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Thoughts on the upcoming ASU game

BinaryBuff

mmmm...beer
Club Member
Some of my thoughts on the upcoming game against ASU....

Normally a big improvement between game 1 and game 2. Our offense no longer has the element of surprise (lets be honest, CU did whatever they wanted on the first two drives against CSU, and I'll claim a bit of that success was from the element of surprise). We're a young team, so you would think that there should be vast improvement from week to week, especially from week 1 to week 2.

Both teams won their opener, but in totally different fashion. ASU killed San Jose St at home, whereas CU fought and clawed to get a victory over an always highly motivated CSU team (at least when they're playing CU) on a neutral site. The ASU game was never in doubt. The CU/CSU game was a constant back and forth battle. I'm hoping last weeks game prepared CU more than it prepared ASU for the upcoming game.

Will CU experience an emotional letdown after beating CSU in overtime? I think as much of the emotional letdown (if it comes) would be from putting so much emphasis on winning the 1st game, considering how last season went. I hope the team isn't spent and is instead more focused and determined to keep winning and getting better, but I am somewhat worried about CU coming out a bit flat.

How will we deal with the heat? I heard last week's ASU game was also a night kickoff and was 101 degrees at kickoff. I would assume that without the sun beating down on our guys, and the fact it should (hopefully) cool down as the game goes on, that this will be a non-factor, but it is a bit of a concern, given that our depth is somewhat lacking in a few positions.

CU did not wilt in the 4th quarter on Saturday, a total opposite of what happened to us almost every game last year. Was that a one-time thing against a "lower tier MWC team" like CSU? Or, can we expect a full 4 quarter effort week in and week out from this team? I think our conditioning and offseason work played a huge part in winning against the Rams.

Will Hugh be back in the lineup? We could definitely use his speed and talent to alternate with Sumler. Additionally, getting back one of the d-linemen along Sipili (hopefully!! I think we'll find out tomorrow?) should help infuse the defense with some more depth and talent.

I think it'll be a good game, and CU will give ASU everything they can handle, and hopefully CU pulls it out in the 4th again!

GO BUFFS!
 
Two things; one, I heard that Phoenix is going to cool down by about 15-20 degrees in the next few days- don't know if that is going to hold thru Sat or not.

Second, I read that some of the reporter types that saw the Buffs practice on Sunday said they had never seen as intense of a practice the day after a game from any team.
 
I'm glad the team is practicing hard.

But ASU is not CSU.

The caliber of athletes playing at ASU far exceeds the Nick Pottorff type athletes playing for CSU.

I think this one could be fairly lopsided in Arizona State's favor, when all is said and done.
 
I agree with that, however, we sucked last year, and it was not a huge blowout by ASU. Yet, a year later and the offense is tons better, and the D will have more rest in the game, and.....we are going to get blown out? I don't get it.
 
This is a different ASU team than the team that came to Boulder last year.

Rudy Carpenter has a year of seasoning under his belt, and it appears that their offense is firing on all cylinders if the San Jose State game is any indication. 520 yards of offense is impressive.

I think it will be a difficult game for the Buffs in Tempe. ASU is fast, and while I think the Buffs will be able to score more than 3 points - I also think Arizona State will score more than 21. I predict a 35-17 type game.
 
Agree, it was an impressive showing from ASU. But, it was against San Jose St (and yes, I know we were 2-10 last year, so I'm being selective in what I compare against). I would just tend to think that CSU overcomes their talent gap against CU through emotion, which narrows the gap. ASU won't be as motivated, which I think makes comparing the relative scores and stats in the two games like apples and oranges.

But, different CU team than the one that faced ASU last year.

If ASU jumps out to a big lead early, life isn't gonna be very much fun. If the Buffs can hang in for the first half and keep within a score, then I like our chances.
 
For the Buffs to have any chance against ASU, the defense will have to play much much better than it did against CSU. Comparing Caleb Hanie to Rudy Carpenter is like comparing Rex Grossman to Peyton Manning. And yet, the CU defense allowed Hanie to look like he was ready for the NFL.

The defensive line needs to get pressure on Carpenter and the defensive backs need to make some plays. If it was me -- I'd bring the house at Carpenter. I'd rather watch a pass play go the distance than watch the opposing team's QB shred the defense every single play.

I can promise you that Caleb Hanie won't complete 74% of his passes against another foe on their schedule.
 
For the Buffs to have any chance against ASU, the defense will have to play much much better than it did against CSU. Comparing Caleb Hanie to Rudy Carpenter is like comparing Rex Grossman to Peyton Manning. And yet, the CU defense allowed Hanie to look like he was ready for the NFL.

The defensive line needs to get pressure on Carpenter and the defensive backs need to make some plays. If it was me -- I'd bring the house at Carpenter. I'd rather watch a pass play go the distance than watch the opposing team's QB shred the defense every single play.

I can promise you that Caleb Hanie won't complete 74% of his passes against another foe on their schedule.

I agree, at least a long pass play gets our damn defense off of the field instead of killing them with 7 minute drives.
 
Craig Bray is the DC for ASU, according to scout the DB's didn't like him too much. They asked T Wheat what he thought about Bray he said no comment. Then said he asked the coaches if he could take a turn at WR this week. So dont be surprised if you see it this week.

I didn't realize they disliked bray, i guess he used to call the guys out in public situations?
 
ASU will be good - SJ State is no slouch WAC team - it will be a good challenge for CU - a little bit a of a preview of the season. I think ASU is just a mid range PAC 10 team - well pack 9 (USC is in their own conference).
 
For what its worth, my own expectations are of a more solid offensive performance this week than last. Our offense will be facing a very good defensive line and our run game will be critical if we are to relieve some of the pressure on Cody and the pass game.

As for defense, well, I'm not sure how we stop one of the more solid offenses that we'll face this season, given that they are a very pass-oriented team but hopefully our d-line can step up and get more pressure and disruption on their pass attack. Otherwise, I see a very, very long game for them.
 
I thought I read somewhere that Mark Helfrich coached Rudy Carpenter for a little while and knew some of his tendencies. Not sure if this will have an impact or not.

Also, If CU can drive the field and take some time off the clock, they might be able to give their defense a chance. If you think about the CSU game, CU scored fairly quickly on their first 2 drives and didn't do much on the others in the first half. The D may have been a little winded and thus gave up some big yardage. In the second half when the O drove the ball 86 yards, I got the sense that it gave the D it's second wind, which helped stop CSU in the 4th quarter.

Point being is that if the offense can move the ball and convert on some third downs, the D may have a chance. (the best defense is a good offense - gawd I hate that saying, but it works here)
 
I think this will be a great game. ASU is not dominant, and CU has nothing to lose.

With the WR coming back (can't remember his name...crazy phenom) and hopefully Hugh Charles as well, we will have a great game to watch.

I want to see our white/white jersey/pant combo for this game under the lights. I would like it even more if we went whtie jersey/black pants, though. White/whtie would be the way to go to get out of the heat.

I can see ASU maknig us don the black jerseys to make us hotter. If we do that, expect to see the white pants.

My prediction is a CU winner...but just barely.
 
Dang...I thought I read that Smith would be back this week.

Well, at least he'll be there for FSU...even though he could be rusty.
 
Dang...I thought I read that Smith would be back this week.

Well, at least he'll be there for FSU...even though he could be rusty.

FSU at the earliest. No confirmation of that. They just did an MRI on the kidney yesterday to see how it's healing, but didn't release any information on the test results.
 
FSU at the earliest. No confirmation of that. They just did an MRI on the kidney yesterday to see how it's healing, but didn't release any information on the test results.

Hope he's recovering nicely. The offense could really use him. From watching the fall scrimmage, I came away with the impression that he was by far the most explosive player on offense.

It'd be really nice to have him for FSU, but I'd be thrilled with him being healthy for Miami to knock some rust off before we hit OU the week after.
 
i think this will be a very challenging game for the Buffs. in addition to the obvious comments about the talent disparity on paper, i think that our Buffs just don't match up very well on either side of the ball.

i think CU wil bring its A game and i think the Buffs will play much better than they did against csu. i would love to see CU get the win. fingers crossed.

if our Buffs can get into the backfield, i think that qb can be shaken up and he will make mistakes when pressured. that would sure give CU a better chance to win.

GO BUFFS!
 
Gotta clear up a couple misconceptions real quick that I read in this thread. (Take them as you will, just clearing a couple facts up.)

-Rudy Carpenter played in Boulder last year with a broken thumb on his throwing hand.

-Tempe is a "heat island" meaning it will be significantly hotter than the temperature says in Phoenix. lol (but trust me... we want it to cool down too... I don't want to be sitting in the stands sweating my face off.)

-ASU is not so much a pass oriented team anymore. Last year's ASU was. We had enough talent to make that work decent for us. But now we are a much more balanced offense with a potential Heisman Candidate at running back. (Ryan Torain, our RB, just started getting Heisman Votes)

Just wanted to throw those facts out there. :)

I look forward to a good game! :) Sun Devil Stadium is going to be packed... lol.:lol:
 
Haha... oh and as for pressuring Carpenter... please don't do that. ;) haha his decision making scares me sometimes. (You'll notice when Carpenter gets pressured most ASU fans hide their eyes... lol. Although he was much better vs SJSU. I hope he continues making good decisions... lol)
 
Gotta clear up a couple misconceptions real quick that I read in this thread. (Take them as you will, just clearing a couple facts up.)

-Rudy Carpenter played in Boulder last year with a broken thumb on his throwing hand.

Does he want a cookie?


-Tempe is a "heat island" meaning it will be significantly hotter than the temperature says in Phoenix. lol (but trust me... we want it to cool down too... I don't want to be sitting in the stands sweating my face off.)

Its an awful shame the temperature in Colorado never goes above a balmy 65 degrees then.

-ASU is not so much a pass oriented team anymore. Last year's ASU was. We had enough talent to make that work decent for us. But now we are a much more balanced offense with a potential Heisman Candidate at running back. (Ryan Torain, our RB, just started getting Heisman Votes)

Let me know when one of your RB's wins the Heisman, ok?

Just wanted to throw those facts out there. :)

I look forward to a good game! :) Sun Devil Stadium is going to be packed... lol.:lol:


That's good. It's rare that the Buffs play before "packed" stadiums. I mean, 54,000 fans sure seems like a lot!
 
Getting Sipili back would be huge. Seriously. keeping fingers crossed big time...
 
Haha... oh and as for pressuring Carpenter... please don't do that. ;) haha his decision making scares me sometimes. (You'll notice when Carpenter gets pressured most ASU fans hide their eyes... lol. Although he was much better vs SJSU. I hope he continues making good decisions... lol)

not sure if you are being sarcastic or not, but having watched him a little bit, i do believe he can be goaded into errors when he is feeling pressure... and i think he can be one of those guys who downward spirals when things get tough.

as i believe most of us have said, we think your team is deservedly favored by more than 2 tds... why the attitude? :confused:
 
Thanks to all of those Colorado transplants who pack the stadium for Broncos games down there you are probably correct on this item.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how many CU fans are there on Saturday. It could be pretty impressive if everything I'm hearing is true. The CU allotment is sold out, and I know a bunch of folks have bought directly from ASU. It has the potential to be a very good showing for us.


But don't let anybody in the rest of the Big 12 know about it. They all think we don't travel well.
 
I'm really looking forward to seeing how many CU fans are there on Saturday. It could be pretty impressive if everything I'm hearing is true. The CU allotment is sold out, and I know a bunch of folks have bought directly from ASU. It has the potential to be a very good showing for us.


But don't let anybody in the rest of the Big 12 know about it. They all think we don't travel well.

I think you'll have a fair showing. It's not like its on the coast or something.
 
I'm really looking forward to seeing how many CU fans are there on Saturday. It could be pretty impressive if everything I'm hearing is true. The CU allotment is sold out, and I know a bunch of folks have bought directly from ASU. It has the potential to be a very good showing for us.


But don't let anybody in the rest of the Big 12 know about it. They all think we don't travel well.

we travel great to good locations (ie the pac 10). **** what the rest of the b12 thinks and **** the texas carpetbaggers who've taken over the conference. ahhh. don't get me started again on how we are in the wrong conference.
 
we travel great to good locations (ie the pac 10). **** what the rest of the b12 thinks and **** the texas carpetbaggers who've taken over the conference. ahhh. don't get me started again on how we are in the wrong conference.

You're going, aren't you?
 
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