Boulder – Dan Hawkins said so.
The first-year Colorado coach said his team would run the football. What respectable offense wouldn’t, he argued, dismissing skeptics who claimed the system he brought from Boise State was all pass and little substance.
CU’s offense finally has run itself into the realm of respectability, and it has gotten there doing just that – running the football.
It just doesn’t look the same.
Colorado does not line up in the I-formation and pound the ball, as it used to do. At least not without shifting twice before the play starts. But through all of the movement and misdirection, Colorado has found that its running game can be potent and is the springboard for most everything else it wants to accomplish on offense.
But then, Hawkins already knew that.
Getting it up to speed, however, was a long process that finally found fruition with CU’s first victory Saturday, a 30-6 drubbing of Texas Tech. In Big 12 games, Colorado (1-6) leads the conference in rushing, averaging 229 yards per game, nearly 37 yards more than the second-best team, Oklahoma State (192.5).
CU also leads in attempts (131) and yards per carry (5.2) in conference games. Overall, the Buffs rank sixth in the conference and 30th in the nation at 167.7 yards per game. Improved play along the offensive line is the first reason given when CU players and coaches are asked about the improvement on the ground.
“Ever since Georgia, we’ve just been getting better and better,” tackle Tyler Polumbus said. “It just takes time with the new system. I think it’s all starting to come together – the footwork and hand placement and hat placement is all coming natural right now.”
While the offensive line has begun to open holes, it is quarterback Bernard Jackson who has given the attack teeth and variety, making it hard for defenses to simply key on the running backs.
“Every defensive coach will tell you that a quarterback that can run with the ball is a little scary,” Hawkins said. “Clearly, he can get out of some jams and make some big things happen. There is some concern about him running with the football, so that eliminates some of the stuff that they want to do up front.
“When you start getting into coverage aspects of things, teams want to play man and somebody has to account for the quarterback. I think it has residual effects on the rest of the offense as well. But you always have to account for a guy when he can run.”
Jackson has led Colorado in rushing four times this season, including three of the past four games. He is CU’s second-leading rusher with 365 yards and No. 1 on the team with four rushing touchdowns.
Hugh Charles leads the team with 504 yards rushing and a 5.6-yard average. Mell Holliday has 202 yards, and Byron Ellis has 101. Holliday said Jackson’s contributions have benefited the trio.
“Defenses have started to focus on ‘B-Jack’ a little more, which opens up our game,” Holliday said. “Defenses bite more on play-fakes he does, which opens up us for zone reads and stuff like that. He gets a chunk of yards at the beginning, and then we get to wear them out at the end.”
Staff writer Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
