So, what the hell happened to the run game?

Buff Nation was promised a return to a physical run game.  From the moment Coach Embree was hired, the stories centered around a return to physical football, with an intent to run it right at the opponent until they can prove capable of stopping CU.  I'm sure I heard the words "impose" and "will" bandied about.

Through two games, however, the opposing defenses have been the ones imposing their will on the rather disappointing CU ground game.  Sure, the passing attack of Hansen to Richardson has combined for an NCAA leading 333 yards and 4 touchdowns, but CU needs to run successfully in order to win football games.

The stats are numbing.  Only 125 net rushing yards, and CU is only getting 2.08 yards per attempt.  Rodney Stewart, once a lock to become the schools all-time rushing leader, has only averaged 62.5 yards per game, and his long on the season is a paltry 13 yards.  Only 10 of 40 first downs gained have come as a result of a run.  On first down (when you would expect a running team to run) the Buffs are getting 2.3 yards per rush attempt, compared to 5.2 per attempt from their opponents.  Most glaring: CU has yet to score a rushing TD.

Speedy hasn't seen the open fields he found last season. 

The futility on first down is especially worrisome, as failure to gain early ground yardage gives the defense the advantage for the rest of the set of downs, and forces the offense to become one-dimensional in an attempt to catch up to respectable 3rd down distance.  The failure to run successfully is only more amplified when the Buffs wind up in the redzone.  Only once, out of six attempts, has CU scored a TD from red zone play, and that was a P-Rich strike from just inside the 20 against Hawai'i.  Combined, CU is only averaging 2 yards per redzone play.  Without the threat of a effective running attack, opponents are able to zero in on Tyler's endzone attempts.

Just look toward the end of regulation and overtime against Cal; it seemed almost impossible to find any open receivers in the endzone because the linebackers were dropping back with impunity.  The more an more CU struggles in the ground game, the more difficult it will become for CU to score and get over the hump to victory.

More Speedy in the redzone would create more scoring... if he can find some holes.  From: the BDC

 So what, exactly, is the issue?  We know the coaches have announced a preference to run the football, so coaching preference isn't the problem.  While Speedy is a little small for a ground and pound back, he has proven capable of smashing Big XII run defenses, so that's not the issue. The opponents are a mixed bag: Cal held Fresno St to under 3 yards per rushing attempt, but Hawai'i gave up average number (4.4/attempt) to Washington in week two, so that's inconclusive.

The only thing left is the offensive line.  Since the end of the Nebraska game last fall, what had been a perceived source of veteran strength has been whittled down to a unit holding on for dear life.  A rash of injuries and program departures have left CU with a line made up of Ryan Miller and a squad of backups.  The Buffs have lost a starting tackle in each of the first 2 games, and at right tackle they may be down to 3rd string if Dannewitz is still out Saturday.  At this pace, mountain man Ryan Miller, picked as a preseason All-American in many publications, may be the only remaining preseason starter by the week 4 trip to Ohio State.  (I refuse to accept the possibility that Miller could get hurt)

Without an O-line that CU can rely on, I find it hard to believe that the Buffs will find any more success on the ground, which I think will make it hard to find many victories overall.  The problem is, I don't know what the CU coaching staff can do to mitigate the problems for this season.  They mostly stem from depth issues and injuries, so, unless a transfer can find some eligibility for this season, the O-line will have to cope and get healthy on its own.