OSU Football: Scouting The Buffaloes

Thursday night’s Alamo Bowl pits Oklahoma State against a Pac-12 foe for the first time in two years, and this round looks strangely similar.

No. 11 Colorado boasts an enviable defense complete with a pair of All-American linebackers in Jimmy Gilbert and Kenneth Olugbode. The Buffs are No. 11 in points-per-drive, No. 13 in pass defense and No. 11 third-down defense. Defensive back Tedric Thompson’s seven interceptions ranks third in the country.

This Colorado team isn’t a mirror image of the 2014 Washington Huskies the Pokes beat in the Cactus Bowl, but it’s close. The Huskies had three first and a second-round draftee on that defense while CU has just one player projected to go in the top two rounds of this year’s draft, cornerback Chidobe Awuzie.

The sum of the Buffaloes’ defensive accolades is one AP All-American (Gilbert), one Pro Football Focus All-American (Olugbode) and three All-Pac-12 defensive backs (Awuzie, Thompson and Ahkello Witherspoon). All five players are seniors. The only missing ingredient in CU’s defensive recipe is D-Coordinator Jim Leavitt, who left to take the same position at Oregon.

Offensively, Colorado is led by senior quarterback Sefo Liufau who has accounted for 2,171 yards passing, 11 touchdowns and six picks. He’s CU’s second-leading rusher with 494 yards and another seven scores on the ground.

Phillip Lindsay led the team in rushing with 1,189 yards and 16 touchdowns. He’s a factor in the passing game too with a career-best 47 catches and 390 receiving yards this year. Lindsay had five multi-touchdown games but did most of his damage against the Pac-12’s worst defenses. The Buffs are 10-0 when rushing for at least 100 yards.

Colorado’s leading receivers are a pair of juniors who oddly wear No. 1 and No. 2 on their respective uniforms. No. 1, Shay Fields, hauled in 52 catches for 845 yards and nine touchdowns while No. 2, Devin Ross, caught 66 balls for 765 yards and five touchdowns. Both are small, quick and versatile within their offense.

The Buffaloes’ worst unit is special teams, where they’ve been mediocre at best this season. They’re tenth in the Pac-12 in kickoff coverage with a net average of 39 yards, a mark that would be next-to-last in the Big 12. Colorado is last in their conference in net punting and PAT kicking too.