Pregame Guesses: UCLA Bruins Travel to Boulder to Face The Colorado Buffaloes
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Pregame Guesses: UCLA Bruins Travel to Boulder to Face The Colorado Buffaloes
Today's PGGs focus on Colorado--its Head Coach, its defense, and its offense. And a famous song from a famous band in a famous concert at a famous venue in the state.
Good morning and welcome to week four of The Mighty Bruin’s Pregame Guesses.
Today’s guesses are going to focus on Colorado and the struggles that they are experiencing under head coach Karl Dorrell in his third season helming the Buffs. As almost all who read this blog know, Coach Dorrell played at UCLA in the early to mid-80s and won three Rose Bowls as a player. Although his legacy as a player is cemented in Bruin lore, Coach Dorrell lost some of his luster when he took over the coaching reins from 2003 through 2007. Coach Dorrell went 35-27 during that stretch. His best finish in the Pac-10 was third, and he went 1-3 in mid to lower tier bowl games. The hire itself was roundly criticized as was the UCLA athletic department’s reluctance to show him the door as UCLA struggled for relevance. Sound familiar?
The spotlight today is on the Buffs because there is not a lot of great stuff to say about UCLA after the 32-31 squeaker over South Alabama, a program that didn’t exist when Karl Dorrell coached UCLA. Interestingly, football at South Alabama was approved as a sport on December 7, 2007. Karl Dorrell was terminated as UCLA Head Coach four days earlier, on December 3, 2007.
When I researched Colorado artists for today’s PGG, I was actually surprised to learn that there really are not a lot of bands that I really like from that part of the country. The Lumineers might be the most popular of those at this time, but folk rock is not really my jam. John Denver is famous, but that is the music of my parents, not me. Of groups that appeal to me, Big Head Todd and the Monsters might be the best, but I do not like them enough to include them this week. I don’t even own any of their stuff. I like Earth, Wind, and Fire, but we did The Commodores last week and those two acts are a bit too similar in their soul, funk, and disco roots. You’d be hearing “Boogie Wonderland” if we didn’t feature “Brick House” last week. So, today’s selection will have nothing to so with the geographical location of the team that we are playing (that will change next week), other than the artist to be featured played a pretty famous set at Red Rocks, the historical venue in the eastern foothills of the Rockies, just down the road from Boulder, Colorado. This is U2’s “I Will Follow,” live at Red Rocks, from June of 1983.
I have never been to Red Rocks but this concert catapulted U2 into the limelight in the U.S., paving the way for future successes. The concert was released on video, and songs from this concert, including this one, had heavy rotation on MTV. That concert and that band were truly a touchstone for my generation.
On to the guesses . . .
Colorado is struggling on both sides of the ball. This PGG focuses on the Buffs defense. That unit is ranked #119 out of 131 teams in total defense. Colorado allows an average of 452 yards per game, and they have allowed opponents to score 16 touchdowns in three games. To be fair, the Buffs have played a much tougher non-conference schedule than the Bruins, facing TCU, Air Force, and Minnesota. Those teams are a combined 8-1. The first PGG today is an over-under. Pregame Guess Number One: I am setting the line on the number of offensive touchdowns Colorado allows to the Bruin offense at 5.3 (the Buffs average so far this season). Are you taking the over or the under?
This IS a UCLA blog so I cannot entirely neglect UCLA in these PGGs. Senior defensive back Mo Osling III is playing very well on a defense that looks like it may have issues going forward this season. A lot of the new faces from the transfer portal are not playing as well as some may have thought they would. But Osling is making a statement with his play as a (the?) leader of the defense. This is Osling’s sixth year as a Bruin—yes, he played for Coach Jim L. Mora as a true freshman!
Osling has fifteen solo tackles through three games and is only four tackles away from a breaking a career high of 18 solo tackles, achieved in the COVID-shortened season of 2019. Yeah, they played less games that season but Osling may break his career high in just four games this year, depending on his performance against Colorado. (I am not going to talk about what it says about the UCLA defense that a DB is leading UCLA in solo tackles, only to say that we have seen this movie before under Head Coach Chip Kelly. Indeed, in his four years as UCLA head coach, there has been only one season where a position player other than a DB led the team in solo tackles). Pregame Guess Number Two: Predict the number of tackles Mo Osling III makes against the Buffs.
Back to Colorado. This time, let’s talk about the offense. If you thought that the Buffs had issues on the defensive side of the ball, you haven’t seen their offense. That unit is ranked #127 (out of #131) in total offense. Colorado has averaged only 243.3 yards per game and has only scored three touchdowns all season, tied with UMass for worst in the country.
The quarterback position is a mess, with both junior transfer J.T. Shrout and sophomore Brandon Lewis performing poorly. The calls for Coach Dorell to start freshman Owen McCown (son for former NFLer Josh McCown), are growing. Pregame Guess Number Three: Who starts at quarterback for Colorado versus the Bruins?
Bonus Guess: Since the game is in Boulder, we will not be guessing the attendance today. Today’s bonus guess is a two-parter. Will Karl Dorrell’s coaching stint with Colorado come to an end this season? If yes, predict if Coach Dorrell will be given his marching papers in September, October, November, or December. Feel free to look at Colorado’s schedule if you think it might help with your guess. Colorado’s last game is Saturday, November 26th. Personally, I wish Coach Dorrell success (after this game), but the teas leaves are not reading very well for him right now.
Thank you for reading and (hopefully) making some guesses in the comment section below.
Go Bruins!!!
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Pregame Guesses: UCLA Bruins Travel to Boulder to Face The Colorado Buffaloes
I LOVED U2 back in the day, and this concert was why!
#1 - Am taking the under on this w/ 5....plus 3 FG's...if our rushing game was performing at last years level, I would go over
#2 - 6...really hoping our DL/LB figure some things out this week and can get pressure in backfield
#3 - I will go w/ McCown....cause why not.
Bonus: Yes, October...in honor of U2's 2nd album and one of the best songs from that concert....Gloria!
Rock On, Bruins!
Whatever you can say about Dorrell 35-27 was way better than what we have now. The more I look at this game the more it looks like a classic Kelly boof job. So I’m taking the under, give Mo 4+, I’ll go out on a limb and say McCown gets his shot, as to Dorrell I think he stays for another year.
Red Rocks story, I grew up there, there was a hippie riot in 1968 at a Jethro Tull concert so they didn’t have another rock band for like 10 years, and when they finally started up again it was America, so like soft rock. Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles played there. One of my first concerts ever was Sonny and Cher there maybe 1967? Back in the 70s you could sneak in by climbing Ship Rock and dropping down 10 feet. The roads there are a skateboarders dream, we used to go but only on the full moon so you could see any cars. The local cops took years to figure it out. Here’s to the sunny slopes of long ago!