BOULDER — Jordan Carrell can still see where the play went wrong.
It was late in the second quarter at UCLA last season, and Colorado trailed 14-3. The Bruins took the snap at their 18-yard line and handed the ball to running back Paul Perkins, who burst through a crater-sized hole on the right side of the line and galloped untouched for a back-breaking 82-yard touchdown.
The Buffs fought back from the 18-point deficit to take a brief fourth-quarter lead only to lose in heartbreaking fashion, 35-31.
Carrell still vividly remembers the play he believes was the difference in the game.
“It was miscommunication,” said Carell, CU’s 6-foot-3, 280-pound senior defensive tackle. “Everybody ran the right play but the D-line. We went the wrong way. It created a big gap.”
Colorado (6-2, 4-1 Pac-12) enters its annual matchup with UCLA (3-5, 1-4) on Thursday night with the goal of a Pac-12 South division title coming into clearer focus, and the rare daylight afforded this season by Carrell and his teammates on the defensive line has played a major role.
Explosive run plays, such as the gut-punch sprint from Perkins, are now rare. CU has surrendered only 27 plays of 20 yards or more, a mark that ranks 10th in the country. Only eight of those plays have been rushes.
Carrell credits continuity along the defensive line for CU’s stinginess. Carrell, a Roseville, Calif., native who joined the Buffs last season after two years at American River College, outside Sacramento, is playing for the first time with Josh Tupou, who was suspended last season. The 320-pound Tupou has been effective consuming space and allowing Carrell (3½ sacks) and defensive end Samson Kafovalu (2½ sacks) to wreak havoc.
“As a defensive front, it’s great to have good chemistry and a bond between your brothers,” Carrell said. “You’ve got to rely on that guy next to you to make the play if you’re not there. Over this offseason we really connected well. This is our first season that all of us got together and played, so in the offseason we continued to work every day. We go out to eat probably three or four times a week together. We have that connection that not many D-lines have.”
Carrell has been the group’s workhorse. His 393 snaps are, by far, the most of any CU lineman. Carrell said there was a major adjustment last season, going from sea level to the hands-on-your-shorts elevation of Boulder, but he attacked the challenge and ended up playing 83 percent of CU’s defense snaps.
Teammates saw Carrell prepare for his final college offseason with even more determination.
“The strides he’s made from last season to this season is exponential,” said CU quarterback Sefo Liufau. “It’s been leaps and bounds with what he’s been able to do in the offseason. I can’t stress enough in the offseason how much you actually win games, and he’s done a lot of work in the offseason to prepare himself to be in the position he’s in.”
Stopping the big play
A major part of CU’s defensive growth has been an ability to limit explosive plays, which are defined as plays that gain 20 or more yards. A closer look at how the Buffs have fared nationally in recent seasons:
Season … No. (run/pass) … Avg./g … Rank
2013 … 74 (25/49) … 6.2 … 111
2014 … 72 (30/42) … 6.0 … 114
2015 … 66 (21/45) … 5.1 … 91
2016* … 27 (8/19) … 3.4 … 10
*Through eight games
