Season record: 4-2 +1.8 UNITS
Saturday half-time service: 3-2 +0.8 UNITS
One of our three plays for Saturday:
Washington Stat at Colorado (Under 51) - 12:30pm Pacific
The Cougars are now coached by Bill Doba, their former defensive coordinator. Doba is defensive minded and slightly more conservative than former coach Mike Price. WSU is not running as many four and five WR sets as they have in years past. Washington State has a solid but not spectacular first year starting QB in Matt Kegal. He is attempting to replace the school's all-time leading passer in Jason Gesser. Two of the top three receivers from last year departed. The Cougars feature two talented, bruising runners in seniors Jermaine Green and Jonathan Smith. What all of this means is a much more conservative game plan utilizing the strong running backs and controlling the clock with short passes. Last season, WSU beat Idaho 49-14, this year they won 25-0, big difference. 55 points were scored in last weeks Notre Dame loss, but 20 of those were direct results of turnovers and 3 more were scored in overtime.
Following the shutout (not an easy task) of Idaho in week one, the WSU defense was solid vs Notre Dame allowing only 9 points until a 4th quarter fumble put a tired Cougar defense right back on the field and set up an Irish touchdown. The Cougar defense notched 7 sacks and held Notre Dame to just 4-of-16 on 3rd down conversions. Sophomore punter Kyle Basler (Pac-10 honorable mention as a freshman) is a good one that often pins opponents inside their own 20.
Colorado only returns three starters from last season on offense. They have a good looking young QB in sophomore Joel Klatt who has led them to two victories but he is still very inexperienced. He completed 21-of-30 passes vs UCLA last week but only averaged 7.5 yards per completion with a long of just 18. The offensive line has four new starters and is shaky at best. They have already given up 10 sacks through just two games. This is another offense that would love to control the clock with runs and short passes. CU had a 10 1/2 minute time of possession edge on UCLA last week despite averaging just 3.1 yards per play.
In the preseason, talk was that this would be CU's best defensive unit since 1996. After giving up 500+ yards and 35 points in week one to instate rival Colorado State, the unit regrouped and showed what they are capable of last week. The CSU game was the first of the season and was played in a rainstorm. Last weeks performance vs UCLA is much more indicative of how good this defense really is. They did catch a bad break losing senior DE Maques Harris to a leg injury for the season but they only allowed 38 yards rushing on 30 attempts vs the Bruins. The front seven will still be strong. The secondary gets a boost this week with the return of senior strong safety Clyde Surrell who is back after serving a two game suspension. UCLA scored 14 points last week but probably should not even have scored that much. Both of UCLA's touchdown drives started in CU territory. One needed a 3rd & 30 conversion and the other was a 42 yard TD pass. Both were defensive breakdowns that CU does not expect to repeat.
Right now, the defense is clearly the strength of this Colorado football team. Washington State is a bit more balanced, but with new defensive minded coach I will say defense is their strength right now as well. WSU is coming off heartbreaking road loss at Notre Dame (hometown of coach Doba) and will be playing their second consecutive road game. Cougars will have some level of flatness. With CU playing at home, the Buffaloes should be able to control the tempo of the game and keep WSU's offense off the field. Both teams feature first year starting QB's. Both teams want to be successful running the ball and controlling the clock. Both defenses are solid. Take the under.
Under 51 1 UNIT
[This message was edited by The General on September 12, 2003 at 01:28 PM.]
Saturday half-time service: 3-2 +0.8 UNITS
One of our three plays for Saturday:
Washington Stat at Colorado (Under 51) - 12:30pm Pacific
The Cougars are now coached by Bill Doba, their former defensive coordinator. Doba is defensive minded and slightly more conservative than former coach Mike Price. WSU is not running as many four and five WR sets as they have in years past. Washington State has a solid but not spectacular first year starting QB in Matt Kegal. He is attempting to replace the school's all-time leading passer in Jason Gesser. Two of the top three receivers from last year departed. The Cougars feature two talented, bruising runners in seniors Jermaine Green and Jonathan Smith. What all of this means is a much more conservative game plan utilizing the strong running backs and controlling the clock with short passes. Last season, WSU beat Idaho 49-14, this year they won 25-0, big difference. 55 points were scored in last weeks Notre Dame loss, but 20 of those were direct results of turnovers and 3 more were scored in overtime.
Following the shutout (not an easy task) of Idaho in week one, the WSU defense was solid vs Notre Dame allowing only 9 points until a 4th quarter fumble put a tired Cougar defense right back on the field and set up an Irish touchdown. The Cougar defense notched 7 sacks and held Notre Dame to just 4-of-16 on 3rd down conversions. Sophomore punter Kyle Basler (Pac-10 honorable mention as a freshman) is a good one that often pins opponents inside their own 20.
Colorado only returns three starters from last season on offense. They have a good looking young QB in sophomore Joel Klatt who has led them to two victories but he is still very inexperienced. He completed 21-of-30 passes vs UCLA last week but only averaged 7.5 yards per completion with a long of just 18. The offensive line has four new starters and is shaky at best. They have already given up 10 sacks through just two games. This is another offense that would love to control the clock with runs and short passes. CU had a 10 1/2 minute time of possession edge on UCLA last week despite averaging just 3.1 yards per play.
In the preseason, talk was that this would be CU's best defensive unit since 1996. After giving up 500+ yards and 35 points in week one to instate rival Colorado State, the unit regrouped and showed what they are capable of last week. The CSU game was the first of the season and was played in a rainstorm. Last weeks performance vs UCLA is much more indicative of how good this defense really is. They did catch a bad break losing senior DE Maques Harris to a leg injury for the season but they only allowed 38 yards rushing on 30 attempts vs the Bruins. The front seven will still be strong. The secondary gets a boost this week with the return of senior strong safety Clyde Surrell who is back after serving a two game suspension. UCLA scored 14 points last week but probably should not even have scored that much. Both of UCLA's touchdown drives started in CU territory. One needed a 3rd & 30 conversion and the other was a 42 yard TD pass. Both were defensive breakdowns that CU does not expect to repeat.
Right now, the defense is clearly the strength of this Colorado football team. Washington State is a bit more balanced, but with new defensive minded coach I will say defense is their strength right now as well. WSU is coming off heartbreaking road loss at Notre Dame (hometown of coach Doba) and will be playing their second consecutive road game. Cougars will have some level of flatness. With CU playing at home, the Buffaloes should be able to control the tempo of the game and keep WSU's offense off the field. Both teams feature first year starting QB's. Both teams want to be successful running the ball and controlling the clock. Both defenses are solid. Take the under.
Under 51 1 UNIT
[This message was edited by The General on September 12, 2003 at 01:28 PM.]
