Friday Fast Facts – “Bye Week” Edition

Big Picture … 

— Colorado is 712-515-36 all-time (.577). The Buffs are 26th in all-time victories; 36th in all-time winning percentage;

— The win over Stanford last weekend was the Buffs’ third straight in the series, with CU tying the all-time series with Stanford at six wins apiece. The Cardinal had won 12 straight home openers before falling to the Buffs, 35-32;

— The Buffs scored five touchdowns against the Cardinal, more touchdowns than CU scored in the first five games the Buffs played against Stanford since joining the Pac-12 … combined (a grand total of four);

— Karl Dorrell became the third straight CU head coach to open his career with a 2-0 record (but … both Mike MacIntyre, who lost to Oregon State, and Mel Tucker, who lost to Air Force, lost their third games. The last CU head coach to open with more than two wins was Rick Neuheisel, who opened 5-0 in 1995);

— CU opened the season scoring in all eight quarters of its first two games, doing so for the first time since 2013.

Player Notes … 

Sam Noyer was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player-of-the-Week for his efforts against Stanford. Noyer completed 15-of-24 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns, in addition to rushing eight times for 36 yards and another two scores; his passer rating for the game was 170.9.  He earned 15 first downs in all, five on the ground for the second straight game.  Noyer was the first Buff to run for two scores and pass for two since Sefo Liufau did so against Arizona in 2015, and also became the 12th quarterback out of the last 51 at Colorado to win his first two starts.

Nate Landman, meanwhile, was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player-of-the-Week. Landman recorded 17 tackles – 14 of the solo variety – to lead the Buff defense.  One of those was a tackle for a loss, and he added a fumble recovery, a third down stop and a touchdown save.  In the process, he cracked Colorado’s Top 20 list in all-time tackles and became the 17th Buffalo with 300-or-more career stops (303, 203 solo and 100 assisted).  Landman also became the 11th player in Buffs history to top 200 unassisted tackles.

— The Stanford game represented just the second time since CU joined the Pac-12 that Buffs were honored as the Players of the Week for the same game, joining quarterback Sefo Luifau and cornerback Nick Fisher for their efforts in the 2016 38-24 win over No. 20 Washington State;

Jarek Broussard (27 carries for 121 yards) and Dimitri Stanley (six catches for 126 yards and a touchdown) teamed up for a 100/100 rushing/receiving 100-yard double/double for the 49th time in Colorado history (with CU posting a 38-11 record in such games). When combined with his father Walter’s effort in 1981 against Texas Tech (222 yards receiving), Walter and Dimitri teamed up to become the first father/son combo to post 100-yard receiving games as Buffs. For his part, Broussard joined Charlie Davis and Marcus Houston as the only two Buffs to rush for over 100 yards in the first two games of their CU careers;

— Of the 105 eligible players on the CU roster (including walk-ons), 69, or 65.7%, are underclassmen. That percentage is the 11th-highest figure in the nation. Conversely, CU has only 11 players who only have one year of eligibility remaining (nine seniors; two graduate transfers). That number is the second-lowest (Stanford has only ten) in the nation;

Statistically speaking … 

— Colorado is one of only 11 team in the nation yet to lose a fumble this season. Conversely, the Buff defense has recovered four opponents fumbles, which is first in the Pac-12 Conference. CU is No. 2 in the nation in turnover margin, with five turnovers gained and only one surrendered (+2.00);

— CU is one of only 13 teams nationally which remains perfect in red zone opportunities (10-for-10, with nine touchdowns and a field goal);

— The Buff offense leads the Pac-12 (and is 14th in the nation) in scoring, averaging 41.5 points per game. At the same time, the Buff defense is 11th in the Pac-12 (and 108th in the nation) in scoring defense, giving up 37.0 points per game;

— Running back Jerek Broussard leads the Pac-12, and is 8th in the nation, in total offense per game (171.5 yds/game). His 154.0 yards rushing per game also leads the Pac-12, and is third in the nation;

— Defensive back Isaiah Lewis is 2nd in the nation in passes defended (2.5/game), while linebacker Carson Wells is 3rd in the nation in the same category (2.0/game);

— Rule changes for 2020 … Targeting must be confirmed by the replay official. If it cannot be confirmed, it will be overturned … Players ejected for targeting can remain on the sidelines, but are still disqualified from further participation … Instant replay is (supposed) to be completed in no more than two minutes … A player can now wear the number “0” (For CU, running back Ashaad Clayton and defensive back Chris Miller will be wearing the number “0”), though no player can wear “00” on their jersey (sorry, Jim Otto fans).

Pac-12 Notes … 

— The Pac-12 moved this week to allow flexibility in scheduling. The Pac-12 CEO Group decision requires that the following criteria be met in order for a non-conference football opponent to be scheduled by a Pac-12 football team (and, in case you were wondering, games against the Mountain West conference, including CSU and Wyoming, were excluded this week by criterion No. 1):

  • All Pac-12 testing and related protocols must be adhered to by the non-conference opponent;
  • The non-conference game will in all cases be a home game for the Pac-12 team, broadcast by a Pac-12 television partner; and
  • If a Pac-12 opponent becomes available by the end of day Thursday in any given week, the Conference game must be played in lieu of any non-conference game.

— Once again, the Pac-12 only has two teams ranked in the Associated Press poll, with No. 11 and No. 20 USC holding the same positions as last week. Three teams – Utah (No. 28), Washington (No. 29), and Arizona State (No. 30) – received votes, despite carrying a combined total record of 1-1 … Colorado did not receive votes in the Associated Press poll, but did receive three votes (good enough for 43rd nationally);

— Categories in which Colorado is leading the Pac-12 … Scoring offense (41.5 yds/game) … PAT kicking (11-for-11; Oregon 2nd at 10-for-10) … Red zone offense (10-10, nine touchdowns; one field goal) … Turnover margin (5 gained; one lost; +2.00) …

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4 Replies to “Friday Fast Facts”

  1. What I want to know is who are the 9 Cornholer trolls that answered today’s poll with the response about a lack of RG’s leadership?!

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