CU has a chance to topple overrated Kansas
Quarterback Todd Reesing confers with Kansas coach Mark Mangino.
Not because the Jayhawks are ranked 17th or because they have lost only six games since 2007, or even because their third-best offense in the country has scored at least 34 points in each of their five wins. No, the reason is mostly because Kansas has had a Buffalo killer under center.
Since coming into a game late in 2006, quarterback Todd Reesing has never lost to CU. A KU win Saturday in Boulder would mark the first time Kansas has won four straight against Colorado.
The Buffaloes hope to thwart Reesing’s plan and continue trying to salvage the 2009 season. It could happen. Kansas is overrated in the polls. Although 5-0, it hasn’t faced a tough opponent. Iowa State gave the Jayhawks a scare last week, proving their vulnerability.
Kansas has the a big soft spot with its pass defense, which ranks last in the Big 12. That’s why the first of this week’s three keys to the game is what everyone has been talking about recently.
LEAVE TYLER HANSEN IN THE GAME
At Tuesday’s media luncheon, the change at quarterback was the main subject of discussion. Coach Dan Hawkins started by clarifying what that change could mean for both players:
“I think there is a chance that both those guys will play. There are positives to it. You have two guys ready, you can kind of go with the hot-hand theory. I do think sometimes for a guy to step away and look and see the game from another perspective gives him a better angle of the game.”
Hawkins also said if Hansen were to get hot, Cody Hawkins might not see the field again. “Tyler is the guy right now,” Hawkins said. A smart move, giving the staff wiggle room depending on which scenario plays out. But the really smart move would be to try to stick with Hansen as long as possible. The redshirt is gone, and the timing with two freshmen quarterbacks probably wouldn’t allow for another chance to use it.
Two-quarterback systems work for most teams when they have streaky players. With this young offense, consistency seems to be more important. Cody Hawkins had been consistently sub-par, so it was time for a change. He hasn’t shown much of anything this year that would make anyone think he could come off the sidelines and change a game. Hansen deserves time to develop. Let him play the entire game against Kansas.
Hansen seems confident he can take over and keep any quarterback controversy from brewing.
“They named me official starter, and I’m a year older. People are expecting me to do better things and be more into the offense, as opposed to looking for the run first,” Hansen said. “The only thing you can control is yourself. I just need to go out and ball out, be the man for a bit, and everything will pan out the way I want it to.”
RUN SMARTER
According to running backs coach Darian Hagan, the 42-yard rushing total against Texas wasn’t so much a result of the Longhorns’ speed but of plays being run incorrectly. Rodney Stewart seemed anxious to try and take over in that game, looking for big runs on the outside, instead of making one cut and turning upfield. All that running around produced only 1.9 yards per attempt.
“They were his fault, every last one of them,” Hagan said. “He was bouncing plays he shouldn’t have been bouncing. He was supposed to read the defensive end and go inside on those losses.”
Stewart may need to slow down behind the line a little to read the gaps, and learn to settle for the short and medium gains, especially if he’s going to be the featured back in this offense. Fans still hope for the emergence of another back, and again we’re told Darrell Scott is healthy and will play more.
“He’s been getting his knee drained, and they’ve been taking stuff out of there. I don’t think he’s at 100 percent, but a lot of people aren’t at 100 percent,” Hagan said. “We had the intention (to play him more), but Speedy (Rodney Stewart) starts and gets so dang hot, then Texas started clogging up the box, where Speedy can find those holes that Scott would just put his head down on.”
DOUBLE TROUBLE
The Buffs’ defense has been making strides in their past three games. Pass coverage last week was solid, giving up only one long scoring play, and that was against the famed McCoy-Shipley tandem. The secondary needs to be twice as good, though, against Kansas, which has two receivers who can put the same kind of hurt on CU.
Dezmon Briscoe is second in the nation in receiving yards per game, with 129.3. His counterpart, Kerry Meier, is fourth in the category for receptions per game at 8.6. Both are halfway to 1,000-yard seasons, and both are big enough to give the Colorado cornerbacks problems. Each is 6-foot-3 and over 200 pounds.
Containing these two receivers will be critical or Kansas could repeat the offensive success it generated last week, when it had over 500 yards combined.
Editor’s note: Comments have been turned off on football stories involving CU to meet the university’s requirement for giving media credentials to Web site reporters and photographers.
