Klee blog: Don’t be fooled, Colorado Buffaloes in big trouble in Pac-12
In Saturday’s Rocky Mountain Showdown, the University of Colorado got whooped at the line of scrimmage and showed a startling lack of team speed.
Other than that, the Buffs should be fine in the Pac-12.
I viewed this Rocky Mountain Showdown as a referendum on CU. This episode of the rivalry was more important to CU — in the short term, because of the loss at Hawaii; in the big picture, because it’s Year 3 of the MacIntyre era and time to make progress.
CU won the game, 27-24 in overtime, but failed the test. Here’s a riddle for a Monday morning: If CSU piles up 500 yards of total offense — with a new coach, reshuffled offensive line and a quarterback who got yanked the week before — what are Oregon, USC, Arizona and Cal (with the projected No. 1 quarterback in the NFL draft) going to do to the Buffs?
Answer: 2014 is bound to happen, again.
And those numbers came against a team with an unsettled quarterback position. CSU coach Mike Bobo offered a subtle appraisal of his quarterbacks when he pointed out, “We’re a little bit off on our accuracy.”
Bobo’s most important attribute in his first season will be patience, specifically with redshirt sophomore Nick Stevens and redshirt freshman Coleman Key. Quarterbacks take time. One rival coach told me Bobo is “the quarterback whisperer,” having recruited and worked with Matt Stafford, Aaron Murray, David Greene and D.J. Shockley at Georgia.
But even while breaking in an inexperienced quarterback, CSU managed to outgain CU through the air (282 yards to 220) on the ground (218 to 125). Swap the jerseys, and you’d be hard-pressed to identify which program plays in the Pac-12 and which one is in the Mountain West. Scary thought considering that Cal’s Jared Goff passed for 309 yards and three touchdowns on Saturday — in the first half. And Oregon had 485 rushing yards. And UCLA’s Josh Rosen threw for 351 yards against Virginia.
Not all are on the Buffs’ schedule. But the Pac-12 remains a quarterback-driven league. Maybe if Garrett Grayson were still quarterbacking the Rams, the way CSU bullied CU could be understandable. But Grayson could be starting for the Saints next Sunday.
There’s a notion CU football is on the way up, that a roster capable of competing in the Pac-12 is just around the corner, if not here already.
Not from what I watched at Mile High. CU looked like more of the same at too many positions, undersized and slow. Hold on. This will be another bumpy ride in Boulder.
