CU Briefs “LOADED” OFFENSE NOT ABLE TO SCORE
BOULDER» With so much talent on the offensive side of the ball, Colorado senior receiver Juwann Winfree was convinced the Buffaloes would put a lot of points on the board this season.
“I felt we were loaded coming into the season,” Winfree said. “We have all these receivers, all these backs, a quarterback who can throw 80 yards. There should be no reason we’re losing like this.”
Despite all of the talent, the CU offense looks like a sports car with a blown engine.
“We’re just inept in the second half the last two weeks,” coach Mike Macintyre said after CU’S 30-7 loss to No. 21 Utah on Saturday. “Barely got traction in the first half, really.
“We should be scoring more points than we are, there’s no doubt about it. You can’t win in this league unless you’re scoring some points. The way the games have been going, we’ve had some opportunities and just have not done very well in that area. It’s extremely frustrating.”
One of the top offenses in the conference through the first five weeks, the Buffs have averaged 19.2 points the last six weeks. They’ve been held to seven points in each of the past two games, and 17 points in their last nine quarters at Folsom Field.
Utah held the Buffs to 196 yards of total offense, and just 34 on the ground.
Asked if teams have figured out the Buffs’ offense, Winfree said: “It’s been pretty tough. They kind of call out sometimes some situations, some play calls that we’re probably going to call at that point. That’s out of our control. Our job is to get the call and execute, and we didn’t execute.”
That hints that the Buffs have become too predictable, making life easier on the defense. Regardless, Winfree said the Buffs have to find a way to get it done. at California next Saturday in Berkeley. However, poor air quality from wild fires in the area has forced several teams to cancel games. Cal and Stanford postponed their annual matchup, scheduled for Saturday, until Dec. 1.
It’s possible that CU’S game at Cal could be rescheduled — maybe not for another date, but for another venue. A decision on the game location likely won’t be made until early in the week.
Asked if playing the game in Boulder would be possible, MacIntyre said: “I would hope so, but I don’t think they’ll want that option. If I was (Cal), I wouldn’t want that option either.”
When starting quarterback Steven Montez left the game with a leg injury in the second half Saturday, the Buffs turned to redshirt freshman Tyler Lytle. Typically, sophomore Sam Noyer has been first off the bench.
“Sam’s gone in a couple times and hasn’t done great, so we felt like in practice this week Tyler had earned an opportunity to do it,” Macintyre said. “Tyler did OK; he didn’t do great, either.”
Lytle completed 4-of-5 passes — his first collegiate throws — for 55 yards, but also threw an interception, lost a fumble and got sacked three times. Noyer got in the game, completing 4of-6 passes for 23 yards.
Saturday was just the third time in Ralphie V’s 11-year career that she didn’t run at all because of weather. … Punter Alex Kinney returned after missing eight games with a broken collarbone and kicker James Stefanou returned after missing four games with a hip injury. — Brian Howell, Buffzone.com