Only One Way for Colorado Buffaloes to Defeat USC

It's past mid-November, and the Colorado Buffaloes still have a shot at playing in a bowl game at the end of the season. It's a long shot, for sure, but certainly better than CU fans have experienced in a good long while.

For fans of the University of Spoiled Children, it has been a down and up year. With two regular season games left on their schedule, the Trojans sit at 8-3. They have won 5 of 6 games since firing Lane Kiffin following the 62-41 thrashing at the hands of Arizona State in late September.

The Trojans come to Boulder looking run the table against the Buffs and UCLA and represent the Pac-12 South in the conference championship game. Two teams stand in their way, Arizona State and UCLA. Fortunately for SC, the Bruins and the Sun Devils play each other this weekend.

UCLA ends their regular season against USC, and ASU faces their in-state rival Arizona next weekend. If all the cards fall into place, USC could very well be heading to Oregon to play the Ducks in the conference championship game.

The wild card in the equation is the University of Colorado Buffaloes. If the Buffs can manage to beat the Trojans on a cold November night in Boulder, they can ruin USC's plans and keep their own bowl hopes alive. As the Buffs have never defeated USC is seven tries, it would be a big surprise. In it's effect on the resurrection of a once elite program, a home win on Senior night would be HUGE.

Many fans of the Colorado football program have been clinging to irrational hopes for the game. They want bitter cold, or better yet, driving snow to slow down the Trojans and give their Buffs a chance. They cite anecdotal evidence that USC has not historically played well in cold weather games.

But, in reality, the Trojans have not played in the snow since the 1950s. That's what happens when you play on the west coast against teams from the west coast. Not until Utah and Colorado joined the conference several years back did the opportunity to play in the snow really rear its ugly head.

It seems likely that USC will adapt like every other team in the conference when they have to make the cold weather adjustment. In fact, it is likely that playing in snow will not happen very often for the west coast teams or the Arizona teams. The game most likely each year to be influenced by snow will be the season ending game between Utah and Colorado following Thanksgiving each year.

Colorado head coach Mike MacIntyre and his staff, and his players as well, know the truth about the game with USC. To defeat the Trojans, the Buffaloes will have to OUTPLAY them. They will have to play smart and limit their penalties. They will have to win the turnover game. They will need to control the ball and score touchdowns when they get in the red zone. They will need to convert their third downs at a high rate (close to 50%). They will need to play solid special teams and good defense.

Everyone knows that the USC roster is loaded primarily with young men who were rated as 4 and 5 star recruits coming out of high school. But that did not keep the Trojans from going from preseason #1 last year to unranked by the end of the season. It did not keep Lane Kiffin from getting fired. And it did not keep Arizona State and Oregon from scoring 62 points apiece on the Trojans.

You have to play the game on the field. And each team is only allowed 11 guys on the field at a time. And 11 guys playing as a TEAM can always beat 11 INDIVIDUALS who do not play well together.

The game against USC is Senior Day, and will be the final home game for the Buff seniors. Although the Buffs have a very young team, some of their stalwarts will be running onto Folsom Field for the final time in their CU careers. Starting defensive seniors are Safety Parker Orms, DL Chidera Uzo-Diribe, and LB Derrick Webb. Defensive backups include Paul Vigo and Nate Bonsu.

Offensive Senior starters are Linemen Gus Handler and Jack Harris, and Tight End Scott Fernandez. Senior backups on offense include TE Alex Wood and QB Jordan Webb.

The great unknown is whether the game will represent the last home game for WR Paul Richardson. Although he is only a junior, Richardson is one of the best wideouts in the country and may opt to turn pro early like David Bakhtiari did last year.

Do the Buffs stand a chance against the Trojans? Of course they do. But to win, they will have to play as a TEAM and outplay USC on both sides of the ball. They cannot count on the fans or the weather to make the difference. They have to make their stand on Folsom Field as a band of brothers and defend their turf. It's the only way they can win.