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The Buffs have done their homework on Baylor
Ahead of Saturday’s game against the Baylor Bears at Folsom Field, the Buffaloes and Coach Prime are planning around an unknown quarterback. The Bears haven’t announced their starting quarterback yet, listing both Dequan Finn and Sawyer Robertson as their QB1 on this week’s depth chart.
Finn, a transfer from Toledo, started Weeks 1 and 2 but suffered a rib injury in Baylor’s loss to Utah. Robertson filled in for Finn last week, demolishing Air Force in a 31-3 win. While it’s unclear who will start under center for the Bears this weekend, Deion Sanders and his staff are preparing for both of Baylor’s playmakers.
“I don’t know which quarterback [Baylor’s] going to feature this week,” said Prime in his Tuesday presser. “But we are preparing for both quarterbacks.”
Finn and Robertson bring two entirely different skill sets to the table. The Toledo transfer is more of a “new-age” quarterback, who’s mobile in the pocket and doesn’t mind putting his body on the line to move the chains. Meanwhile, Robertson is a traditional pocket-passer who likes attacking defenses with his arm. Because the two quarterbacks have such different styles of play, the Buffaloes have to prepare for all possibilities.
“It all comes down to third down and situational calls where one guy is more likely to scramble out of the pocket and run,” Prime said. “One guy is going to get rid of it quickly out of his hand to try to move the chains. That has a factor when you’re calling [plays] throughout the game. As far as the preparation, you have to prepare like you’re going to prepare for both of them.”
Outside of doing extra preparation for Baylor’s quarterback carrousel, it’s business as usual for the Buffaloes. Especially with the start of Big 12 play this week, Coach Prime and his team are laser-focused on patching up the team’s weaknesses.
“Every week it’s the same thing,” said Sanders. “We want to be able to run the ball effectively. We want to be able to stop the run.”
Stopping the run this week is especially pivotal since Baylor’s prolific rushing attack is coming to town. The Bears work primarily on the ground, averaging 39 carries and 167 rushing yards per game. Deion Sanders knows that if the Buffaloes can’t slow down Baylor’s ground game, they’re in serious trouble.
“Coach Aranda has done a great job of having his team be disciplined,” said Sanders “The things that they do well, they really do well. We’ve gotta, first of all, stop the run.”
Baylor head coach Dave Aranda returned the praise to Boulder in his weekly presser, acknowledging the progress that the Buffaloes have made in the last year under Prime.
“[I have a] lot of respect for our opponent,” Aranda said to open his presser. “The skill they have, the improved line of scrimmage play. [Colorado’s] a team that looks like they’re trending up and it’s going to be a tough environment for us.”
The sold-out Folsom Field crowd will be rocking on Saturday, ready to watch their Buffaloes’ official return to Big 12 play. Fans can watch the Buffs and Bears duke it out at 6:00 on September 21st on Fox.
by RylandScholes
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