Head coach Karl Dorrell calls a timeout during the fourth quarter in an attempt to draw up a game-winning play. Sept. 11, 2021. (Kara Wagenknecht/CU Independent)
The Colorado Buffaloes enter this week with their toughest conference matchup of the season, taking on the No. 7 Oregon Ducks. As the Buffs sit at 11th place in the Pac-12 Conference with a 2-5 record, the Ducks are the highest-ranked team. Oregon is has a record of 6-1 (3-1 Pac-12) and has had more than an impressive season.
For a team poised to have a bright future, things are looking reasonably dark in Boulder. Head coach Karl Dorrell started the week off by letting go of offensive line coach Mitch Rodrigue. A personnel change, better late than never, was expected to occur sooner in the season, so this was no surprise to many Buff fans. Many think that if the losing trend of the Buffaloes continues, offensive coordinator Darrin Chiaverini is next to go. Dorrell noted how he felt this move was necessary to add additional energy and focus to the group.
“We’ve been working for weeks to try and create a level of consistency with how we’re playing offense,” Dorrell said. “We just haven’t been able to put it together consistently. This brought me to conclude that I needed to do something to give us a new approach. We have these five games remaining, so I decided to relieve Mitch Rodrigue of his duties. I felt it was the right time to do that, to try and give these players some energy, some redirection, and some focus as we finish these last games of the season for us to play some better football.”
The Oregon Ducks have accumulated nearly 3,000 yards of total offense through the seven games this season, whereas Colorado has yet to surpass 1,700 yards. Additionally, while the Buff’s only averages 15.1 points a game, the Ducks average 33.9 points per game which is more than double Colorado’s. Dorrell explained how he might be open to more staff changes soon.
“We are looking at anything and everything right now,” Dorrell said. “That was just the first point of where I felt we needed to make a change at this time. As we go through these last five games, I will continue to assess how much improvement is being made and the likelihood or unlikelihood of when we need to make any more changes. It’s still open. I’ll tell you that. Everything is still open.”
After losing to the California Golden Bears last week, the Buffaloes now look to turn things around with an underdog story against Oregon. The matchup will kickoff in Eugene, Oregon, on Saturday, Oct. 30 at 1:30 p.m. MST.
Contact CU Independent staff writer Brett Polley at brett.polley@colorado.edu.
