BOULDER — A standard football field measures 53 yards in width, and Colorado’s defense will see all 53 yards Saturday afternoon at Folsom Field against No. 9 Oregon, CU coach Jon Embree said Tuesday during his weekly media luncheon.
The Ducks (5-1, 3-0 Pac-12) like to run — make that sprint — by starting east-west, before turning upfield north-south.
“The thing that jumps out at you about Oregon is their speed; they do a tremendous job of making you defend the whole field — vertically and horizontally,” Embree said of the Ducks.
“They run essentially option football. So you have to be assignment conscious. We have to be very disciplined on defense to limit big plays. We have to try to force them into situations where we can have the upper hand on the defensive side.”
Coaches call it “setting the edge.” When on defense, Colorado (1-6, 0-3) can’t afford to let Oregon’s speedsters get around the corner.
“That’s has to be priority No. 1 for us,” Embree said of containing Oregon’s offense. “We have to do a good job of that in practice this week.”
Oregon ranks fifth nationally in rushing offense (315.0 yards per game) and total offense (539.0). The Ducks rank third in scoring (48.67).
“They try to wall you off (on the edge),” CU senior outside linebacker David Goldberg said Tuesday. “We have a big challenge ahead of us.”
Footnotes
Saturday’s 1:30 p.m. game (Root Network) is Colorado’s homecoming. As of the close of business on Monday, 2,900 tickets remained.
…Embree said CU receiver Paul Richardson (knee) likely will not be ready for this weekend but the team could get center Daniel Munyer (ankle) and defensive back Travis Sandersfeld (leg fracture) back this week.
…None of the four remaining suspensions will be lifted in time for this game, Embree said.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
