How "really good intel" from Mike Sanford is helping the Buffs this week

Colorado wraps up their out-of-conference schedule with another tough opponent as they travel to Minnesota to take on a Gophers team that beat them 30-0 one year ago.

It’s been a brutal stretch for the Buffs who are looking to find any type of offensive momentum before heading into PAC-12 conference play.

We will get confirmation tomorrow, but at least the quarterback position has stabilized somewhat assuming J.T. Shrout will start for the Buffs again this Saturday.

Running back Deion Smith and linebacker Quinn Perry played really well and managed to stand out against Air Force on what was an ugly day in terms of the weather and level of play for Colorado’s offense.

Smith talked about how he’s been trying to provide a spark for the offense these first two games. He managed to lead the Buffs in rushing last week and had a career-long run of 25 yards that went for a touchdown in the first half. 

The Buffs’ offense shot themselves in the foot multiple times against Air Force which is why Deion Smith says the focus this week is on the details.

“We need to be a little bit more detail-oriented,” Smith said. “When we watched the tape, we were so close. We were building momentum but it’d be just some small little thing that kept us from converting or building on that momentum and putting the ball in the endzone.”

Buffs’ offensive coordinator, Mike Sanford, and tight ends coach, Clay Patterson, were on the opposite sideline in this matchup last year. Deion Smith talked about the advantage the Buffs have in this year’s matchup because of those coaches.

“Definitely some useful insight on how they match personnel with us and how they substitute players,” Smith said. “It’s really good intel, I feel like we’ll be way more prepared this year than we were last year.”

Complimentary football and offensive balance have become common terms for Colorado coaches and players. Quinn Perry thinks that if the offense can begin to find a rhythm, the Buffs have a special defense that they can lean on.

“We say every day we have a championship-level defense,” Perry said. ”I think once we all connect and link up on the same page will be very hard to get past.”

Perry also talked about how both sides of the ball are staying supportive and united as the offense continues to work on a sizeable amount of issues.

“I want to see the offense do amazing things,” Perry said. “If they don’t do it, that’s okay. It gives us another opportunity to show what we can do. This week I know they’re gonna get it done. I’m excited to see how they can play.”

During the post-game press conference last Saturday, coach Dorrell and junior guard, Casey Roddick brought up the talk the Buffs had in the locker room immediately after the loss to Air Force. Deion Smith and Quinn Perry gave their thoughts on that talk and what’s happening on both sides of the ball to make sure something like Saturday “doesn’t happen again”.

“We’re not locking in enough,” Smith said. “We’ve just been trying to ingrain that into us where when we get into those situations, it’s less of ‘I have to think about this’ and it’s more like a reflex.”

“We play for one another at the end of the day,” Perry said. “Coaches are there to teach us but we play for one another. Those are my brothers. I don’t want to let them down. I want to make sure that they know that I’m going to do my job every play. That they can rely on me if they leave a gap open for me to fill, I’m going to fill the f—– gap every play.”

Saturday will be a huge challenge for the Buffs as they face another offense that is extremely potent in the run game.

If the offense and quarterback struggle to build momentum and find the end zone again this weekend, this game could follow a script similar to TCU and Air Force.