They play hard. That is the key to the drill. Everyone is different. I have a lot of respect for Coach Leach, his program and how he has stood the test of time.”

On Being A Football Coach
“I had fun today in practice. Coaching is a challenge, it’s very competitive. You put yourself out there and your team out there. Your resume is on the field. The higher you go, the more you are exposed. I like that challenge. When we stumble, what is next? How are we going to get this right and fix it? The only ways to fix it is in meetings or practice. Those are the opportunities you have to do it.  I can’t wait to get on the field and coach these guys, and really coach them. These coaches are really coaching these guys, getting after guys, teaching guys, making corrections, and getting the tempo going. I told them this was a good practice today. That is what we need to do. This is what we need to do. We need to practice like this and then tomorrow do it even better. We are going to watch the film this afternoon, grade it, plus-minus everything, take it to the players tomorrow, and then go again. Then we are going to take this show on the road. We will see what happens. That is the beauty of it. No one knows what is going to happen. This time next week we will be talking about it.

On If He Has Concerns With QB Steven Montez
“I don’t have any concerns. We had a rough day but we have moved on, he looked good today and yesterday. I don’t have those concerns. He is a really good player. Everyone has issues all over the country. Win or lose you are always trying to fix problems. We are no different. We stay the course and make changes along the way. There is a way to do that. Our structure, our foundation. The way we have put this thing together and how we coach our players allows us to stay the course. It is not a different message every day. It is not a different theme every day or week. It is a consistent message about how to get the job done and what we need to do to get the job done. We aren’t always able to do it and execute it, but we know what it is. We can coach to that. How do we get them to that point? This is what we need to do. We know what we need to do. We need to play mistake free football. That is very important. We need to win the turnover margin. We need to do those things. We need to be able to run the ball and eliminate the explosive plays. We already know that, talk about it, and drill it. When it doesn’t happen, we have to say, ‘How can we fix it and get it back on track? How do we get it there?’ That is where sometimes you have to make some adjustments and changes. Maybe you have to give them the overall message in maybe a different way. He is a good player and we have some good players around him. We all have to execute better. He is no different than anyone else. Whatever the mistakes he has made, he has to clean them up. He is going to do that. If he wasn’t deliberate about getting better or if he didn’t care than I would be concerned. He is far from that.”

… Continue reading story here (quotes from Steven Montez and Aaron Maddox) …

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Injury Report / Depth Chart updates

Colorado has had 34 different players start a game this fall (15 on offense; 19 on defense). That is tied for fifth in the nation (and second in the Pac-12, behind Oregon State’s 36). With that much turnover, there are plenty of Buff fans who are following the CU injury report and depth chart releases quite closely.

The CU depth chart for the Washington State game can be found here.

The CU injury report for the Washington game can be found under the Game Notes here (page four).

Some notes ...

• The safety positions are looking better. Aaron Maddox, who had been out since the Air Force game (leg laceration), played some against Oregon, and is now listed as the starter at strong safety, opposite free safety Mikial Onu;
• Trey Udoffia, listed as “Out – Personal reasons” is back on the  depth chart, behind Onu and Derrion Rakestraw at the free safety position;
• The cornerback position, though, remain tenuous. With Mehki Blackmon (shoulder) and Chris Miller (knee) out for the season, the Buffs are down to one starter with experience, senior Delrick Abrams. The other cornerback position is manned by true freshman K.J. Trujillo, backed by another true freshman, Tarik Luckett, who arrived at CU as a wide receiver commit last spring;
• The defensive line also remains a problem. Defensive end Mustafa Johnson and nose tackle Jalen Sami are listed as “questionable” or “doubtful”. Both positions are backed up by true freshmen … Na’im Rodman and Austin Williams;
• Laviska Shenault is no longer a part of the injury report. Shenault should be a “full go” for the Washington State game.

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More freshmen getting playing time: “We told them we’re going to get you ready to play right now”

From CUBuffs.com … CU continues to get young players some significant playing time, something that bodes well for the future.

“We’ve got some young players playing that we initially thought were going to be good players and those guys are getting opportunities to play now,” said Tucker, who mentioned defensive backs Mark Perry and K.J. Trujillo and defensive linemen Na’im Rodman, Jeremiah Doss, Janaz Jordan and Austin Williams as some young players who got quality snaps against the Ducks. “We’re getting young guys some opportunities to play some ball.”

One more youngster who might see some action soon is cornerback Tarik Luckett, a freshman who made the switch from wide receiver in camp.

“He’s pretty much where Mark Perry and K.J. were a couple weeks ago, getting reps in practice, getting a little bit better, waiting for an opportunity to play,” Tucker said. “We have guys that can step in and get the job done for us. It’s just a matter of time, but all these guys are going to play.”

That, Tucker said, is part of building a program.

“We recruited these guys, we signed them — we told them we’re going to get you ready to play right now,” he said. “Some guys are earlier than others, But our program is set up to develop these guys so when we need them, they can step in and make plays for us.”

… Continue reading story here …

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October 14th

… CU in a few minutes … 

Vibe from the players: Not dejection or a feeling of a season-long slide

From Brian Howell the Daily Camera … Despite getting their heads handed to them in Eugene, the Buffs have to approach this week as a game they can win.

“It’s just the same 24 hour rule we’ve been talking about all year,” quarterback Steven Montez said. “You go you go back, you watch the film, you think about all the things that you wanted to take back and then you kind of just forget about it and you move on you start studying Washington State.”

The vibe I got from players after the game was not dejection or a feeling that this is the beginning of a season-long slide. Rather, it was anger about how they played and a determination to make sure it doesn’t happen again. (By comparison, dejection was evident last year during the Buffs’ seven-game slide).

“We’re gonna get back to the drawing board; we’re going to get better, man,” safety Mikial Onu said. “This is a tough loss. They always are. But I’m proud of the team and the direction we’re going to go. We’re going to learn from the experience and we’ll be better.”

The Buffs have to be, and they’re capable of it. This is not a team that’s going to win the Pac-12 title or even the South division, but they can still get to a bowl game. The key to the whole season, however, is the next two weeks, against Washington State and USC.

… Continue reading story here …

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*Video – Mel Tucker post-practice talk with media* – “It’s never as good as you think. It’s never as bad as you think”

From YouTube, courtesy of CUSportsNation … “We need a better version by everyone” … “No new issues. When you play a really good team, you get exposed” … “It’s very uncomfortable, but we needed to address it” … “I met with at least ten players yesterday, individually – Trust, communication, it goes both ways” … “It’s going to get done, okay? At what point it’s going to get done. That’s the question” … 

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Senior Mikial Onu: “It’s still Xs and Os, but I do think we need better leadership”

From the Daily Camera … After snagging his postgame meal outside the locker room at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore., on Friday night, Colorado safety Mikial Onu vowed to be better.

“We’ve got to learn from this experience,” he said after the Buffaloes’ 45-3 loss to then-No. 13 Oregon. “We’ve got a young team – a good football team, but a young team – and a lot of guys that haven’t been in this kind of situation before. Me as a veteran, I take this upon myself. I want to be better leader, focus more on my leadership.”

Despite spending the first three years of his college career playing for SMU and not arriving in Boulder until late this summer, Onu has already established himself as one of the top players on the CU defense, and his experience and leadership has been valuable.

During his time at SMU, Onu went through losses like this before, but this is his final go-round in college football and the last thing he wants is to see this season unravel for the Buffs (3-3, 1-2 Pac-12), who have lost two in a row. CU will try to stop the bleeding on Saturday when it visits Washington State (3-3, 0-3), which has lost three in a row for the first time since 2014.

… Continue reading story here …

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Neill Woelk: Ten Takeaways from the Oregon game

From CUBuffs.com … Odds are the film didn’t look any better than the live action when Colorado coach Mel Tucker and his staff gathered Saturday to review Friday night’s 45-3 loss in Oregon.

No doubt, CU coaches saw numerous issues that need to be addressed before they head back on the road again, this week to Pullman, Wash., for a Saturday matchup with Washington State (5 p.m., ESPNU).

But while Friday’s loss was no doubt “gut-wrenching” — Tucker’s description — the Buffs must still remember to take a step back and look at the big picture.

Even with a 1-2 record Pac-12 record (3-3 overall), Colorado is just one game away from the four teams tied for the Pac-12 South lead, and they still have a chance to play three of those teams (USC, UCLA and Utah). With six games remaining, there’s still plenty on the line. As long as they don’t let one sub-par effort define their season, they obviously have the opportunity to do some good things down the last-half stretch.

What we learned from the Buffs’ most recent game:

1. Speed matters. When it comes to pure speed — in space, off the edge, in the secondary — the Buffs hadn’t seen anyone with Oregon’s ability in that department, and it showed.

Of the four interceptions thrown by quarterback Steven Montez, three were 50-50 jump balls, with a couple caused by defenders getting to the spot much faster than the CU senior anticipated. Against many teams, the passes would have been incompletions at worst. But against a team with that kind of closing speed on the ball, they turned into tipped passes — and the Ducks were then on the spot to pick them off.

It was the same with the pass rush off the edge and up the middle, and it showed every time Colorado tried to get its skill players in space on the edge. Oregon recorded two sacks and eight quarterback hurries without using exotic blitzes, and the Ducks’ linebackers and secondary prevented CU from making plays outside all night long.

Meanwhile, that speed on offense turned what normally would have been shorter gains into explosive plays that inflicted some serious damage. Which brings us to …

… Continue reading story here …

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October 13th

… CU in a few minutes … 

Pat Rooney: Mel Tucker believes dark days don’t last forever

From the Daily Camera … Mel Tucker came to CU after three years as the defensive coordinator at Georgia. With a career that has included two national titles, at Ohio State and Alabama, and a runner-up finish at Georgia, it’s easy to forget that Tucker’s been in a similar situation before.

In 2016, his first season as Georgia’s DC, the Bulldogs went to Ole Miss and got rolled, 45-14. Georgia was ranked No. 12 going into that game, but that was the start of a 1-4 stretch in a season that finished 8-5; good by CU standards, but not by Georgia’s.

“That same team was playing for the national championship the very next year,” Tucker said.

CU is further away from national title contention than the 2016 Bulldogs, but Tucker’s point was that the dark days don’t last forever – but it takes some work to pull out of them.

“Our goal is to win every single game that we play,” Tucker said. “We feel that every team on our schedule we can beat, but any team on our schedule we could lose to, as well.”

… Continue reading story here …

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Mel Tucker: “There’s no shortcut to success and where we want to get to. It’s a very difficult, gut-wrenching”

From CUBuffs.com … Some lessons are harsher than others.

The Colorado Buffaloes’ 45-3 thrashing at the hands of Oregon on Friday was every bit as harsh as it sounds — and how the Buffs react to such a loss will be the toughest test yet for head coach Mel Tucker in his short time in Boulder.

“Sometimes, in order to get where we have to get, you have to go through it like this,” Tucker said. “No one wants to do it. I don’t want to do it. It’s painful, it hurts. I’m sick about it. But sometimes it takes situations like this before you can really face up to what’s really going on and then get it turned the way it needs to go.”

Prior to Friday night’s game, Tucker knew his Buffs had been living on the edge. Four of their five games could have gone either way.

But there was no doubt in this one. No drama, no tense moments at the end.

No doubt.

Rather, the Buffs victimized themselves with self-inflicted wounds against an opponent that took advantage of every miscue.

Not that the 13th-ranked Ducks needed any help, but Colorado nevertheless made it easier — much easier — than it needed to be. A season-high in penalties and penalty yards (14 for 114).  A season high in turnovers (a career-high four interceptions for quarterback Steven Montez). The defense’s first game without a takeaway. One field goal out of four trips to the red zone.

And in the end, what began as a snowball in the first half turned into an avalanche in the second, burying the Buffaloes under their own mistakes.

… Continue reading story here …

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With three home games remaining, CU already approaching ticket sale goals

From the Daily Camera … With a new head coach, an attractive home schedule and an increase in ticket prices, the Colorado athletic department budgeted for a major spike in football ticket sales this season.

Halfway through the home schedule, the department is already nearing its target.

As of Friday, when the Buffs began a two-game road swing with a trip to Eugene, Ore., the CU athletic department was at around $19.8 million in football ticket sales. That includes season tickets, student tickets and single-game sales for the three previous home games, as well as the three remaining at Folsom Field.

CU budgeted for $19.813 million in ticket sales for this season and expects to easily exceed that with single-game ticket sales later this season. Tickets are still available for the remaining games at Folsom: Oct. 25 vs. USC, Nov. 9 vs. Stanford and Nov. 23 vs. Washington.

Last year, the Buffs’ final football ticket revenue was $15,383,021.

… Continue reading story here …

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Tucker on Harris ejection: “I hate the undisciplined penalties”

From the Daily Camera … During the third quarter, CU tight end Jalen Harris was given a penalty for a personal foul after he appeared throw a couple of punches at an Oregon defender.

“The official came to me and told me that he threw a punch and I told him I thought that I saw that and I told him I thought it was a good call,” CU head coach Mel Tucker said. “I talked to Jalen about it and Jalen just came up to me in the locker room and said, ‘That was my fault, I made a mistake.’ If you can own up to it, and not lie to yourself, then there’s a pretty good chance that won’t happen again.”

Harris’ penalty was one of 14 on the night for CU, many of them the result of undisciplined play.

“I hate the undisciplined penalties,” Tucker said. “So whatever I’ve got to do to get to eliminate those and get those cleaned up, I will get that done, because I can’t stand undisciplined penalties.”

… Continue reading story here …

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This post, about the Washington State game, from the 2019 Season, is filed under Article.
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