BOULDER — Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre and California’s Sonny Dykes are both in their second year with Pac-12 schools. But their battles go back to days in the Western Athletic Conference.
MacIntyre took over at San Jose State in 2010, the same year Dykes became coach at WAC rival Louisiana Tech.
If history is an indication, Saturday’s conference matchup between Colorado (2-2, 0-1 Pac-12) and California (2-1, 0-1)in Berkeley will be a shootout.
MacIntyre said he always has been impressed with Dykes’ offenses, “and this one (at California) reminds me of his teams at Louisiana Tech.”
That’s not great news for the Buffaloes.
In 2012, Louisiana Tech’s spread attack led major colleges in scoring offense (51.5 points per game) and total offense (577.9 yards per game).
The rival coaches have met four times, each winning twice. Louisiana Tech outlasted San Jose State 45-38 in 2010 and 38-28 in 2011. MacIntyre’s final SJSU team beat that high-powered 2012 Louisiana Tech team 52-43.
Last year, Colorado earned its first and only Pac-12 victory under MacIntyre with a 41-24 victory in Boulder.
MacIntyre said the Bears are a different animal this season as they’ve begun to better understand Dykes’ offense. The Bears run an up-tempo, no-huddle offense.
“They play really fast,” MacIntyre said. “It’s simple, but it’s true: As soon as the snap is over and you’ve made the tackle, (our defense) has to get up fast, look at the (defensive) signal and then you have to move to your position.
“They’re going to snap the ball extremely quick. They want you to get misaligned half the time.”
California, led by sophomore quarterback Jared Goff, ranks third among Pac-12 teams in passing offense, at 335.3 yards per game.
“Like us, they had a new coach last year and are just now getting into their rhythm,” CU starting free safety Chidobe Awuzie said.
There’s more to be concerned about, MacIntyre said.
“Everybody talks about the passing game, but the thing (California) is doing better this year than they did last year is they’re running the football,” MacIntyre said. “They’re averaging 187 yards rushing. If they run for close to 200 yards, they’re going to be hard to stop.”
Tom Kensler: tkensler@denverpost.com or
