The Colorado Buffaloes’ Thursday injury report remained the same as the update that was released on Wednesday, except for one key change. The Buffaloes’ starting kicker, Elliot Arnold, was downgraded from questionable to doubtful after the hit he suffered on a roughing-the-kicker penalty against the Arizona State Sun Devils.

With Arnold down, the Buffaloes will have several questions facing them on special teams. Here’s an overview of the impacts of Arnold’s injury designation.

Who will take over for Elliot Arnold

Arnold was both the Buffaloes’ starting placekicker and kickoff specialist, leaving two voids for the Buffaloes to fill. They already answered the question of who they are likely to start at placekicker, as Daniel Gerlach came in after Arnold’s injury.

Gerlach was Colorado’s starting kicker against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Week 1, when he converted on two extra points before having his lone field goal attempt blocked. He also converted on his lone extra-point attempt after Arnold went down.

But at placekicker, Colorado has had a variety of backup options throughout the year. While Gerlach has been the primary backup, Cadel Ayala was also the kickoff specialist for a game and Deion Sanders has expressed interest in testing out punter Damon Greaves at the position.

But that choice will be the most important of the two this evening.

The hidden impact of Elliot Arnold’s absence

The reason for that is the lack of success Colorado has found with its backup options at kickoff specialist. When Ayala took over the role against the Baylor Bears, he struggled mightily, as he recorded two kickoff out-of-bounds penalties. 

Gerlach got limited action as the kickoff specialist against Georgia Tech, but there hasn’t been enough of a sample size for him this season to truly assess his ability at the position. 

Regardless of who Colorado chooses, it will need to feel immensely confident about their abilities. As the Buffaloes were hashing out the position early in the season, they were consistently on the losing end of the field position battle. Against a high-powered offense like that of their opponents on Friday, the No. 14 Houston Cougars, they can’t afford that kind of disadvantage.

Why the Colorado Buffaloes need their kicking game

In addition, if Colorado can’t trust Gerlach as the placekicker, it’ll have a different slew of issues on their hands.

Houston is averaging 35.4 points per game, the fifth-best mark in the Big 12. In addition, the Cougars rank third in the Big 12 with 470.2 yards per game, and they’ve had no issue going the length of the field even in games when they lose the field position battle.

So, if this injury report stays the course, and the Buffaloes are without Arnold for their must-win game to maintain bowl eligibility on Friday, they’ll need an unsuspecting name to step up in a big way. Buffs fans should keep an eye on Colorado’s special teams, as it will play a bigger role than expected in this game regardless of if Arnold is available or not.