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BOULDER — Who says the Buffs don’t person a snowball’s accidental successful Bermuda against Texas A&M connected Saturday? Here’s a database of the past six starting quarterbacks to bushed the Aggies since 2019, successful reverse chronological order:
Mac Jones, Joe Burrow, Jake Fromm, Tua Tagovailoa, Bo Nix, Trevor Lawrence.
NFL first-round draught pick, NFL wide No. 1 pick, NFL fifth-round draught pick, NFL apical 5 draught pick, aboriginal NFL draught pick, NFL wide No. 1 pick.
Over the past 2 autumns, the sixth-ranked Aggies, who’ll tangle with CU (1-0) astatine Empower Field astatine Mile High, are 17-6. And those different 17 starting quarterbacks coiled up getting whupped by an mean borderline of 38-19.
Brendon Lewis, the level is yours. The level and the albatross.
“It’s a large game, playing astatine Mile High,” Lewis, CU’s freshman quarterback, said precocious past Friday aft starring the Buffs to a 35-7 rout of Ed McCaffrey’s UNC Bears in the season-opener for some programs.
“We’re (treating) each crippled we play arsenic a truly large crippled … we cognize (A&M is) a large game, but we’re not going to effort to get to wherever we’re distracted, and worldly similar that.”
They don’t person to beryllium perfect, these Buffs. But they bash person to beryllium clean. Cleaner than they looked against the Fighting McCaffreys, anyway. Vegas pegs CU arsenic anyplace from a 14-to-17-point underdog, contempt the altitude.
“We each cognize what’s successful beforehand of us,” CU manager Karl Dorrell said of his squad, which won comfortably astatine Folsom Field contempt getting flagged 12 times for a whopping 118 punishment yards. “The penalties volition instrumentality you retired of the game.”
Especially a crippled against the Aggies (1-0), who opened the play this past Saturday nighttime by stomping Kent State astatine home, 41-10.
If there’s immoderate anticipation for CU faithful to cuddle, it’s that A&M backmost Haynes King — a freshman, who, similar Lewis, conscionable made his starting debut — had a bumpy thrust against the Golden Flashes: 292 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, 3 picks.
On the flip side, the Aggies ne'er punted. And portion Kent State rushed for 226 yards, the Flashes came distant with lone 1 touchdown retired of 4 trips to the reddish zone.
Starting backmost Dustin Crum was sacked 3 times, portion backup Collin Schlee got taken down twice. Kent State returned 10 starters from an discourtesy that averaged 4.1 points per thrust a twelvemonth ago, according to BCFToys.com, making it the 3rd most-efficient scoring discourtesy successful the country. That discourtesy managed lone 10 points and 336 yards connected the evening. A&M, meanwhile, piled up 595 yards, 292 of them connected the ground.
From a endowment standpoint, what CU did to the Bears, the Aggies could bash conscionable arsenic easy to the Buffs. It depends connected however good CU inverts a litany of Week 1 sins. If immoderate rust lingers, you’re toast.
It depends connected Lewis, who played his prep shot successful Melissa, Texas, astir three-and-a-half hours northbound of the A&M field successful College Station. The kid’s archetypal CU commencement was arsenic coagulated — 10-of-15 passing for 102 yards and a touchdown done the air, different 44 yards connected the crushed — arsenic it was inconclusive.
The Buffs were cautious not to amusement much, having to set connected the alert to a defence they’d ne'er seen earlier from a UNC unit that had yet to manager unneurotic during a regular-season crippled astatine the collegiate level. But the Bears besides offered up the weakest opposing defense, at slightest successful presumption of personnel, that CU is apt to look each season.
On the positive side, if Lewis got fooled oregon a play broke down, helium usually managed to tally to daylight oregon chuck the shot away. On the different hand, respective of those 10 completions came with each kinds of clip successful the pocket.
Time helium won’t person against Power 5 squads. And clip helium astir surely won’t person against the Aggies.
“I felt I played decent,” Lewis said. “(I) decidedly request to play better, truthful I’m benignant of disappointed successful the mode I played. (I) missed a fewer throws. But I’m conscionable going to travel backmost (in Week 2) and get amended and amended for A&M (on Saturday).”
The past half-dozen QBs to bushed the Aggies averaged 19 completions connected 29 attempts, 269 passing yards and 2 touchdown throws. So, no, Lewis doesn’t person to beryllium perfect. He doesn’t person to beryllium Lawrence oregon Jones for the Buffs to marque A&M sweat. But it definite arsenic heck wouldn’t wounded to beryllium close.
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