Three ways Mikial Onu wants to become a better leader

“We got beat today, really bad,” senior safety Mikial Onu said Friday night after his Colorado Buffaloes lost to the Oregon Ducks.

The loss was an end-to-end drubbing and “really bad” may be understating just how poorly the night went for the Buffs. Colorado lost 45-3. It was outgained 527-299. It posted a turnover margin of -4 and a points off turnover margin of -21.

“We’ve got a young team, a really good football team, but a young team. (There are) a lot of guys that haven’t been in this kind of situation before,” Onu said. “As a veteran, I take it upon myself: I want to be a better leader.”

Last year, a crushing loss spiraled into a seven-game losing streak for Colorado. A blowout loss to a very good football team stings differently than the double-overtime loss Colorado suffered to a bottom-dwelling Oregon State team in 2018, but the steps necessary to fix the problems are similar.

According to Onu, the solutions have to come from the top.

“We need better leadership,” Onu said. “I’m not talking about offense, I’m just talking about me specifically. I want to be a better leader and I know other guys feel the same way.”

And Onu has already planned out his first step:

“I’m going to come in Monday and I’m going to work as hard as I’ve ever worked in my life, because this can’t happen again,” Onu said.

While 45-3, rightfully, sounds like Colorado took steps back in every part of the game, Onu’s defensive backs actually took a slight step forward. It didn’t hurt that safety Aaron Maddox returned to the lineup following a monthlong absence.

Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert is projected to be a top-three pick in this spring’s NFL Draft. On Saturday, his numbers dropped despite the blowout win.

Herbert completed 56 percent of his passes after completing 72 percent over the first five games of his season. It’s a small victory, but it’s one of the few Colorado will find when it looks at the tape.

“I think we played better as a secondary this game — I think we limited explosive plays a little more — but it’s not good enough,” Onu said. “It’s never good enough when you give up 45 points in a game.”

Onu believes he can spur the secondary to take another step forward. In Colorado’s complicated defensive scheme, making sure each individual is aware of his responsibility on a given play is crucial. Onu says it’s easy to forget to communicate before things start to get ugly. Once somebody gets beat, everybody remembers to talk.

“I’ve just gotta keep communicating more throughout the game,” Onu said. “You don’t want to start communicating when it’s too late and you also don’t want to stop communicating when everything is going well.”

So, Onu wants to lead by example when the team meets again Monday and he wants to boost communication at the back end of the Colorado defense, but there’s a third piece that he thinks is missing.

Onu wants to change the attitude. He wants the defense to avoid distractions and play with the fire it has when it’s at its best.

“I was brought here to play defense,” Onu said. “All those guys were brought here to play defense. We can’t worry about what the offense is doing, we’ve gotta play our brand of football. That’s physicality. That’s being relentless every play.”

That’s a big challenge Onu has set up for himself.

“It’s a tough loss — they always are — but I’m proud of the team and I’m excited for where we’re going to go,” Onu said. “I just want to make sure guys understand it’s a four-quarter game and you’ve got to keep fighting.”