BOULDER — Getting the Colorado football program turned around will take some time, but CU coach Jon Embree said one place to target is the red zone.
“Clearly, we need some consistency there,” Embree said Tuesday during his weekly media luncheon.
Colorado (1-9, 0-6 Pac-12) enters its home game Saturday against Arizona (2-7, 1-6) ranked last among Pac-12 teams by a wide margin in red-zone offense — that is, when getting inside opponents’ 20-yard line.
Through 10 games, the Buffaloes have reached the 20-yard line on 26 occasions. They came away with points on just 18 of those. That success rate of 69.2 percent trails the 11th-worst team, Oregon State (75.8 percent), by a substantial margin.
Six Pac-12 teams have successfully scored points on at least 81 percent of their trips to the red zone. Stanford is a remarkable 52-for-52. CU’s rate is tied with Troy for 113th among 120 major-college teams.
Of Colorado’s red-zone struggles, Embree said: “It’s been different things at different times. We work on the red zone a lot in practice. We try to work on the timing, spacing.
“Down there in the red zone, just a half a second or half a step (behind) is a huge difference. Whether it’s the ball getting out on time, the receiver getting bumped off a route, protection breaking down, whatever it is, it’s something that small that affects things.
“We have to keep working at it and trying to get better at it.”
Colorado’s red-zone woes are even more alarming considering the Buffs have scored a touchdown on only half of their opportunities. That also ranks last among Pac-12 teams. Five of the red-zone scores have been field goals. “All field goals do is get the cheerleaders to do three push-ups and the band to play,” Embree said. “We have to get touchdowns.”
Support for coordinators.
While acknowledging that the team’s record and statistics may not reflect it, Embree praised the work of offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and defensive coordinator Greg Brown.
“I do think Eric and Greg have done a good job in getting systems installed, getting it taught; I’m happy with both those guys,” Embree said. “It’s hard sometimes when you want to call plays, but (because of injuries) you don’t have guys that you want out there to help you make plays.”
Embree said he leaves the majority of the play-calling to Bieniemy and Brown. “Only about four (plays) per game — all touchdowns,” Embree joked of his input.
“I try to walk a fine line (in offering a play),” he said. “Because I know as (a coordinator) gets going on some things, there is a flow. And there’s gut instinct too.
“I guess the encouraging thing is, (the struggles are) more of us getting beat in a matchup situation than us making a mental mistake.”
No gimmes.
Senior quarterback Tyler Hansen said the last three dates on Colorado’s schedule — against Arizona, at UCLA and at Utah — “are games we can win.”
“We want these underclassmen, the coaches, the staff (to end the season) on a three- game winning streak,” he said.
It won’t be easy, Embree said. Arizona, featuring future NFL players at quarterback (Nick Foles) and wide receiver (Juron Criner and Dan Buckner), can be lethal on long pass plays, while that has been a weakness for CU’s defense.
“Great matchup, huh?” Embree said.
