It sounds like Colorado?s offensive line is embarrassed. It has ample reason.
Among the indignities from Sunday?s loss to Colorado State is CU?s rushing total of 29 yards, and allowing four sacks to a team that mustered all of 10, the lowest total in Division I, in 2008. So what was the problem, and how do they fix it for Friday?s game at Toledo (7 p.m., ESPN)?
?We didn?t play very well,? offensive line coach Denver Johnson said.
Johnson actually said a lot more.
While saying center Keenan Stevens did ?pretty well? filling in for Mike Iltis, losing Iltis on the game?s sixth offensive snap ?certainly didn?t help anything.?
Asked if first-game jitters played a role, Johnson observed how three Buffs ? Iltis, right tackle Bryce Givens and left guard Ethan Adkins ? made their first starts. Iltis and Givens had never taken a snap. Right guard Ryan Miller made his first start at a new position and his first game appearance since breaking a leg last September against Florida State.
?They were pretty amped up to get going, and just handling that stage, that environment, they probably didn?t handle it very well,? Johnson said. ?Now we have a game under our belts.?
But Johnson?s main point was the line was not always ?assignment correct.? For those who believe the line got beat up by CSU?s defensive line, that it wasn?t physical enough when physicality was supposed to be its calling card, there?s an explanation.
?I think we could have been a lot more physical, but if you really don?t know who to hit, it really doesn?t matter,? Miller said.
Miller answered ?we didn?t execute? to several questions he received Wednesday. He added, ?I really think we just ended up beating ourselves.?
Johnson said that to fix things, the line is going back to fundamentals, focusing on footwork and hand placement.
?Just start at the top and work your way down to the bottom,? he said. ?There?s nothing there that you can omit, that we don?t need to work on.?
If Iltis? sprained ankle keeps him from playing Friday, Stevens will start at center, Johnson said. CU lists Iltis as probable.
Johnson said there will be no other changes to the starters. He wanted to rotate reserves Sunday, but game circumstances prevented it.
Matt Bahr, who suffered a high ankle sprain in camp, is still not full speed and not an option at this point, Johnson said. The coach added guard Max Tuioti-Mariner, who started twice last year before tearing an ACL in September, remains a long way off.
CU?s offensive line is its youngest and least experienced in years, possibly ever. It has no seniors. According to CU records, the program has never gone a year without a senior on its offensive line. The last time it didn?t have at least one senior starter was 1998.
Left tackle Nate Solder graded out at 89 percent Sunday, the line?s highest number. Adkins was the lowest at 75 percent. Givens was 84 percent, Miller was 79 percent and Stevens was 85 percent.
?I feel like that?s a big part of it ? understanding what the defense is doing and what we need to do in order to account for their formations,? Iltis said. ?That way we?re assignment correct and not leaving ... people that are able to slow the running back when they get into the hole.?
EXTRA POINTS: Head coach Dan Hawkins said walk-on quarterback Jerry Slota has been ?temporarily suspended from the football team until we ascertain further evidence.? Hawkins did not say what evidence he?s seeking, or why Slota was suspended. Hawkins said freshmen quarterbacks Clark Evans and Seth Lobato will both make the trip to Toledo. ... Hawkins said the team has avoided the flu that has hit campus for the past two weeks. ... Safety Patrick Mahnke (sprained ankle) is listed as questionable for Friday. Secondary coach Greg Brown said he?s ?hopeful? Mahnke can play. ... Linebacker Michael Sipili (knee) is questionable. Receiver Scotty McKnight (concussion) is probable.
Among the indignities from Sunday?s loss to Colorado State is CU?s rushing total of 29 yards, and allowing four sacks to a team that mustered all of 10, the lowest total in Division I, in 2008. So what was the problem, and how do they fix it for Friday?s game at Toledo (7 p.m., ESPN)?
?We didn?t play very well,? offensive line coach Denver Johnson said.
Johnson actually said a lot more.
While saying center Keenan Stevens did ?pretty well? filling in for Mike Iltis, losing Iltis on the game?s sixth offensive snap ?certainly didn?t help anything.?
Asked if first-game jitters played a role, Johnson observed how three Buffs ? Iltis, right tackle Bryce Givens and left guard Ethan Adkins ? made their first starts. Iltis and Givens had never taken a snap. Right guard Ryan Miller made his first start at a new position and his first game appearance since breaking a leg last September against Florida State.
?They were pretty amped up to get going, and just handling that stage, that environment, they probably didn?t handle it very well,? Johnson said. ?Now we have a game under our belts.?
But Johnson?s main point was the line was not always ?assignment correct.? For those who believe the line got beat up by CSU?s defensive line, that it wasn?t physical enough when physicality was supposed to be its calling card, there?s an explanation.
?I think we could have been a lot more physical, but if you really don?t know who to hit, it really doesn?t matter,? Miller said.
Miller answered ?we didn?t execute? to several questions he received Wednesday. He added, ?I really think we just ended up beating ourselves.?
Johnson said that to fix things, the line is going back to fundamentals, focusing on footwork and hand placement.
?Just start at the top and work your way down to the bottom,? he said. ?There?s nothing there that you can omit, that we don?t need to work on.?
If Iltis? sprained ankle keeps him from playing Friday, Stevens will start at center, Johnson said. CU lists Iltis as probable.
Johnson said there will be no other changes to the starters. He wanted to rotate reserves Sunday, but game circumstances prevented it.
Matt Bahr, who suffered a high ankle sprain in camp, is still not full speed and not an option at this point, Johnson said. The coach added guard Max Tuioti-Mariner, who started twice last year before tearing an ACL in September, remains a long way off.
CU?s offensive line is its youngest and least experienced in years, possibly ever. It has no seniors. According to CU records, the program has never gone a year without a senior on its offensive line. The last time it didn?t have at least one senior starter was 1998.
Left tackle Nate Solder graded out at 89 percent Sunday, the line?s highest number. Adkins was the lowest at 75 percent. Givens was 84 percent, Miller was 79 percent and Stevens was 85 percent.
?I feel like that?s a big part of it ? understanding what the defense is doing and what we need to do in order to account for their formations,? Iltis said. ?That way we?re assignment correct and not leaving ... people that are able to slow the running back when they get into the hole.?
EXTRA POINTS: Head coach Dan Hawkins said walk-on quarterback Jerry Slota has been ?temporarily suspended from the football team until we ascertain further evidence.? Hawkins did not say what evidence he?s seeking, or why Slota was suspended. Hawkins said freshmen quarterbacks Clark Evans and Seth Lobato will both make the trip to Toledo. ... Hawkins said the team has avoided the flu that has hit campus for the past two weeks. ... Safety Patrick Mahnke (sprained ankle) is listed as questionable for Friday. Secondary coach Greg Brown said he?s ?hopeful? Mahnke can play. ... Linebacker Michael Sipili (knee) is questionable. Receiver Scotty McKnight (concussion) is probable.
