BOULDER — Last Saturday, UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen spent most of his afternoon on the sideline.
Along with the rest of his teammates on the Bruins’ offense, Rosen watched the Colorado offense run play after play after play.
The Buffaloes, in fact, ran 114 plays on offense, setting a single-game school record and coming within one snap of tying the national mark.
CU lost the game, 35-31, but gave itself a chance to beat the then-No. 24 Bruins by controlling the clock.
In recent games, the Buffs (4-5, 1-4 Pac-12) have become better at ball control, and their ability to do that this week against ninth-ranked Stanford (7-1, 6-0) could play a significant role in the outcome.
“If we did (run 114 plays on offense), I think we’ll be very victorious, because (Stanford) won’t have been used to playing that many,” CU coach Mike MacIntyre said.
MacIntyre acknowledges, however, that the Buffs are highly unlikely to get anywhere close to 114 plays this week. But he said winning the possession battle gives his team a better shot at a victory.
Winning that battle won’t be easy, because no team in the Pac-12 is as good at controlling the clock as Stanford. The Cardinal, on average, hold the ball for 34 minutes, 56 seconds. That average is 2:23 better than anyone else in the conference.
Stanford’s ball-control style has worked for years, and this season, it has led to the opposition running just 68.4 plays per game. CU is sixth nationally at 82.9 plays per game.
So far this year, only two teams have had more than 73 offensive snaps against Stanford. Northwestern had 79 in a season-opening win against the Cardinal. Last week, Washington State had 86 and came within a last-second missed field goal of winning.
“For years, we’ve always played against up-tempo teams. And the games that we’ve played well, they don’t run a lot of plays. And the games we don’t play well, they do run a lot of plays,” Stanford coach David Shaw said. “The structure of our offense, if we’re able to keep the ball, control the clock, get first downs and touchdowns, then we can minimize that.”
CU has done its best Stanford impression by dominating time of possession in its past two games and will try to do the same thing against the Cardinal.
“We’ve been able to do that now,” MacIntyre said. “We can run our running backs, and we’ve got some good ones. Our quarterback can run and throw it too, and we feel like we can dictate the game a little bit.”
Sefo Liufau’s evolution into more of a dual-threat quarterback has played a key role in CU’s ability to sustain drives.
Key story lines for Stanford at Colorado
1. Containing Christian. It’s unlikely Colorado will stop sophomore phenom running back Christian McCaffrey. He hasn’t been held under 100 yards in any of Stanford’s six Pac-12 games this season. But if he runs wild to the delight of friends and family in the stands at Folsom Field, it’s hard to see the Buffs overcoming that. CU needs at least to contain him.
2. Slow start? CU could benefit by the early kickoff, which will feel like 10 a.m. for the visitors from the West Coast. It will be the first morning kickoff for them since a season-opening 16-6 loss at Northwestern, where Stanford appeared sluggish. It was the Cardinal’s only loss.
3) How will Hogan play? Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan, a fourth-year starter with a 31-9 record, has been up and down this season, although his overall statistics shine. CU’s first focus is on Stanford’s running game, leaving the Buffs vulnerable in the air. Hogan has completed 65.2 percent of his passes and is averaging 207.8 yards per game, with only five interceptions and a passer rating of 163.9.
John Meyer, The Denver Post
Saturday’s area college football games
11 a.m. Stanford at Colorado, Pac-12
Noon Portland State at Northern Colorado
1 p.m. CSU at Wyoming
1:30 p.m. Army at Air Force, ESPNU
