Three questions ahead of Colorado's matchup with Arizona State

BOULDER — The Buffs are trying to get back on track.

Colorado will take on the Arizona State Sun Devils Saturday night at Sun Devil Stadium. ASU is coming off a loss to No. 23 BYU that knocked the Sun Devils out of the Top 25.

The Buffs are coming off of a 30-0 loss to Minnesota, a game in which Colorado was favored.

Here’s what we’re wondering as they head into Week 4.

Can Darrin Chiaverini put up some points?

There’s a lot on the line this week for Darrin Chiaverini.

Colorado’s offensive coordinator’s reputation has gone up in flames over the past couple of weeks, as the Buffs have only put up seven total points in the last two games.

Yes, Colorado has faced some tough defenses.

Yes, Brendon Lewis has struggled as Colorado’s quarterback.

Yes, Jarek Broussard has been in and out of the lineup in that time.

But the bottom line is this: Colorado has 117 yards and 0 points over the past six quarters.

If the Buffs can’t pick up the pace soon, structural changes have to be on the way.

So far, Karl Dorrell has held off on making any bold decisions; he hasn’t removed Chiaverini from his offensive coordinator position and he hasn’t taken away play-calling responsibilities either. Dorrell said he’d spend more time in the offensive meetings, though, and this is the first week that we’ll see the effects of that decision.

Whether Dorrell is calling every shot in every meeting or just lending a subtle helping hand is unknown. Regardless, having at least a couple more of his fingerprints on the game plan can’t hurt matters.

This is a big week for the offense. Chiaverini, Lewis and the offense as a whole need to show progress.

Can Colorado bounce back in the trenches?

The Buffs beat up on Northern Colorado in the trenches in Week 1.

Then they held their own against Texas A&M in Week 2.

Against Minnesota, all progress was lost.

The Buffs sustained some injuries along the offensive line, but they were struggling well before those injuries became a factor. Minnesota’s front-seven pushed them around, penetrated into the backfield and just flat-out won against the Buffs.

That’s a major reason why Colorado finished the game with a total of -19 rushing yards in the game.

That, obviously, can’t happen again.

The Buffs will likely continue to rotate the offensive linemen. Karl Dorrell says he wants about seven offensive linemen in his rotation but that rotation is tough to project.

The starting offensive line against Minnesota looked like this:

Max Wray—Kary Kutsch—Noah Fenske—Casey Roddick—Jake Wiley

But Colby Pursell was out with a non-covid illness and he should be back starting at center this week.

Max Wray is out with an injury, so he will be replaced. Wiley could flip from right tackle to left or Frank Fillip could slide into the starting lineup in his second game back from a shoulder surgery.

Kanan Ray could start in place of Casey Roddick, too.

Regardless of who is out there, just about everybody needs to perform better than they did last week.

And that includes the guys in the trenches on the defensive side, too.

While the Buffs weren’t horrible against the run last week—277 yards allowed on 5.2 yards per carry—they definitely didn’t live up to their standards.

Colorado is capable of shutting down just about any running attack in the country, and they should fare better against Arizona State’s offensive line.

While the Sun Devils are no slouches up front, their line is built on agility instead of pure size and strength. While Minnesota was able to knock the Buffs back a couple of yards on most of their rushing attempts, that isn’t likely against ASU.

Still, the Devils have at least two good running backs—assuming Chip Trayanum returns from injury—and a quarterback that can run, too…

Can Jayden Daniels be contained?

Arizona State may or may not have the top quarterback in the conference, but it absolutely has the most explosive quarterback.

Junior Jayden Daniels is a threat to carry the ball to the house any time he touches it and he’s a solid passer, too. Last week against BYU, he completed 10 of his first 11 pass attempts before he ran the ball once.

Daniels also threw two interceptions but neither were egregious errors on his part and it was not only his first multi-interception game, it was also the first time he’s thrown more than one pick in any three-game span.

Forcing turnovers will be huge for Colorado given the offense’s struggles but Daniels, historically, is one of the best quarterbacks in the country at avoiding them.

Colorado’s cornerbacks should be able to contain a lackluster group of receivers, so don’t be surprised if the Buffs blitz often to keep Daniels in the pocket.

The first priority for Colorado on defense is not letting Daniels out of the pocket.