Week 2: Sac State @ Colorado
SacStinger beat me to the punch this week, but I merged his thread with this one as they are related. The Hornets hit the road to face another FBS opponent this week, this time it is the Buffaloes of Colorado. CU is coming off of an emotional loss to in-state rival Colorado State so they are going to be pissed. I was able to watch a lot of that game and Colorado is going to be a tough matchup. CU isn’t overly impressive but they are a physical team that will certainly give the Hornets problems. However I believe the Hornets will be able to hang with the Buffs for a while but I think the altitude and CU depth will wear the Hornets down as the game progresses.
Offense
CU doesn’t run a gimmicky offense and they are going to want to establish the run between the tackles. They struggled to do this against CSU but were able to have some success attacking the edges. CU primarily runs out of the Ace set with multiple tight end and wide receiver packages. The Buffs also ran out of the I formation as well. For the most part CSU controlled the line of scrimmage so CU had more success running behind a fullback. RB (#26) Tony Jones was their primary running weapon. He is quick and elusive but not a tough runner between the tackles. The key to stopping him is keeping him contained and not allowing him to get to the edges and into open space. I felt that their other RB (#10) Malcolm Creer was a more capable runner inside.
CU has a capable quarterback in (#4) Jordan Webb. He will have 20 FBS starts under his belt heading into this weeks game. Webb had some early game jitters but settled in and is very accurate on the short to mid range throws. He showed some elusiveness in the pocket but CSU put a pounding on him which eventually limited his mobility. The Buffs did show a zone read option out of the shotgun for a couple of plays but overall Webb isn’t a true running threat.
The CU receivers are young and not as explosive as NMSU’s Franklin from last week. CU did not take many shots down the field but when they did they did not seem to be on the same page with the quarterback. However all in all the CU receivers are capable receivers who are good possession receivers for the short and mid range routes. The key to slowing down the CU passing game will be getting to Webb which CSU was able to do via the blitz.
Season Stats:
- • Rushing Offense: 58 yds
• Passing Offense: 187 yds, 2 TD’s
• Total Offense: 245 yds, 2 TD’s, 1 FG
• Time of Possession: 26:30
• Turnovers: 2 (2 Fum)
• Penalties: 7 for 60 yds
• QB: (#4) Jordan Webb: 22 of 41 for 187 yds, 2 TD’s
• RB: (#28) Tony Jones: 16 carries for 43 yds, 4 recs for 29 yds
• WR: (#22) Nelson Spruce: 8 recs for 64 yds, 1 TD
• WR: (#87) Tyler McCulloch: 4 recs for 54 yds, 1 TD
• RB: (#10) Malcolm Creer: 4 carries for 17 yds
• WR: (#25) Gerald Thomas: 3 recs for 26 yds
The Hornets will have their hands full this week. CU had a good mix of play calling and has the capability to move the ball through the air or on the ground. The Hornets are going to have to have a great game up front if they want to slow down CU. Webb took a beating last week and the Hornets will need to get to him this week to knock him off rhythm. If the Hornets can clog up the running lanes like they did a week ago they will be in good shape. The CU offensive line wasn’t dominant so I think the Hornets have a legitimate shot at slowing down the CU offense. However if the Hornet defense is on the field for too long they will get worn down and eventually break.
Defense
The Buffs have a decent front seven. They run a base 4-3 and I was somewhat impressed with what I saw from their defensive line and linebackers. CSU did not take many shots down field so I couldn’t get a good feel for their secondary. CU has a very athletic defensive line and RE (#96) Chidera Uzo-Diribe will give the Hornets some problems. Uzo is very athletic and had great pursuit on the QB and also got in the passing lanes. CU also has decent size and plenty of depth up front so the Hornets may have problems opening up some running lanes this week.
The CU linebackers are an aggressive bunch. They displayed great pursuit last week and are a hard hitting and sure tackling bunch. They are led by (#1) Derrick Webb and (#31) Jon Major. The CU secondary wasn’t stellar as the CSU TD’s came through the air. However most of the passing yards given up came on short the mid-range routes.
Season Stats:
- • Rushing Offense Allowed: 125 yds
• Passing Offense Allowed: 173 yds, 2 TD’s
• Total Offense Allowed: 298 yds, 2 TD’s, 2 FG’s
• Opponent Time of Possession: 33:30
• Turnovers Forced: 1 (1 Fum)
• Opponents Penalties: 8 for 89 yds
• LB: (#1) Derrick Webb: 12 tackles, 2 TFL’s, 1 sack
• CB: (#2) Kenneth Crawley: 7 tackles
• LB: (#31) Jon Major: 6 tackles
• DE: (#96) Chidera Uzo-Diribe: 5 tackles, 3 TFL’s, 2 sacks, 1 PB
• 6 others with 4 tackles
The CU defense struggled when CSU went no huddle, however I think the Hornets will struggle to get a running game going in this game. The CU defensive line has decent size and Weaver will have his hands full against Uzo. The CU linebackers match up well against the Hornets, their pursuit and tackling will make it difficult for the Hornets to get to the 3rd level of the defense. The Hornets might be able to use their aggressive pursuit against them and get some rush yardage using some misdirection plays. The Hornets should be able to move the ball through the air as CSU was able to move the ball on the CU secondary with the short to mid-range passes. If the Hornet offensive line can provide enough time for Safron and if he can in turn throw an accurate ball, I feel that the Hornets will be able to get the passing game going.
Special Teams
CU did not have a good punt return game. They had 2 muffed returns by different returners. If the Hornets can get a high and long punt and apply some pressure on the returner, they could very well force a turnover. The Buffs use the spread out punt formation so we might see the Hornets get after a punt this week. The CU kicker and punter are solid as that did not appear to be a weakness. The CU kick coverage did allow some decent returns so Carter might be able to get a return or two this week. CU did block a PAT and the Hornets gave up a blocked PAT last week so the Hornet FG blocking will need to be on its game.
Season Stats:
- • K: (#28) Will Oliver: 1/1 FG’s (long of 30 yds), 2/2 PAT’s
• P: (#8) Darragh O’Neill: 6 punts for 284 yds (47.3 ypp), 1 I-20
• PR: (#2) Kenneth Crawley: 3 returns for 38 yds (12.7 ypr)
• KR: (#17) Marques Mosley: 2 returns for 50 yds (25.0 ypr)
Intangibles
The Buffs did not respond well to the physicality that CSU brought last week. The CSU offense ran right into the teeth of the CU defense and eventually wore them down. The Hornet offense is not built for such an attack so it will hard for the Hornets to match the physicality that CSU laid on CU. The CSU defense battered Webb pretty good. I’ve mentioned this before but the CSU defensive intensity was so fierce that Webb was severely limping and you could tell he had enough by the end of the game. It will be interesting to see what kind of condition Webb will be in for this week’s game and if the Hornets can rattle his cage. The other big loss for CU was an injury to starting FS (#7) Ray Polk. Polk suffered a leg injury and I do not believe he returned. If he is unable to play this week, this will be a big loss for the CU secondary.
I think the Hornets have less of a chance at a win at Boulder than they did at Las Cruces last week. The high altitude coupled with the depth that an FBS Pac-12 program has is a huge hurdle to overcome. I do think the Hornets will be able to move the ball and the Hornets should score some points, but I don’t think the offense will score enough. I think the defense will hang with CU for a while but eventually get worn down. I expect the Hornets to show some heart, put up a fight and to not give up; unfortunately I do not expect a win this week. So long as the Hornets continue to show improvement and avoid serious injury, the Hornets should be in a good position to turn things around come week 3.
Go Hornets!
Game Info
- • Kickoff: Saturday, September 8th @ 12 PM Pacific time.
• TV: Pac-12 Network
• Video/Internet: Probably on a website hosted on a server located in the Eastern Block.
• Audio/Radio: 93.1 FM, audio link available on Hornetsports.com
o http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/csus.portal#
