Double Take: Colorado’s offense starts slowly and the defense runs a 3-4

BOULDER — Welcome to Double Take, a new series where we break down what happened in CU’s previous game… after getting a chance to take a second look at what went down.

Colorado beat Northern Colorado 35-7 on Friday, but there were more points on Folsom Field. The Buffs didn’t score in the first quarter, and failed to cover the 38-point spread offered by Vegas.

There’s a lot to like but there’s plenty left to prove.

Here’s what we noticed during a second viewing.

The offense started slowly

Colorado didn’t score any points in the first quarter, which is unacceptable against a mid-to-low-level FCS opponent, and there’s plenty of blame to go around.

So, let’s pass out the blame.

On Colorado’s first two possessions, it didn’t pick up a first down.

Broussard stumbled on one run when he had a running lane and plowed forward into the defense instead of breaking another one outside. UNC committed more defenders to the run than CU had blockers and stuffed a third  attempt.

In the passing game, quarterback Brendon Lewis passed up two open receivers and threw the ball away on one play and checked a third-down pass attempt down to Broussard, who couldn’t pick up the 14 yards needed for a first down. On the other third down, Lewis ran short of the line to gain after passing up an open Brady Russell.

On the third drive, though, the offensive line nearly squandered a great opportunity before it could start.

After a Dimitri Stanley punt return and a late hit call set the Buffs up inside the UNC 30, Colorado picked up a few yards on a first-down run. The Bears showed a light box, giving Colorado an extra blocker, but two defensive backs blitzed, which flipped the numbers game into UNC’s favor. (If Lewis had made threatened the Bears in the passing game, UNC may have been scared to commit too many defenders to the run.)

On 2nd & 7, Colorado tried to pass but both of Colorado’s tackles—Jake Wiley and Chance Lytle—were beaten badly off the snap and Lewis was sacked.

On 3rd & 19 (following a Brenden Rice false start), Lytle couldn’t get a hand on UNC’s edge rusher, forcing Lewis out of the pocket despite Russell coming open on a second third-down post route that would have given the Buffs a first down. A roughing-the-passer call elongated the drive, giving CU its first first down of the game.

Lytle missed a block on the first-down run, closing out a mistake-laden three-play stretch. (He played much better for the rest of the game, but with Max Wray sitting on the bench and Frank Fillip on his way back in a couple of weeks, Lytle may be on the hot seat.)

Colorado scored a touchdown a few plays later (with Montana Lemonius-Craig lead blocking ?) and the offense got the job done the rest of the way.

Excluding the two end-of-half drives when CU was attempting to run out the clock, the Buffs scored touchdowns on five of their seven possessions. They tried a 53-yard field goal on another.

But that slow start will absolutely be stuck in fan’s minds going forward.

Brendon Lewis was too conservative

On second watch, there isn’t much to add about Brendon Lewis’ night that hasn’t already been said; he was too conservative, he missed a big-time throw, and he wasn’t quite as efficient as you’d like… although he was pretty close.

It’s hard to count the freshman quarterback’s mistakes. Passing up Brady Russell when he’s near the sticks on third-and-long (as noted in the two instances above) probably counts as a mistake… but the passing windows definitely weren’t large and the primary objective in the passing game against a significantly inferior opponent has to be protecting the ball.

I don’t know how hard to knock Lewis for being overly-conservative, but I do know that he didn’t take everything that the defense gave him, and that won’t fly on Saturday if CU wants a chance to upset Texas A&M. He’ll have to—at a bare minimum—hit the medium-window throws… and probably a couple of tight-window throws, too.

In particular, Lewis seemed uncomfortable (I think that’s the right word) when he had to trust his receivers. Russell’s post routes are examples, and so is the second-down play on the second drive, when Brenden Rice was breaking inside on a dig route at the sticks but Lewis was looking at the other side of the field. Lewis should have known he had man coverage because a defender matched the pre-snap motion. A dig route, especially with how far off of Rice the cornerback was, should have been a guarantee. Maybe somebody was open on the other side but, regardless, Lewis had an open receiver and didn’t get him the ball.

(This was the best angle. Rice is at the bottom of the screen with his defender in the corner.)

Lewis did better when the receivers were schemed open. His first non-check down completion came on a mesh concept, when receivers on opposite sides of the formation ran crossing routes, and another receiver sat behind them in the middle of the field, creating more receivers than defenders in the middle of the field. Lewis read that Russell would be open and hit him to create a third-and-short.

On Colorado’s touchdown drive, Lewis completed another pass that was essentially “schemed” open. Broussard ran to the flat out of the shotgun, Russell ran an out route at the sticks and Lemonius-Craig sat in between them on a curl route. The idea was to spread UNC vertically on the sideline. Two defenders committed to Broussard (and one pushed him over). Lemonius-Craig came open, and Russell came open after the ball was released.

Lewis doesn’t seem to have a processing issue, as much as he has trouble either seeing that his receivers are going to come open, or trusting what he sees in those one-on-one matchups. A lot of the trouble seems to come from his inability to see both sides of the field, which is common for young quarterbacks. That also explains why he excels when he can roll out of the pocket, allowing him to lock in on that side of the field.

I’d expect to see more play-action bootlegs against Texas A&M. Hopefully those will come from under center.

The defense runs a 3-4

Colorado rolled out its first depth chart of the season last week and there was a massive surprise: the defense was listed as a base 4-3.

On Friday, Colorado exclusively ran a 4-3 defense, unless it was in sub-packages.

We expect new defensive coordinator Chris Wilson to be very multiple this season, showing a variety of formations. He’s told reporters of his plans to do exactly that.

It’s worth paying attention to whether Colorado runs a 4-3 at all vs. Texas A&M.

One concern with the 4-3 was that CU’s outside linebackers were now being placed at defensive end, despite all four on the depth chart being listed as under 250 pounds. It’s worth noting that Carson Wells successfully used his quickness against offensive tackles on Friday when he had his hand in the dirt in nickel and dime packages. Obviously, A&M will be a tougher challenge.

Chris Miller plays the Mo

With Robert Barnes sidelined with a groin injury, Colorado turned to Chris Miller to fill the Mo role—which is what CU calls its dime linebacker position.

The results were about what you’d expect:

1. Miller excelled in coverage in the middle of the field.
2. Miller struggled taking on offensive linemen when playing the run.

If Barnes can’t play against A&M, look for CU to change things up in the Mo role.

If I were in charge, I’d play Miller there in absolute throwing situations (like 3rd & 6+) but on 2nd & 10s, I’d look to Jack Lamb or another linebacker to take the job.

Miller primarily played the Star/nickel role, and when he moved to the Money position, Mekhi Blackmon took his spot and Nigel Bethel filled in as the boundary cornerback.