Colorado Buffs Looking to Control Tempo and Limit Turnovers Against California

The Colorado Buffaloes hit the road this weekend against the California Golden Bears. To hear some folks tell it, you would think the Buffs were going against the greatest offensive machine in the Pac-12. Or the country. Balderdash!

Some coaches like their teams to throw the ball. A LOT. But throwing the ball 60 times a game does not automatically make the QB the next big thing or the team a winner on the field. Look at some of the examples right here in the conference.

• Arizona State put up 626 yards and 38 first downs against UCLA. Their QB threw for 488 yards, and completed 42 of 68 passes. Big win for the Sun Devils? NO! UCLA crushed ASU 62-27.
• Cal's QB Jared Goff set lots of passing records in Berkeley last year. The Golden Bears finished 1-11.
• Washington State throws for almost 500 yards per game this year. Their record is 1-3.
• In the Colorado game vs. Arizona State, the Buffs dominated time of possession, had 55% more first down, and outgained the Sun Devils by 120 yards. ASU won 38-24.

It's interesting that Arizona State threw only 25 passes in their win in Boulder, yet threw 68 in their beat down by UCLA.

What's the moral of this story?

The key is to control the game, not just throw lots of passes for big yardage. In fact, it could be argued that it is frequently the case that lots of yardage through the air only shows that the team was behind and trying to catch up.

Some coaches throw the ball so much that they don't know how to control the clock with the running game. Last week against Arizona, Cal gave up 36 points in the fourth quarter to lose after being ahead by 22 points at halftime.

The key to the game against Cal will be to control the tempo of the game and to limit Cal's big plays for scores.

Cal will put big yardage up against Colorado, but that does not mean they will win. The Buffs have gotten much tougher in the red zone than they have been in years. Where in years past the red zone for Buff opponents usually meant a touchdown, this year they are finding the sledding much tougher, and that a field goal is all they come away with.

Two other areas the Buffs must win are special teams play and turnovers. One of the reasons that Arizona State was crushed by UCLA was that they turned over the ball 4 times and also allowed a kickoff to be returned for a touchdown.

If the Buffs can hold onto the ball, and continue the outstanding play on special teams (for the last couple of games), along with creating several turnovers by the Bears, they have an excellent shot at leaving Cal with their third win of the season.

Fans should remember that last year's four win team had only two of those wins against FBS level school. There are no FCS teams on the schedule this year.

The turnover battle will be key for this game. In 2010, the Buffs turned the ball over 5 times and California crushed them by a score of 52-7. Last year, the Buffs and Bears each had only one turnover, and Colorado cruised by a score of 41-24.

It Was 20 Years Ago Today! The Miracle at Michigan

It was twenty years ago today

Kordell Stewart made a magic play

He threw the ball a football mile

And Westbrook caught the ball with style

Blake Anderson tipped the ball up high

Then Michigan fans began to cry

And Keith Jackson screamed out "Incredible!"

 Twenty years later and the play still lives on as one of the greatest game ending Hail-Mary passes in the history of college football. Click the video to relive how Keith Jackson called the play at Michigan's Big House in front of more than 100,000 screaming fans.

It was also one of the greatest comebacks ever for top 10 teams playing one another. Colorado had trailed 26-14 with less than three minutes to play. The Buffs scored a touchdown to pull to within six points with 2:30 remaining. They opted not to go for an onside kick but instead chose to play defense.

Michigan failed to gain a first down and had to punt the ball back to the Buffs. They began the drive at their own 15. On first down Stewart completed a 21 yard pass to Westbrook. With only six seconds left in the game, the Buffaloes had only one choice, the Hail-Mary.

Usually these kind of last ditch passes only work within 50 yards. Stewart had a big arm, for sure, but no one on the the Michigan sideline or the stands thought he could throw the ball 70 yards. In fact, he threw the ball 73 yards to the goal line, where it was tipped by Blake Anderson and pulled down by Michael Westbrook.

The play was well covered, with Michigan All-American Ty Law wrapped around Westbrook's legs. The Colorado receiver's hands were free, though, and they grabbed the ball for the touchdown and the win.

It was one of the greatest wins in Colorado history, and the play continues to hold a place of honor in the pantheons of college football.

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Apologies to John Lennon and Paul McCartney for the mangling of the lyrics to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Enjoy the video below.

Nelson Spruce on Way to Rewriting Colorado Record Book for Wide Receivers

Boulder--
Lurking just behind the brilliant light cast by Paul Richardson, wide receiver Nelson Spruce quietly moved up the Colorado record book during his first two years playing for the Buffaloes. Coming into the 2014 campaign, Spruce was 13th all-time with receptions at 99, and 20th in yards at 1,096.

Four games into his junior year, Spruce has exploded across the national stage. After four games, he leads the country with seven receiving touchdowns, and is 3rd in the country in both receptions (37) and yards (518).

The quick start to the season has moved team captain Spruce much higher in the Buff annals. His 136 catches ties him for fifth with Javon Green for career receptions.

Spruce hauled in a record 13 catches for 172 yards yesterday against Hawaii. It was two more than any CU Buff has ever caught in a football game. His total for the day also vaulted him past CU receiver legends Derek McCoy, Charles Johnson, and Rae Carruth.

Spruce has also jumped up to 9th all time in yards with 1,614. If he continues at the same pace for the rest of the season, Nelson would end the season being Colorado's all time leader for yards. The Buffs have had three wideouts who have posted more than 2,500 yards in their careers. Michael Westbrook leads the pack (2548), followed closely by Rae Carruth (2540) and Scotty McKnight (2521).

Even if Spruce's numbers fall off a bit, his senior season next year promises to obliterate every career record for receptions in the history of Colorado football. His next catch will move him into 5th all alone, but he needs 16 more before catching Phil Savoy. Only 20 catches ahead of him is Paul Richardson. Spruce needs 417 yards to catch Javon Green for 8th place at 2,031 yards.

Buff receiving coach Troy Walters and head coach Mike MacIntyre know that the meat of the Buffs schedule is still ahead of them. The final eight games of the regular season are all against very tough Pac-12 opponents. While Buff fans would like to see Spruce tear up the field, they also know that the level of competition is rising ever higher.

As the Colorado team continues to improve and come together, they look forward to the new challenges each week. From the beginning of the season, they have said that their goal is to go 1-0 each week. After four weeks, they're 2-2, but showing passion and resiliency not seen by the Buffs in years.

Led by a defense which seems to get stouter by the week, the Buffs are working to make their offense less error prone. Turnovers and untimely penalties too often put a crimp in the team's goals. But the steadiest parts of the offense week in and week out have been Nelson Spruce and freshman Shay Fields. Together they have combined for 64 catches and provide valuable and reliable targets for QB Sefo Liufau.

Coming this week is a trip to play Cal in Berkeley. Cal struggled badly last season and finished 1-11. That included a loss to Colorado. The Bears came into 2014 looking like a much better team and it showed.

This year they started 2-0 and were putting a serious beating on Arizona in Tucson before collapsing toward the end of the game. After being up 28-6 at halftime, the Bears gave up an astonishing 36 points in the fourth quarter to lose 49-45 on a last second "hail-mary" pass that Arizona caught for the winning touchdown.

Cal would like to avenge their loss to Colorado last season, and they also want to defend their home turf. Colorado will be in for a tough game on the road. Of course, nearly ALL Pac-12 games are tough to win on the road.

If Nelson Spruce has his way, Colorado could head back to Boulder next weekend with a winning record after 5 games. One thing he would really like to put in the Colorado record book is a winning record and Colorado's first appearance in a bowl game since 2007.