Four keys for Colorado in its season-opener against UCLA

BOULDER – It’s almost here.

The Colorado Buffaloes will host the UCLA Bruins at Folsom Field in both teams’ season-opener at 5 p.m. Saturday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Here are the Buffs’ keys to victory:

Establish the run game

I mean, this was obvious, right?

With Sam Noyer starting a game at quarterback for the first time in his collegiate career, Colorado will need to rely heavily on the running game in Week 1. The Buffs’ offensive line is one of its most-expereienced and most-talented units and it will be on the big guys up front to take the pressure off of Noyer.

Running the ball will be just a little bit tougher this week with starting running back Alex Fontenot sidelined with an undisclosed injury for an undisclosed amount of time. Sophomore Jarek Broussard will take his place in the lineup and CU fans should expect a healthy dose of sophomore Jaren Mangham as well.

The UCLA linebackers are remarkably inexeperienced but Osa Odighizuwa could wreak havoc from his defensive tackle spot. The redshirt senior could have opted out of the 2020 season in favor of early NFL Draft prep, but chose to play out the final year of his career.

Outside of Odighizuwa, Colorado should like its matchups in the running game and winning those matchups will be crucial to the Buffs’ chances of victory.

Help Sam get rolling

The Buffs’ path to victory starts with running the ball behind its experienced offensive line…

But it’s 2020 and you’re not going to win a football game if you can’t throw the ball.

Colorado has to show UCLA that the passing game is a viable option and that it needs to be respected, otherwise the Bruins will be happy to load the box against a one-dimensional offense.

Offensive coordinator Darrin Chiaverini doesn’t need to put the team on first-time starter Sam Noyer’s back, but he’d better give him a couple of easy, early opportunities.  Find a way to get a few completions under Noyer’s belt early and the running backs will have more space to operate.

Plus, there’s a real chance that the Buffs will have to pass their way back into the game at some point, and the more confidence Chiaverini can build for his quarterback early in the game, the better CU’s chances of beating a weak secondary will be.

In the first 10 offensive plays, I’d like to see two easy completions (a screen and a slant?), with a deep shot to Daniel Arias to keep the defensive backs on their heels.

Generate pressure

If the Buffs’ offensive line isn’t the teams top group, then the defensive line is.

That will be important against Dorian Thompson-Robinson, one of the most electric quarterbacks in the Pac-12. If Thompson-Robinson is given time to make plays off script, the Buffs could be in for a long night.

Colorado was successful generating third-down pressure toward the end of 2019, primarily using exotic fronts to confuse offenses. With Chris Wilson now coaching the defensive line, there’s good reason to think that the Buffs will be able to generate more early-down pressure this time around.

The Buffs’ defensive linemen are now using a one-gap technique, which changes their priority from clogging up the line of scrimmage to getting into the backfield. In theory, that will lead to more tackles for loss and more pressure on the quarterback on non-passing downs.

If Thompson-Robinson is running for his life, it’s much less likely he’ll be able to make the Buffs pay with his legs. Who knows, the quarterback may even revert back to his turnover-prone ways.

Create energy

No Ralphie. No band. No. spirit squad. No fans.

Just “ambient noise.”

Folsom Field will be empty, other than media and under 1,000 friends and family of the players and coaches, and it’s going to be… weird.

The Buffs played the ambient noise over the speaker system at Folsom during their last two fall scrimmages and head coach Karl Dorrell said that it wasn’t really noticeable because it was so quiet.

Under these circumstances, teams will have to bring their own energy to the game and the team that does so most successfully will be at a significant advantage.

“Part of the discussion was that we have to manufactur our own excitement and readiness and just sustain that for 60 minutes,” Dorrell said. “That’s going to be hard on both teams.”

Maybe Dorrell can pull a card from Bill McCartney’s playbook and sneak new uniforms into the team’s lockers just before kickoff.