Bobby Bowden and Florida State come calling on Saturday night in the home opener for the Buffs. Coming off of a tough loss to Arizona State, Colorado will need to put the past behind them if they hope to have any chance against the Seminoles. While Florida State seems to be having another “down” year, they are still loaded with speed and talent on both sides of the ball and will hold the decided advantage when it comes to experience. Many will write off the Buffs after the dismal loss to Arizona State, but this team has shown that it’s resilient and I expect them to come out with their heads up and ready to play.
When Colorado has the ball: After looking impressive against Colorado State, the Buff offense was plain awful against the Sun Devils last week. The running game was non-existent as Sumler was stuffed early and often. Coach Hawkins pointed out that Sumler seemed to get discouraged and started giving up, as is typical of a young player. Let’s hope that Demetrius uses last week as a learning experience and puts it behind him. It may not matter, however, as the Buffs expect to have Hugh Charles back this week and hopefully they’ll be able to take advantage of his speed on the outside. It also looks like some of the highly touted freshman offensive lineman, including Ryan Miller, may make their debuts on Saturday night to help in keeping the guys up front fresh. The passing game was almost as bad as the running game against the Devils and the Buffs will have to work hard to get out of that funk. Cody made a number of good long throws, but his short passes lack some zip. The current set of receivers, excluding the surprising Scotty McKnight, can’t seem to catch worth a crap. I look for the return of Josh Smith to help open up the deep passing game. What I’ve yet to understand is why we’re not using the tight ends more. The Buffs have one of the deepest stables of TEs in the county, yet they only have 6 catches between them through the first two games. Expect to see that change against the Seminoles.
When Florida State has the ball: The Buff defense looked tough to start the game against Arizona State, but the combination of the heat, the lack of depth, and the ineffectiveness of the offense caused them to wear down and start giving up plays. The lack of depth is going to be an issue all year and the effectiveness of the defense may continue to hinge on how well the offense performs. Florida State has not looked impressive on offense in their first two games, but the Buffs D-Line will have to get pressure on Weatherford in order to prevent him from picking the secondary apart. Look for Wheatly, Dizon, and Walters to continue to have big games, but this defense really needs one of the big boys (Boye-Doe?) to make an impact if they have any hope of stopping the FSU offense.
Special Teams: The Buffs are hoping to have continued success in both the kickoff and punt returns as I believe that winning the field position battle will be key if the Buffs have any chance up getting the upset. That also means that Matt DiLallo will need to continue to punt well (and hopefully not throw any more passes). If the game comes down to field goals, Florida State looks to have the edge as Cismesia is perfect on the season while Eberhart still looks a little tentative to me.
Overall: On paper, this looks like a solid win for the Seminoles as they obviously have more experienced talent on the field. However, if the young Buffs can limit their mistakes and keep it close going into the fourth quarter, anything can happen. I already picked the upset in the weekly picks, so I’ll do it again. Colorado 30 Florida State 27
* One note for fans going to the game: The students are trying to organize a “Blackout” for the game where all fans wear black. I don’t think it will succeed since the papers aren’t publicizing it, but we can all do our part.

Related posts:

  1. K-State Pre-Game
  2. Big Game Preview – ASU @ CU Preview
  3. Missouri Pre-Game