BOULDER — Foremost in game-planning by Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre and his offensive staff is Washington’s relentless pass rush which, considering the Huskies’ school color, could be called a modern-day version of the “Purple People Eaters.”
Like those Minnesota Vikings defensive linemen of yesteryear, the Huskies are big and quick and seem to treat offensive linemen as a mere annoyance.Washington (5-3, 1-3 Pac-12) ranks second nationally in sacks this season with 34.
“They’ve got some really good D-linemen that are going to cause us a lot of havoc,” MacIntyre said Tuesday.
Colorado (2-6, 0-5) hosts Washington on Saturday at Folsom Field in an 11 a.m. kickoff (Pac-12 Network).
The Huskies have had their ups and downs this season under new coach Chris Petersen, formerly of Boise State. But they certainly can make life miserable for quarterbacks. Only one other Pac-12 team, Utah (35), has more sacks.
Huskies senior Hau’oli Kikaha (6-foot-3, 246 pounds) leads the nation with 14½ sacks and 19½ tackles for loss. Massive senior nose tackle Danny Shelton (6-2, 339) is tied for ninth nationally in sacks with 7½.
Kikaha, a Hawaiian, already has established a Washington record for career sacks (31½). Washington calls his position “Buck,” a hybrid linebacker-defensive end that allows him the freedom to concentrate on stalking the quarterback. Shelton tops the Huskies in both total tackles (65) and unassisted tackles (38). Whoever heard of a 339-pounder active enough to lead a college defense in tackles?
The others on the front line, senior defensive end Andrew Hudson (6-3, 246) and defensive tackle Evan Hudson (6-6, 273), also can disrupt things.
Colorado can’t allow the Huskies’ sack attack to become a feeding frenzy.
“We have to protect well. That’s obvious,” MacIntyre said. “We have to do some things to slow them down. We have some things in our game plan to do that.
“The problem is, if you get in a lot of third-down situations longer than 5 or 6 yards, you have to hold the ball a little longer. That’s when those (defensive linemen) can ‘lay their ears back’ and rush. We have to avoid those situations.”
Fortunately for Colorado, pass protection has been a team strength. The Buffs top the Pac-12 in fewest sacks allowed with 12.
CU sophomore quarterback Sefo Liufau is the only native from the state of Washington (Tacoma) on the Buffs’ roster. While he did not grow up a Huskies fan, he is quite familiar with the roster.
“(Washington’s line) is very active, very physical,” Liufau said. “By no means are they one of the smallest fronts. There’s a lot of big bodies up there. They’re fast, they’re strong all across the board.
“But I have confidence in my offensive line.”
Tom Kensler: tkensler@denverpost.com or
