A closer look at Colorado’s 2023 defensive numbers
We have already compared Colorado’s 2023 offensive production to the Buffs’ 2022 numbers. Now, it’s time to shine the spotlight on the defensive side of the ball. There is an argument to be made that both the 2023 and 2022 defenses were the team’s weakness.
Ultimately, we saw improvement from the Buffs on defense, but it still wasn’t enough for Colorado to rely on that group to win games. With a head coach in Deion Sanders who was a Hall of Famer on that side of the ball and a defensive coordinator in Charles Kelly who owns plenty of experience, CU has the foundation set to improve defensively.
Looking at the numbers is the best way to show how the Buffs can improve this offseason. Take a look:
Points allowed per game
2022: 44.5
2023: 35.91
While the Buffs did drop opponents’ offensive production by almost 10 points, that drop wasn’t significant enough. Giving up an average of 35 a game is not part of a winning formula. This must drop further if the Buffs want to compete next season.
Total yards allowed per game
2022: 509.8
2023: 464.6
Opposing offenses didn’t have much trouble gaining yards on the Buffs. The defense adopted a “bend but don’t break” mentality and tried to secure turnovers (more on that later), but this led to long drives from opponents.
Passing yards allowed per game
2022: 264.67
2023: 296.55
The Buffs’ passing defense in 2023 gave up more yards per game than it did in 2022, although this can be chalked up to a slight improvement in the run defense. Still, the defense must start slowing down opposing passing games.
Running yards allowed per game
2022: 245.1
2023: 168.1
The Buffs’ run defense went from historically bad in 2022 to below average in 2023. Teams could still churn out rushing yards when needed for the most part.
Sacks
2022: 9
2023: 27
Here, we see a big jump as the pass rush tripled its output compared to 2022. Twenty-seven sacks is a good jump, but I want to see this team jumping into the 30s or 40s next season.
Turnovers
2022: 11
2023: 20
For all the yardage this defense gave up, it was strong at causing turnovers, nearly doubling its total number. If CU can bring the allowed yardage down in 2024 while forcing the same number of turnovers, we will see many of those close losses become wins.
Further reading
READ: Travis Hunter earns 2023 Paul Hornung Award, All-Pac-12 honors
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