Colorado Must Stretch the Field and Utilize Goodson to Win in Washington

Colorado has four games remaining this season. If they want to make it to a bowl game, they need to win 3 of those games. Against a quality opponent like Washington, the only way the Buffs can achieve that goal is to stretch the field more in order to utilize the talents of Paul Richardson, Sefo Liufau, and the underutilized speedster D.D. Goodson.

This blog has pointed out over and over the strong tendency of offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren to have his quarterbacks focus their throws to the outside quarters of the field. The Buffs worked to rectify that tendency a bit during last week's game with UCLA.

After throwing a grand total of six passes between the hash marks against Arizona and Charleston Southern, Sefo Liufau directed five of his 36 passes against the Bruins over the middle. It is still a very low percentage, but much better than the Buffs have normally used this season. See the graphic below for the location of passes by CU against UCLA. The incomplete pass behind the line of scrimmage and between the hash marks was actually a ball that was batted down by a defensive lineman and was not intended to land in the middle of the field.

At least as troubling as the fact that such a high percentage of passes are thrown to the numbers or outside is the fact that only TWO of 36 passes went more than 12 yards down the field. A little trigonometry shows that a 12 yard pass to either sideline must travel as far in the air as a pass thrown 25 yards directly down the field. That the being the case, the Buffaloes should be doing more to clear out that 10 yard box in front of the line.

Making linebackers and defensive backs from the other teams cover more yardage up the field will open up the running game for the Buffaloes as well, since a missed tackle or good hole would lead to a bigger yardage gain than a play with a safety or linebacker sitting in the hole.

Another thing the Buffs could do to open up their offense is to get D.D. Goodson more involved. Since his five catches in the first game, Goodson has had only 10 additional catches in the 7 games since. That is a waste of talent. In yards per catch, Goodson is only a single yard behind Paul Richardson. Why is it that Richardson gets FOUR times as many balls thrown his way? These two are the most explosive guys on the Colorado offense, yet only one is being utilized to the proper degree.

Why isn't Goodson being used as a return man? His ability to bring back the ball on kicks was one of the reasons he was sought after as a recruit in the first place. And he certainly has a lot more moves and shakes and speed than the guys returning kicks now. Goodson also has averaged more than 13 yards per carry for his 3 carries. MacIntyre and Lindgren need to figure out a way to get Goodson a minimum of 10 touches a game to help take the pressure of double and triple coverage off Paul Richardson.

Of course, certain other things will be necessary for the Buffaloes to pull off the upset against the Huskies. Liufau needs to hold form and complete 65-70% of his passes and help his team convert close to 50% of third down opportunities. The Buffs need to limit dumb, drive killing penalties. And the defense needs to control the yards of Washington tailback Bishop Sankey, the #3 rusher in country.

They did a fine job of containing the top running back in the FBS in Arizona's Ka'Deem Carey, but did so only at the expense of letting the Arizona quarterback have a career day rushing himself. Fortunately for the Buffaloes, Washington quarterback Keith Price is not really a rushing threat. They will have to keep pressure on him, however, or he will pick them apart like last year when he threw for five touchdowns.

Lastly, if the Buffs can win the turnover game, they have a chance to come out of Seattle with their long-sought first conference win since September of 2012. That game was also in the state of Washington. Maybe it's just what the Buffs need to get over the hump.

For Colorado Buffs to Succeed, they MUST Learn to Convert on Third Down

As Mike MacIntyre's University of Colorado football team gets ready to head south to Tempe, to face the Arizona State Sun Devils this Saturday night, one thing has become perfectly clear: For this CU team to be successful, they have to show the ability to move the chains.

In the first two games, Colorado's offense managed to convert 12 of 30 third down chances into first downs. That means that 40% of the time that they faced a 3rd down, the result was a first down. Not coincidentally, the Buffs won those first two games.

In the last two games, the Buffs have managed to convert only TWO of THIRTY 3rd down opportunities. Two BIG LOSSES later, it is quite apparent that converting less than 7% of their 3rd downs is no way to have a chance to win a game. Even worse than that, in their last game against the Oregon Ducks, the Buffs converted ZERO of their 15 third down opportunities. That 0-15 set a Colorado record for futility.

The O-fer on third downs not only ended drives for the Buffs, they also ended serious scoring opportunities. No fewer than 10 of the Buff failures to convert on third down occurred in Oregon territory (one was on the 50 yard line). Just look at where these failures to convert in enemy territory happened:

• (1st Quarter) 3rd and 4 from the Oregon 23 -- Two yard pass over the middle from Wood to Spruce was dropped.
• (1st Quarter) 3rd and 10 from the Oregon 16 -- Three yard pass over the middle from Wood to Powell was dropped.
• (1st Quarter) 3rd and 15 from the Oregon 45 -- Powell run up the middle for 4 yards.
• (2nd Quarter) 3rd and GOAL from the Oregon 5 -- Wood pass to the right thrown out of the end zone.
• (2nd Quarter) 3rd and 2 from the Oregon 14 -- Run off a pitch to the left for Goodson results in no gain.
• (2nd Quarter) 3rd and 3 from the 50 yard line -- Incomplete 28 yard pass to Paul Richardson down the right sideline. 
• (3rd Quarter) 3rd and 8 from the Oregon 41 -- Screen pass from Wood knocked down by defensive lineman.
• (3rd Quarter) 3rd and 5 from the Oregon 48 -- Short outside pass to Adkins dropped.
• (3rd Quarter) 3rd and Goal from the Oregon 10 -- Adkins run up the middle for 5 yards.
• (4th Quarter) 3rd and 6 from the Oregon 45 -- 25 yard pass incomplete to Ross down the left sideline.

Unlike the last several years, the Buffs under offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren HAVE shown the ability to make big plays on offense. Connor Wood and his band of receivers have hooked up for some very long scoring (and non-scoring) plays. One of the biggest problems for the Buffs, however, has been their failure to score TD's once they get into RED ZONE.

Of Colorado's nine forays into the RED ZONE thus far this season, only one drive ended with a touchdown. Seven times the Buffs settled for field goals, and one time they turned the ball over on downs.

It has become quite clear that the Buffs can extend the field with Paul Richardson and D.D. Goodson, as both average more than 18 yards per catch. The problem seems to be that the Buffs cannot count on those 7-12 yard catches that result in First Downs, particularly when it comes to converting on third downs.

Honing the skill of playing small-ball can only help with third down conversions, and more than likely it will help with red zone efficiency as well. Having the running game consistently pick up 5 yards at a time would also help immensely. Right now they are only averaging a little over 3 yards per carry, and often on important plays they are stopped for essentially no gain. It's hard to harp on the quarterback when the running game offers no respite.

If the Buffs are to have any chance in Tempe, they must be able to control the ball better by converting on 3rd downs. Taylor Kelly is yet another Pac-12 quarterback who can rip a defense apart if given the chance. One of the best defenses to players like Kelly is an offense that keeps him off the field. Running the ball efficiently and converting on third down are the only ways for the Buffs to avoid being blown out in the desert.

Are Mike MacIntyre's Colorado Buffaloes Ready to Take the Next Big Step?

It's an old adage in college football that the greatest improvement during the season comes between the first and second games. The first game always comes with the jitters of a new season and playing with new or even freshman guys around one another. For the Colorado Buffs, those concerns were magnified by the fact that Coach Mac's staff was new, along with new schemes on offense, defense and special teams.

The Buffs passed the first test of the season with flying colors when they defeated CSU by a score of 41-27 at the Rocky Mountain Showdown in Denver. The next big question is whether they can improve upon their overall performance this weekend when they open their home schedule at Folsom Field against FCS powerhouse Central Arkansas.

The Bears are ranked #5 in this week's FCS poll, and last week no less than 8 FCS teams stepped up and defeated FBS schools, including a win by Eastern Washington against a ranked Oregon State team. That being the case, there is no reason for CU to be taking the Bears lightly. The Buffs must also remember that they lost at home last year to another FCS team, Sacramento State. They do not want to face the same embarrassment as last year.

The 3-play vs. 2-play debate from the RMS

Although CU came away from the RMS with a seemingly comfortable 14 point win, those at CSU could make a reasonable claim that the game turned on just three plays. Those were the two long touchdown throws from Connor Wood to Paul Richardson that were the result of blown coverages by the CSU secondary, and the stripped ball by Chidera Uzo-Diribe that was picked up by Greg Henderson and returned 53 yards for a touchdown. Take those away and CSU could very well have taken the game, it could be argued.

On the other hand, CU could rightly claim that the final winning margin was much smaller than it could have been due to two special teams plays. CSU receiver Joe Hansley returned a punt for 74 yards and a touchdown, and Thomas Coffman returned a kickoff 84 yards to set up CSU's go ahead touchdown. Take those two plays away and maybe Colorado wins by 30.

It doesn't really matter. The RMS is over and the Buffs won. Coach MacIntyre and his team know that football games are often decided by big plays on offense, defense and special teams.

The game against Central Arkansas

 The trick for the Buffs this week is to continue to improve upon the things they did well in the first game, and to fix any problems they had.

The offensive line did a great job of protecting the quarterback last week but rushing yards from the backs were hard to come by. Colorado knows that was because CSU was rolling the dice that Connor Wood and his fleet of receivers could not beat them. Thanks to the great work by Wood, Richardson, Goodson and the rest of the receiving crew, the gamble by CSU was not successful.

Special teams should show significant improvement this week. Actually, that should be narrowed down. The punter and kicker for CU were outstanding in the first game. What needs to come up to par against Central Arkansas is return coverage. The Buffs know that and have been tweaking it all week. Look for someone on the return coverage units to make a play or two that is worthy of the new Sledgehammer Award won by Parker Orms in week one for his hit that cartwheeled a CSU tight end in the end zone.

On defense, the front line fought a very good CSU line to a standstill, but the lack of pressure they put on the CSU quarterback was only not damaging due to the very poor game passing by the Rams QB. The Central Arkansas quarterback is both a running and passing threat and is likely one of the most athletic quarterbacks that CU will face this season. The secondary and the linebackers must continue their fine work from the first game and the D-line needs to step it up and get pressure on the quarterback.

If the Buffs take the next big step and improve off their first game performance, the opening game at Folsom Field should be a win. If they rest on their laurels and take the Bears for granted, it could be an ugly and embarrassing day. If they play hard and fast and take full advantage of the altitude, the home field, the fans, and their strength and athleticism, the Buffs should walk away with another big win and double their win total from last year.

Go Buffs! FUCK 'EM UP, FUCK 'EM UP, GO CU!