Understandably, we've given a lot of attention to how things went against CSU, but I figured we could start directing some of our focus on our upcoming opponent, UMass. I had a chance to watch a replay of their game against Boston College, and figured I would post some of my takeaways. Nothing really earth-shattering here, but was of interest to me. If anyone else saws the game or knows about the program, please feel free to share your thoughts as well.
On offense, UMass really didn't feature the run game. I don't know if that was their specific game plan for Boston College, a response to what BC was giving them in the game or if their offense is just more pass-oriented in general. In a lot of respects this seems like a better matchup for us, since the strength of our defense appears to be our secondary. Their QB is a kid who just transferred in from Marshall this summer, and the timing between him and his receivers wasn't quite there throughout the game (he finished 9/22). He did manage to connect on a big play, 77-yard TD in the 3rd quarter, but they didn't do much in the intermediate pass game and the QB showed a penchant for putting a lot of air under the ball; the secondary should have opportunities to create some turnovers. They seemed most comfortable with the underneath stuff, so a key for us in this game will be making sure tackles and getting off the field on third down. Boston College was pretty effective creating pressure with blitzes, so I'd think we should be using KO, Gillam and Chidobe with plenty of blitz packages. The UMass QB's accuracy was obviously impacted by the pressure.
The UMass defense looked a lot like our defense against the Rams to be honest. They struggled against the run all game, especially runs to the outside; the edge of their defense is vulnerable (sounds familiar, right). I wouldn't describe Boston College's backs as being elite athletes, solid players to be sure, but not elite, so I don't see a reason why Adkins and even Lindsay can't have similar success. Saw Boston College sprinkle in some end-arounds with their receivers out of the slot with some success, again attacking the edge of the UMass defense. This might be a way to get DD or even Shay some additional touches. On the strength of their run game, Boston College was able to sustain drives and move the ball pretty well all game. Their big problem was once they got into the red zone, especially in the first half, they couldn't put touchdowns on the board and ended up settling for field goal attempts. As the game wore on, even the interior run game opened up for BC as the UMass DTs were undersized and overmatched. If we can get out in front early, it's Pow-Pow time. BC definitely has a more mobile QB than Sefo and they effectively utilized the zone read, but Sefo is a much better passer than BC's and I would say our receivers are probably a cut above theirs. I'd look for play action passes and the intermediate game to be available for us to exploit. We're going to have to show some creativity in the red zone to put six on the board, though.
Again, this feels like a better matchup for us on offense and defense, and really the kind of game that would have been a better first game for a young team. Hopefully, we can at least get some confidence going for our guys leading up to that first conference game against ASU. Go Buffs!
On offense, UMass really didn't feature the run game. I don't know if that was their specific game plan for Boston College, a response to what BC was giving them in the game or if their offense is just more pass-oriented in general. In a lot of respects this seems like a better matchup for us, since the strength of our defense appears to be our secondary. Their QB is a kid who just transferred in from Marshall this summer, and the timing between him and his receivers wasn't quite there throughout the game (he finished 9/22). He did manage to connect on a big play, 77-yard TD in the 3rd quarter, but they didn't do much in the intermediate pass game and the QB showed a penchant for putting a lot of air under the ball; the secondary should have opportunities to create some turnovers. They seemed most comfortable with the underneath stuff, so a key for us in this game will be making sure tackles and getting off the field on third down. Boston College was pretty effective creating pressure with blitzes, so I'd think we should be using KO, Gillam and Chidobe with plenty of blitz packages. The UMass QB's accuracy was obviously impacted by the pressure.
The UMass defense looked a lot like our defense against the Rams to be honest. They struggled against the run all game, especially runs to the outside; the edge of their defense is vulnerable (sounds familiar, right). I wouldn't describe Boston College's backs as being elite athletes, solid players to be sure, but not elite, so I don't see a reason why Adkins and even Lindsay can't have similar success. Saw Boston College sprinkle in some end-arounds with their receivers out of the slot with some success, again attacking the edge of the UMass defense. This might be a way to get DD or even Shay some additional touches. On the strength of their run game, Boston College was able to sustain drives and move the ball pretty well all game. Their big problem was once they got into the red zone, especially in the first half, they couldn't put touchdowns on the board and ended up settling for field goal attempts. As the game wore on, even the interior run game opened up for BC as the UMass DTs were undersized and overmatched. If we can get out in front early, it's Pow-Pow time. BC definitely has a more mobile QB than Sefo and they effectively utilized the zone read, but Sefo is a much better passer than BC's and I would say our receivers are probably a cut above theirs. I'd look for play action passes and the intermediate game to be available for us to exploit. We're going to have to show some creativity in the red zone to put six on the board, though.
Again, this feels like a better matchup for us on offense and defense, and really the kind of game that would have been a better first game for a young team. Hopefully, we can at least get some confidence going for our guys leading up to that first conference game against ASU. Go Buffs!
