hawaii won because of the following:
we couldn't trust our secondary, heads-up. so, brown sent the house on nearly every play. the result was that the middle was wide open, allowing for big scrambles and all the rest.
it wasn't a horrible performance--- it just is what it is. they were trying to cover up a weakness and they got exploited by a very good qb. once he proved he could scramble up the middle like that, it was all over for CU.
additionally, this team just doesn't know how to win. they had a chance to make some plays that would have turned it around --- they were close, and just like the last few years, they failed to close the deal.
finally, i am actually somewhat encouraged. i was really hoping to get a win out of this one. but, at least we appear to have a staff with a plan-- compare this to the montana state debut with hawkins and you'll see we at least have a chance to improve.
ultimately, however, we know what we already knew-- a brutal schedule and not enough talent is going to take its toll this year.
Agree with this post.
We actually had them on the ropes. Had the offense been able to stick the ball in the end zone rather than kick a FG after the fumble recovery in the third quarter I think that Hawaii would have folded like napkin. To their credit and our fault we let them off the hook and even though the FG brought us to within a TD they could take momentum off the field because they stopped us.
Hawkins left a few good players but for the most part this team has a lack of talent across the board including a distinct lack of playmakers on both offense and defense.
The O-line had a terrible night. They simply failed to consistently control the line of scrimmage on both running and passing plays. I saw some attempts to be more physical than we are used to but missed assignments, poor coordination, and inconsistent effort doomed the game from early on.
Speedy had a few good runs (including a couple big ones that got called back for stupid penalties) but overall danced to much, missed holes when he had them, and went down with little to no contact on multiple carries.
Hansen was Hansen, he is a servicable FBS starting QB, he isn't a difference maker. I disagree with the earlier post that said Cody was better, Hansen can do and does more on the field. He has better mobility, a better arm, and makes better reads. He lacks some of Cody's accuracy but Cody lost that edge due to his lack of vision. Hansen was not able to make something out of nothing and at times missed some opportunities but averall he was neither the problem or the solution.
PRich is a difference maker, unfortunately to do his thing requires time for him to get downfield and the QB to find and hit him, this was lacking and with the failure of the running game Hawaii could overload on him on to many occasions. McCulloch looks like a serious contributor for the future as well, gets open and catches the ball in traffic. The fact that Cefalo was our other WR with catches shows exactly how devoid of talent Hawk left this position.
TEs as a part of the offense was good to see. Five receptions, three from Deehan show that the TE is back in the passing offense, unfortunately the TEs were less than effective as blockers on a frequent basis and Hawaii took advantage. Our TEs have to get better if this offense is going to work.
D-line Inconsistent as well but some sparks to provide optimism. A number of the big plays for Hawaii came when the D-line forced Moniz to break off the play and the LBs and DBs failed to follow up. DTs did well and we got some pressure from the outside, tackling could have been better.
The LBs were very inconsistent as well. Outside of Major we simply lack athleticism at the LB spot. Way to many situations were they were a step behind and a reaction late. With our problems in the defensive backfield these guys simply have to take care of their responsibilities because the safeties are going to be to busy trying to cover for the corners.
Not unexpected but the defensive backfield struggled. The pass coverage actually wasn't that bad but they missed multiple opportunities to make plays and it just didn't happen. Coverages were missed, tackles where blown, and they failed terribly to recognize when plays broke down and to respond to the scrambles. Sandersfeld also could have put the nail in the Hawaii coffin when he flat dropped an interception on the drive after the Buffs pulled to within 7. He would have been off to the races and had the tieing TD in his hands and Hawaii would have folded at the time, instead he drops it, Hawaii scores and game over.
Our punting was very good but a bit slow, we need to get the punt off faster, protect better, or we will have some punts blocked. Place kicking was good as well, better than the adventures of the past. Our return game shows the lack of athleticism, didn't contribute much through most of the game. We didn't give up any returns but I worry about that part of the game as well.
Overall I was disapointed, CU should be beating teams like Hawaii soundly but I did see some signs for hope. If we can survive this year I saw a team that was adapting but getting better in a lot of ways.