In nearly 15 years of coaching college football, George Helow has seen a lot.
Last Saturday night was something new for the Colorado defensive ends coach, however, as the Buffs gave up 422 rushing yards during a 53-7 loss to Utah.
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As Helow and the Buffs (3-5, 1-4 Big 12) prepare to face Arizona (4-3, 1-3) at Folsom Field on Saturday (5 p.m., FS1), getting better at stopping the run is a priority.
CU ranks 134th out of 136 FBS teams in rush defense, allowing 217.25 yards per game. That number has skyrocketed in the last two games, as CU has allowed 658 rushing yards (329 per game).
The Buffs had given up more than 200 rushing yards to four previous opponents, but Utah exploited every hole in the defense.
“We’ve got to move past it, bury it, make the corrections,” Helow said. “We’ve had really good talks as a defensive staff about what we need to do moving forward. We’re going to do that and play really good these next four games.”
Utah has an elite offensive line, including a pair of tackles projected as first-round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, but Helow said what happened Saturday was much about what the Buffs didn’t do well.
“A lot of the things, it’s about us and what we do,” he said. “How we get off the ball, how we strike blocks, how we play with low pad level, finish every play at a dominant position. Whoever they put out there, they put out there. At the end of the day, we’ve got to do our job.”
Arizona doesn’t present the same type of challenge as Utah, which leads the Big 12 and is fifth nationally in rushing offense (267.13 per game). Arizona is just 12th in the Big 12 (142.14), but running back Ismail Madhi is a threat.
Madhi has 445 yards on 77 carries, averaging 5.8 per carry. He transferred this year from Texas State, where he rushed for 991 yards in 2024 and 1,331 in 2023.
“We can’t let him like bounce out to the second level and get on the edge,” Helow said. “The guy’s really fast.
“So we’ve got to secure the edges. We’ve got to make him run north and south, put hats on him, gang tackle him. Open field tackling is a big thing. Got to get him on the ground.”
CU has struggled doing that much of the season, while also giving up a lot of yards on the ground to quarterbacks. Arizona’s Noah Fifita isn’t a traditional dual threat, as he’s rushed for 62 yards in three seasons, but he’s got the ability to bust loose and make plays with his legs.
To stop the QB, Helow said, “It’s collectively as a unit.”
As a unit, CU spent time watching the Utah film and “it was definitely” tough to watch, defensive end Keaten Wade said. But, Wade added, he feels the Buffs will be better this week.
“We watched the film on Sunday and got the corrections that was needed,” he said. “Definitely just bringing a different type of energy this week in practice, just having more fun and doing our job together.”
It is a collective effort, Helow said, but he pointed the finger at himself, as he is the Buffs’ defensive run game coordinator.
“It’s all on me,” he said. “I’m the run game coordinator. I have a job to do. OK, we didn’t get it done. I’ll speak for myself. I’m responsible for that. When you’re hired to do a job, you do your job.”
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