Colorado
Buffaloes
Preview 2009
By
Pete Fiutak
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2009 CFN Colorado Preview |
2009 Colorado
Offense
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2009 Colorado
Defense |
2009 Colorado Depth
Chart
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2008 Colorado Preview |
2007 Colorado Preview |
2006 Colorado
Preview
Head coach: Dan Hawkins
4th year: 13-24
9th season overall: 66-35 |
Ten
Best Buff Players
1. RB Darrell Scott, Soph.
2. OT Nate
Solder, Jr.
3. CB Jimmy Smith, Jr.
4. LB Jeff Smart, Sr.
5. TE Riar Geer, Sr.
6. RB Rodney Stewart, Soph.
7.
CB Cha'Pelle Brown, Sr.
8. QB Cody Hawkins. Jr.
9. DE
Marquez Herrod, Jr.
10. LB Marcus Burton, Sr. |
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2009 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 7-5
2009 Record: 0-0
9/6 Colorado
State
9/11 at Toledo
9/19 Wyoming
9/26 OPEN DATE
10/1 at West Virginia
10/10 at Texas
10/17 Kansas
10/24 at Kansas State
10/31 Missouri
11/7 Texas A&M
11/14 at Iowa State
11/19 at Oklahoma St
11/27 Nebraska
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2008 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 6-6
2008 Record: 5-7
Aug. 31
Colorado
St W 38-17
Sept. 6 Eastern Wash W
31-24
Sept. 13 OPEN DATE
Sept. 18 W Virginia W 17-14 OT
Sept. 27 Florida St (Jax) L 39-21
Oct. 4 Texas L 38-14
Oct. 11 at Kansas L 30-14
Oct. 18 Kansas State W
14-13
Oct. 25 at Missouri L 58-0
Nov. 1 at Texas A&M L 24-17
Nov. 8 Iowa State W 28-34
Nov. 15 Oklahoma State L
30-17
Nov. 22 OPEN DATE
Nov. 28 at Nebraska
L 41-30
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Give head coach Dan Hawkins credit. He's not
making any excuses and he's setting the bar extremely high.
Injuries could be blamed for the collapse of last year,
inconsistency and inefficiency reigned supreme, and the Buffs were
this close to finishing the season on a ten-game losing
streak beating Kansas State and Iowa State by a total of five points
and beating West Virginia in overtime. But Hawkins is demanding ten
wins, and nothing less will be accepted.
This is more than
Hawkins' mouth writing a check that his players' butts have to cash;
this is the rallying point. This is the call that it's time Colorado
became relevant again. While there will be improvements on both
sides of the ball, and there are some extremely interesting stars to
build around, there might be too many holes for this to be the dream
season CU fans have been pointing to ever since Hawkins was hired.
A lot is riding on a slew of unknowns. The receiving corps
might be the worst in the Big 12, or close behind Iowa State, unless
the new recruits can produce right away. Key backups, who were
supposed to play bigger roles last year, like DE Marquez Herrod, LB
Marcus Burton, and CB Jimmy Smith, have to become the new stars or
else there will be a woeful lack of overall speed and athleticism.
There's also a need for super-recruit Darrell Scott to be the real
deal (he will be), QB Cody Hawkins to up his completion percentage
and be more of a playmaker (the jury is still out), and the special
teams have to be night-and-day better (they probably won't be).
For Hawkins, who appeared to be the perfect hire when taken away
from Boise State, has only won 13 games in three years. The
maddening part isn't that Colorado isn't winning, there was more of
a rebuilding job that needed to be done than originally thought,
it's that the team can rise up and come up with just enough glimmers
of hope to expect more.
There was a win last year against
West Virginia, as ugly as it might have been, and there were
stunning wins over Oklahoma and Texas Tech two years ago. All three
victories appeared to be turning points, but all they became were
mirages that showed just how inconsistent the team could be.
The defense, for the most part, has been fine. The offense,
supposedly Hawkins' specialty, has been the biggest problem, and
that has to change right now for there to be any chance of a good
season. Over the last three years Colorado is 11-3 when scoring 27
points or more and 2-21 when it's under 27. It's time for some
firepower and it's time for Hawkins to bring in some of that Boise
State magic. The North is there for the taking, and Hawkins has been
able to do a lot more with a lot less than he has going into this
year.
What to watch for on offense: Darrell Scott. Yeah, this is what
recruitniks have been waiting for. Scott was the crown jewel of the
2008 recruiting class as the Buffs were able to steal him away from
Texas. Minor injuries, lack of conditioning, and the emergence of
other backs led to a disappointing first year, but that has all
changed going into this season. He's 202 pounds, has 4% body fat,
and he has looked like the NFL-bound total package who can carry the
offense through the rough patches.
What to watch for on defense: Part 3-4, part 4-3. The Buffs will
try to get more out of a front four that has decent size on the
outside, but might be better if the ends were used in a three-man front.
The strength of the team, other than running back, is at linebacker
where Jeff Smart, Marcus Burton, Shaun Mohler, Michael Sipili, and B.J.
Beatty are all good enough to start. The coaching staff will try to get
as many linebackers on the field as possible to combat spread offenses,
and as the season goes on the defense, which wasn't bad last year,
should have some big moments and some great games thanks to the back
eight.
This team will be much better if … the O line can pass
protect. Having a mobile option in Tyler Hansen in from time to time
contributed to the problem, but the line was to be much better overall
at keeping decent pass rushing lines out of the backfield. The receivers
aren't good enough to make things happen on their own, so the
quarterbacks need as much time as humanly possible after getting beaten
up throughout last year. CU was 11th in the Big 12 and 102nd in the
nation in sacks allowed, giving up 26. That number has to be around 16
for the passing game to be more efficient.
The Schedule:
The Colorado State game is always tough, but the trip to
West Virginia, after a well-timed week off, will be the real
litmus test to see just how ready the team is for Big 12 play.
By November, CU's season will be made or broken after going to
Texas and dealing with Kansas and Missouri, but things don't
ease up too much. The one supposed layup, Iowa State, is on the
road and the trip to Oklahoma State five days later is brutal.
At least Nebraska has to come to Boulder, meaning CU gets the
three top teams in the North (KU and Mizzou) at home. However,
having to go on the road to face the Longhorns and Cowboys in
the South is a lousy break.
Best Offensive Player:
Sophomore RB Darrell
Scott. He has it all and he should be the star of the North if he can
stay healthy, but he'll get help from the rest of the loaded backfield.
Fellow sophomore Rodney Stewart, the team's leading rusher last year, is
returning from a broken leg and should be fine, while Demetrius Sumler
and Brian Lockridge are all quick, talented runners who should benefit
from an improved O line. All this means Scott won't have to be a
25-carry workhorse game in and game out. If he's getting 15 carries a
game and is fresh, he should be a killer.
Best Defensive Player:
Junior CB Jimmy
Smith. The most productive player will likely be LB Jeff Smart, the
team's leading returning tackler, and LB Marcus Burton has a freakish
combination of skills that should make him a star in the middle, but
it's Smith who appears to be ready to bust out and become special. One
of the team's fastest players with legitimate 4.4 speed, he's also 6-2
and 200 pounds with the potential to be a lockdown cover-corner. He
hasn't been great yet, but this year he'll be the one the improving
secondary revolves around.
Key player to a
successful season:
Junior QB Cody Hawkins. It's time. If there's a rotation at quarterback
with the more athletic Tyler Hansen being brought in as a spark, there
will be problems. Hawkins is the 25-game veteran who has seen enough
time and enough big games to know what he's doing, but he needs time to
work and he needs his slow receiving corps to be far better. Neither one
might might happen right away, so he needs to be a quicker decision
maker and he has to be more accurate after struggling with his
completion percentage on a consistent basis.
The season will be a
success if ... CU
gets back to a bowl game. The team isn't good enough to win ten games
like Hawkins has demanded, but it's good enough to stop losing to the
mediocre teams on a regular basis. There will be fights against Colorado
State, Kansas State, and Iowa State, but if CU wants to be good again,
those are three games it has to win. Beating Missouri and Texas A&M at
home will be a must, and it would be nice if there was an upset or two
over someone like Oklahoma State or Nebraska. Eight wins is a reasonable
goal.
Key game: Oct. 17 vs. Kansas.
Colorado has to put up fights in back-to-back road trips to West
Virginia and Texas, and no one will get too upset if those are close
losses. But to have any chance of winning the North, or not to be out of
its before the Big 12 fun really starts to kick in, a win over a
high-powered Kansas team is a must. After losing three straight in the
series, a win could spark a nice run with at Kansas State, Missouri,
Texas A&M, and at Iowa State to follow.
2008 Fun Stats:
- Third quarter
scoring: Opponents 103 - Colorado 55
- Time spent in the lead:
Opponents 409 minutes - Colorado 191
- Average yards gained on first
down: Opponents 6.2 - Colorado 4.4
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2009 CFN Colorado Preview |
2009 Colorado
Offense
-
2009 Colorado
Defense |
2009 Colorado Depth
Chart
-
2008 Colorado Preview |
2007 Colorado Preview |
2006 Colorado
Preview
|