Chris Wilson hopes his defense can help out CU's struggling offense

BOULDER — Chris Wilson hasn’t had a chance to watch much of Colorado’s offense.

“I get so enthralled in what we’re doing on defense,” the defensive coordinator said. “I know it sounds almost cliche—and we’re all aware of our situation, don’t get me wrong—but I really just focus on getting the ball back. And if I can live in that world, it makes it better for everybody.”

He isn’t missing much; Colorado’s offense is 129th out of 130 teams in total yards and points per game. They’re 127th in passing yards, only ahead of three service academies that run triple-option offenses. Through five games, the offense is ugly.

“I just try to stay in the moment and say, ‘How are we getting this ball?'” he said.

Wilson, as he mentioned above, is aware of Colorado’s situation. The offense needs all the help it can get, and that means creating as many short fields as possible.

“When you can get off the field and get three-and-outs you set up field position and that’s our goal at the end of the day is to give our guys the ball back with great field position,” Wilson said.

While Colorado’s defense has been one of the better groups in the Pac-12 so far this season, it hasn’t produced many turnovers. In particular, Colorado has only picked off one pass, and it came against Northern Colorado in the season-opener.

One reason for the lack of interceptions is that CU plays so much man coverage. In man coverage, defenders often have their back to the quarterback and can’t make a play on the ball. In zone, defenders have their eyes forward so they can see plays develop.

Wilson doesn’t like zone coverage.

“You see the throw, you see it caught,” Chris Wilson said.

When you’ve got lockdown cornerbacks on both sides of the field, it’s tough to justify having them sit back and play zone coverage, and it’s clear that Wilson is sticking to his guns. The changes you see this week will be subtle.

“The bye week for our staff was really a chance for us to get to dig into our schemes and evaluate our personnel, so that was really critical for us,” Wilson said. “Looking at some of the things that we do well, and making sure we keep emphasizing those things, but also having really good self awareness about the things that we need to improve on.”

One of the major points of emphasis will be taking away “hidden yards.”

Against USC, Colorado gave up 3.4 yards per rush attempt after contact. That means 119 of the 218 rushing yards that Colorado allowed came after a defender got a hand on the ball-carrier. That was the most yards after contact in a game for USC this season, and the third-most per carry.

Part of the reason for USC’s success on the ground, according to Wilson, was the fact that the CU defense had to place extra emphasis on defending the passing game, leaving fewer defenders to stop the run.

“The biggest thing for us is population,” Wilson said. “The way you eliminate those explosives is getting more population from everybody on the football.”

This week’s opponent won’t have the same offensive firepower that USC did.

Arizona has struggled offensively, though not to the degree that CU has. The Wildcats benched quarterback Gunner Cruz, but thanks to an injury to the new starter, Cruz will be making the start on Saturday. His offense is ranked 10th in the Pac-12 in yards per game and 11th in points.

“I’m sure they’re in the same process we are; they’re learning from their mistakes,” Wilson said. “What you’re seeing is that they are a young, talented team. They’re doing some really good things defensively, which makes it hard. And they’ve got some really good skill on the perimeter. So we’ve got to go after them and treat them with the same respect as we treated every other opponent.”