Week 10 opponent’s ‘modern’ offense akin to early 2000s Colorado’s

CU’s Week 10 opponent, Oregon State, has an offense akin to the Colorado football teams of the early 2000s according to Buffaloes Wire’s Tony Cosolo — who explained the “modern” twist that puts to use the arm talent of Beavers quarterback DJ Uiagalelei to go old school on the ground.

“I am envious of the Beavers’ offensive system,” Cosolo prefaced before saying, “It reminds me of CU’s power-running game of the early 2000s but with a modern twist. It’s close, but as of right now, Oregon State has called more running plays than passing plays (279 to 231). This allows the Beavers to beat up on the opposing lines while setting them up for the big play downfield.”

Oregon State’s rushing attack is led by second-year stud Damien Martinez, who is in a second-straight season of averaging over six yards per carry. Uiagalelei and Deshaun Fenwick lead the way in touchdowns with four and five, respectively. With the Beavs’ No. 33 offense in the country, Colorado’s defense will have their hands full in one of their final Pac-12 After Dark showings ever.

Colorado football defense must continue steady improvement since Week 5

Colorado’s run defense took some time to adjust, but once they did, the Buffs were able to stabilize following the 42-6 drubbing at the hands of Oregon, whose run game went for 240 on the ground in Eugene on September 23; as BuffZone’s Brian Howell points out.

“Defensively, CU had shown some improvement in the physical aspect of the game, stopping the run better in games 5-7, and racking up some tackles for loss,” Howell prefaced before saying, “UCLA had 218 yards on the ground, however, but the Buffs also had five TFLs and delivered some big-time hits that created turnovers.”

The run game will determine at least one-half of the Oregon State vs Colorado equation when the two teams take the field in Boulder on November 4.