Three questions heading into Colorado’s matchup with Air Force

BOULDER — The Colorado Buffaloes are off to a 2-0 start, but the Air Force Falcons are coming to Folsom on Saturday.

Mountain West teams rarely spark fear in Pac-12 opponents, but the Falcons are a different beast. Their triple-option offense will give the Buffs a different look than any they’ve seen since 2013.

Air Force finished last sesaon 5-7 but five of their losses were by one score or less. This isn’t a cupcake. There’s a reason Colorado was a 13.5-point favorite over Colorado State and only a 4-point favorite at home against Air Force.

Here are three questions I have about Saturday’s game:

CAN STEVEN MONTEZ START HOT?

The Buffs are 2-0 but there were points in each of the first two games when it didn’t feel like a win was on the horizon. That’s partially because of the slow starts Colorado’s offense has gotten off to.

Against Nebraska, Colorado didn’t get on the board until late in the third quarter. Prior to their first scoring drive, the Buffs put together a couple of solid series but never did enough to actually make any noise.

Part of the problem was a passive Steven Montez running the show. Montez was overly risk-averse early on, choosing to hit open checkdowns instead of open receivers 15 yards downfield. The first time he threw a ball downfield, he didn’t put enough on it and it was picked off.

That changed, late in the game. Montez was forced to throw a bomb on a flea-flicker and it went for a 96-yard touchdown. From that point on, the senior was slinging it.

(It didn’t hurt that the offensive line took a major jump after halftime.)

Hopefully that’s the Montez that steps on the field Saturday morning. That Montez is one of the best quarterbacks in college football.

But if we see what we saw early in the game, a quarterback who was tentative and uninterested in big plays, the Buffs may not beat Air Force the way they are capable of.

This week is particularly important becasue of the style of play Air Force is known for. The triple-option is a “stay on pace” offense in a host of different ways. If the Falcons fall behind by multiple scores early, it will be tough for this methodical offense to catch up.

A hot start would be huge for Colorado, and whether that happens rests squarely on Steven Montez’s shoulders.

HOW INVOLVED WILL LAVISKA SHENAULT BE?

Laviska Shenault hasn’t made the impact Buffs fans expected this season.

That isn’t to say Shenault hasn’t made an impact — he has — but it hasn’t looked like it did last season.

Defenses are playing Shenault physically. They’re assigning multiple defensive backs to him and beating him up. Shenault is still producing 60 yards per game, and he’s drawn multiple penalites, but he’s primarily a decoy in Colorado’s new offense.

Shenault’s role has been drawing the eyes of the defense and letting the Buffs’ other receivers get open and catch the ball.

Shenault didn’t look like himself against Nebraska. He took a shot to the shoulder on his second touch and was grabbing at his shoulder for much of the game. He missed key downs. He stayed down longer than he usually does after he was it.

With all of this going on, how will the Buffs use Shenault?

Will they hold him out, in hopes of having a fresh version of the star playmaker when conference play starts next weekend?

Will they ride him against Air Force’s smaller defensive backs and hope he can use this week to spark him going forward?

We just have to wait and see.

CAN THE DEFENSE STAY DISCIPLINED?

In all of FBS football, only Arizona (8) has forced more turnovers than Colorado (7).

The Buffs have flashed the talent necessary to build something special on the defensive side of the ball, but blown assignments have kept Colorado back. Maybe that’s because of youth or maybe it just takes more time to pick up the complexities in head coach Mel Tucker’s new scheme.

Whatever the problem is, Colorado needs to get it figured out fast.

Producing turnovers rather than playing consistently sound defense will work against most college football teams. Plenty of coaches would rather take the turnovers and give up the yards than the other way around.

But that doesn’t work against Air Force.

Air Force preys on missed assignments. It takes advantage every time a defender is out of position. If one Buff takes one play off, there’s a real chance Air Force scores a touchdown.

And Air Force doesn’t throw the ball much either, which makes producing turnovers much more difficult.

Hopefully, the Buffs used this week as a chance to iron out the remaining wrinkles in their defense. If Colorado can shut down the Air Force offense this week, there’s no reason to think the unit won’t be much improved for the remainder of the season.

Keep an eye on the number of 20+ yard gains Air Force earns on Saturday. This number will be the best indicator of the state of Colorado’s defense that we’ve gotten so far this season.

Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. and the game will be broadcast on Pac-12 Network.