FORT COLLINS — It didn’t take long after the opening statement for the subject to turn toward CU. Reporters had barely settled in their seats. CSU coach Steve Fairchild’s feet barely had a chance to wear a groove in the carpet at the podium.
Fairchild has already gotten to know the Buffs inside and out in preparation for Saturday’s Rocky Mountain Showdown at Sports Authority Field. And though CU comes in sporting an 0-2 record, nothing Fairchild has seen on film suggests to him anything but a team that is a huge challenge for his bunch.
“Number one, their defense is very complex,” Fairchild said today. “I’ve know (CU defensive coordinator) Greg Brown for quite a while. He’s done a great job everywhere he’s been. They’re very pressure-oriented. They do a nice job. It’s different than what we’ve faced the first two weeks obviously. That’s concern.
“I appreciate the way they play offensively. They line up and try to establish the run game, they’ve got a good back. Obviously the receiver’s (Paul Richardson) an elite player. They’ve got ways to move the football. They’re a good football team. Despite their record they’ve played some very, very good football. We need to obviously have a great week of practice to have any chance.”
Colorado State is coming off of a 33-14 victory over Northern Colorado but will not have star linebacker Mychal Sisson, who is out of the game with a fractured ankle. He had eight tackles in this game last season.
Also huge question marks are fullbacks Austin Gillmore and Jake Levin, who both suffered knee injures against UNC. Defensive lineman Scott Carter also suffered a knee injury and is very questionable for the game. Running back Derek Good injured a thumb, but is expected to play.
This game is usually the first of the season for both teams, but scheduling complications didn’t allow that to happen this year. Though Fairchild prefers to play the game as the season opener, he acknowledged that this year it was probably to his advantage to have seen a couple of games of CU film because of the turnover in coaching staffs in Boulder.
“That probably was an advantage,” Fairchild said. “Anytime you’re going to play a new staff, you just as soon not have them in the opener. Yeah that was an advantage, no question.”
Had the game been played as the season opener, CSU coaches would have gone with summer study of Minnesota Vikings and Washington Redskins film as their sole means of game prep.
As it is, it has been of some help, CSU offensive coordinator Larry Kerr said, who noted that much of what CU does offensively resembles those teams. Buffs head coach Jon Embree coached with the Redskins under Mike Shanahan, while CU offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy coached under Brad Childress and Leslie Frazier in Minnesota.
“That’s what we’re seeing,” Kerr said.
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
