Colorado hosts Northern Colorado on Saturday as the Buffs gear up for their Pac-12 showdown against Washington next week. We look at five questions that surround Colorado football in the article below.
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1. Will the offense explode?
Through two games this season, the Colorado offense ranks No. 101 in the country in rushing yardage per game. Averaging just 27 points per game during this young season against two non-P5 teams, the Colorado offense needs to get back on track and reach their potential.
There's no question that the Buffaloes have one of the most talented offensive rosters in the country on paper. CU needs to reach that potential on the field Saturday to gear up for their huge Pac-12 opener against Washington.
Colorado quarterback Steven Montez is confident that they will start clicking offensively.
“I don’t think there is any concern,” Montez said. “It takes a couple of weeks to start clicking. We’re just starting to get that chemistry with the offense.”
Colorado is meeting Northern Colorado for the first time in 83 years on the gridiron. UNC defeated NAIA opponent College of Idaho in week one, and their game against Florida last week was cancelled due to Hurricane Irma threats.
The Buffaloes are on a completely different talent level than UNC, so if Colorado doesn't easily manhandle this team early and often, then there is a problem.
2. Can Colorado go three games without allowing a touchdown?
Air Force leads the nation in scoring defense. They played one game this season and shutout Virginia Military Institute.
Tied in second place in scoring defense in the FBS is Colorado and Vanderbilt - both teams allowing just six points through two games. But Vandy has allowed a touchdown and Colorado has not.
At the end of the day, these statistics don't really mean anything, but it does show Colorado's dominating defensive play in 2017. The Buffs shut down a high flying Colorado State offense and a Texas State offense that was quarterbacked by a former Mississippi State quarterback.
The Buffs have their easiest opponent of the season on Saturday and should be able to pitch a shutout.
3. Will the offensive line play improve?
I mentioned the Colorado rushing woes earlier in this article, but the Buffs get a big boost with left tackle and captain Jeromy Irwin returning to the lineup. Tight end George Frazier will also play in his first game this season as both players were suspended due to a violation of team rules.
Running back Phillip Lindsay was limited to just 87 yard on 26 carries against Texas State. It was a very lackluster performance by the CU rushing attack as Lindsay's longest run went for nine yards.
But with Irwin and Frazier back on Saturday, the Buffaloes should be much improved.
"[Irwin] and George will be back this week; we’re excited to have them back," MacIntyre said. "I think that’ll definitely help our offense."
4. Which true freshman will we see?
Offensively, four true freshmen have seen the field. Tight end Jared Poplawski has been in the tight end rotation but has not caught a pass yet.
The DeSoto, Texas true freshmen wide receivers K.D. Nixon and Laviska Shenault have been getting in the wide receiver rotation sparingly. We figure to see these two guys a bunch against Northern Colorado. It will be interesting to see whether or not the Buffs play running back Alex Fontenot or keep his redshirt on.
Defensively, expect to see linebackers Jacob Callier and Dante Sparaco early and often as we have seen the past couple of weeks. Callier has especially been impressive and made an impact right away in the CSU game by recording a sack.
5. Will the kicking game stay impressive?
Colorado head coach Mike MacIntyre spoke on a number of occasions about the kicking game during fall camp and had great things to say. It turns out that it wasn't just coach talk either.
Punter Alex Kinney is averaging 45.7 yards per punt and has six punts downed inside the 20 and three punts over 50 yards.
Aussie kicker James Stefanou missed his first field goal attempt against CSU, but in last week's game, the 30-year-old was perfect on his attempts - nailing three kicks, including a 40-yarder.
The Buffs need their kicking game to continue playing at this level to play at a high level in the Pac-12.
