The reason the Buffs were given no chance by their coaches is blindingly simple. Yet, even a day later, what I see out of this staff is a collective head scratching and a muttering of idiotic catchphrases like "we have to look at the tape" to breakdown what went wrong. Let me save you guys a little time...
It's the Wind, Stupid!
Bill Clinton election theme in 1992 was "It's the economy, stupid!" and it poked fun at the economic policies of George Bush. It's an apt analogy here that the CU coaching staff should think about when looking at the tape of the game.- When you look at the tape, look at MacIntyre's hair blowing sideways off his head due to the 40+ mph winds blowing through Reser Stadium.
- Look at the first half as OC Brian Lindgren repeatedly calls long out passes across the wind that had LITTLE chance for success.
- Hell, watch the halftime report from the Pac-12 network. Rick Neuheisel and company pointed out the obvious by stating the wind was too strong to throw the ball "outside the numbers."
- Despite the weather, Lindgren ordered the Buffs to piss and spit over and over and over again into the wind.
- MacIntyre stood by and let it happen, and both now seem dumbfounded by the fact that their offensive players ended up with piss and spit all over themselves.
Kent Baer's Defense was Ready to Play.
Watch the first half of the game, and you come away mightily impressed with the game plan put together by DC Kent Baer and the other defensive coaches. The mighty OSU offense struggled to move the ball or convert on third down. Even when catches were made, the Buffs were almost always providing excellent coverage.The defensive line was harassing Sean Mannion and putting him on the ground. Linebacker Addison Gillam was again all over the field. DB Greg Henderson once again showed he is a ball hawk of the highest order.
Unfortunately, you could see the frustration begin to set in as the defensive players seem to realize that no matter how much opportunity they gave the Buffs' offense, the play calling of Brian Lindgren effectively doomed any chance that Connor Wood and the offense had to build a rhythm of success.
In hindsight, it could be reasonably argued that anything positive created by the offense was sheer dumb luck. By the end of the second quarter, the defense realized that fact and it took a bit of the wind out of their sails. On top of that, the OSU offensive coordinator adjusted HIS play calling to account for the wind.
Toby Neinas Should Wear a Bag Over His Head
Much was made of the hiring of Toby Neinas as a full time special teams coordinator. Special teams had been a nightmare for the Buffs the last several years and the conventional wisdom was that a full time coach devoted to this part of the team would help immensely. As is often the case, conventional wisdom was wrong. Special teams continues to be an embarrassment.MacIntyre's Buffs would be better served by a scarecrow with these simple points taped to his chest:
- Coverage Team: Tackle the guy with the ball.
- Return Team: Block the guys trying to tackle your guy with the ball.
- Returners: Catch the ball and HOLD onto the ball until the whistle blows. Run with the ball ONLY if you can manage the first two parts.
The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men Often Go Awry
The gist of the old Scot saying was highlighted by poet Robert Burns and later immortalized by John Steinbeck in his classic novella "Of Mice and Men" about a couple of guys in Depression Era California. It is a short and easy but very powerful book that the entire CU Buff coaching staff should read THIS weekend.One of the morals to the story is that things change. The application of that thought for the Buff coaches must be that they HAVE to be aware that playing conditions strongly influence what can and will work and what will NOT.
The Ice Bowl
The effect of playing conditions in football were most famously demonstrated in 1967 during the NFL Championship game at frigid Lambeau Field between Tom Landry's Dallas Cowboys and Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers.At playing time, the temperature in Green Bay was 15 degrees BELOW zero. The wind chill was nearly 50 degrees below zero. Every football coach should be able to talk about the adjustments that had to be made by both players and coaches in that famous game.
The game winning touchdown was scored on fourth down near the end of the game when quarterback Bart Starr followed his guard Jerry Kramer into the endzone on a quarterback sneak. Later, when asked by the media why the Packers did not simply kick a field goal to send the game into overtime instead of risking a loss by going for it on 4th down, Lombardi said it was "too cold" to take the game into overtime. Kramer later immortalized the game and play in his book "Instant Replay" with Dick Schaap.
Everyone Has a Plan Until They Get Punched in the Face
Boxer Mike Tyson made that famous comment in response to questions about the lateral movement and jabs of an upcoming opponent. It pointed out that many great plans are destroyed by the reality of the moment.The game against Oregon State in Corvallis was one of those moments in which reality punched the CU coaches in the face. It was not the Beavers who did the punching. It was not Sean Mannion. It was the WIND. And Brian Lindgren and Mike MacIntyre were knocked stupid by it.
Which Way Did He Go, George? Which Way Did He Go?
According to the New York Times, the classic characters of Lennie and George were "endlessly parodied" by cartoons of the 40's and 50's. One of the most common of those parodies was of a big, goofy, Lennie-type character being confused about something and asking breathlessly, "Which way did he go, George? Which way did he go?" Unfortunately for the Colorado Buffaloes, the part played by OC Brian Lindgren was that of Lennie.Let's hope that in the future, Mr. Lindgren doesn't have such a hard time figuring out which way the wind is blowing.
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