What's new
AllBuffs | Unofficial fan site for the University of Colorado at Boulder Athletics programs

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • Prime Time. Prime Time. Its a new era for Colorado football. Consider signing up for a club membership! For $20/year, you can get access to all the special features at Allbuffs, including club member only forums, dark mode, avatars and best of all no ads ! But seriously, please sign up so that we can pay the bills. No one earns money here, and we can use your $20 to keep this hellhole running. You can sign up for a club membership by navigating to your account in the upper right and clicking on "Account Upgrades". Make it happen!

CSU preview

Sexton Hardcastle

Club Member
Club Member
Know Your Enemy. This preview is from SportsNetwork.com

2007 ANALYSIS:

OFFENSE: The big question heading into the season, at least from an offensive standpoint with the Rams, is how well Bell will be able to take hits in live action. Lubick would like to ease him into the process, but he knows that Bell is chomping at the bit and the competition with Johnson will only give Bell that much more incentive to push himself. Assuming both Bell and Johnson can co-exist and comfortably fill in for each other when needed, the real concern should be whether or not QB Caleb Hanie can come back and have a stronger effort as a senior. Hanie passed for just over 200 yards per game, as he completed 61.1 percent of his attempts. However, of his 209 completions, only 11 found their way into the end zone, while 12 went into the hands of opponents. Wideout Damon Morton was second on the team with 48 catches for a team-best 722 yards and four scores, while Kory Sperry ended up crossing the goal line five times. Johnny Walker was tops among them all with 58 receptions through 12 games, accounting for 586 yards, but was shut out from the end zone. With all three of those skills players manning the outside, Hanie knows he has the talent on the wings to make him successful. Just as promising is the fact that four returning starting offensive linemen (Nick Allotta, Scott Benedict, Adrian Martinez and Tim Walter) will be in the trenches to get the offensive in motion and protect Hanie and Bell.

DEFENSE: Klint Kubiak is the top returning tackler for the Rams after putting up 90 stops a season ago, and yet that really isn't a good sign for the program considering the junior roams in the secondary. With Kubiak making so many stops it meant that he was shouldering far too much of the load for a squad that was allowing plays to get past the first and second lines of defense. Missing three games due to a left knee injury, Mike Pagnotta should be ready to make some hits for the Rams and again contend for the team lead in tackles for loss and sacks after putting up seven and a half and three, respectively. The biggest hitter on the front line will be coming off the end, as Blake Smith tries to build on a junior campaign in which he led the team with eight and a half TFLs, an impressive number considering he had a total of just 23 stops overall in 12 games. Backing up Smith will be Matt Rupp, who could easily have a starting spot on almost any other team in the league after leading the Rams with four sacks on just 17 tackles a year ago. He didn't play a single down for the Rams a season ago, or for any other college team for that matter, yet redshirt freshman Ricky Brewer is still expected to be a huge force for the squad in 2007. The 6-2 linebacker led the entire state of Colorado in tackles as a high school senior in 2005 with 156 stops, which has many CSU fans foaming at the mouth as they await his arrival to the middle for the Rams. Returning starter Jeff Horinek will be there to guide the youngster along, as he tries to improve upon his 69 tackles from a season ago.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Averaging more than five punts per game, kicker Jimmie Kaylor played just well enough to get himself recognized, but not quite become the center of attention. To counter a pair of blocks, Kaylor landed 13 kicks inside the 20 of the opponent, one of the reasons why the Rams were able to hold opponents to less than 22 ppg. Kaylor is a senior this year, while placekicker Jason Smith tries to follow up a mediocre sophomore campaign when he knocked through just 8-of-15 attempts. In his defense, Smith was forced to try six of those from 40 yards and beyond, hitting just a single 49-yard effort in the process.

OUTLOOK: With a winning record against just three of the 12 opponents on the schedule for this season, the Rams have their work cut out for them and cannot take anything for granted. Entering his 15th season with CSU, Lubick is uniquely qualified to get this bunch back on track and perhaps even into the postseason if the chips fall just the right way. Although Colorado State has one of the longest lists of returning starters for 2007, the fact remains that the offense still needs to prove itself and the well-being of Bell is a huge factor.

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfoot/news/AFN4098274.htm
 
my abbreviated Buff game plan in response to the scouting reports i've read:

CU defense:

put the corners in man and stack the interior. bring the wood on blitzes inside and make sure that bell feels EVERY SINGLE TACKLE. test the knee and see if he is 100%. nicolas and hypo give us a big advantage up front. they need to make sure and bring the pain.

once the sheep realize they can't run, they are going to start to throw on every down (just like the last few years). lucas and friends need to get to the qb off the edge. hard. i suspect that sperry will have a pretty big day so the Buffs need to work him over and make it hurt. given time, hanie will make plays, so our Buffs need to get to him.

i believe the sheep offensive line is suspect. confuse them, physically control them, and they will crack.

CU offense:

the sheep think their d-line is the strength of their d. let's test that theory. you know they will stack the box and make cody prove he can beat them thru the air. they are going to be expecting a lot of 2 tight end stuff from us as that is where our Buffs appear strongest. i'd run right at them and see if we can beat them heads up early. then, i'd start throwing on their corners who i think are suspect. send the speed deep. once the sheep are backed off the line, then i'd start working the tight ends and the running game should open up a bit more. i think CU has to prove it can throw down the field to win this game.

GO BUFFS!
 
my abbreviated Buff game plan in response to the scouting reports i've read:

CU defense:

put the corners in man and stack the interior. bring the wood on blitzes inside and make sure that bell feels EVERY SINGLE TACKLE. test the knee and see if he is 100%. nicolas and hypo give us a big advantage up front. they need to make sure and bring the pain.

once the sheep realize they can't run, they are going to start to throw on every down (just like the last few years). lucas and friends need to get to the qb off the edge. hard. i suspect that sperry will have a pretty big day so the Buffs need to work him over and make it hurt. given time, hanie will make plays, so our Buffs need to get to him.

i believe the sheep offensive line is suspect. confuse them, physically control them, and they will crack.

CU offense:

the sheep think their d-line is the strength of their d. let's test that theory. you know they will stack the box and make cody prove he can beat them thru the air. they are going to be expecting a lot of 2 tight end stuff from us as that is where our Buffs appear strongest. i'd run right at them and see if we can beat them heads up early. then, i'd start throwing on their corners who i think are suspect. send the speed deep. once the sheep are backed off the line, then i'd start working the tight ends and the running game should open up a bit more. i think CU has to prove it can throw down the field to win this game.

GO BUFFS!

Not sure I completely agree on that defensive strategy. CSU's strength on offense is at WR, so I expect them to use the pass to open up the run for the first few series. I don't think we want to take the risk of leaving our CBs in man, at least not right away. Also, I don't think we need to blitz a whole lot because I think our d-line can create pressure on its own.

I like your offensive strategy though. I want to see an aggressive gameplan, and I want to see us test that secondary all day long.

The final element, special teams, needs to be at least adequate. Far too many times last year, we were dominated in the return game.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top