Boulder – Sandwiched between an emotional game against Colorado State and a much-anticipated matchup with Miami are the New Mexico State Aggies.
Letdown material.
The Buffs are 24 1/2-point favorites over the Aggies, who visit Folsom Field for an 8 p.m. game Saturday with a new coach, a pass-happy offense and not all of the pieces in place to run it effectively. Texas-El Paso, which lost to Colorado in the Houston Bowl last season, dismantled the Aggies 34-17 in the season opener for both teams last weekend.
Everything seems stacked in CU’s favor. But that was Oklahoma’s situation a week ago when Texas Christian, picked to finish in the middle of the Mountain West, rolled into Norman. The Sooners started that game as the seventh-ranked team in the nation and ended up with a shocking loss, a No. 18 ranking, a quarterback quandary and a coach who openly questioned his team’s toughness and attitude.
That has prompted Colorado coach Gary Barnett to request one thing of his team heading into Saturday’s game.
“We can’t afford to be human at this point in time,” Barnett said. “That’s what the average player would do. We can’t be average. That’ll be my job, making sure that we don’t.”
That means no snickering or sneering at what looks like a blowout. No slow starts. No allowing an opposing player to shred them, as happened a year ago.
That’s when North Texas freshman running back Jamario Thomas, in his first collegiate start, ran for 247 yards and two touchdowns. North Texas jumped out to a 14-7 lead before the Buffs refocused and pulled away, 52-21.
“I think we learned a valuable lesson last year, especially on the defensive side, playing North Texas,” Barnett said. “This is a critical game for us for where we want to go and where we want to be in our program. I don’t think there’s any way our guys will overlook them.”
Drilled into players’ heads this week is Barnett’s latest motivational motto: “Every Game is Worth One.”
“That’s all you’re going to get in the win or loss column, and you need to prepare accordingly,” senior quarterback Joel Klatt said. “The way you respect any opponent is you prepare for them and make sure you’re ready.”
What figures to help CU is the Miami game, because it’s two weeks away. If it were next week, there would be more danger of looking ahead. Players say the bye week in between has made it easier to concentrate on New Mexico State.
“New Mexico State is our main focus right now,” wide receiver Evan Judge said. “We have two weeks to prepare for Miami.”
Said linebacker Thaddaeus Washington: “You stay focused on New Mexico State by knowing what those guys do, not thinking about Miami. We don’t play them for what, two weeks, three weeks? We focus on New Mexico State. They’re coming in to beat us. That’s enough to stay focused and not look forward to Miami.”
N.M. State (0-1) at Colorado (1-0)
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Colorado: The entire Buffs secondary, which will be forced to chase New Mexico State receivers all game. The group had three interceptions last week. … RB Hugh Charles ran for 101 yards in his first career start. … DEs Abraham Wright and Alex Ligon have been asked by coach Gary Barnett to put more pressure on the quarterback. They were good against CSU, but need to turn up the heat on the Aggies.
New Mexico State: WR Paul Dombrowski, a senior, was tabbed by coach Hal Mumme as the one player the Aggies need to do well. Dombrowski had 15 catches for 127 yards and a touchdown against UTEP. QB Royal Gill threw for 332 yards and two touchdowns in the opener. Gill must have a great game to keep the Aggies’ offense moving.
KEY STAT
Colorado is 10-3 all-time against the current teams in the Western Athletic Conference.
KEY FOR NEW MEXICO STATE
Getting off to a good start. Moving the ball was a problem for the Aggies in the first half against UTEP, as the Aggies fell behind 31-0.
KEY FOR COLORADO
Focus. The Buffs have superior talent, but they can’t afford to take New Mexico State lightly and risk a huge upset with Miami next on the schedule.
Staff writer Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-820-5455 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
