RSSBot
News Junkie
—
Sunday Afternoon Quarterback
—
… Game Two … Colorado 33, Nebraska 28 …
— CU rushing offense v. Nebraska rushing defense —
By the numbers … The Buffs had a total of 44 rushing yards on 35 carries, which includes seven sacks for a minus-43 yards. Kyle Evans (on 12 carries) and Travon McMillian (six carries) each had 25 yards on the afternoon. Laviska Shenault had the only rushing touchdown, coming on a three-yard carry in the first quarter.
Grade: D – … Even if the sacks are taken away, the Buff rushing attack comes to 37 carries for 87 yards … 2.3 yards per carry. That’s just not going to get it done over a 12 game season. Granted, Nebraska has one of the most physical defensive lines lines the Buffs will see all season, but the CU coaching staff knew that going in. What worked for gaping holes against Colorado State went nowhere against Nebraska. The Buffs have two poor defensive squads (New Hampshire; UCLA) coming up to figure out how to make the rushing attack work again before facing the meat of the Pac-12 schedule.
—
— CU passing offense v. Nebraska passing defense —
By the numbers … Steven Montez completed 33-of-50 passes for 351 yards, with three touchdowns and no interception. As noted, above, Montez was sacked seven times.
Grade: C … Welcome to the national stage, Laviska Shenault! An easy pick for the Pac-12 Offensive Player-of-the-Week (we’ll find out Tuesday if the league was paying attention), Shenault had ten catches for 177 yards and the game-winning 40-yard touchdown catch. Otherwise, the Buff passing game was limited to short passes and short gains. Jay MacIntyre had a career-high eight receptions, and his first two-touchdown game. Juwann Winfree saw the ball more often, with five catches for 48 yards. Montez did not turn the ball over, which is always important in a big game, but the seven sacks kept the Buff offense from every finding a rhythm.
—
— CU rushing defense v. Nebraska rushing offense —
By the numbers … Nebraska had 329 yards rushing on 54 attempts (6.1 yards per carry). The Cornhuskers had two 100-yard rushers, with quarterback Adrian Martinez posting 15 carries for 117 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Greg Bell had 13 carries for 104 yards.
Grade: D+ … For much of the game, the Nebraska offensive line had its way with the Colorado defensive line. However, the Buffs held the Cornhuskers to seven second half points, to 5-of-13 on third down conversions, and – very importantly – zero-for-three on fourth down conversions. The first two fourth down stops were thanks to Nate Landman being a beast, knifing through the Nebraska line for crucial stops near midfield, with the last fourth down stop coming on the final play of the game.
—
— CU passing defense v. Nebraska passing offense —
By the numbers … Freshman quarterback Adrian Martinez went 15-for-20 for 187 yards and one touchdown. Sophomore Andrew Bunch came in late in the game for an injured Martinez, completing four-of-nine passes for 49 yards.
Grade: B- … Nebraska offensive coordinator Troy Walters said in the week leading up to the game that he didn’t want his freshman quarterback to have to throw 40 passes. Martinez threw only 20, so that mission was accomplished. The Buff secondary did not produce an interception for the second game in a row (linebacker Nate Landman had the only interception … as he did against Colorado State). The 236 yards passing and one touchdown allowed are acceptable numbers, but have to be taken in context of the fact that Nebraska also had 329 yards rushing.
—
— CU special teams —
By the numbers … Three of Davis Price’s kickoffs were returned, but only for a 15.0 yard average. Kicker James Stefanou set a new school record to run his consecutive streak of successful PAT’s (to open a career) at 44. Stefanou connected on field goal attempts of 40 and 35 yards in the second and third quarters, but missed from 37 and 43 yards out in the fourth quarter. Alex Kinney had one punt for 54 yards, with his sub, Davis Price, punting four times for an average of 40.8 yards.
Grade: C+ … It’s easy to focus on the two missed field goals in the fourth quarter, either one of which would have given the Buffs the lead. However, it is not outside the realm of the reasonable to forgive Stefanou for the missed kicks, as he was working with a new holder. Walk-on quarterback Josh Goldin had to take the place of Alex Kinney on placements, after Kinney broke his collarbone in the first quarter. Kinney is lost for the season, and, while Davis Price performed admirably as the substitute punter, the loss of Kinney could be a crucial factor come Pac-12 play.
—
Overall Grade: C+ … If you look only at the stats sheet, you see a Nebraska victory. The Cornhuskers out-gained the Buffs by a wide margin (565 total yards to 395 for the Buffs), and sacked Steven Montez seven times. When an offense has only 44 yards of rushing offense (on 35 carries, no less), and posts four straight first half three-and-outs, you expect an “L”. But these Buffs proved their resiliency, and found a way to win. Nebraska had 243 yards rushing in the first half (and 21 points), but only 86 yards in the second half. And they did it against a crowd of almost 90,000. Buff fans will take ugly wins over pretty losses any day.
—
Pac-12 Power Rankings
—
Note … These are my subjective Power Rankings, which will be updated every Sunday. (Please feel free to post your own rankings in the comments section) …
1. Washington … Ranking last weekend: 1
This weekend … Defeated North Dakota, 45-3. The game was only 17-0 at halftime, as the Huskies looked lethargic, perhaps hungover after the tough opening weekend loss to Auburn. The Huskies remain the most talented team in the Pac-12, however, and will remain atop the Pac-12 until further notice … or until next weekend, when Washington faces one of its toughest Pac-12 games of the season.
Up next … at Utah, 8:00 p.m., MT, ESPN
—
2. Stanford … Ranking last weekend: 2
This weekend … Defeated No. 17 USC, 17-3. In typical Stanford form, the Cardinal did not look especially pretty in taking out the Trojans, but were highly effective. Bryce Love went for over 100 yards, while USC wunderkid quarterback J.T. Daniels was kept out of the endzone. The Cardinal travels to Eugene in two weeks in a game which will decide whether Stanford or Oregon is to be the chief challenger to Washington in the Pac-12 North
Up next: UC-Davis, noon, MT, Pac-12 Networks
—
3. USC … Ranking last weekend: 3
This weekend … Lost to No. 10 Stanford, 17-3. J.T. Daniels threw for only 215 yards on 34 attempts, with two interceptions and no touchdowns. The Trojans are clearly the most talented team in the Pac-12 South, but, as goes the quarterback, so goes the team. The Trojans travel to Austin this weekend, to face a Texas team which lost to Maryland and barely beat Tulsa. At home or at a neutral site, USC would be an easy pick. But on the road in a hostile arena (Palo Alto is not hostile, by anyone’s definition), Daniels will be put to the test.
Up next … at Texas, 6:00 p.m., MT, Fox
—
4. Oregon … Ranking last weekend: 5
This weekend … Here’s a trivia question I would like to see answered: When was the last time a team scored 62 points in a game … and failed to cover the spread? Oregon was a 50-point favorite over Portland State, yet only won, 62-14. The magical mystery tour of unworthy non-conference opponents continues this weekend with a game against San Jose State, which lost 31-0 to Washington State Saturday … after losing to UC-Davis (and the fighting Dan Hawkins’ Aggies) in the season opener.
Up next … San Jose State, 3:00 p.m., MT, Pac-12 Networks
—
5. Arizona State … Ranking last weekend: 8
This weekend … Let’s hear it for the fighting Sun Devils, who topped No. 15 Michigan State, 16-13. This entire off-season, Arizona fans were laughing it up, seeing as the Wildcats had hired Kevin Sumlin as their new head coach, while Arizona State had universally panned Herm Edwards. Now, Arizona State is 2-0, and possesses the best non-conference win for the Pac-12 to date, while Arizona is 0-2 … and looking bad doing it. Picked last in the Pac-12 South, the Arizona State at Colorado tilt on October 6th could be a battle for first place in the division.
Up next … at San Diego State, 8:30 p.m., MT, CBS Sports Network
—
6. Colorado … Ranking last weekend: 7
This weekend … Just win, baby! Okay, so an Al Davis reference probably is not the best way to introduce the Buffs, but the Buffs did just that against Nebraska. Against 90,000 partisans, and after losing the stats battle badly, the Buffs nonetheless came away with a 33-28 victory. Suffice it to say, most teams in the Mike MacIntyre era (or Jon Embree, or Dan Hawkins) would have lost that game, and perhaps even been blown out in the second half. Instead, this team rallied for an unlikely victory. The win not only gives Buff fans warm fuzzies for having beaten their chief rivals in back-to-back games to open the season, the win portends a bright future for the program.
Up next … New Hampshire, 3:00 p.m., MT, Pac-12 Mountain
—
7. Utah … Ranking last weekend: 5
This weekend … The final over Northern Illinois was 17-6, so the Utes covered the spread. The final score, though, does not tell the whole story. The Utes were down to the Huskies, 3-0, and were up a tenuous 10-6 when Northern Illinois took over with a chance to win the game with a late touchdown drive. Instead, the Huskies threw a pick-six, and the Utes escaped with an 11-point victory. We’ll see this weekend if the preseason hype about Utah being a dark horse challenger for the Pac-12 South title was merited.
Up next … No. 9 Washington, 8:00 p.m., MT, ESPN
—
8. California … Ranking last weekend: 6
This weekend … Cal went on the road this weekend and beat BYU, 21-18. This is the same Cal team which won its opener over North Carolina, and beat a Cougar team which had beaten Arizona on the road to open the season. Still, North Carolina went home after its 24-17 loss to Cal, and promptly lost, 41-19, to East Carolina. Arizona, meanwhile, was out-classed by Houston, 45-18 (38-0 in the third quarter). The Bears are 2-0, but the jury is still out on how good Cal will be come Pac-12 play.
Up next … Idaho State, 3:00 p.m., MT, Pac-12 Bay Area
—
9. Washington State … Ranking last weekend: 9
This weekend … The Cougars took care of business against San Jose State, defeating the Spartans, 31-0, at home Saturday night. Washington State looked good on defense, but against San Jose State (2-11 in 2017; 44-30 losers to UC-Davis from the Big Sky Conference in the opener), it’s hard not to look good. Washington State will open 3-0 to start the season for a change (Mike Leach teams tend to lose an early game each year) before heading to Los Angeles to face USC in the Pac-12 opener. Beat USC for the second year in a row, Cougars, and then we’ll talk.
Up next … Eastern Washington, 6:00 p.m., MT, Pac-12 Networks
—
10. Oregon State … Ranking last weekend: 12
This weekend … For at least a weekend, let’s move Oregon State out of the basement of the Pac-12. The Beavers beat Southern Utah from the Big Sky Conference, 48-25, for their first win in a year. The fact that Oregon State did not need a last minute touchdown drive to procure win No. 1 of the season (as the Beavers did last year, squeaking by Portland State, 35-32, for the only win of the season) is a step in the right direction. Oregon State travels to Reno to take on Nevada this weekend, perhaps the last game of the year in which the Beavers will be favored.
Up next … at Nevada, 5:00 p.m., MT, ESPN3
—
11. UCLA … Ranking last weekend: 11
This weekend … Unlike the Oregon Ducks, who were 50-point favorites and failed to beat the spread, UCLA went to Norman and beat the spread against the No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners. Of course, the spread was 30 points, and the final was 49-21 … but still. It’s a testament to how little is being expected out of Chip Kelly’s Bruins right now that a 7-0 early lead against the Sooners, and a competitive game (21-7 at halftime) is seen as a positive sign. Before traveling to Boulder for an ESPN Friday night tilt, the Bruins have a chance to get on the winning side of the ledger against a decent Fresno State team, which battled Minnesota Saturday night before falling, 21-14.
Up next … Fresno State, 8:30 p.m., MT, FS1
—
12. Arizona … Ranking last weekend: 10
This weekend … The Wildcats were thumped by Houston this weekend, 45-18, and it wasn’t that close. The Cougars were up 31-0 at halftime, and had it to 38-0 before Arizona scored. Coming on the heels of a home loss to BYU (4-9 in 2017), the Arizona program under Kevin Sumlin is struggling, to put it mildly. All-everything quarterback Kahlil (“I don’t want no stinkin’ Navy coach”) Tate had 341 yards passing (no touchdowns, two interceptions), and had seven carries for eight yards. Had Kevin Sumlin been coaching the Wildcats last year in Boulder, the Buffs would have won …
Up next … Southern Utah, 9:00 p.m., MT, Pac-12 Networks
–
—–
Stuart
Continue reading...
Sunday Afternoon Quarterback
—
… Game Two … Colorado 33, Nebraska 28 …
— CU rushing offense v. Nebraska rushing defense —
By the numbers … The Buffs had a total of 44 rushing yards on 35 carries, which includes seven sacks for a minus-43 yards. Kyle Evans (on 12 carries) and Travon McMillian (six carries) each had 25 yards on the afternoon. Laviska Shenault had the only rushing touchdown, coming on a three-yard carry in the first quarter.
Grade: D – … Even if the sacks are taken away, the Buff rushing attack comes to 37 carries for 87 yards … 2.3 yards per carry. That’s just not going to get it done over a 12 game season. Granted, Nebraska has one of the most physical defensive lines lines the Buffs will see all season, but the CU coaching staff knew that going in. What worked for gaping holes against Colorado State went nowhere against Nebraska. The Buffs have two poor defensive squads (New Hampshire; UCLA) coming up to figure out how to make the rushing attack work again before facing the meat of the Pac-12 schedule.
—
— CU passing offense v. Nebraska passing defense —
By the numbers … Steven Montez completed 33-of-50 passes for 351 yards, with three touchdowns and no interception. As noted, above, Montez was sacked seven times.
Grade: C … Welcome to the national stage, Laviska Shenault! An easy pick for the Pac-12 Offensive Player-of-the-Week (we’ll find out Tuesday if the league was paying attention), Shenault had ten catches for 177 yards and the game-winning 40-yard touchdown catch. Otherwise, the Buff passing game was limited to short passes and short gains. Jay MacIntyre had a career-high eight receptions, and his first two-touchdown game. Juwann Winfree saw the ball more often, with five catches for 48 yards. Montez did not turn the ball over, which is always important in a big game, but the seven sacks kept the Buff offense from every finding a rhythm.
—
— CU rushing defense v. Nebraska rushing offense —
By the numbers … Nebraska had 329 yards rushing on 54 attempts (6.1 yards per carry). The Cornhuskers had two 100-yard rushers, with quarterback Adrian Martinez posting 15 carries for 117 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Greg Bell had 13 carries for 104 yards.
Grade: D+ … For much of the game, the Nebraska offensive line had its way with the Colorado defensive line. However, the Buffs held the Cornhuskers to seven second half points, to 5-of-13 on third down conversions, and – very importantly – zero-for-three on fourth down conversions. The first two fourth down stops were thanks to Nate Landman being a beast, knifing through the Nebraska line for crucial stops near midfield, with the last fourth down stop coming on the final play of the game.
—
— CU passing defense v. Nebraska passing offense —
By the numbers … Freshman quarterback Adrian Martinez went 15-for-20 for 187 yards and one touchdown. Sophomore Andrew Bunch came in late in the game for an injured Martinez, completing four-of-nine passes for 49 yards.
Grade: B- … Nebraska offensive coordinator Troy Walters said in the week leading up to the game that he didn’t want his freshman quarterback to have to throw 40 passes. Martinez threw only 20, so that mission was accomplished. The Buff secondary did not produce an interception for the second game in a row (linebacker Nate Landman had the only interception … as he did against Colorado State). The 236 yards passing and one touchdown allowed are acceptable numbers, but have to be taken in context of the fact that Nebraska also had 329 yards rushing.
—
— CU special teams —
By the numbers … Three of Davis Price’s kickoffs were returned, but only for a 15.0 yard average. Kicker James Stefanou set a new school record to run his consecutive streak of successful PAT’s (to open a career) at 44. Stefanou connected on field goal attempts of 40 and 35 yards in the second and third quarters, but missed from 37 and 43 yards out in the fourth quarter. Alex Kinney had one punt for 54 yards, with his sub, Davis Price, punting four times for an average of 40.8 yards.
Grade: C+ … It’s easy to focus on the two missed field goals in the fourth quarter, either one of which would have given the Buffs the lead. However, it is not outside the realm of the reasonable to forgive Stefanou for the missed kicks, as he was working with a new holder. Walk-on quarterback Josh Goldin had to take the place of Alex Kinney on placements, after Kinney broke his collarbone in the first quarter. Kinney is lost for the season, and, while Davis Price performed admirably as the substitute punter, the loss of Kinney could be a crucial factor come Pac-12 play.
—
Overall Grade: C+ … If you look only at the stats sheet, you see a Nebraska victory. The Cornhuskers out-gained the Buffs by a wide margin (565 total yards to 395 for the Buffs), and sacked Steven Montez seven times. When an offense has only 44 yards of rushing offense (on 35 carries, no less), and posts four straight first half three-and-outs, you expect an “L”. But these Buffs proved their resiliency, and found a way to win. Nebraska had 243 yards rushing in the first half (and 21 points), but only 86 yards in the second half. And they did it against a crowd of almost 90,000. Buff fans will take ugly wins over pretty losses any day.
—
Pac-12 Power Rankings
—
Note … These are my subjective Power Rankings, which will be updated every Sunday. (Please feel free to post your own rankings in the comments section) …
1. Washington … Ranking last weekend: 1
This weekend … Defeated North Dakota, 45-3. The game was only 17-0 at halftime, as the Huskies looked lethargic, perhaps hungover after the tough opening weekend loss to Auburn. The Huskies remain the most talented team in the Pac-12, however, and will remain atop the Pac-12 until further notice … or until next weekend, when Washington faces one of its toughest Pac-12 games of the season.
Up next … at Utah, 8:00 p.m., MT, ESPN
—
2. Stanford … Ranking last weekend: 2
This weekend … Defeated No. 17 USC, 17-3. In typical Stanford form, the Cardinal did not look especially pretty in taking out the Trojans, but were highly effective. Bryce Love went for over 100 yards, while USC wunderkid quarterback J.T. Daniels was kept out of the endzone. The Cardinal travels to Eugene in two weeks in a game which will decide whether Stanford or Oregon is to be the chief challenger to Washington in the Pac-12 North
Up next: UC-Davis, noon, MT, Pac-12 Networks
—
3. USC … Ranking last weekend: 3
This weekend … Lost to No. 10 Stanford, 17-3. J.T. Daniels threw for only 215 yards on 34 attempts, with two interceptions and no touchdowns. The Trojans are clearly the most talented team in the Pac-12 South, but, as goes the quarterback, so goes the team. The Trojans travel to Austin this weekend, to face a Texas team which lost to Maryland and barely beat Tulsa. At home or at a neutral site, USC would be an easy pick. But on the road in a hostile arena (Palo Alto is not hostile, by anyone’s definition), Daniels will be put to the test.
Up next … at Texas, 6:00 p.m., MT, Fox
—
4. Oregon … Ranking last weekend: 5
This weekend … Here’s a trivia question I would like to see answered: When was the last time a team scored 62 points in a game … and failed to cover the spread? Oregon was a 50-point favorite over Portland State, yet only won, 62-14. The magical mystery tour of unworthy non-conference opponents continues this weekend with a game against San Jose State, which lost 31-0 to Washington State Saturday … after losing to UC-Davis (and the fighting Dan Hawkins’ Aggies) in the season opener.
Up next … San Jose State, 3:00 p.m., MT, Pac-12 Networks
—
5. Arizona State … Ranking last weekend: 8
This weekend … Let’s hear it for the fighting Sun Devils, who topped No. 15 Michigan State, 16-13. This entire off-season, Arizona fans were laughing it up, seeing as the Wildcats had hired Kevin Sumlin as their new head coach, while Arizona State had universally panned Herm Edwards. Now, Arizona State is 2-0, and possesses the best non-conference win for the Pac-12 to date, while Arizona is 0-2 … and looking bad doing it. Picked last in the Pac-12 South, the Arizona State at Colorado tilt on October 6th could be a battle for first place in the division.
Up next … at San Diego State, 8:30 p.m., MT, CBS Sports Network
—
6. Colorado … Ranking last weekend: 7
This weekend … Just win, baby! Okay, so an Al Davis reference probably is not the best way to introduce the Buffs, but the Buffs did just that against Nebraska. Against 90,000 partisans, and after losing the stats battle badly, the Buffs nonetheless came away with a 33-28 victory. Suffice it to say, most teams in the Mike MacIntyre era (or Jon Embree, or Dan Hawkins) would have lost that game, and perhaps even been blown out in the second half. Instead, this team rallied for an unlikely victory. The win not only gives Buff fans warm fuzzies for having beaten their chief rivals in back-to-back games to open the season, the win portends a bright future for the program.
Up next … New Hampshire, 3:00 p.m., MT, Pac-12 Mountain
—
7. Utah … Ranking last weekend: 5
This weekend … The final over Northern Illinois was 17-6, so the Utes covered the spread. The final score, though, does not tell the whole story. The Utes were down to the Huskies, 3-0, and were up a tenuous 10-6 when Northern Illinois took over with a chance to win the game with a late touchdown drive. Instead, the Huskies threw a pick-six, and the Utes escaped with an 11-point victory. We’ll see this weekend if the preseason hype about Utah being a dark horse challenger for the Pac-12 South title was merited.
Up next … No. 9 Washington, 8:00 p.m., MT, ESPN
—
8. California … Ranking last weekend: 6
This weekend … Cal went on the road this weekend and beat BYU, 21-18. This is the same Cal team which won its opener over North Carolina, and beat a Cougar team which had beaten Arizona on the road to open the season. Still, North Carolina went home after its 24-17 loss to Cal, and promptly lost, 41-19, to East Carolina. Arizona, meanwhile, was out-classed by Houston, 45-18 (38-0 in the third quarter). The Bears are 2-0, but the jury is still out on how good Cal will be come Pac-12 play.
Up next … Idaho State, 3:00 p.m., MT, Pac-12 Bay Area
—
9. Washington State … Ranking last weekend: 9
This weekend … The Cougars took care of business against San Jose State, defeating the Spartans, 31-0, at home Saturday night. Washington State looked good on defense, but against San Jose State (2-11 in 2017; 44-30 losers to UC-Davis from the Big Sky Conference in the opener), it’s hard not to look good. Washington State will open 3-0 to start the season for a change (Mike Leach teams tend to lose an early game each year) before heading to Los Angeles to face USC in the Pac-12 opener. Beat USC for the second year in a row, Cougars, and then we’ll talk.
Up next … Eastern Washington, 6:00 p.m., MT, Pac-12 Networks
—
10. Oregon State … Ranking last weekend: 12
This weekend … For at least a weekend, let’s move Oregon State out of the basement of the Pac-12. The Beavers beat Southern Utah from the Big Sky Conference, 48-25, for their first win in a year. The fact that Oregon State did not need a last minute touchdown drive to procure win No. 1 of the season (as the Beavers did last year, squeaking by Portland State, 35-32, for the only win of the season) is a step in the right direction. Oregon State travels to Reno to take on Nevada this weekend, perhaps the last game of the year in which the Beavers will be favored.
Up next … at Nevada, 5:00 p.m., MT, ESPN3
—
11. UCLA … Ranking last weekend: 11
This weekend … Unlike the Oregon Ducks, who were 50-point favorites and failed to beat the spread, UCLA went to Norman and beat the spread against the No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners. Of course, the spread was 30 points, and the final was 49-21 … but still. It’s a testament to how little is being expected out of Chip Kelly’s Bruins right now that a 7-0 early lead against the Sooners, and a competitive game (21-7 at halftime) is seen as a positive sign. Before traveling to Boulder for an ESPN Friday night tilt, the Bruins have a chance to get on the winning side of the ledger against a decent Fresno State team, which battled Minnesota Saturday night before falling, 21-14.
Up next … Fresno State, 8:30 p.m., MT, FS1
—
12. Arizona … Ranking last weekend: 10
This weekend … The Wildcats were thumped by Houston this weekend, 45-18, and it wasn’t that close. The Cougars were up 31-0 at halftime, and had it to 38-0 before Arizona scored. Coming on the heels of a home loss to BYU (4-9 in 2017), the Arizona program under Kevin Sumlin is struggling, to put it mildly. All-everything quarterback Kahlil (“I don’t want no stinkin’ Navy coach”) Tate had 341 yards passing (no touchdowns, two interceptions), and had seven carries for eight yards. Had Kevin Sumlin been coaching the Wildcats last year in Boulder, the Buffs would have won …
Up next … Southern Utah, 9:00 p.m., MT, Pac-12 Networks
–
—–
Stuart
Continue reading...