MacIntyre: 'We have to find a way to beat Cal'
Instant Analysis: Buffs struggle on the road at wet, windy Washington St.
The good news for Colorado is the Buffaloes defense held Washington State’s Air Raid to 28 points Saturday night, a touchdown less than what the Cougars had been averaging coming into the game.
The bad news, of course, is the struggling Buffs offense scored 29.4 points and amassed 258.1 fewer yards than what they averaged through the first seven games in the dismal 28-0 loss at damp Martin Stadium.
By the time he sat down for his late night post-game press conference, an obviously displeased Mike MacIntyre was keen to put the troubling setback in the rear view mirror and focus on the California Golden Bears (4-4, 1-4) Saturday afternoon’s Homecoming opponent at Folsom Field (Noon, Pac-12 Network).
Colorado and Cal have experienced similar seasons in that both teams won their first three games before losing four of their last five. Since both teams are 1-4 in Pac-12 play, the loser of Saturday’s matinee is guaranteed to finish with a losing conference mark and faces a steep uphill battle to attain bowl eligibility.
Understanding the importance of the Cal game, MacIntyre made it plain he isn’t interested in discussing the last four games, just the next one.
“I’m not worried about the last four (games), I’m worried about Cal,” MacIntyre said. “We have to find a way to beat Cal. We’re home and we have Homecoming. If we play well, we could beat everybody we have left to play, no doubt about it. And we could lose to every one of them too. We have to find a way to get it done.
“We have to keep playing, keep fighting and hopefully find a way to beat Cal. We can still win four more games and win a bowl game. That’s our plan. We just have to go back and regroup. We just played a very good football team. We stayed in the game at times. We just couldn’t make enough plays offensively.”
If any Buffs player lacks motivation or starts feeling sorry for himself because the current season hasn’t lived up to expectations, MacIntyre won’t hesitate to pull him off the field.
“It shouldn’t be tough (to get motivated), and if they aren’t, I’ll put other guys in,” MacIntyre said. “I think they’ll play hard. They always do. They’ll keep fighting. Go back to the drawing board and get ready for Cal.”
A season after winning the Pac-12 South, Colorado finds itself buried in last place in the division. Only one other Pac-12 South team has won fewer than two conference games – Utah (1-3).
One thing we won’t know until later in the week – or perhaps right before kickoff – is the identity of Colorado’s starting quarterback as MacIntyre proclaimed a winner-take-all battle between Steven Montez and Sam Noyer this week in practice.
The Buffs’ poor offensive outing (174 total yards in 74 plays; 2.35 yards per play) overshadowed a respectable performance by CU’s defense after they struggled stopping the opposing offense the past three weeks. Arizona and Oregon State tallied 567 and 569 total yards, respectively, against Colorado in the previous two games.
The 406 yards generated by WSU Saturday night was the fewest given up to a Pac-12 foe in five conference games this season. The previous low had been 414 yards by Washington in the conference opener.
WSU didn't score until the 11:25 mark of the second quarter on the Cougars' fifth possession of the game. The scoreless first quarter was just the sixth involving the Buffaloes over the past 178 games dating back to 2003. The last scoreless first quarter was in 2012.
The opponent had scored in 15 straight quarters prior to Saturday night. Also, the CU defense had two QB sacks, the first since the UCLA game.
So while the Buffs offense took two big steps backwards, the D.J. Eliot-led defense took a couple of baby steps forward. However, the Buffs missed a couple of golden opportunities for interceptions that could have changed the complexion of the game. Going into Week 9, the Buffs are ninth in the Pac-12 in total defense (422.0 yards per game).
“We’ve played hard (on defense),” MacIntyre said. “Some of the other games we lost (Arizona, UCLA) came right down to the wire. This game and Washington, they put us way. We had a chance at a couple of Pick-6s. They hit us right in the hands and we would have walked right to the house. We had to make those plays too.”
Linebacker Rick Gamboa expects an intense week of practice as the Buffs get ready for Cal.
“We have to push it a little more, especially at practice, and the leaders have to hold people accountable,” Gamboa said. “I don’t think there are any off-the-field issues. Everybody is buying in. Everybody wants to win and everybody is giving it their all. It’s just little things here and there. Maybe we have to give more attention to detail in practice. Other than that, everybody is getting after it.”
PAC-12 RESULTS (Week 8)
Arizona State 30, Utah 10
UCLA 31, Oregon 14
Notre Dame 49, USC 14
Arizona 45, Cal 44 (2OT)
Washington State 28, Colorado 0
PAC-12 SOUTH STANDINGS:
USC 4-1 (6-2)
Arizona 3-1 (5-2)
Arizona State 3-1 (4-3)
UCLA 2-2 (4-3)
Utah 1-3 (4-3)
Colorado 1-4 (4-4)
