Colorado’s offense is experiencing some similar patterns under interim offensive coordinator Clay Patterson.
From squeezing out a win against Cal to a one-touchdown game against Oregon State, the Buffs remain one of the worst offenses in college football, averaging 286.1 yards per game (124th out of 131 FBS teams), scoring only 11 touchdowns this season (T-127th), completing just 52.5 percent of passes and averaging just 13.7 points per game (129th).
The Beavers exploited the Buffs’ lack of completions, conversions, pace, rhythm and overall, “We didn’t play well enough,” Patterson said.
“That’s the honest truth of it. We had opportunities to be in the game and to compete in that game and we just kind of keep making the same mistakes. We’ve got to go back to work and get that fixed in teaching these guys how to win games and not lose games is the deal, but it's not acceptable, and it's not good enough," he said. "You can't complete 40% of your balls and win football games. So we've got to get better and we gotta get better fast.”
Without an effective presence at quarterback, their inconsistencies persist week after week. Occasionally, the Buffs catch a quick break and are able to convert and advance, but a penalty, drop, interception or fumble often follows shortly thereafter. The Buffs had two fumbles and two interceptions against OSU.
Dating back to last season, Colorado has scored less than 21 points in 10 consecutive games, which is the longest active streak in the FBS. Patterson entered the revolving door that is CU’s offensive coordinator position and so far he’s 1-1, but only producing one touchdown and a field goal last weekend showed that he and the Buffs still have many offensive items to address.
“When we as coaches make mistakes we own up to that, let them know when we have failures and how we're gonna grow from it to teach them how to fail from their mistakes and grow,” Patterson said. “So that for us [is] the way we approach everything. And whether it's drops or MA's, not lining up correctly, we have to teach them how to, when they fail, how to come back from that. And that's where we're at, we [have] to have more confidence as an offense. When you're the worst offense in the country for two years, they don't have a lot of confidence, so we're trying to get that out of them.”
This week, Patterson and the coaching staff have assessed the statuses of running backs Deion Smith, Alex Fontenot and quarterback Owen McCown. Each are crucial additions to the offense’s production if available.
As of Tuesday, Smith had practiced in a “non-contact capacity,” according to interim head coach Mike Sanford. Smith practiced full contact after Tuesday and is trending to play on Saturday. Fontenot was cleared to practice as of Tuesday, but he may need one more week before participating on game day.
There were no updates on McCown as of Tuesday. "He is not there yet.” Sanford said.
“We're going to run the best plays possible to get our guys in a good situation, no matter who's in the game because we've been in and out all year, so whether it's tight end, quarterback, running back, O-line, receiver, we got to just put our guys in a good situation,” Patterson said. “I feel really good about Deion, what he was doing when he got injured. Having Jayle [Stacks] step up the way he did. Charlie [Offerdahl] is gonna continue to get better. For us, it's like if we can get multiple guys to be consistent in games, we're going to be in good shape.”
Drops from the receiving corps have hurt Colorado, but wide receiver RJ Sneed caught all three of his targets for 27 yards last time out. The Baylor transfer has somewhat flown under the radar this season, but his limited reps are due to the recovery process from his summer foot injury.
“He's got a lot of tread on his tires and we're trying to get him the ball as much as possible and use him to what he can do for us and he's very, very reliable,” Patterson said. “I have a lot of confidence in RJ, but it's our job to get him the ball, indicating where he needs to be. He's a great kid. He's an unselfish kid and absolutely love him being here. He's unfortunately got hurt and it does take time to come back from a former foot injury, but I feel good about where he's at right now.”
A similar set up to Colorado's lone victory over Cal awaits this Saturday against Arizona State. The Sun Devils are a 13.5-point favorite, Cal was 14, both teams have their own issues and the game is at Folsom Field. With similar circumstances, Patterson and the interim squad could have another chance to break those offensive patterns.
