Boulder – The banter is always friendly, but the words do fly from time to time between Colorado’s tight ends and wide receivers about who is better.
It has been mostly a one-sided argument this fall. The tight ends have gotten to do the bulk of the talking.
Until now.
CU’s wide receivers, a position Buffs coaches weren’t sure they could trust at the start of the season, are finally hitting their stride – and finding the end zone.
For a while, it seemed touchdown catches were reserved for the Buffs’ tight end duo of Joe Klopfenstein and Quinn Sypniewski, who have combined for eight this season. No wide receiver crossed the goal line until Evan Judge caught a touchdown pass against Texas on Oct. 15.
Now, CU’s receivers have three scoring catches in the past four weeks, raising their profile within the team.
“We knew that no matter what anybody said, we were going to be a good group of receivers,” wideout Dusty Sprague said. “It’s just nice to come out and prove it. The bottom line is just as long as we know what we are, it doesn’t matter what anybody else says.”
Said offensive coordinator Shawn Watson: “They took it very personal that they were considered to be the weak link in our football team and that they were the underdeveloped group. They’ve really worked hard to become more complete.”
In a 23-20 victory at Kansas State on Oct. 29, Judge became the first CU wideout this season to gain more than 100 yards receiving. In the Buffs’ 41-12 win over Missouri last weekend, CU receivers were four of the top five pass catchers, accounting for 15 of 24 receptions.
Helping pave the way for improved production is the success of Klopfenstein and Sypniewski.
“Teams are going to try to stop the run first, and then try to stop Joe and Quinn,” Judge said. “That leaves us. We’ve got to be able to make the plays when the balls come, and we’ve been doing that the past few weeks.”
Opposing defenses have used their safeties to help cover the tight ends, which has left Sprague, Judge, Patrick Williams, Stephone Robinson and Alvin Barnett in numerous single-coverage situations.
“They are benefiting from how defenses are scheming our tight ends,” Watson said. “And that’s good, because their development has been essential for us as part of our attack.”
The maturation of Colorado’s wideouts is significant this week as the Buffs look to clinch the Big 12 North Division title with a victory Saturday at Iowa State. The Cyclones have been Jekyll and Hyde against the pass. They are 10th in the Big 12 in pass defense, allowing 232.8 yards per game and 10 touchdowns. But CU coach Gary Barnett is cautious about the matchup, pointing to the Cyclones’ league-leading 16 interceptions as the reason.
“This team is more like us than any team we’ve played,” Barnett said. “Each corner has four interceptions and the safety has three. They are really good.”
Footnote
Running back Hugh Charles (ankle) is a game-day decision, as is defensive end Alonzo Barrett (knee).
Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-820-5455 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
