Fresno State won't face anything it hasn't seen in game films in preparing for Colorado and their Aloha Bowl meeting on Christmas Day.
That's because Elliot Uzelac says the 17th-ranked Buffaloes haven't added any new wrinkles to their offense.Maybe no new tricks, but the Colorado offensive coordinator said Thursday there will be new wrinkles added to the basic game plan.
"I can tell you that," he said. "What we've done is added new schemes."
The plan, Uzelac said, would be to explore and attack Fresno State's smaller but quick front-line and, when appropriate, focus on individual weaknesses.
As the two teams began tapering off on workouts, Uzelac said his unit was near its peak.
"We have a couple of things we have to polish up on today and we'll be ready," he said. "We had excellent practices in Boulder and excellent practices since coming here, so we should be ready to play on Saturday.
"We feel we're good and have confidence in what we do."
As for No. 24 Fresno State, defensive coordinator Willy Robinson said his main concern will be stopping Colorado's ground game.
"We're going to have to stop the run," he said. "We know they'll try to control the football in order to keep our offense off the field because we have an explosive offense (Trent Dilfer passed for 3,276 yards and a 65-percent completion rate).
"Their offense will create problems for us because they have such exceptionally gifted athletes. To have a chance, we'll have to play flawless defense. But I think our team will rise to the task."
In comparing the Western Athletic Conference's representative to teams in the Big Eight, Uzelac said the Bulldogs up front were a composite of the quickness of Kansas State and Oklahoma on the line and the speed of Kansas at linebacker.
"Fresno State represents different elements of what we've seen this season," he said.
But Uzelac said the Buffaloes can be dangerous with their wide receivers matching up well with the bump-and-run style of the Fresno State defensive backs and the ability of quarterback Kordell Stewart to run the option.
"And don't forget, our backs (Lamont Warren and Rashaan Salaam) complement each other," Uzelac said. "They can run, catch and block."
For Fresno State, Robinson compared Colorado to San Diego State of the WAC.
"They're awfully big up front, like San Diego State," he said. "But Colorado has better athletes."