After a humbling loss on Saturday afternoon, the Colorado football team doesn’t have much time to regroup for another daunting task.
The Buffs (1-8, 1-5 Pac-12) are embracing the short week, however, as they prepare to take on No. 8 USC (8-1, 6-1) at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Friday (7:30 p.m. MT, FS1).
“Just adjust and bounce back,” linebacker Josh Chandler-Semedo said after Saturday’s 49-10 loss to then-No. 8 Oregon. “Nobody’s gonna feel sorry for us. We’ve got a short week. Who cares? Come in and play football.”
CU normally takes Monday off, but the Buffs were on the field as they prepare to take on the Trojans, who are 34-point favorites. Short week or not, the Buffs face a difficult task in trying to beat USC for the first time ever, and preparation won’t change too much from usual weeks.
“Everyone’s just got to get critical on the tape,” outside linebacker Jamar Montgomery said. “It’s the same thing every week, be critical on the tape, go in and watch; everyone be critical of their selves first and foremost. Try to get it next week.”
While CU is a heavy underdog again, guard Casey Roddick said he and the Buffs are eager for the opportunity.
“It’s a blessing to play a team like that,” he said. “Put your name on film and you get to go back and see how you match up against a No. 8 team, especially individually as well. To say that football isn’t fun at this point, it’s only getting funner at this point. We have a lot of opportunities against a lot of great teams and (Oregon) was a great team right there. We put our best foot forward as an offensive line especially. We’re ready for another challenge.”
Oregon was the start of a tough four-game stretch to the end the season. After the trip to USC, the Buffs visit No. 24 Washington on Nov. 19 and host No. 13 Utah on Nov. 26.
“We look at every other team like they’re just another team,” running back Anthony Hankerson said. “Obviously, (USC) is a good team, but they suit up pads just like us. They bleed just like how we bleed and it’s football. Anybody could win and you don’t have to be the best team, but as long as you’re the best team that day when you play, you’re good.”
Grading the Buffs
Despite the 39-point loss to Oregon, interim head coach Mike Sanford said he was pleased with how several of the Buffs played.
Defensively, the Buffs showed significant improvement from the first half to the second half. Sanford said Chandler-Semedo, safety Trevor Woods and defensive lineman Jalen Sami graded out well by the coaches.
“I thought it was probably, really one of our best games that we played, D-line wise,” he said. “Both of our Joker position players (Montgomery and Guy Thomas) had a lot of production. I think this is the best game that Jamar Montgomery has played in his career at this level.”
Sanford added that safety Tyrin Taylor had his best tackling game of the season.
On offense, Sanford was pleased with the strides made by quarterback JT Shrout and with how hard running backs Alex Fontenot and Hankerson ran the ball.
In the trenches, Sanford was pleased with tackles Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan and Jake Wiley, as well as guard Tommy Brown.
Notable
This is the first time in CU history that the Buffs will play back-to-back games against teams with the same Associated Press ranking. Oregon was No. 8 last week and moved up to No. 6, while USC moved from No. 9 to No. 8 this week. … The Buffs are 0-15 all-time against the Trojans.
