What to watch for when Colorado hosts UNC in the season-opener

BOULDER — After eight long months, Colorado football is back.

The Buffaloes will host the Northern Colorado Bears at Folsom Field at 7 p.m. Friday. It will be the first game of the season for both teams and will be broadcast on Pac-12 Network. CU is favored by 38 points, according to DraftKings Sportsbook.

When we last saw the Buffaloes in December, they were being chased off the field by Texas at the Alamo Bowl. The 55-23 loss was a bitter end to what was an otherwise glowing 2020 campaign, which saw CU win four of five regular-season games in Karl Dorrell’s debut as the Buffs’ head coach.

As for the Bears, plenty is unknown. A new coaching staff has been installed since they last played a game in November of 2019. Broncos legend Ed McCaffrey has taken over the reins and brought his son Dylan, who originally played at Michigan, to Greeley as the team’s starting quarterback. Dorrell was McCaffrey’s position coach with the Broncos from 2000-03.

Here’s what to look out for Friday night.

What will Brendon Lewis look like?

Brendon Lewis made his debut as Colorado’s quarterback in the second quarter of the Alamo Bowl, when he subbed in for Sam Noyer. In his first outing, the true freshman performed admirably. He completed 6-of-10 passes, good for 95 yards. He managed another 73 yards and a touchdown on the ground

On Friday, following a quarterback battle that ended when JT Shrout went down with a season-ending knee injury last month, Lewis makes his starting debut.

The goals for Lewis should be pretty simple: avoid turnovers, hit the easy throws and don’t get hit.

With Shrout done for the season, Lewis will be backed up by two true freshman who arrived in Boulder this spring. Anything is possible, but the odds of either being ready to see the field in real game action are slim. Quarterback is inarguably the thinnest position on the roster.

Lewis said this week that he’s confident and feels ready for the opportunity, and that he’s been reminded by his coaches to slide or get out of bounds when he runs the ball.

It’s unlikely Lewis will play the entire game, but the key during his time will be efficiency. If he can stay efficient while also flashing improved arm strength, that’d be even better.

Is the defense leaky?

On paper, this is a matchup that heavily favors the Buffs when their defense is on the field.

Last year, against San Diego State, Colorado held its opponent to 155 total yards from scrimmage. That’s a good target number for Friday night.

Obviously, what could make that target tough to hit is a couple of plays.

And big plays have been the Achilles heel for this defense over the past couple of seasons.

For the CU defense to take a step forward in 2021, the key is patching the leaks, and that starts on Friday. On a down-to-down basis, Colorado should be just fine smothering the Bears at the point of attack, but a leak here or there could be the difference between a shutout and giving up a few scores.

With a new defensive coordinator, Chris Wilson, and some new faces expected to be key contributors this year—namely senior linebacker Robert Barnes—everybody might not be on the same page in the first week of the season. If Colorado can already avoid mistakes, that would be a massive sign of good things to come over the next few months.

What is the running back rotation?

Sophomore Jarek Broussard, the reigning Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year, is the undisputed leader of the Buffs’ backfield.

But there are plenty of other mouths that will need to be fed this season. Two of them stand out above the rest.

Junior Alex Fontenot is back after missing last season with a hip injury. The starting job was supposed to be his in 2020, following a year in which he ran for 874 yards while serving as the team’s bell-cow back. Now he’s back healthy and likely deserving of plenty of touches. The coaches will likely use this game to let Fontenot get his feet back under him, while trying to limit the workload for Broussard.

Freshman Ashaad Clayton was a consensus top-20 running back in the 2020 recruiting class but was used sparingly in his first season. The Louisiana native’s talent is obvious and this should be the season that he begins to turn that talent into production.

Other backs, like Jayle Stacks, Deion Smith and Joe Davis, are also valuable pieces in the backfield and will vie for playing time… but there’s only so much to go around. A big game on Friday, when the rotation will be deep, will play a part in determining who sees reps in coming weeks.

Will Ralphie run?

Colorado has found a new Ralphie!

The Buffs announced on Wednesday that Ralphie VI has been selected and will be on hand for Friday’s game. The goal is for her to run for the first time against UNC, but there’s no guarantee that the 15-month-old buffalo will respond well to a packed stadium.

Find more on Ralphie here.