Again. And again.The defense kept us in the game in the second half.
I'm not sure I see a team with the front 7 like Nebraska had the rest of the schedule.The book is completely out on how to stop CU, and that’s to be able to pressure Shedeur with only 4 rushers. A lot of 5 and 6 man boxes which means they need to keep pushing the run game to soften the secondary up.
Part of that is teams just attacking the middle with QB runs. It's hard to get home when the middle of the field is wide open for him to step up.They've been really good against the run and they do get some pressure, but it’s frustrating that they seemingly can’t get home with sacks
You can already see that the defense is better in both discipline and ability to penetrate.Last year there was some sentiment that because 90% of the roster had been flipped we might expect to see more in season improvement from the Buffs compared to other teams. That unequivocally didn't pan out.
Maybe with the 50% roster turnover this year, that will play out?
Either way, you're dead on that this group does seem way more cohesive.
FWIW, heading into this week on the CBS 1-134 they had Baylor as the #11 Big XII team and CU as #12.Okay. Reality check. Maybe. Some preseason rankings had us 11th and bailer 12th in the Big XII.
So, are we and bailer significantly better than those prognostications? Or was this a case of two bad teams being pretty equally matched?
Personally, I thought bailer looked pretty good and are probably significantly better than the preseason polls.
We are still working on communication issues in the OL. A number of times Zil went the wrong way in the pass pro scheme way leaving the middle rusher wide open. Maybe he thought he was leaving that guy for the RB, but that would be bad play design, especially as Zil ended up not picking up anyone.You can already see that the defense is better in both discipline and ability to penetrate.
And the offensive line has been up and down but the line this year is actually protective. Shadeur took a hit on a run and it looked the player was talking but 77 got between them and you didn’t see that last year.
It’s more realistic to expect young players to not let guys get past them and for an offensive line that actually understands its job is to protect to eventually gel and get better as they play more together.
I don’t know the ceiling or how well they match up with the rest of the Big 12 but to my eyes this is clearly a better team than last year.
I think the one thing we can say about the Big 12 through the first few weeks is this-Everybody outside of probably Houston (who we unfortunately don't get to play) can beat everybody any given Saturday.Okay. Reality check. Maybe. Some preseason rankings had us 11th and bailer 12th in the Big XII.
So, are we and bailer significantly better than those prognostications? Or was this a case of two bad teams being pretty equally matched?
Personally, I thought bailer looked pretty good and are probably significantly better than the preseason polls.
With the new NIL/Transfer age, ranking college football teams is a real crap shoot.FWIW, heading into this week on the CBS 1-134 they had Baylor as the #11 Big XII team and CU as #12.
I see a lot of competitive Big 12 games for the Buffs this year. No gimmes at all, but no blowouts either, except for maybe Utah. Should be fun the rest of the way though.You can already see that the defense is better in both discipline and ability to penetrate.
And the offensive line has been up and down but the line this year is actually protective. Shadeur took a hit on a run and it looked the player was talking but 77 got between them and you didn’t see that last year.
It’s more realistic to expect young players to not let guys get past them and for an offensive line that actually understands its job is to protect to eventually gel and get better as they play more together.
I don’t know the ceiling or how well they match up with the rest of the Big 12 but to my eyes this is clearly a better team than last year.
I think the rankings from like 20-80 in any given year are kind of a crapshoot and often end up at the end of the year being decided by a bunch of one score games between those average teams that could have gone one way or the other on a single play.With the new NIL/Transfer age, ranking college football teams is a real crap shoot.
Without Cam Rising, and getting then at home, I think there's a real chance we could pull off an upset, but yeah that's the one game we'll be clear dogs in.I see a lot of competitive Big 12 games for the Buffs this year. No gimmes at all, but no blowouts either, except for maybe Utah. Should be fun the rest of the way though.
There has to be some soccer player on campus who can kick the ball far and that’s all he has to do.Kick off specialist is gonna be an issue going forward
Sounds like a torn ACLHow serious is Feely's injury? He wasn't great at kickoffs so who will handle them moving forward? Can't have opponents start at 40yd line every time we kick off.
Forgot where I heard it, but Ohtani is the only compAfter playing almost every play on both sides… he is in perfect position on the last play of overtime to tackle the ball out BEFORE the goal like, as a CB. That’s some insane endurance, toughness, and understanding football.
There have been a few two-way players in the modern era, but no one has ever done what he’s doing.
Sefo had some unreal moments in 2016I just saw the Fox replay of the last 6 or 7 minutes.
SS is regularly more capable of doing the "impossible" than any Buff I've ever seen
The last 4 minutes he was hit hard several times, placed in low % situations, and just kept at it. A total gamer.
I understand the 'holding the ball' too long issue, but that's another story.
Or she…There has to be some soccer player on campus who can kick the ball far and that’s all he has to do.
It's funny because his own decision making puts him into a lot of bad situations, but he has the physical ability to get himself out of it.I just saw the Fox replay of the last 6 or 7 minutes.
SS is regularly more capable of doing the "impossible" than any Buff I've ever seen
The last 4 minutes he was hit hard several times, placed in low % situations, and just kept at it. A total gamer.
I understand the 'holding the ball' too long issue, but that's another story.
It worked for the Armadillos.Or she…
This was the best defense we are going to play all year unless we make the playoffs. Then that's a different story.The biggest problem going forward for this team is what the **** is wrong with our special teams. Everytime they are on the field, I am waiting for them to **** up...and they do often. There really isn't anything good to say about our special teams.
Second biggest problem is our OL. Even when 2 wasn't getting sacked, he was having to duck, dive and make some amazing escapes. Yes, many were coverage and the line has certainly improved since last year, but these guys have to keep getting better week to week for us to have a chance at a bowl. And our depth here is a big concern as we move forward into the season. We have great skill players, but when teams can rush 4 and make penetration, our skill players can't get open. Many of the catches we made tonight were into tight coverage and it was the skill of the receivers that made the play. Against better defenders, our offense will be shutdown without improvement. It was good to see us dedicated to the run more. Augustave can pound the ball well and rarely lost yardage even when 'stopped'. Hopefully when Haydan is healthy we will have a more well rounded RB room with those 2 and Welch.
Defense kept us in this game, and even won the game for us. #12 is just amazing on both sides of the ball no doubt about it, but it seems like our defense has improved quite a bit. I hate to say it, but having Shilo on the sidelines is a good thing. The worst that can be said of our defense right now is giving up big plays on the legs of opposing QB. Livingston needs to adjust for this somehow. Other than the QB, our run defense was good. Our coverage is not going to improve much and it's good enough(especially with #12 shutting down his side of the field) to keep winning us games if our offense can perform up to the expectations based on the talent at our skill positions.
The story of the season will be written based on our OL, play calling, Game management and special teams. We see improvement week over week here, we will do well. If we don't? It will be a disappointment.
But great game last night, and what a way to win at home.