BOULDER — Colorado football coach Mike Mac Intyre said Syracuse’s zone defense came to mind as he analyzed game film of this week’s opponent, Oregon.
MacIntyre was referring to Syracuse basketball.
“Oregon’s defense is extremely talented,” MacIntyre said Tuesday of the third-ranked Ducks. “And when you look at their height and weight and length, they consume the field. This might be a stupid statement, but when I watch them it’s kind of like watching Syracuse’s basketball team and their zone, where they are all so long and they consume the (court).”
The towering defensive ends are junior Arik Armstead (6-foot-8, 296 pounds) and junior DeForest Buckner (6-7, 286). The nose tackle, junior Alex Balducci (6-4, 305), is tall for his position. Top reserves T.J. Daniel (6-6, 275) and Sam Kamp (6-4, 287) also have an impressive wingspan.
“They’re long, athletic guys,” MacIntyre said. “So they get into passing lanes. They run people down. We have to find a way to move the ball, and I think we will. But we have to realize that their length and athleticism is going to cause some issues.”
MacIntyre said Oregon’s mediocre defensive statistics do not reflect the Ducks’ talent. Oregon ranks 11th among Pac-12 teams in total defense, yielding 456.7 yards per game. Only California (518.3) has been worse.
However, Oregon ranks fourth in the Pac-12 for scoring defense, allowing 25 points per game.
“There are good offenses in our league, and I think they get pumped up to play Oregon,” MacIntyre said. “Offenses in our league will take more chances against Oregon, knowing the clip that (the Ducks) score.”
QB plans. MacIntyre stopped short of confirming that backup quarterback Jordan Gehrke will get playing time Saturday even if usual starter Sefo Liufau is fully recovered from a concussion he suffered during the Nov. 8 loss at Arizona. CU comes off an open date.
“We’re going to find out as the week goes along, with Sefo’s situation,” Mac Intyre said, when asked about the prospects of Gehrke getting a substantial number of snaps.
CU offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren told last week that Gehrke definitely will play against the Ducks.
MacIntyre would not go that far.
“Sefo was able to do a little bit more today (Tuesday morning),” he said. “But he’s still not 100 percent cleared from his concussion. We think he will be. So we’ll just see how it goes and how the week progresses to see how much (either QB plays) for Saturday.”
Tom Kensler: tkensler@denverpost.com or twitter.com/tomkensler
