CU offense has legs

Buffs master new system while OU will miss Peterson

B.G. Brooks, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 21, 2006 at midnight

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In college football, so much can change so fast - or take so long to develop.

Who could have predicted by the time the Colorado Buffaloes visited Oklahoma, the Sooners would be the team scrambling to resurrect their running game while the one-win Buffs would be leading the Big 12 Conference in rushing?

But that becomes the central story line today as CU, boasting a rejuvenated rushing attack, seeks its second victory, while Oklahoma takes a shaky first step in coping with the loss of All-America tailback Adrian Peterson.

It required a month of attending to details - not to mention suffering through six consecutive defeats - but the Buffs have begun running with the fervor new coach Dan Hawkins wants. Through three Big 12 games, admittedly not the measuring stick available in late November, CU's 229.0 rushing average is the conference's best.

Improvement has been gradual, often painful. But over the past five games, the Buffs have averaged 198.3 yards on the ground, noticeably more in line with what Hawkins was accustomed to at Boise State, where his final team ran for 215 yards a game (35 touchdowns) and passed for 214 (19 TDs).

The passing portion of CU's offense has (air) miles to make up, but as long as the ground game is progressing, the Buffs believe if mistakes are kept to a minimum, they can remain in most games - particularly today's.

"I think we've got everything down and know all of our calls . . . we're just clicking as a unit right now," CU junior left tackle Tyler Polumbus said. "It just takes time in a new system to get everything together."

The biggest difference in his unit's play from Sept. 2 to today, said offensive line coach Chris Strausser, has been comprehension and execution of technique that resembled last season's in terminology but was night-and-day different in the details.

Blocking angles, hand-placement and footwork changed. "Forget the 'bucket step,' " Polumbus said. "But there isn't necessarily too many differences in calls, where you're going, who you're blocking."

Couple the O-line's increasing familiarity in what Hawkins and Strausser expect with better recognition by the running backs and the improvement shows.

"My guys have begun believing in what we say. They've gotten the message, the big picture, on running hard all the time - and it's showing," said running backs coach Darian Hagan, pointing to junior tailback Hugh Charles as his Exhibit A.

"Hugh might have known in the past that the job was his. Now, he knows he's got to perform all the time or he won't play. It's made him a better runner."

Also, a mobile quarterback - junior Bernard Jackson - offers a dimension defenses don't dare ignore, and that enhances CU's running capabilities.

"Every defensive coach will tell you a quarterback who can run with the ball is a little scary," Hawkins said. "Clearly, he can get out of some jams and make some big things happen.

"And I think it has its effects in other ways. You look at defenses and how they play against us, there's some concern about him running with the ball, so that eliminates some of the stuff they want to do up front. Get into coverage aspects, and teams want to play man, but somebody has to account for the quarterback . . . it has residual effects on the rest of the offense as well."

Oklahoma's offense, accustomed to 155.8 ground yards a game from Peterson, hopes to compensate for his loss - he suffered a broken collarbone last week - with juniors Allen Patrick and Jacob Gutierrez.

In four games last season, they combined for 552 yards while Peterson was battling an ankle injury, and chances are good they will share the load today - unless Patrick, who is scheduled to start, runs effectively early.

The Sooners have played mediocre run defense, yielding 122.0 yards a game (106.5 in conference play), while the Buffs have allowed 77.4 (80.3).

If CU and Oklahoma swapped defensive game plans, no one might notice. The Buffs want to make quarterback Paul Thompson the only ingredient in the OU offense, the Sooners want to lay an identical burden on Jackson.

The offense avoiding that, while running effectively, takes a big step toward winning. If it is CU, it will be the school's first win over a ranked team in 13 tries and the first road victory against a Top 25 team since Sept. 21, 2002 (at No. 20 UCLA).

Colorado at Oklahoma

• The game: 5:10 p.m. MDT today, Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (82,112 capacity), Norman, Okla.

• The records: CU is 1-6 overall, 1-2 in Big 12 Conference; No. 20 Oklahoma is 4-2, 1-1.

• The series: Oklahoma leads 38-16-2, including a 20-7 advantage in Norman.

• TV/radio: Fox Sports Net; KOA-AM (850).

• Who's favored: Oklahoma by 14.

• Key injuries: CU: S J.J. Billingsley (knee) and C Mark Fenton (cracked fibula) are out. DE Alex Ligon (knee) is day to day. Oklahoma: TB Adrian Peterson (broken collarbone) is out. S Reggie Smith (knee) is probable.

Five key questions

1 What carryover will there be from the Buffs' first win in seven tries?

2 Can CU sustain the running attack generated over the past two games?

3 Will CU be able to build on the progress shown last week in the passing game?

4 How effective will the Sooners offense be without tailback Adrian Peterson?

5 Given the adversity faced this season, is Oklahoma fraying at the edges?

brooksb@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5466

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