Arizona coordinator not sold on the ‘Utah blueprint’ ahead of their game vs Colorado

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders was at a loss for words following their 53-7 loss to Utah. The coach was admittedly “dumbfounded” over the game result. Several times this week Sanders has explained the loss to Utah could not have been predicted based on their two weeks of practice leading up to that game. 

Utah was able to dominate the Buffaloes by outrushing Colorado 422 – 38, giving up 587 yards total. Utah also blitzed like their life depended on it. Utah had a blitz rate of 70% in that game. Leading many to believe Utah created the blueprint to beat Colorado. The Buffaloes have lost five games this season, but Utah was the only team to completely dominate Colorado on the scoreboard and in the box score.

Both Arizona and Colorado find themselves in the middle of seasons neither expected when the season began. Arizona has one more win that Colorado and are only separated in the Big 12 standings by one team (UCF). It would be understandable if this game was viewed as a ‘must win’ for both programs.

Coach Sanders aided in the ‘blueprint’ narrative in his post-game press conference. “We gave the blueprint away,” said Sanders. “Run on them, throw on them, blitz them, they can’t stop it” he added. According to the Arizona Daily Star, Arizona defensive coordinator Danny Gonzalez is not so quick to believe Utah’s recipe is necessarily one for unconditional success vs the Buffaloes. When asked about how Utah blitzed, Gonzalez was less than committal.

“Well, yes and no. The things Utah did that were successful, Utah chose violence and Colorado didn't respond right away. It was 40-0 before you could blink your eyes. ... I thought they came out and fought their ass off in the second half."

Gonzalez is choosing to view the Colorado vs Utah game as an outlier. “You gotta throw the Utah game out. It’s not even in our breakdowns” Gonzalez proclaimed.  He even brought some levity to the discussion by saying, “Utah did some unique things that you can copycat and steal, because we’re all copycats and thieves.” He also added that if Arizona chooses to blitz heavily, it shouldn’t be viewed as a surprise.

Arizona stopping Colorado's run game will be a focus

The Wildcats should look to stop the run vs Colorado. Colorado has tried to make running the football a priority. Despite that effort, Colorado is currently the second worst rushing team in the Big 12. Arizona is 8^th in the conference against the run, but that is primarily due to giving up significant rushing numbers vs BYU and Houston in recent weeks.

"I take a lot of pride in rush defense, so the last two weeks have been gut-wrenching to me," Gonzales said. "We'll have a plan this weekend, I'll promise you that." 

Lately, Arizona has faced some tackling issues. With 15 and 10 missed tackles against BYU and Houston respectively. Instead of minimizing short reasonable runs, Arizona gave up significant chunk plays against those teams. They will need to tackle better against Colorado. A team that is not exactly playing well but has seen big chunk plays from several players throughout the season.

While Kaidon Salter is expected to start, Arizona is preparing for both Salter and Sophomore Ryan Staub. After pulling Salter vs Utah, Staub entered the game for the second time this season in relief duty. In both cases, Staub ended up moving the offense better than the quarterback he replaced. Coach Sanders has not tipped his hand in either direction on who will start and how long that player's 'leash' is. The prevailing thought coming out of Boulder is that Sanders is likely to start and stick with Salter, barring some unforeseen situations. 

Arizona is looking to improve to 5-3 overall in the hopes of becoming bowl eligible. This Saturday, Arizona travels to Folsom Field to take on the Colorado Buffaloes. That game has a 7:00pm ET kick off and will air on Fox Sports 1. 

More college football news: 

• Deion Sanders buyout, contract details as Colorado Buffaloes coach
• Was Adidas behind James Franklin's firing? Penn State breaks silence on rumor
• Brian Kelly buyout, contract details as LSU Tigers coach
• Indiana coach Curt Cignetti's salary bump of 2,729% in four years is insane
• Paul Finebaum tells Dabo Swinney 'Time is up' at Clemson