A look at how each of our eleven opponents played each week. Please feel free to add anything you saw if you watched these teams play this week in the comments section. See how each team performed after the jump.
Colorado State University:
Sat, Sept 11
0-2 (0-0)
- On Offense, they were slightly better this week. Thomas only turned the ball over once again Nevada (and yet Nevada still scored more than double the points we did) and their running game generated a few more yards, but still well under 100. I think the Rams really are bad this year.
- On Defense, they allowed more than double the amount of both points and yards they did to us. Against Nevada. A WAC team. They gave up a ton of rushing yards. This game really made us look suspect (well, no more than our game did...)
University of California, Berkeley:
Sat, Sept 11
2-0 (0-0)
- They looked good, though I still have some questions about their Offense. I was talking with a Cal fan during the game, and we both agreed that Cal's Offense didn't play as well as they could. We'll see if they can get those kinks ironed out before Conference play begins.
- Fortunately, the team they were playing beat themselves. Their Defense was solid, but two of the turnovers they forced were really just handed to them by the Buffs. We'll see again Nevada if they can stop a team that can really run.
University of Hawaii:
Sat, Sept 11
1-1 (0-0)
- They scored quickly against Army with 21 points in the first 18 minutes (sound familiar, Buffs?). Their Offense faltered down the stretch, but came up with a drive to close out the game that gave them the game winning Field Goal.
- Their Defense looked good early, but then Army changed up what they were doing on Offense. The Hawaii Defense held when they needed to, though. Army runs the triple option, so it doesn't give us that much of a preview of how they'll play us.
- Their starting Strong Safety broke his arm and will be out for 6-8 weeks, meaning he'll miss the game against CU next week.
University of Georgia:
Sat, Sept 11
1-1 (0-1)
- They missed A.J. Green on Saturday. The other receivers couldn't step up in his place against the Gamecocks. They got Washaun Ealey back, but he had a huge fumble deep inside the redzone. Murray is a competitor, but he is a redshirt Freshman. He looked more like it this week than he did last week.
- They had no answer for South Carolina's true freshman running back, Marcus Lattimore. South Carolina handed him the ball of 37 times to him, and ran 52 times overall. So it looks like their weakness is defending the run. Think we can take advantage of that?
University of Missouri:
Sat, Sept 11
2-0 (0-0)
- Offense looked sharp, with Blaine Gabbert apparently reminding people of Chase Daniel. That's no good for us. Their running game looked good again. Looks like losing Derrick Washington hasn't hurt them too much yet.
- Aldon Smith really is fast. They've got other guys stepping up as well. They've been spending quite a bit of time in a 4-Defensive End alignment. Our quick screens to Wide Receivers are a good way to combat that, though we have to protect Hansen for that to work.
Baylor University:
Sat, Sept 11
2-0 (0-0)
- Robert Griffin III had another big day, passing for a career high number of yards with two passing TDs and two rushing TDs. He only played three quarters. They can't get their Running Backs going, though.
- They were good on Defense, getting after the QB and holding the running game to a minimum til the game was in hand.
Texas Tech University:
Sat, Sept 11
2-0 (0-0)
- They're no Oregon, but they still scored a bunch of points again UNM. They got some help from their Special Teams. Potts had a pretty good game, and their running game showed up. They ran the ball 35 times (the most in a while) for 160+ yards and a 4.62 YPC average.
- They switched up what they were doing at halftime and had a much easier time. They weren't perfect, but they played better down the stretch.
University of Oklahoma:
Sat, Sept 11
2-0 (0-0)
- They figured things out. Much better protection led to much better play by Landry Jones. Their running game struggled today, though they were playing a much better Defense in FSU (despite what the stats say)
- On the other side of the ball, they looked improved in every single way. Better pressure, better coverage, better tackling. They looked like a National Championship quality team against FSU.
University of Kansas:
Sat, Sept 11
1-1 (0-0)
- One of their first two games was a fluke. They actually looked very good against GT with a new QB and a new RB. They weren't perfect, but they were playing a team that was supposed to be very good this year. One of these offenses is the real Kansas, and we'll definitely know which one it is by the time we visit them in November.
- Their Defense only allowed 6 points last week, so that wasn't the problem. And this week, they faced a significantly more explosive Offense. They got lucky, though, as Georgia Tech made a bunch of mistakes. The Kansas Defense played well enough to win, but they got an assist from the Georgia Tech Offense & Special Teams
Iowa State University:
Sat, Sept 11
1-1 (0-0)
- They were kept in check by a very good Iowa Defense. Arnaud did not have a good game, which certainly didn't help things, and they had to go away from their running game because of the deficit.
- They couldn't stop Iowa's Offense. They gave up a bunch of points quickly, and Iowa was able to take its foot off the gas in the second half.
- Their starting Linebacker Matt Tua'fo'ou broke his leg, but he should be back by the time the Cyclones come to town.
Kansas State University:
Sat, Sept 11
2-0 (0-0)
- Carson Coffman easily threw for 280 yards through three quarters, though he also made his fair share of bad plays. It looked like the coaches wanted to test him a little bit. Daniel Thomas had 137 yards and two TDs on the ground. You know, the usual.
- They were not great on Defense. They gave up a ton of yards. There were some good individual performances, but they struggled overall.
University of Nebraska:
Sat, Sept 11
2-0 (0-0)
- They also had some undisciplined play on Offense, but it didn't look anything like ours. 10 penalties, and yet they were still able to score 38 (it helps that it was against Idaho). They had four turnovers. Helu & Martinez both went over 100 yards on the ground.
- They forced a bunch of turnovers and had a bunch of sacks. They looked pretty good. The starters only allowed 10 points.