The Buffs Report

What is there to say. The season is over

2008-12-04T15:46:00.002-06:00

Sorry for the delay on a post
I needed to take some time and think about this game and season. It has been a very hard season to go through. A few ups but many downs. Dan Hawkins completed his 3rd year at Colorado and has had 3 losing seasons.

Nebraska quick recap

Well the buffs let another one slip away. It was one incredible game to watch though. It went far beyond my expectations. I expected NU to run away with this one but I ended up being plesnetly suprised. We really should have one this one. It took a FLUKE school record 57 yard field goal to beat our buffs. What a heart breaking loss to end the season.

The last play of the game ended the way this season has gone. Interception heart ache and heart break.

More will be posted when the time is right. This season is still lingering the bitter taste in my mouth.

The Day Before Thanksgiving.

2008-11-26T10:00:00.003-06:00

Welcome everyone and Happy Thanksgiving!

With a few days before this years annual Nebraska Colorado Rivalry game on the day after Thanksgiving I have a few thoughts and comments i would like to put out there for you guys.

Predictions
First off I will offer up my prediction for the game. This year is not the year of the Buffalo. I love my buffs and bleed black and gold but man, i just don't see them pulling this game off. I think the guys give their all but just cant close the season off on a good note. I feel there are just too many injuries and the offense is just not producing enough to stay in this game. I think the kicking game may turn around for this game and i think the D keeps us in the game for the first half but with the D playing the majority of the game they will just get too tired and worn out.

I would like NOTHING MORE then to beat the skers but ugh i just don't see it this year. My magic 8 ball says yes so i guess they have that going for them. If they win it will be a miracle. One i would cherish. To quote coach Dan Hawkins "the worst days as a buff are still better the then the best days as a husker"it would make our season to beat kNebraska.

Fodder
In the past it has been the Buffs doing the smack talk and pregame fodder. Just checkout some of the past match ups on google. This year there have been multiple comments from the Huskers about how they would like nothing more then to prevent the Buffs from going to a bowl game like the Buffs did to them last year. There was also talk about how when someone thinks about the Big XII they think about Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska. Really? Nebraska thinks they are in the same league as Texas or Oklahoma? Boy these players have a short memory. They must of forgotten how badly they got beat in Norman this year. In the first 5 minutes of the game OU was up 35-0. Yep Nu i is sure competing with OU. And it has been said many times how NU would rather have the OU NU game as the rival game instead of the Buffs. Um looks like you guys cant handle ANY of what OU has to offer.

Here's to hoping for the miracle. HOWEVER I was just reminded of 2001. There were the same hopes for that game and I felt the same way thinking we would be losing but then the Buffs rolled to a 62-36 win and a BCS game after beating #1 ranked NU. Then beating Texas in the title game. Totally didn't see that coming.

GO BUFFS! BEAT THE HUSKERS!

2008-11-20T10:21:00.001-06:00

Odds and Ends

This week may be a bye week for the Buffs as they prepare for the regular season finale but there has been no shortage of news. Just Google Colorado Buffaloes News and you will find many news worthy items.

First CU has lost sophomore linebacker Nate Vaiomounga. He was dismissed from the football team on Tuesday following his arrest Monday on suspicion of a purse snatching incident last week on campus. Campus Police said a woman reported her purse stolen from Farrand Field early Nov. 14th. Video surveillance shows Vaiomounga identified. Nate has been a magnet for trouble while one the team. He was ticketed last winter for underage possession, and criminal mischief. Both times Nate failed to appear for one count and failed to comply with the other court ruling. This caused Nate to be jailed due to the warrants.

Coach Hawkins and AD Mike Bohn dismissed him from the team. Both state no tolerance for poor decision making. Nate had been warned about his actions prior to the dismissal.

OSU game
The sports world is a buzz about last Saturday's game. During OSU's first touchdown drive, presumably a CU fan flashed a green laser pointer in the eyes of Okie State QB Zac Robinson's eyes forcing him to call a time out. The following play Zac throws a touchdown pass to extend the lead over CU. Replays on local news and Sports Center confirm the reports. Google Zac Robinson CU Laser pointer for video. The video is available on YouTube for viewing as well as ESPN. If you have a Blackberry you can watch in from your phone.

Darrell Scott Rumors
There has been a buzz lastly about prized running back Darrell Scott transferring. If you Google search his name and transfer you will find hits from his transfer in high school and the latest news at CU. Scott told the Boulder Daily Camera reports that he plans on playing against the hated Cornhuskers. He also plans on playing against them next year as well. He claims all the transfer talk is just rumors and there is no truth to them. He says he is a Buff and will ignore the criticism. Scott calls this difficult season a learning experience.

My assessment on the team
This season has been very hard to watch. Living in Nebraska it costs much more for me to travel to each home game. While I enjoy going to these games I find it hard to justify spending the money on this team watching them seem to get worse each week.

I will state I understand this team is young and very injured. I get that and totally understand and know that is a fact. HOWEVER this team has major issues that do not stem from youth or health. The largest point total for the year came from the first game of the season against CSU.
This team has averaged 19 points a game all season and only 14 points in Big XII action. I know it is hard to do all you want to do on offense when you have youth, inexperience, and injuries at skill positions and on the line. But the coaches are not helping matters.

This off season the coaches need to make some halftime adjustments in the Hawkins era. There must be some coaching changes if Hawk expects to survive. This is the Big XII it isn’t intramurals. You must put a winning product on the field to sell and make it in this conference. I think Hawk has done a good job recruiting players and talent to this point but I feel his coaching staff is still coaching like they are coaching against the WAC teams.

My opinion is we need a change at the offensive coordinator and special teams jobs. Both offense and special teams have been inept. The offense is predictable and unable to score or move the ball. This coach seems stubborn and unwilling to make changes in game plans to give the buffs a chance. Proof? We have seen the same production or a decline all season in points scored and production. The running backs we have don’t have much room to run the ball. The quarter backs have to run for their lives before they can get set for a pass. Against Okie State in the 4th quarter the buffs were down and needed to drive down the field. Well every play was a play action pass when everyone in the stadium knew the Buffs were going to pass the ball. The running game has trouble running out of the shot gun which is what this staff seems to think is great. We don’t have the personnel at the moment to make this work so get back to basics or find new jobs.

My prediction for the annual day after thanksgiving matchup is the Buffs will be blown out of Lincoln. No chance unless there are some husker injuries.

Buffs except to be home for the holidays watch the bowl games from your living room.

Maybe next year (sounds like the cubs)

Go Buffs. I still will support you but that doesn’t mean I will not interject my opinion.

Week 12 CU vs. OSU

2008-11-16T14:07:00.003-06:00

Saturday night two Big XII teams going in opposite directions met on the grid iron for what some (including me) thought would be a close battle. I was wrong. This was an impressive showing by the Cowboys of Oklahoma State. OSU came into the contest ranked 11th in the nation and ready for the prime time ABC game.

It was a cold November night in Boulder Colorado and the Buffs offense and special teams started the game much like the weather, COLD. The CU offense could only muster an measly 3 points in the first half coming off of the first successful field goal attempt for the Aric Goodman since week 3 with 3:12 left in the half after missing a 50 yard attempt that hit the left upright. Aric has missed 8 in a row since he booted the winning score in overtime vs. West Virgina in which he "earned" a scholarship. In an attempt to find an answer in the kicking game the CU coaches held unsuccessful field goal tryouts for students on Monday and Tuesday with no success. A similar approach was successful for Mike Leach and the #2 Texas Tech Red Raiders who were also having field goal problems.

The defense was the lone bright spot in the first half of the contest managing to hold the potent, pass happy offense led by former Colorado prep star Zac Robinson. OSU had drives of 43 yards (following a fumble by Cody Crawford) and 72 yards both only resulting in field goals thanks to the stout Buff defense. But the defense was not perfect all game. Like most games this season the Buff D managed to forget how to be competitive for at least one quarter of the game. OSU drove 80 yards on each possession of the 3rd quarter each resulting in a touchdown.

CU continues to have issues with injury on both sides of the ball. On the first defense series senior defensive captain Ryan Walters had to be helped off the field after spraining his ankle and knee on the same play. Senior DJ Dikes did not dress for his last performance in Folsom due to health issues/illness.

Darrell Scott was held out of the contest after re-aggravating his ankle injury last week against Iowa State. Scott seems to be having many issues with injuries this year and has been unable to compete and push through the minor nicks of the college football game. Some think that he is having problems adjusting to the college game from the high school level where he dominated. Only time will tell if the highly touted tailback is able to live up to Buff expectations.

CU's Shawn Molar had the lone interception in the game at the start of the fourth quarter that set up a short field and allowed running back Sumler to score on a 3 yard scamper.

The Buffs lose again and fall to 5-6 on the season and are in danger of missing a bowl game in Dan Hawkins third year as Colorado head coach.

Attendance was a lackluster 46,092

Next up Nebraska.

This week look forward to an indepth look at the Buffs this season and where they are headed in the future.

Oklahoma State Preview

2008-11-11T14:22:00.003-06:00

Week 12 match-up is between Oklahoma State and Colorado at Folsom Field in Boulder Colorado at 6pm mountain time and broadcast live on ABC.

Oklahoma State comes into the game 8-2 and 4-12 in the Big XII to face the Colorado Buffs 5-5 and 2-4 in Big XII play.

History

The Buffs lead the series with at 26-17-1 record including 13-7 at Folsom Field in Boulder. CU has one 11 or the past 13 games.

Previous Match-ups

The last time these two teams met was on October 1, 2005 and it was a memorable one. CU started fast and never looked back. The scoring fest began on the first play of the game with Hugh Charles sprinting 74 yards for a touchdown. The Buffs were in route to the first home shutout for the OSU Cowboys in 14 years.

The last time the game was played in Boulder was one Buff fans would like to forget. OSU rolled the Buffs 42-14 but were able to shut out CU until the 4th quarter. The Cowboys held a 21-0 lead and lead as much as 28-0 before the Buffs were able to put points on the board with a 6 yard run by Lawrence Vickers. The Buffs used 3 different quarter backs to try to get on the board.

This will be the first time Coach Dan Hawkins and Mike Gundy will coach against each other. Both teams had different coaches the last time the met.

The Scoop on OSU

OSU has averaged 264.8 yards per game rushing this season. They lead the Big XII and are 6th in the nation in rushing. The Cowboys average nearly 43 points per game and if that weren't enough OSU is 4th in the nation for net punting with a 41 yard average.

Keys for a win this week

The Buffs need to get out to a fast start. When CU scores first and early they have much better results. CU also needs to build on the successful running game from last week with a healthy dose of Darrell Scott (CU's prize recruit from last season) and Demetrius Sumler. The defense for the Buffs need to hold back former Colorado's Chatfield High School quarterback Zac Robinson and the high powered OSU offense. This year he has thrown for 2264 yards and 20 touchdowns with 7 interceptions.

The special teams needs to step up and fix the kick return team that last week allowed Iowa State to return a kick to the 39 yard line with only 90 seconds left in the game. CU has only made 4 of 14 field goals this season and is 28% the lowest in the nation. That number has to get better for the Buffs to be successful on the field. Last week the Buffs missed 2 field goals and a blocked extra point. Those missed opportunities could have cost CU the game.

My Prediction for the week

I think the Buffs will put up a fight, stay in the game and get bowl eligible this week before having a week off to prepare for the annual rivalry game at Nebraska the day after Thanksgiving.

Buffs win 35-33

Week 11 report

2008-11-11T09:28:00.002-06:00

This is the first report for the Buffs Report.

Currently we just completed week 11 of the 2008 college football season. Colorado played the Iowa State Cyclones at Folsom Field in Boulder Colorado. This contest was a hard fought battle between two teams that are struggling to make strides in the Big XII conference.

Iowa State came into the contest with a record of 2-7 and 0-5 in the Big XII. Colorado's record is 4-5 and 1-4 in the conference. Colorado leads 47-14-1, including a 23-6-1 mark in Boulder. The Cyclones have won two of the past three. The series began Sept. 12, 1946 with a 13-7 CU victory in Boulder.

The last meeting

Colorado fell apart after taking a 21-0 lead into halftime and lost in controversial fashion 31-28 when two apparent game-tying field goals were disallowed in the final seconds.

The Buffs gave up 31 consecutive points in the third and fourth quarters before staging a comeback and giving place-kicker Kevin Eberhart two chances to tie. Eberhart and field goal team sprinted on the field in the final seconds and hit a 50-yard field goal, but officials called a delay of game penalty on the Buffs for snapping the ball before it was marked ready for play.

Eberhart then made a 55-yard attempt, but officials ruled the snap didn't happen in time before the final second ticked off the clock after they had marked the ball ready for play.

The Coaches

Gene Chizik is 5-16 in his 2nd season as had coach for the Cyclones. Dan Hawkins is 12-22 as coach of the Buffs and 104-45-1 for his career.

The Game Summary

Tyler Hansen started the game against Iowa State and was very ineffective. Hansen struggled to move the Buffs offense and completed 4 of 12 for 48 yards passing with no touchdowns and 1 interceptions but he did contribute to the rushing game with 9 carries for a total of 48 yards.

Cody Hawkins relieved Hansen with the start of the 3rd quarter and had a career day against ISU throwing for 226 yards and 4 touchdown passes 2 of which went to wide receiver Scotty McKnight. Wide recievers Cody Crawford and Patrick Willams also had one touchdown reception each.

The Buffs trailed 24-13 after ISU's Alexander Robinson's 1-yard touchdown run with 9:14 remaining, but Hawkins threw a 14-yard strike to Williams. Colorado converted the 2-point try to make it a 24-21 contest with just over 7 minutes remaining.

Hawkins then hit a wide open Cody Crawford in the back of the end zone for the winning score with 1:30 left.

ISU drove the ball down to the 1 with 3 seconds remaining, but Alexander Robinson was stuffed by Daniel Dykes and Jimmy Smith for a loss.

Another factor in this game was the inept CU kicking game. CU had one extra point blocked and Jameson Davis replaced Aric Goodman with the field goal kicking duties after Goodman has missed seven in a row. Davis did not fair any better after pushing a 38-yard attmept to the left on the opening drive and later badly missed a 29-yard attempt very wide right.

ISU led at half time 10-0 and has now given up over 400 yards of offense in 7 straight games. The Buffs finished the day with 422 yards.

Darrell Scott made his first startd as he took over for Rodney Stewart who is out for the season after fracturing his fibula when he was tacked by a "horse collar" tackel against Texas A&M last weekend.

Scott had touble running in the first half rushing for just 18 yards but was able to turn it up a bit in the second finishing the day with 87 yards on 19 carries. Scott has be hindered with various injuries this season.

Attendance was 46,440

Next week

CU faces number 13 Oklahoma Sate in Boulder. OSU comes into the game with a record of 8-2 4-2 in the conference.

special thanks go to espn and the daily camera