Deep Discussion About Offense

The short and long of the Bruin passing game was discussed at length by Coach Bob Toledo and quarterback Cory Paus on Monday.

The game plan in the loss to Colorado on Saturday differed drastically from that of a week earlier, when Paus burned the Oklahoma State secondary for eight completions of more than 20 yards in a 38-24 victory.

Paus did not throw deep against Colorado until late in the third quarter, preferring to throw short and let receivers run with the ball. But the same Buffalo defenders who’d missed tackles a week earlier in a loss to USC hauled down Bruin receivers.

“We wanted to convert high-percentage passes and let our guys run,” Toledo said. “But we didn’t make any big plays. They did tackle better. We didn’t catch and run as well as we’d hoped.”

Paus was accurate, completing 21 of 35 passes. But a week after he’d racked up 277 yards on 13 completions, his passes went for only 189 yards, an average of nine yards per completion.

His career average is 15.6 yards per completion, a testament to his ability to complete the long ball.

“A couple balls could have been completed deep but either the receiver got cut off or I had to scramble,” he said. “I was taking what the defense was giving me. I did what I was coached to do and ran the offense.”

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As anticipated, 6-foot-3 sophomore Matt Ware will move from free safety to cornerback and match up against 6-5 receiver Kassim Osgood of San Diego State.

Sophomore Ben Emanuel will move from strong safety to free safety, and freshman Jarrad Page will play strong safety, making his first start. Jibril Raymo also is expected to play strong safety. Demoted is senior cornerback Joe Hunter, who figures to play quite a bit anyway because the Bruins are expected to frequently employ a nickel defense to combat the potent Aztec passing game.

Quarterback Adam Hall has posted the nation’s top passing efforts the last two weeks, throwing for 516 yards against Arizona State and 506 against Idaho. Osgood averages 9.75 catches and 143 yards receiving per game, and J.R. Tolver leads the nation with 11 catches and 179.3 yards a game.

“The corners didn’t play poorly [against Colorado],” Bruin defensive coordinator Phil Snow said. “It’s just a completely different challenge this week.”

Ware, a freshman All-American at cornerback last season, doesn’t view the change as permanent. He has 16 tackles and one interception this season. “Corner comes second nature,” he said. “I’ll play wherever the coaches want me.”

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Toledo attributes his weight loss of more than 20 pounds to working out on a treadmill, taking lunchtime walks around campus with assistant John Pierce and cutting down on carbohydrates.

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The game Saturday will be broadcast on KSPN (1110) because of a conflict with the Dodgers’ game against the San Diego Padres. The Dodgers will be broadcast on KXTA (1150).... The Bruin game at Oregon State on Oct. 5 will begin at 12:30 p.m. and will be shown on Channel 7.