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ASU in review

Posted September 9, 2007

So you've had a little less than a day to digest an ugly loss Buffs fans. I'm wondering whether Saturday's outcome has made you rethink your predictions for this season, or are the Buffs still about what you thought they were?

I predicted a 31-21 ASU victory on Saturday. So it was about what I expected. And I still think the Buffs will go 2-2 in the nonconference and finish about .500 for the season.

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There were a few surprises.

The CU offensive line just couldn't do a thing in the running game against the Sun Devils' defense. We knew there were going to be some growing pains with this offensive line under a new coach, but the Buffs are goind to have to do much better than 27 carries for 39 yards. That's just bad.

CU receivers dropped a slew of balls, which was another surprise. Junior Patrick Williams took a huge step backward after having a great training camp and looking like he had finally found some confidence. Patrick is one if the nicest kids you will ever meet. So it's tough to see him struggle.

But at some point you have to turn to different options if he can't make plays, and we don't mean make plays only some of the time. Top-notch players drop passes, miss blocks and whiff on tackles rarely. There is still too much of this happening with the Buffs for anyone to believe there is an abundance of talent on the roster.

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The defense actually played well except for a few breakdowns. I mean, you've got to give ASU players credit for making plays, too.

The touchdown pass ASU quarterback Rudy Carpenter threw at the end of the first half to wide receiver Kyle Williams was a perfect example. Williams made a heck of a catch on the play in traffic in the back of the end zone. It wasn't an easy play. The Buffs had him covered pretty well, but he still made the play.

That was the biggest difference in the game if you ask me. The CU offense still lacks enough playmakers. The Buffs are overflowing with blue-collar, try-hard, nice guys. Now they need a few guys Dick Vitale would call Prime Time Players.

Maybe this will improve when wide receiver Josh Smith returns. It's a bad deal when your two most dependable wide receivers are both walk-ons -- Scotty McKnight and Cody Crawford.

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I love reading the message boards on various CU fan sites after both wins and losses because some of the reactions are so drastic and absurd. There was plenty of that today.

People wondering when Cody Hawkins will be replaced as the starting quarterback. The kid made a few throws that he shouldn't have against the Sun Devils, and he was lucky not to have had two picked off and returned for touchdowns. But he also put two touchdown passes right on the money and they were dropped.

He's a young guy. He was playing in his second college game and he definitely didn't get the kind of support he needed from his offensive line, running backs and receivers.

If you give him something that resembles a running game and someone who catch passes on a regular basis and he continues to go 15 of 42, well, then you yank him.

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So let me hear your thoughts and send me some questions for the next mailbag. I'm on my way to the Sunday night conditioning session, for the Buffs, not me.