When they say itap about Laviska, it is — just not in the way that you’d think. Consider this: Over their last 16 games, the CU Buffs are 8-8. When Steven Montez has completed at least 65 percent of his throws in those 16 tilts, they’ve gone 8-0.
Take that for what itap worth. And this, too: Since 2017, the Buffs are 11-1 when Montez’s completion percentage hits the 65 percent mark or higher. They’re 2-14 when it doesn’t.
What do we know? A month in the books, we know the Buffs (3-1, 1-0 Pac-12), come hell or high water, are never out of it. We know coach Mel Tucker’s even keel under fire has rubbed off on his players.
We know they listen. We know they believe. We know there’s a depth of trust and a trust in depth.
And we know they’ll probably go as far as Montez, No. 12, can carry them.
Especially if the whispers are true that injuries suffered by wide receiver Laviska Shenault (undisclosed) and defensive lineman Mustafa Johnson (ankle) at Arizona State could take weeks, rather than days, to completely heal. In regards to the former, CU officials have remained tight-lipped, which isn’t the best of signs. There’s only one Laviska, although at least there are also multiple Plan Bs on hand: We saw what wideout Tony Brown did at Arizona State (nine catches, 150 yards) last week and what K.D. Nixon pulled off against Oregon State (13 grabs, 198 yards) a year ago.
By contrast, the defensive line’s cupboard — not in terms of talent, but seasoning — feels comparatively lacking. Which makes Johnson’s sudden affliction against the Sun Devils, and the protective boot it required, a more pressing concern.
Especially given that, of CU’s eight remaining Pac-12 dance partners, five of them — Oregon, Washington State, USC, Washington and Utah — came out of the third week of September sporting offenses ranked among the nation’s top 40 in points per drive against FBS foes, according to statnik Brian Fremeau. The Buffs went into the weekend ranked No. 18 nationally, with a stellar 3.24 points per drive; Arizona, which visits Folsom next Saturday, was at No. 57, with 2.36.
If the Broncos were built to try and win 17-to-14 tussles, precedent says the Buffs could have to figure out ways, in all likelihood, to stay on the right side of 34-to-31-ish score lines.
Which puts the onus back on Montez, the 6-foot-5 senior who looked the part in all the right ways at Arizona State.
Joe Cool in the pocket, No. 12 made the no-huddle purr in the desert, calmly tearing a good Sun Devils defense to shreds with 337 passing yards and three scores. ASU was the bug and Montez — who completed 23 of 30 throws and averaged a whopping 11.3 yards per attempt — provided the windshield.
What do we know? We know that, since 2017, when No. 12 has averaged at least 9.8 yards per pass attempt, the Buffs are 5-0.
We know that when he’s in a rhythm, when he’s feeling it, hard throws — fades, lawn darts dropped into the perfect corner of the end zone — look easy.
We know No. 12 cares about his legacy. We know that he’s running out of days in which to cement it.
We know the ceiling’s been raised.
And we know that arm has more than enough miles left, more than enough mojo, to reach it.