University Of Colorado Opponent Watch (Sept 7)

I'll do this throughout the season, looking at each of the teams that will play. Maybe, if we're good enough someday, the name will change to "SOS (strength of schedule)," but I won't call it that til we've proven that the strength of our schedule would matter. 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:

• For a true-freshman to come out in his first college game and complete more than 70% of his passes? I think he's going to be pretty good. He doesn't have the fastest release, but he's got great poise and pocket awareness. And he's tough. And I think CSU will actually have some success running the ball this year. Yes, we were all over Raymond Carter, but I think he'll get some yards as the season goes on.
• Those Linebackers are really good. Better than Mountain West, good. Their secondary was solid, but we'll have to see about that D-line. They looked solid at times against us, but mostly they appeared to be overmatched.

University of California, Berkeley:

• Shane Vereen didn't have the huge day against UC-Davis that I thought he would. Instead, Keenan Allen stole the show. He just instantly jumped into the list of "best players we'll see this season." Riley was very good, and Vereen had a similar line to Rodney Stewart (plus three TDs).
• They didn't get the pressure on the QB that they were expecting to get. They had a pretty dominant defensive effort, but nothing stood out on Defense. Their still-suspect (in my opinion) wasn't tested deep.
• No additional injuries, but they will probably get Matt Summers-Gavin back. He's a key O-lineman for them.

University of Hawaii:

• They had an impressive offensive performance (thanks to their run-n-shoot scheme) against USC's Defense. They put up nearly 600 yards, with three receivers hitting triple digits in yards.
• On the other side of the ball, USC was able to pick them apart and opened up some pretty big holes, which allowed them to weather the Hawaii offense. They had some pretty big miscommunications, so we'll see if they get that cleaned up in two weeks.
• They suffered some injuries that we should keep an eye on. Their starting QB got "dinged" up on a huge hit by a USC safety. It was reported (and then disputed) that he suffered a minor concussion. He was huge for Hawaii, so his status is important. Also a 4^th receiver suffered an injury (one person reported it to be a broken rib, and another said it was a leg injury...hmmm) and a DT sprained a shoulder.
• Also, they are traveling a ton. The go to Army next week and then stay the week in Las Vegas before the game against us. That may throw them off. The flight from Hawaii up to New York is intense. It may lessen their ability to recover from injuries.

University of Georgia:

• They were dominant on offense without their top running back, Washaun Ealey, and top receiver, A.J. Green. Aaron Murray was great throwing and running the ball. Their O-line, one of the most experienced lines in the country, looked really good. Their backup running backs averaged 5 yards per carry. Redshirt Freshman QB looked pretty good at times, but UL-L didn't make him pay for his mistakes. And he was too quick to take off and run the ball.
• They switched to the 3-4 under a new Defensive coordinator. It was an excellent move. Yes it was against UL-L, but they were big, fast, and they shut down nearly everything that the Ragin' Cajuns tried. Their DBs were knocking down passes left and right, and they got their hands on a few. They will make inaccurate QBs pay this season. They allowed only 128 yards, 60 coming on one "fluke" play* (It was called a fluke by Georgia fans. Take from that what you will).

University of Missouri:

• They had trouble in the first half, but they came back and Gabbert passed the ball well enough for them to win. They only managed 98 rushing yards without Derrick Washington. T.J. Moe stepped up at receiver.
• Carl Gettis had a clutch interception, and the Defense played well enough to get the win. Aldon Smith was great rushing the passer. They did well for not knowing what kind of Offense the Illini would throw at them.

Baylor University:

• Robert Griffin III was Robert Griffin III. He ran and (occasionally) threw his way to a win. He was their Offense. Not surprising.
• They shut down an FCS team breaking in a new Coach and QB. No way to tell how their Defense is yet.

Texas Tech University:

• Even under a new coach, they passed the ball 53 times. They couldn't get their running game going. Batch gained only 52 yards on 15 carries. That will be something to watch.
• They picked off SMU three times, and their Defense was solid against June Jones' run-n-shoot offense. Not an easy thing to defend.

University of Oklahoma:

• Murray rushed for 200 yards, but everything else on Offense looked shaky vs. Utah State. Landry Jones had some issues, and couldn't seem to find anyone besides Ryan Broyles. Also, the Offensive Line looked shaky at times. Their entire offense at the moment are Murray and Broyles, lets see if they can add to that.
• They're replacing quite a few Defensive players, and it looks like they haven't replaced them. Their secondary was porous, despite grabbing three interceptions, and their D-line wasn't effective for long stretches.

University of Kansas:

• Could've seen this coming. They are replacing a TON of talent on offense. Their QBs looked pretty mediocre, and they couldn't get their running game going.
• On Defense, they played pretty well, but they lost some talent there as well.

Iowa State University:

• On Offense, they moved the ball, but were overall not that impressive. Arnaud forced a bunch of throws and had a couple of bad interceptions. The running game produced one big TD run, but besides that was not effective. They had a bunch of penalties. Not the kind of opening game they were hoping for.
• On Defense, their secondary got burned on a few big plays (by an offense that isn't very good) and they couldn't generate much pressure without blitzing.

Kansas State University:

• Daniel Thomas is a beast, what's new. Their QB had trouble throughout the game, though, so we will see what they do about that.
• On Defense, they played well, but they matched up well with UCLA. We will see how they do against other kinds of offenses.

University of Nebraska:

• Offensively they looked better than I expected. But again, look at the opponent. But it sounds like they finally found a QB. He can run and he was able to complete some passes, but I'm going to wait to see how he performs against conference foes.
• On Defense, they allowed way more yards on the ground than anyone expected them to. 179 to be exact. To a team that hasn't won a game in 21 tries. Lets see if that improves. (I hope it doesn't).
• I didn't see any injuries reported, but they did lose another linebacker in the week leading up to the game.