Friday Fast Facts – UCLA Week

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Friday Fast Facts – UCLA Week

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… “T.I.P.S” – Our weekly preview postings, are available for your review and comment. The written preview and predictions for the CU/UCLA game can be found here, while the CU at the Game Podcast preview for the game (which includes a discussion of the firing of Herm Edwards and Karl Dorrell’s future at CU) can be found here …

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Big Picture … 

— Honoring Rashaan Salaam … This December, Rashaan Salaam will become the ninth Buff player in the College Football Hall of Fame, joining Dick Anderson (1965-67), Bobby Anderson (1967-69), Herb Orvis (1969-71), Joe Romig (1959-61), Michael Westbrook (1991-94), Byron “Whizzer” White (1935-37), Alfred Williams (1987-90) and John Wooten (1956-58). Coach Bill McCartney, who guided Colorado from 1982-94, is also in the Hall. Salaam will be honored by CU at this Saturday’s game, with an “On Campus Salute” from the College Football Hall of Fame … Here is a link to one of Salaam’s most famous game, the 1994 season finale against Iowa State, with Salaam going over 2,000 yards rushing on a 65-yard touchdown run;

— Another Miracle in the Making? … Colorado is a 21-point underdog to UCLA, and hasn’t been competitive in any of his games. Could it help that this is the 28th anniversary of the “Miracle in Michigan”? If you want a feel good moment before kickoff – here are the highlights, including Keith’s Jackson’s call;

— A reach? … Colorado is 0-3 for just the 13th time in its 133-year history. Dave Plati pointed out in the Game Notes this week that the Buffs finished 0-4 in 1986, but rebounded to finish 6-5 and earn a Bluebonnet Bowl berth. Perhaps a more accurate appraisal … this is the first time CU has lost its first three games by 25 points or more;

— History repeats itself? … In one of CU’s worst seasons, the 1-10 campaign in 1980, the Buffs lost their third game of the season to a Big Ten team, 49-7. Back then, it was Lee Corso’s Indiana team. This year, it was Minnesota.  The fourth game of the 1980 season? Oklahoma 82, Colorado 42 (don’t worry, it’s highly unlikely CU’s offense will be able to generate 42 points this weekend);

— Conference openers … Colorado has an 83-43-2 (65.6%) record in conference openers, including a 38-17-1 mark at Folsom Field. It may seem hard to believe, but CU is actually 5-6 in Pac-12 conference openers, including wins in three of the last four seasons;

— The ESPN Power Index gives UCLA an 86.1% chance of winning; CU a 13.9% chance (These were almost the identical numbers as the UCLA/CU game last year – 86.8-13.2, with UCLA a 17.0-point favorite. Last year’s result? UCLA 44, Colorado 20);

— Can the Buffs get to 20?  … UCLA has won 61 straight regular season games in which the Bruins have held their opponents to under 20 points. The last time UCLA lost to a team scoring less than 20 points? – Colorado 16, UCLA 14 in 2003. Want a little irony? Know who UCLA’s head coach was the last time the Bruins held a team under 20 points and lost? Yup … it was Karl Dorrell;

— The game will be telecast nationally on the Pac-12 Networks (Saturday, 12:00 noon, MT), with Roxy Bernstein on the play-by-play, and Lincoln Kennedy with the commentary (No sideline reporter).  KOA radio will have Mark Johnson, in his 19th year, with the play-by-play, and former CU head coach Gary Barnett in his seventh year as the full-time analyst.

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Statistically speaking … 

— Running back room depleted … With Alex Fontenot still out (suffered a chest injury during the Air Force game; missed the Minnesota game), and with freshman Victor Venn also injured, walk-on freshman running back Charlie Offerdahl has been seeing playing time. The eight carries for 55 yards were the third-most rushing yards gained by a walk-on, and his 70 yards for the season are already the fourth-most in a single season;

— Positive Stat No. 1 … CU has only been penalized 13 times for 105 yards this season. The 4.3 penalties/game ranks 15th nationally; the 35 yards/game rank 12th nationally;

— Positive Stat No. 2 … Thanks to an 8-yard passing performance by Air Force, CU’s defense is still ranked in the 10th nationally in passing yards surrendered per game (104.0 yards/game). The rushing defense? Ummm … last in the nation, 131st, giving up 348.0 yards per game. Perhaps it won’t come as a surprise that top two rushing teams in the nation (Air Force and Minnesota) have been CU opponents (TCU is ranked 19th);

— Don’t leave during the punts … Thanks to a punt return for a touchdown in the opener, Colorado is 115th in the nation in net punting. UCLA, though, is doing even worse, coming in at No. 129 in net punting;

—  How bad is the CU offense? … The only major offensive category in which CU is not in the bottom ten nationally is rushing offense, in which the Buffs roll in at an even 100 nationally (120.0 yards/game);

— How bad is the CU defense? … In addition to being last in the nation in rushing defense, Colorado is third from the bottom in third down conversion defense (57.9%); 119th in total defense (452.0 yards/game) and 127th in scoring defense (42.7 points/game);

— Bar bet winner … Which CU team has a better winning percentage against UCLA – the football team or the men’s basketball team? Neither has fared well, but the football team (5-12, .294) has a slightly better winning percentage against the Bruins than does the basketball team (7-17, .291).

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CU Player Notes … 

— Five players on the current roster have made double-digit consecutive starts: Brady Russell (15); Casey Roddick (13); Frank Fillip (12); Quinn Perry (10); and Jalen Sami (10);

— Buffs have a history of great rushing games against UCLA, with Jarek Broussard going for 187 yards in the 2020 win in Boulder, with Chris Brown going for 187 yards in a 31-17 win in Pasadena in 2002;

— In the 1982 game between the two teams, future CU and UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel went 4-for-8 passing in mop up duty in a 34-6 UCLA victory;

— A total of 26 players have seen their first action as Buffs so far this season, including 12 true freshmen, six redshirt freshmen, three sophomores; one junior (J.T. Shrout); and four graduate transfers (Tommy Brown; Josh Chandler-Semedo; Chance Main; and R.J. Sneed).

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Colorado and UCLA … historical

In historical terms, Colorado wins out over UCLA, according to Winsipedia. CU’s football legacy dates back to 1890, while the Bruins didn’t field their first team until 1919. As a result, Colorado has a significant lead in all-time wins, with 718 (28th all-time) compared to UCLA’s 616 (61st);

That being said, when we compare apples to apples – all-time winning percentage – CU and UCLA are very close. The Bruins are 37th on the all-time list (.578 – 616-444-37), while the Buffs are 40th (.576 – 718-528-36);

Both teams have one national championship, one Heisman trophy winner, and, ironically enough, have both spent seven weeks as the No. 1 team in the Associated Press poll (tied for 25th on that list).

UCLA leads Colorado in most other categories tracked by Winsipedia, including NFL draft picks (333 to 276), consensus All-Americans (41 to 31) and bowl appearances (36 to 30). The Buffs do, however, hold a lead in one category which will last for some time to come … conference championships. Colorado is 11th on the all-time list, with 26, while UCLA is 25th on the list, with 17.

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CU & UCLA … 

— UCLA has an 12-5 overall advantage in the series, including a 6-4 advantage in games played in Boulder. CU has, however, won the last three games played between the two teams at Folsom Field;

— As noted above, CU is 5-6 in Pac-12 conference openers. Want good karma? Colorado is 2-0 against UCLA in Pac-12 openers, with a 38-16 win in 2018, and a 48-42 victory in 2020;

— There are only 24 teams in the nation with a national championship and a Heisman trophy, and only three from the Pac-12 … USC, UCLA … and Colorado;

— Karl Dorrell had 108 receptions for 1,517 yards and nine touchdowns while playing for UCLA (1982-86), including a pair of touchdowns in the 1984 Rose Bowl;

— UCLA opened its 2003 season at Colorado. It was UCLA’s first game with Karl Dorrell as its head coach. Jon Embree and Eric Bieniemy were on Dorrell’s staff, but the 24th-ranked Buffs were victorious that day, winning 16-14.

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Last season …

November 13, 2021 … UCLA 44, Colorado 20 … 

— Game Story … Colorado squandered a 20-7 second quarter lead, giving up 37 unanswered points as UCLA ended up routing the Buffs, 44-20. The CU defense gave up only 69 yards rushing to UCLA offense in the first half, before giving up 149 yards rushing – and three touchdowns – in the third quarter alone.

Brendon Lewis threw for 158 yards, including some long completions to Daniel Arias and Brady Russell, but was ineffective in the second half. Jarek Broussard had his second 100-yard game, with 16 carries for 108 yards, but almost all of those yards were in the first half. Alex Fontenot had two one-yard touchdown runs in the first half, but the Buffs settled for field goals instead of touchdowns in first half red zone opportunities … before collapsing in the second half.

“They did a nice job. I take my hat off to them”, said head coach Karl Dorrell of UCLA’s 37-0 run in the second half. “They made the right adjustments at halftime. We thought we were making the right adjustments, but, of course, it didn’t work out that way.”

“The only other game that I remember being like that was the Oregon State game a few years back”, said tight end Brady Russell, who had five catches for 60 yards. “It was really unexpected, so that’s what’s most frustrating about it. I don’t think they elevated their game that much; I felt like we brought our level down after playing so well. It wasn’t that guys weren’t fighting or anything.  It was weird.”

… Continue reading game story here …

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The Last time in Boulder …

November 7, 2020 … Colorado 48, UCLA 42 … 

— Game Story … The Buffs used four first half UCLA turnovers to race out to a 35-7 lead, then hung on for dear life in the second half before securing a 48-42 victory. Head coach Karl Dorrell became the third consecutive CU coach to win in their debut, defeating his alma mater before a crowd of less than a thousand at Folsom Field.

Sam Noyer became the first CU quarterback to start his first game as a senior since 1976, and made the most of his opportunity, completing 20-of-31 passes for 257 yards and a touchdown, also picking up 64 yards and another score on 13 carries. “I just wanted this opportunity from the start”, said Noyer, making his first start since his senior year in high school … in 2015. “And I finally got it in, and that’s all I could ask for”.

Sophomore running back Jarek Broussard also had a stellar debut, with 31 carries for 187 yards and three first half touchdowns. Playing without senior receiver K.D. Nixon, the receiving corps was led by tight end Brady Russell (five catches for 77 yards and a touchdown) and Dimitri Stanley (six catches for 66 yards).

The CU offense went for 525 yards of total offense, holding the ball for almost two-thirds (39:31) of the game clock. The Buffs had a 35-14 halftime lead, but three scoring drives by the Bruins, all of which took less than 90 seconds of game clock, made the game interesting until the final 1:45, when receiver Dimitri Stanley recovered an onside kick to preserve the win. The CU defense, which played well in the first half, ended up surrendering 478 yards, with quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson responsible for most of those yards (303 yards and four touchdowns passing; 109 yards and a touchdown rushing).

… Continue reading game story here …

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Pac-12 Notes … 

— Washington State and Oregon State are both 3-0 to open the season. The last time both squads opened 3-0 in the same year? 1915;

— Four Pac-12 teams are ranked this week: No. 7 USC; No. 13 Utah; No. 15 Oregon; and newcomer Washington, in at No. 18. The only other conference with four or more ranked teams this week is the SEC;

— Pac-12 Lines … Colorado a 21.0-point underdog (four of six Pac-12 home teams underdogs this weekend)

From VegasInsider.com …

Pac-12 games … 

• UCLA at Colorado … 12:00 p.m., MT, Pac-12 Networks … Colorado is a 21.0-point home underdog 
• Oregon at Washington State … 2:00 p.m., MT, Fox … Washington State is a 6.5-point home underdog 
• Arizona at California … 3:30 p.m., MT, Pac-12 Networks … Cal is a 4.5-point home favorite
• USC at Oregon State … 7:30 p.m., MT, Pac-12 Networks … Oregon State is a 6.0-point home underdog
• Stanford at Washington … 7:30 p.m., MT, FS1 … Washington is a 9.5-point home favorite
• Utah at Arizona State … 8:30 p.m., MT, ESPN … Arizona State is a 15.5-point home underdog (was 5.0 before the announcement of Herm Edwards’ firing)

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