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BOULDER – The UCLA Bruins come into Boulder on Thursday minus one key aspect of their team, perhaps even their best player. Sophomore quarterback Josh Rosen will likely miss the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury. The preseason Heisman candidate has had a disappointing year, just like the 3-5 Bruins. But where one team has misfortune another sees opportunity.
Under the brights lights on a big stage, the Colorado Buffaloes not only have a great shot at winning, they have a chance to impress a national audience for which has not seen a game of theirs since the Rocky Mountain Showdown. This isn’t some pundit talking either, the players believe this. The Buffs will take care of UCLA and handily if they do this one thing right. At least, according to defensive lineman Jordan Carrell.
“UCLA does a lot of different things,” Carrell told Tuesday. “At the beginning of the year, they were pretty balanced, as the year has progressed they’ve become more one dimensional… I think they’re going to come out early and try to establish the run like they did with Stanford, they tried to pound the ball at the start and they had a little bit of success. They tried the same thing against Utah and it didn’t go so well, if we can fill our roles and let our secondary play how they play, I believe we have the best secondary so if we force them to pass, I don’t think they have a chance.”
Carrell’s coach pumped the breaks a slight bit, however:
“Mike Fafaul really play well last week and each week since he’s come in he’s gotten better,” Mike MacIntyre said. “He’s making all the throws, he’s an older kid, he’s made a lot of plays. But their offense has changed a little bit with him and it has been interesting to watch what they’ve done. They’ve thrown the ball a ton, they’ve got great skilled athletes to get the ball in space, it’s gonna be extremely tough for us.”
But both MacIntyre and Carrell agree on what the key to the game is:
“The number one thing is we have to be able to pass rush,” MacIntyre mapped out. “We need to have good coverage”
One of the players that is essential to making sure that goal is accomplished is Carrell — and he has gotten better and better as the season has progressed.
“Jordan Carrell got stronger over the offseason,” MacIntyre described. “He got more powerful, he harasses the quarterback a lot even though he may not have a lot of sacks, he’s in the pocket and he’s making them move.”
So if the Buffs are able to force the Bruins to pass, that not only means a win for CU in Carrell’s eyes but probably a huge game for the likes of Carrell, Jimmie Gilbert and Josh Tupou.
“I’m coming after them for sure,” Carrell said.
