CU travels to Lawerence this Saturday to take on the Kansas Jayhawks at 12 noon mountain. CU has owned the last 5 straight against the Jayhawks but we’ve learned nothing is a given for the Buffs this season. The ‘Hawks started the season strong going 3-1 outside the Big 12 but have suffered 4 straight, very close loses losing by a combined 27 points. They’ve lost big leads and rallied from big defecits so they’re a team with guts but also a team prone to mental lapses.
This week I’ll start with the Defense since I tend to overlook them yet they continue to be the glue that holds this team together. KU’s TB Josh Cornish is averaging 120.1 yards a game (2nd in the Big 12) but CU’s defense (15th in the nation against the run) is only allowing a paltry 88 yards per game on the ground. Slowing Cornish down will put the brakes on KU’s offense overall. They’ve relied on the ground game to open up the field for a passing game that has been slow to develop but can catch fire at times. I’d expect to see big games out of Wright and Hypolite and wouldn’t be surprised to see us stacking 8 in the box early in the game to send a message and rattle QB Adam Barmann (Meier is out, shoulder) and contain Cornish. If Meier does find the time to pass he’ll probably be looking to hit either Marcus Henry or Dexton Fields both of whom have recently become favorite targets. KU has a tendency to like the vertical passing game so the Buffs secondary will be called on to break up the deep ball. The good news is safety JJ Billingsley will be in the lineup and we always have Terrence Wheatley (4 INTs, #1 in the Big 12) roaming the right side of the field looking to get 6 points. Overall I don’t expect to see our defense struggle against the Jayhawk’s offense no matter how they come at us.
Offensively…well what is there to be said that hasn’t been said before? I think offensively we’ll see everything we’ve come to expect from the CU offense (insert crickets chirping). B-Jax is second in the conference in rushing against Big 12 opponents and I imagine he’ll add to his rushing totals against the ‘Hawks. However, it is interesting to note that Coach Hawk did mention an interest in getting the CU vertical passing game ramped up. Perhaps we’ll see a CU QB (very well could be Cox) step up and look for targets down the field. I’ll go out on a limb and even say we could send Crawford, Barnett or Sprague down the field to give our offense some deep looks and keep Riar Geer as the safety valve. Geer is quickly showing that he is the kind of TE that can make things happen. The kind of tight end CU fans are used to seeing. Unfortunately it seems he gets overlooked all too often on game day. But with a renewed interest in passing and a QB that is a little shaky on the long ball watch for Geer to be given more quick out patterns with hopes he can rumble down field to move the chains. The backfield will be active as usual with Ellis, Charles and Holliday rotating in and out and hopefully wracking up yardage and taking the pressure off Jackson/Cox. The skittish Jackson has proven that he can throw accurately when given time to make his reads and set his feet. As has happened every week this season the offense will have it’s hands full with a tough defense but we can pick the Jayawks apart with a balanced attack and a couple of deep balls.
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that the Buffs have not been mathematically eliminated from a BCS bowl game. Let me walk you down the path…Colorado knocks off the Kansas schools, pulls out a last minute win in Boulder against Iowa State and rolls into Nebraska at 4-3 in the Big 12. Meanwhile Nebraska travels down to Oklahoma State and suffers another tough lose to the South but they rebound by spanking Missouri in Lincoln the following weekend and then roll through Texas A&M and come into Lincoln at 5-2 in the Big 12 to face the Buffs. The standard epic battle ensues the Friday after Thanksgiving in Lincoln and the Buffs manage to go ahead by 2 late in the 4th on a Crosby 55 yarder. We don’t squib kick the ensuing kickoff and manage to hold on for a win bringing both teams to 5-3. Having just won the head-to-head battle the Buffs own the tiebreaker against the Huskers. That just leaves Missouri and a complicated tiebreaker system that is too hard to figure out right now. Ideally we win that tiebreaker as well and head down to see Texas. Of course, for this fairytale to end in the Fiesta Bowl we have to beat Texas in the Championship game. Any given Saturday….

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