Colorado Daily – Oregon

Colorado Daily – Oregon

October 26th

Oregon Notes worth Noting

– Oregon’s string of 10 consecutive wins is second nationally to Alabama’s 11 straight victories.

– Oregon has scored 30 or more points in 20 straight games, the longest streak in the FBS. The Ducks are 39-2 when scoring 30-plus in the Kelly era.

– Oregon has scored 42 or more points in 10 straight games, including eight of 49 or more, and own the longest current streak in the nation of 40-plus points.

– The Ducks have never lost a game from Week 2 through Week 9 of a CFB season (27-0) in Kelly’s tenure as a head coach.

– UO is 7-0 for the second time in three years, but only the fourth time in 117 seasons (also in 1930, 1933). The school record for most consecutive victories to start a season is 12 by the 2010 squad.

– The Ducks are the national leader in red zone defense, having allowed opponents only 15 scores in 29 trips inside the red zone this year (51.7%), including only four TDs in 19 trips inside the 20-yard line in Pac-12 play. Oregon denied Arizona all six times it penetrated the red zone while posting its first shutout in conference play since 2003. Through the first four Pac-12 games, the UO defense has allowed just six red zone scores overall (31.6%), which is also the best percentage in the FBS.

– Of Oregon’s 45 drives resulting in touchdowns this season, 28 have lasted less than two minutes and 18 have taken 60 seconds or less. Six of UO’s last 10 TD drives have lasted 52 seconds or less.

October 25th

Buffs lose top 2013 recruit

It’s not exactly new news, but now it is more official … top CU recruit Mitchell Parsons has de-committed from Colorado. While not completely closing the door on becoming a Buff, Parsons did tell BuffStampede.com that there was a parting of the ways, with Parsons lookint at other schools, and Colorado looking for other tight ends.

A sad fact of college football. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. Teams which finish last don’t get first-round draft picks to make them better. The climb back to respectability will be long … and steep.

Here is … was … the bio for Mitchell Parsons …

Just the facts … Committed March 30th … Parsons is a tight end prospect from Parker (Chaparral) Colorado. Parsons is 6’5″, 220-pounds. Rivals bio Scout bio ESPN bio

What others say about Parsons … Parsons is considered to be a four-star prospect by Rivals, and a three-star prospect by Scout. Rivals lists Parsons as the No. 11 tight end in the country, and the No. 2 player out of the state of Colorado. Scout rates Parsons as the No. 20 tight end nationally, and list Parsons as one of the top five tight ends in the West. Last season Parsons, like Phillip Lindsay, was one of five juniors named the Denver Post All-state team, all in his first year playing the position. A player evaluation from Scout had this to say about Parsons: “Parsons lines all over the field and plays a lot as a wide out but projects as a tight end. He has very good hands, as good as anyone in the region and shows excellent body control as well. He adjusts well to balls high and behind him and has a large catch radius. He also shows surprising athleticism and can make plays down the field. He’s a physical kid, very tough and should be a solid blocker in college.”

In his own words… After visiting Colorado for its first Junior Day of spring practices, Parsons toldScout.com, “I really like Coach Embree and Coach (J.D.) Brookhart. They really like using the tight end position and they both have a lot of experience using the tight end so that stands out to me. Plus they’re close to home and I think they’re really on their way up. And I’ve been there a bunch.” At the time, Parsons did not foresee an early commitment. “I haven’t put a timetable on when I want to announce,” said Parsons. “I want to take my officials, get to know the coaches and learn more about them. I don’t want to be that guy who commits, then finds out later I didn’t really want to go there and have to decommit. I want to be sure before I decide.” With Colorado limited in the number of scholarships available for the Class of 2013, though, Parsons decided to pull the trigger. “I thought about some other tight end taking a visit there and seeing how awesome Boulder is and how special what they’ve got going on there is and him taking my spot,” Parsons said. “So I wanted to secure my spot as a Buffalo.”

Greg Brown: “It’s up to coaches to find a way to put players in positions and it’s up to players to understand the game plan, get it practiced correctly and then execute it in a game.”

This just in: Colorado coaches are frustrated (too!) with being one of the worst defenses in the nation.

From the Daily Camera… In 31 years prowling the sidelines of college and professional football fields, Greg Brown has seldom felt as frustrated as he does this fall as defensive coordinator for the Colorado Buffaloes.

Brown’s defense is allowing 43 points and nearly 500 total yards of offense per game and it hasn’t even played the best opponent on its schedule yet. That comes this week when the 1-6 Buffs travel to No. 2 Oregon, which is scoring 51 points a game and is undefeated at 7-0.

“It’s a frustrating thing when any coach, any defensive staff, pour their heart and soul into something and yet we haven’t seen results,” Brown said. “The only thing we can do is dig our way out and get better in all phases, as coaches, as players, practice habits, in our preparation. It’s just leaving no stone unturned.”

Colorado fans are obviously frustrated and they’re directing their anger at Brown, head coach Jon Embree and other defensive coaches. Brown said he believes in what the defensive staff is teaching and he sees development in individual players, but some of the success the Buffs experience on the practice fields isn’t also occurring on game days.

That is where the frustration comes in. Helping players be more successful in games is Brown’s biggest challenge.

“Each week, somebody is coming up with some new twist and you better have an answer for it because if you don’t, they’re going to exploit it,” Brown said. “In years past, that wasn’t necessarily the case, but nowadays coordinators and offensive head coaches have seen what other people have done and they’re building on it and adding their own twist.”

Brown isn’t the only one searching for answers to the Buffs’ defensive woes. Embree said this week on the Pac-12 coaches call that he hasn’t been able to pinpoint why the Buffs continue to struggle so badly on the side of the ball.

“That’s probably the most frustrating, not being able to put a finger on one or two things, like, this is what we need to do to fix that,” he said. “We just have to stay the course right now and look at different ways we can help.”Colorado has played eight true freshmen on defense this year, but it seldom has more than three or four on the field together. Six of the Buffs’ top-10 tacklers are juniors or seniors, players who ought to understand schemes and what it takes to be successful on Saturdays. Another one of the top-10 tacklers is sophomore Brady Daigh, who already has played plenty of football in his young career.

To his credit, Brown said using young players such as starting cornerback Kenneth Crawley, starting defensive tackles Josh Tupou and Samson Kafovalu and safety Marques Mosley is only part of the problem. He said veterans on defense have made key mistakes this season as well.

Brown said every player on the field needs to make sure they are aligned properly to start each play, know their assignment, use the proper technique and execute. He said he emphasizes that with players every week. Brown said he would also like his defense to improve on swarming to the ball and gang tackling, which is hard to do against offenses that spread defenses out these days.

Brown said the number of big plays his defense has allowed also bothers him. He said the Buffs have to focus on doing their jobs as individuals and they will improve as a unit. CU has allowed 49 plays of 20 yards or more through seven games, including 37 passes.

“When you simply give somebody a big play, it’s like baseball. It’s an unearned home run, an unearned base,” Brown said.

Several Buffs emerged from the losing locker room last week at USC and questioned whether some of their teammates were watching enough film on opponents before games and fully studying and understanding game plans. Brown said he believes all of his players are putting in the work ahead of time. He said Ray Polk and Parker Orms might have been speaking out of frustration in the heat of the moment and he has talked with both players this week.

Ultimately, Brown takes responsibility for how the Buffs are playing and getting it fixed. “Any time you don’t have success, you’re always going to look and blame yourself first and say, ‘What could we do better? How could we put our players in better positions,'” Brown said. “It really goes hand in hand. It’s up to coaches to find a way to put players in positions and it’s up to players to understand the game plan, get it practiced correctly and then execute it in a game.”

October 24th

Full transcript of Embree press conference

From cubuffs.com …

General

“Getting ready for Oregon, obviously we know the challenges they present, especially offensively.  They fast break on grass, so to speak, they do a great job of spreading you out and then they hit the seam and they’re gone.  They have tremendous speed, so again this is as all spread offenses, assignment football is imperative, that we are in the right gaps and then just trust our teammates will be in the gap that they are suppose to be in.  But I think the thing that is the most impressive about Oregon, after watching all of their games is their defense.  I think their defense is outstanding, they have a tremendous personnel, their linebackers have great size and range, they all can run, they are violent when they tackle you.  I told our guys, they tackle through you, their secondary ball hawks, so if you are not accurate, it is going to be an interception.  We have to do well as far as protecting the ball, and then special teams, a lot of their guys are starters, and again, they have a lot of speed on special teams.  So it is without a doubt going to be a great challenge, but one we are looking forward to.”

On Oregon’s Spread Offense

“Theirs is just a whole other level, one is the speed that they have at their skill positions, it is unlike other programs that we have seen that run it.  The speed at which they go, they run plays.  To practice and prepare for them will be in two huddles, so as soon as the next play is done the next team is going out there and getting ready to run the play.  We don’t normally do that when we play other spread offenses, even though they are no huddle and are caught at the line of scrimmage, they just play at a different tempo.”

On If Oregon Is A Passing Or Running Team

“I think of them as running.  Their quarterback, very calm, very cool under pressure, he plays real relaxed.  If something doesn’t go his way, he doesn’t really blink, he just gets to the next play.  I think it starts with him and then I think it spreads through the rest of the team.”

On Oregon’s Defense

“I don’t know what their numbers were a year a go, but I think their linebackers seem to be playing even better than they were last year.  96 (Jordon Dion), he is a guy that hopefully this is the last time we see him.  He is just a guy you have to count for in every play.  They seem to be playing better, from the standpoint of better, just feeding off of each other, tackling, getting the ball out.  They are opportunistic.  I don’t know what their numbers were last year, but it just seems like they are playing faster this year.”

On If Oregon Coach Chip Kelly’s Style Would Work In The NFL

“I don’t know if you want to say Chip Kelly’s style, but yes, Chip Kelly.  Yes, I think he would be a successful coach in the NFL.  I am sure he would adapt things to fit with his talent at that level.  I doubt they would be running the exact same offense as they run here, I am sure there are components of it that they would do.  I know Washington is doing some of that stuff with RG (Robert Griffin III), so yes, Chip would be great in that level.”

On The Recipe for Success Against Oregon

“Everybody has the same plan, you want to go in there, you want to control the ball and eat the clock.  You say all of that, but it doesn’t work out that way.  Some of it I think has to be them shooting themselves in the foot, getting some turnovers where you give yourself some chance to score.  You are probably going to win the time of possession, but that doesn’t matter, but what you have to do is you have to play error free on your side and then you have to force them into some mistakes and hopefully that is enough to be able to win.  They go for it on fourth down, they go for two after touchdowns, their mindset that their team plays with is just different than, I don’t want to say conventional football, but its just different than the teams that you are playing against.  You have to be able to focus on what you need to do and not get caught up in what they are doing or you are done.”

On QB Jordan Webb’s Problems

“Sometimes it is the receivers, sometimes it is the back.  It just depends on what problem we are talking about, so sometimes it is other people.  It is part of the deal of being the quarterback, you get all of the credit and all the blame, and all of the time it is a team game.  It is that side of the ball, it is that unit that is responsible for your success and you need that side that also can contribute to your failures too, so it is something that we have to keep improving on.”

On Having Former Teammate Ed Reinhardt At This Weekend’s Game

“It means a lot.  Ed, obviously we have an interesting relationship with us going all the way back to high school.  Ed’s a huge reason huge part of what I am today.  He was the guy that always drove me, he was always the guy that I competed against, I knew that if I wanted to be all-league or all-state, that was the guy I was going to have to beat out.  So every time, no matter what I did, running in the summer, lifting or whatever, he was the guy I was thinking about.  If I did 10, in my mind, Ed probably did 11, so I had to find a way to get 12.  So it was that kind of relationship and then obviously getting up here and playing together, it was special.  It wasn’t a long time, it was really just a year and two games, and so I think we could have done a lot of great things if he wouldn’t have been injured.  I think at the time, we were both in the top five in the country in receptions, we really fed off of each other and complimented each other so for him to be able to go back to Oregon, that program has always held a unique place in my heart, just because of what they did for him and his family, and it will be good for him to be back there and be around those people.  I think they have tremendous fans and that is why I think it is a hard place to play, they are classy, they are respectful, it is just a unique environment, but they have always been like that.  It is not just something that happened, that is how their fans have always been.  It will be good having him and his father up there.”

On What Was Going Through His Head When Reinhardt Collapsed During The Game

“I didn’t know the issues until we came off of the field, because we were in the process of driving down and trying to win the game.  When we turned it over on downs, i went over and that is when he collapsed and that is when I knew something was bad.  I went through a lot of different thoughts, over the next really month, so it was obviously a difficult time.”

On Colorado’s Offense

“Some of it is youth, and some of it is the guy was better than him on that play.  We played a very good team, we played against a lot of future NFL players, so it was great competition.  I thought our offensive line had their best game of the year.  They set a standard of how they need to play consistently, if they can play like that consistently, we will continue to move the ball and have the opportunity to have success on that side of the football.  Sometimes the issues were the other guy was just, better than them on that play.”

On USC Disrupting Colorado’s Offense

“Different things affecting their route depth, affecting them getting out of their break, forcing the quarterback to hold it longer.  There are a lot of things that go into passing the football when it is not a quick passing game, and sometimes when it is a quick pass that can also affect it too.”

On What He Tells His Secondary This Week

“Tackle.  We have to do a great job of tackling, and so we will continue to do that.  We have done, really since the UCLA game, we do a lot of tackling in practice.  We didn’t have Yuri Wright because he got a concussion tackling in practice, so we didn’t have him in the last game.  He is back this game.  We have had some guys maybe not make it to the game because of the tackling in practice, but as you can see, we still have to keep doing it.  You keep your fingers crossed a little bit but at the end of the day, we will be better for it.  So that is the first thing, and then the safeties have to do a great job with their eyes, everybody does have to when you are on defense.  When you are playing assignment football, your eyes need to be in the right spot; if you are looking over there and you are suppose to be looking the other way, because of their speed, by the time it isn’t on the left but is on the right, by the time you get back over there, he has probably run by you, you can probably feel the breeze as they run by you at that point.  So you have to be great with your eyes, that is probably the number one thing especially in the back end, because you are in a position where you have vision.  The defensive line it is a lot harder because you have a lot of guys in front of you, but when you are in the secondary you always have to make sure you always have great vision, and you have to see where the ball is, you have to be able to understand what the formations is, all of those different things, motions.  That will help you know what play is possibly coming.”

On Turnovers

“Interceptions, there is generally not a theme with those.  Sometimes it is the guy trying to make a play and he forces it, sometimes with quarterback interceptions, like when you have a three-point shooter; you don’t want him shooting it, but if he makes it you are happy.  Sometimes as a quarterback you have to play with a little reckless abandoned, but it can come back and get you at times.  Because of the way we are right now, the offense right now is not having that dynamic playmaker, sometimes the quarterback tries to help the offense make the play and it doesn’t work out that way.  The fumbles, the fumble center-to-quarterback exchange, there is no excuse for that, we do that everyday before practice for five minutes everyday so that there is no excuse for that.  Christian [Powell] has to hold onto the football, so we have those two fumbles, and the interceptions; one was taken away from a receiver, the other two he was trying to make a play and he should have thrown one away.  But to say you can work on it is to try and keep harping on him (Jordan Webb) about his decisions.”

On QB Connor Wood In Practice

“Connor has to keep coming, keep improving.  He has to keep getting consistency, I am not going to be specific, but there are some things he needs to get better at and improve to keep getting more playing time.”

On Team’s Morale

“After the team meeting I feel like that, I don’t know what the comments were because I never have done that since probably my second year in the league; reading the papers.  So I don’t know what the comments were, but I feel good about where they are considering the circumstances, how we practiced yesterday and what we will do today, we will see what the energy and the tempo is.  I know the team understands that if you are not all in, then I will go with the guys that are as we keep building it.  If you are not all in, if you have had enough for the season we will just put the next guy in.”

On QB Jordan Webb’s Mental Toughness

“No, he is pretty good.  I think a lot of guys who play quarterback at this level, that is part of that reason you are that guy, is because of your mental toughness, your ability to try and forget mistakes.  What, he threw three interceptions, and so part of that is just mental toughness, and if it really bothered him he really would have gone in the tank and so the fact that he kept firing bullets, he kept being aggressive and that says something about it.  Obviously, you don’t want a guy out there that consistently does it, but I know he was trying to fit one into [Nick] Kasa on the one over a back, and it was a tough throw and he is trying to make plays and I understand that to a certain extent.  We did a lot in that game to make plays, we did double passes, we did throwbacks, we did other trick plays, trust me we are trying offensively to create it because we don’t have a Paul Richardson.  We don’t have anyone like that on that side of the ball, that can be as explosive, and I’m not slamming the guys or anything like that, we just don’t and that is okay.  That is why we need to keep doing those things to help create plays for those guys.”

On WR Gerald Thomas Being A Playmaker

“Yeah, I think he will be eventually.  I thought that was a nice catch he had in the end zone, and how he runs around at his speed, it does lend itself for the future of him being a playmaker.”

On If Playing Man Coverage Would Help Against Oregon

“You can’t play too much man because then they get you out of whack; you have to account for the quarterback.  If you’re in man, then who has the quarterback?  You have to mix that in.  You have to do your thing in zone.  Also in man, it takes your eyes away; you have to look at your man when you are in man.  It doesn’t allow you to help in the run game like you need to because you are covering your man or looking at your man.  You can’t just sit there and say, ‘Okay, let’s play them in man.’ That is one of the unique things about that offense.  You have to pick your spots or you have to mix man-zone kind of principles, just so that you have the vision of how to stop the run.”

On The Percentage Of Man And Zone Coverage Used In The USC Game

“I don’t know what the percentage was.  The first touchdown was zone, the second touchdown I think was zone.  I think the first three were zone.  Then we were in man the two going west way, because they are an east-west field, going to the closed end of the Coliseum, the go-route. If Kenneth [Crawley] finds the ball, I think he makes the play, the next step, he was running stride-for-stride with the guy.  He got his hand on the ball, but if he looks sooner, he can make a better play on the ball.  The other one, they ran a little double-move post on him.”

On Continuing To Run Man-to-Man Coverage With The Young Corners

“I’ll keep doing it.  Same with Yuri [Wright] when he comes back healthy too.  I pulled Kenneth aside afterwards in the parking lot, I had a great conversation with him.  I told him that, ‘If you want to play in the NFL, you just got a dose served to you. You are going against a top-10 pick at receiver and maybe the top pick in the draft at quarterback.’  That is what it looks like.  So you have two choices, you can mope and feel sorry for yourself, which no one else will, or that can be the emphasis that makes you come out and work that much harder, continue to work on your technique, continue to improve and understand eventually that you are going to be that guy.  And I mean by ‘that guy,’ eventually you are going to be that guy where they won’t throw your way because every time they come over there, you are intercepting it, you are knocking it down, you got the guy blanketed, your making the quarterback hold it so we sack him.  And Yuri Wright has that capability also.  I knew; you put them out there, a little baptism by fire.  That is Okay.  I look at the strides that Greg Henderson made.  Last year, he had some moments that affected us and some outcomes in games.  I look at him now this year and when he has been in there, the guy has played really well.  He is a lot better tackler.  His tackling skills were similar to what 2 (Kenneth Crawley) and 5 (Yuri Wright) were this year.  I look at his aggression as far as trying to break up passes, aggression in his bump coverage, and it is night and day.  But he had 845 snaps to get to it.  I’m sure that Crawley is on that pace and now that Yuri is back, he’ll be on that pace.  That is part of the deal.  They are going to make some plays, and they are going to have days like that.  It is what it is, and they’ll be better for it and we’ll be better for it.”

On Knowing Before The Season That The Freshmen Would Make Mistakes

“Yeah, to a certain extent.  I don’t know how many we are playing.  I don’t know what the deal i, as far as numbers.  It would have been nice to have had [Ray] Polk the whole time.  A few others guys that have been dinged, it would have been nice to have them, but I just look at it from the standpoint of these younger guys, like a Marques Mosley, getting to play – I think he is going to be a fantastic player.  He’s learning.  Jeff Hall does some good things for us back there too.  On the offensive side, getting Gerald [Thomas] going; and Christian Powell, finding what he is all about; Vincent Hobbs, he is a guy that is making plays for us.  I’m proud of him.  He fumbled, whatever game that was, got an earful, and he was in traffic in three of his four catches and it wasn’t an issue.  And they were going after the ball with him.  I see a lot of improvement in a lot of places and in a lot of our players.  That is my mindset and focus, is to continue that improvement so when you ask about disappointment and discouragement, I’m focused on the guys that are continuing to improve, that want to improve, and keep working hard, keep showing up, and keep doing it.  That by far outnumbers anyone who that maybe is discouraged.  The guys that are traveling, that are playing, they’ve been awesome.  I thought our practice yesterday was really good, and it is translating over to a certain extent to games in bits and pieces.  It is getting to now where it’s who we are all the time.  That is that consistency that we just don’t have.  Part of it is that you got to have a guy, like a Paul Richardson, that when you hit a lull, can make a play and get you back on track.  Part of it is growing up.  When you are older as a player, when you are not a freshman; you know, games are long, so sometimes it is hard for guys to focus every play or understand the importance of that particular play.  We had a chance for a touchdown, we showed the tape, we had a chance maybe for a touchdown on the screen, and two guys on the back side of the screen, 45 yards away from the play don’t give it their all.  And low and behold, that guy made the tackle.  If just one of them had given great effort, that’s the difference.  That is also to, ‘I’m tired, it’s the 58^th play of the game, this play doesn’t really matter because it is over there,’ and that is all part of the maturation process.  It is all part of understanding what your role is and controlling your effort and doing those things.  It kind of goes hand-in-hand and when you play a team like a USC, like an Oregon, those issues magnify themselves if you don’t play like that.”

October 23rd

Updated injury report

Linebacker Brady Daigh – neck – suffered a sprain late against Arizona State; all tests were negative –  Day-To-Day
Offensive lineman Jack Harris – concussion – suffered in practice (Oct. 16) – Day-To-Day
Defensive back Parker Orms – concussion – suffered late in the USC game (Oct. 20) – Day-To-Day
Safety Terrell Smith – hip – suffered a hip pointer late in the USC game (Oct. 20) – Questionable
Linebacker Kyle Washington – concussion – suffered early against Arizona State (Oct. 11) – Day-To-Day
Cornerback Yuri Wright – concussion – suffered in practice (Oct. 2) – Questionable

Out for the Season: tailback Terrance Crowder (knee), wide receiver Paul Richardson (knee).

Not quite an injury report as bad as last year’s Oregon game, when the Buffs were so depleted in the defensive backfield that the Buffs were playing converted wide receivers and running backs in the secondary against the Ducks, but it sure isn’t helpful that this week’s injury report includes five defensive players, including three defensive backs …

Embree press luncheon quotes

On keeping Jordan Webb at starting quarterback … “That’s part of the deal of being the quarterback, you get all of the credit and all of the blame … It’s something we’ve got to keep working on. There are a lot of things that go into passing the football (successfully), but, without a dynamic playmaker (like Paul Richardson), sometimes the quarterback has to try and make a play, and sometimes it doesn’t work out.”

On the development of backup quarterback Connor Wood … “Connor’s got to keep coming, keep improving. There’s some things, things I don’t want to discuss here, that he needs to get better at and improve.”

On playing Oregon … “We have to do a great deal of tackling. We’ve been doing a lot of tackling in practice (even though it has led to injuries, like one to Yuri Wright) … Safeties have to do a great job with their eyes (to slow down Oregon’s offense).”

Against USC … “The offensive line had its best game of the year. If they continue that way, we’ll be successful the rest of the year.”

On players giving interviews saying that teammates have quit, or are not putting in as much time in preparation as they should … (After stating he hasn’t read the newspaper since his second year in the NFL) The team understands that if you are not all in, I’ll just put in the next guy … I see a lot of improvement in our players. I’m focusing on the guys who want to improve and keep on showing up, and that number is a lot higher than those who are discouraged.”

On freshman cornerback Kenneth Crawley, who was burned for several touchdowns against USC … “I pulled Kenneth aside afterwards in the parking lot. I told him that one day, if you want to play in the NFL, you just got a dose (playing against probable high draft picks at quarterback and wide receiver). That’s what it looks like. Now, you can mope, and feel sorry for yourself, or you can use it as an impetus to work that much harder, so that you can become ‘that guy’, that guy who other teams avoid throwing at … It was a little baptism by fire. I look at the strides that Greg Henderson (who played all last season as a true freshman cornerback) has made. He’s a lot better tackler now. He’s a lot more aggressive now … but he’s had 845 snaps to get there … It is what it is.”

…

Senior safety Ray Polk, who saw his first action against USC since the Colorado State game (out with a high ankle sprain):

On “realistic chances” against Oregon … “I think we have a chance to win, I really do. It’s not rocket science. It’s just football. If we can come together as a team, and do what the coaches are asking of us, we can do some great things with this season.”

On what he has told freshman cornerback Kenneth Crawley … “Keep your head up. It’s great that you came in and are starting for us, but you can’t expect to come in and become a shut down corner. It takes time. It’s a skill. He’s going to be a great player before he’s done.”

On how things have worked out for him in his years at CU … “I came to this program to take it back to where it was, a dynasty. If there is one thing I’ve learned, is that it takes time to lay a foundation.”

October 22nd

Terrel Smith on Oregon: “Them boys is really fast”

From cubuffs.com … In college football, some weeks offer at least a hint of familiarity in preparation for the next opponent. For the Colorado Buffaloes, last week’s work for Southern California’s refined passing game means zilch in this week’s run-up for run-hungry, warp-speed Oregon.

“Their schemes are vastly different,” CU defensive coordinator Greg Brown said on Monday. “There’s not much the same – other than that they have great, great personnel.”

So if the Buffs have any gears left in preparation for the second-ranked Ducks, they must be shifted. But here’s the problem: not many teams have a gear to match Oregon, which does everything – from its no-huddle offense to its ground game – in a blur.

“Them boys is really fast,” CU junior safety Terrel Smith said with a laugh. “I don’t know where you teach that speed, but their game speed is really fast. We’ve got a big task in front of us.”

Big, indeed. Oregon ranks No. 4 nationally in rushing at 317.1 yards a game, with senior Kenjon Barner’s 124.3 yard average ranking tenth nationally. The Buffs can’t forget Barner’s 2011 Boulder appearance, when he rushed 10 times for 115 yards and two touchdowns – one a career-long 84-yarder – in a 45-2 win that was out-of-hand early (29-0 after one quarter, 35-0 at the half).

The Ducks, said Brown, “have big-time wheels . . . we think they’re faster than last year. Their quarterback (Marcus Mariota) is faster if you can believe that. He’s playing at a phenomenal level for a freshman. Their backs . . . they just keep coming. You look at their backup running backs and you’re like, ‘Wow, where did you get these guys?’ They’ve got a tremendous amount of talent and a tremendous amount of speed, coupled with a great, great system.”

In last Thursday night’s 43-21 rout of Arizona State, Oregon zoomed for 406 rushing yards against what had been the Pac-12’s top-ranked defense. Brown switched off his TV before halftime – it was 43-7 – to play with his kids. “It was just a track meet, wow,” Brown said. “It’s just amazing . . . that’s quite a statement Oregon made.”

The burning national question the Ducks can’t dodge always seems to return to their match up against physical opponents. In last year’s opener, No. 4 LSU waltzed over No. 3 Oregon 40-27 – but the Ducks suffered four turnovers (three fumbles, interception).

When the time comes this season, Can Oregon make more of a muscle?  Brown isn’t going to offer a guess. “Until that matchup occurs, there’s only going to be speculation,” he said. “That’s not even for me to speculate on, what Oregon can or can’t do. We know what they can do, which is quite staggering. They’re a tremendous team and will probably play for the national championship.”

Chip Kelly not looking past Colorado to USC

From the Eugene Register-Guard … Chip Kelly said he is no more worried about his Ducks looking past Colorado than any other opponent.

That is a concern each week, Kelly said, but it is usually alleviated when practice begins on Monday. This week would be especially tempting for the Ducks to look past one-win Colorado to a game at 10th-ranked USC on Nov. 3.

“I worry about our guys no matter who we play,” Kelly said Sunday afternoon. “I can tell our mindset on Monday in practice. This team, since I have been here, has been really, really good at preparing for every opponent and I hope this week is no different. I worry every Sunday when I sit in the office about what our mindset will be when we come in on Monday, but these guys don’t disappoint me.”

Oregon’s next two opponents played Saturday when USC beat Colorado 50-6. Kelly didn’t watch the game live, but he did see film of the game Sunday morning.

Colorado ran 85 plays compared to 48 for USC in the game, but committed six turnovers. The Buffs got in the red zone five times against the Trojans, but totaled minus-14 yards on 14 plays inside the 20 and came away with just two field goals.

“They were snakebit a little bit,” Kelly said. “They ran a ton of plays, 80-some snaps compared to 48 for USC but USC made their 48 count. I think Jon (Embree) has got them playing hard. They’ve got a heck of a schedule, playing USC, us, and then Stanford. We will prepare like we normally do.”

Colorado has given up 50 points or more in consecutive games for the first time in 50 years. The Buffs are allowing 42.6 points per game, which ranks 119th out of 120 teams in the country. Oregon ranks second in the country with 51 points per game.

October 21st

Colorado almost a 50-point underdog

Colorado is one of the worst teams in Division 1-A.

Buff fans know it … Las Vegas knows it.

According to vegasinsider.com, Colorado is a 45.5 underdog to Oregon this weekend. Other sites have the line at 47.5.

Colorado was a 41-point underdog to USC, and held up against the line until a late field goal gave the Trojans a 44-point victory.

Oregon falls to fourth in BCS Standings

The latest BCS standings are out, and Oregon continues to fall. The Ducks, 2nd in both polls, were third last week in the BCS standings, but have fallen to fourth in the last poll. Meanwhile, USC and Oregon State continue to climb in the top ten:

1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Kansas State
4. Oregon
5. Notre Dame
6. LSU
7. Oregon State
8. Oklahoma
9. USC
10. Georgia

Does this mean that Oregon will have added incentive to post a big score against Colorado? Not really. Oregon is already 2nd in the human polls, and computer polls don’t take into consideration margin of victory. In sum, whether the score is 50-3 or 77-0 won’t make much difference in Oregon’s march to the BCS championship game.

What will make a difference, though, would be losing to USC next weekend. The potential negatives from losing a starter against USC will likely outweigh the benefits of an additional touchdown or two against Colorado.

Yippee …

This post, about the Oregon game, from the 2012 Season, is filed under Uncategorized.
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