Buffs believe defense trending up but needs to close out games

BOULDER » Tyson Summers didn’t need an opponent this week to keep busy.

Colorado’s defensive coordinator has plenty on his plate, even with the Buffaloes ( 2- 0) having their game against Arizona State ( 0- 1) canceled because of COVID19 issues with the Sun Devils.

Through two games, the CU defense has looked very good at times, especially early in games, but late- game breakdowns have contributed to the Buffs ranking last in the Pac- 12 in points allowed, at 37.0 per game.

“I think the obvious part is we’re playing well in the first half,” Summers said. “I think that’s really important. We were able to play with the lead two weeks in a row.

“We’ve got to play better in the second half. We’ve got to be better in coverage, we’ve got to be able to play with a better rush overall and we’ve got to find ways to make plays.”

Summers and the CU staff are working to become a more complete defense as they look ahead to their next game, Nov. 28 at No. 20 Southern California ( 2- 0).

In a 48- 42 win against UCLA and a 35- 32 win at Stanford, the Buffs’ defense set the tone early.

CU caused four early turnovers to help the Buffs build a 35- 7 lead against UCLA. Last week, CU built a 28- 9 lead against Stanford, keeping the Cardinal out of the end zone during the first 40 minutes.

“I was really excited and impressed with what our defense did early in the game,” head coach Karl Dorrell said. “Stanford had a couple of drives early in the first quarter that we kept them out of the end zone and at least they kicked field goals.”

Each of Stanford’s first eight possessions resulted in either a punt or a field goal, and a big reason for that early success was CU’s ability to stop the run.

Although CU is last in points allowed, it leads the Pac- 12 in run defense, giving up just 122.5 yards per game. In both games, the opposing quarterback has been the leading rusher. Running backs have managed just 105 yards on 30 carries ( 3.5 average) against CU.