The Colorado Buffaloes enter their game against Nicholls this weekend on a two-game win streak. They are 45-50 point favorites to extend that winning streak to three games before Oregon comes calling next weekend.
In a season with 13 games and no bye weeks, the game against Nicholls is as close to a gimme as a team that has gone a decade without a winning record has the right to expect. That's right, the last time the Buffs had a winning record for the year was 2005 and Gary Barnett was still the head coach. No winning seasons for Dan Hawkins or Jon Embree, and MacIntyre's first two rebuilding seasons also fell short.
That brings us to 2015. The Buffs are 2-1 and should be 3-1 in about 30 hours. After that, the reality of playing in the "Conference of Champions" kicks in. Seven of nine of the Buffs' Pac-12 opponents will either be ranked or very close. In four years in their new conference, the Buffs have only managed to win 4 games against Pac-12 foes. That has to change for the Buffs to become an annual bowl team once again.
The Buffs will win against Nicholls. The question is: How smart will they be in achieving that goal and preparing for Pac-12 play?
Injuries are a reality for every football team. The Buffs entered last week's game against CSU with FOUR running backs in rotation to carry the ball and help protect the quarterback. By the end of the very hard-hitting game, they were down to one (Christian Powell) and he was doing a lot of limping.
The depth chart this week lists both Michael Adkins and Patrick Carr as injured. Wide Receiver Donovan Lee has been moved to running back this week to give the team more depth. He joins redshirt freshman Kyle Evans behind Powell and a gimpy Phillip Lindsay.
QB Sefo Liufau took a hit to the shoulder and suffered a slight separation that would have sidelined 99% of other quarterbacks. Instead, he re-entered the game and led the Buffs to a win from 14 points down.
Will the Buffs need their tough-as-nails QB to win against Nicholls? The answer is a resounding NO!
Sefo wants to play. Of course he does. He's a competitor. But fans and coaches want him to be fully healthy for the start of Pac-12 play next weekend. For the Buffs to win a few conference games and become bowl eligible, the Buffs are going to need to keep Sefo healthy.
Jordan Gehrke has thrown ZERO passes this year, and only 44 in his career as a backup to Liufau. He has only completed 45.5% of his passes, and his yards per attempt is a paltry 3.9 (Sefo's YPA last year was 6.4, and this year it is 5.9). Gehrke needs work with the #1 offense so that if he is called into action he is ready to actually run the plays that CU calls.
Gehrke has one start in his career. Last season at Oregon, he was thrown to the wolves. In the first half of play, he was 9-18-0 for 64 yards. That's 3.55 yards per attempt passing. He was also sacked twice. Liufau came in to play the 2nd half despite suffering from concussion symptoms and averaged only 2.9 yards per attempt.
Gehrke needs the work and the coaches need to let him use the full playbook. He cannot just hand off the ball 60 times, even though the Buffs would win even if they do not throw a single pass. Gehrke and third stringer Cade Apsay need to run the Buff offense and learn what it is like to play in a game the Buffs will win.
Everybody who is dinged up should sit out the Nicholls game.
All these guys are very competitive and want to play. We understand. We also know that playing a team of Nicholls level gives the guys a chance to "pad their stats" against a lesser opponent.
But, after a decade of losing, the only stat the Buffs should be worried about is wins. They are all that matters now. If the Buffs want to go bowling at the end of this season, they have to be smart about who they risk. 3-1 to start the season means nothing if they do not put some conference wins on the table. And that means keeping their key players healthy and getting their injured guys time to recuperate.
The coaches need to do what is best for the team for the entire season.
Showing posts with label Christian Powell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian Powell. Show all posts
Friday, September 25, 2015
Sunday, September 1, 2013
CU vs CSU 2013: Let the Game Begin!
It's game day Buff fans. The long wait to get out from under the cloud of bad coaching for seven years is over. No more Hawkins. No more Embree. The bright light of a team prepared by real, good, and smart coaches is here for CU. Let the sun shine in! The early days of Aquarius are upon us. Put your game face on.
The darkness that is the Denver media seemingly hate the light as much as they hate Boulder and the Buffs. It doesn't matter, because the sunny days are back in Boulder whether they like it or not. The Mike MacIntyre era has begun.
The Denver Post believes that CSU has the advantage in every aspect of the game except punting. They are living in a fantasy land! (Like where they claim to have a weekday circulation of almost half a million. They base this on internet hits instead of actual newspapers. If one counts actual papers, the numbers are closer to 250k daily.)
For the past two years, CU had the worst coaching staff in their history and arguably the very worst in the FBS. Despite that handicap, it still took a meltdown of epic proportions by CU for CSU to scrape out a win. CSU and the Post shouldn't take any comfort in that, since epically proportioned meltdowns were the norm for the coaching staff last year. It is the reason they are no longer here.
It was the 21st win by CSU in the history of the rivalry. CU, on the other hand, has ONLY managed to win a meager 61 times by comparison. With that history in hand, it is easy in fantasy land to believe the Buffs have no chance. WAKE UP! This is reality.
And the reality is that this Colorado team will look nothing like what we have seen the last several seasons. They will no longer be outcoached on a weekly basis. And the days of them standing on the field waiting for their offensive coordinator to make up his mind what play he wants to run are over too.
There will be no more quarterback sneaks on first down because the coaches did not notice the team had made a first down on the previous play. And defensive coaches will no longer have their cornerbacks playing 10 yards off the line of scrimmage when the opponent is in the red zone.
The Buffs had horrible coaching and still barely lost to CSU last year and beat them by 14 the year before even with the same coaching staff. I shudder to think how the game will look when the Buffs are led by good play callers.
I look forward to a lot of shudders going up and down my spine today. The Buffs are angry and they have a flatiron sized chip on their shoulders. They are in MUCH better playing shape than they have been in years. Heck, the top 10 defensive linemen alone have lost almost 200 pounds since spring while gaining strength and stamina.
Christian Powell is down more than 20 lbs since he arrived on campus last year as a true freshman who led the Buffs in rushing. He's is still a monster to contend with when he hits you with 230 lbs of speed and muscle.
And Paul Richardson is back after missing last year. He's faster now than when he was one of the most feared receivers in the Pac-12 in 2011. Anyone remember the 11 receptions for 284 yards against Cal?
Everyone knows that the CSU coach has refused to name a starting quarterback until game time. Does anyone else think that decision was designed to prevent nightmares of Chidera Uzo-Diribe crushing his qb? This guy was damn near unblockable last year, and he's faster and stronger this year.
And lastly, Connor Wood takes over as quarterback. He was one of the best and most sought after QB's in the country coming out of high school. And now he is working with perhaps the best young QB coach in the country in Brian Lindgren. The shudders are starting just thinking about it.
You heard it here first. This game is going to get ugly. The party is going to start in Denver this afternoon and will rock throughout the night in BOULDER. For the Rams, the Rocky Mountain Showdown will end up being the Rocky Mountain Horror Story.
GO BUFFS! Or better yet...
FUCK 'EM UP, FUCK 'EM UP, GO CU!
The darkness that is the Denver media seemingly hate the light as much as they hate Boulder and the Buffs. It doesn't matter, because the sunny days are back in Boulder whether they like it or not. The Mike MacIntyre era has begun.
The Denver Post believes that CSU has the advantage in every aspect of the game except punting. They are living in a fantasy land! (Like where they claim to have a weekday circulation of almost half a million. They base this on internet hits instead of actual newspapers. If one counts actual papers, the numbers are closer to 250k daily.)
For the past two years, CU had the worst coaching staff in their history and arguably the very worst in the FBS. Despite that handicap, it still took a meltdown of epic proportions by CU for CSU to scrape out a win. CSU and the Post shouldn't take any comfort in that, since epically proportioned meltdowns were the norm for the coaching staff last year. It is the reason they are no longer here.
It was the 21st win by CSU in the history of the rivalry. CU, on the other hand, has ONLY managed to win a meager 61 times by comparison. With that history in hand, it is easy in fantasy land to believe the Buffs have no chance. WAKE UP! This is reality.
And the reality is that this Colorado team will look nothing like what we have seen the last several seasons. They will no longer be outcoached on a weekly basis. And the days of them standing on the field waiting for their offensive coordinator to make up his mind what play he wants to run are over too.
There will be no more quarterback sneaks on first down because the coaches did not notice the team had made a first down on the previous play. And defensive coaches will no longer have their cornerbacks playing 10 yards off the line of scrimmage when the opponent is in the red zone.
The Buffs had horrible coaching and still barely lost to CSU last year and beat them by 14 the year before even with the same coaching staff. I shudder to think how the game will look when the Buffs are led by good play callers.
I look forward to a lot of shudders going up and down my spine today. The Buffs are angry and they have a flatiron sized chip on their shoulders. They are in MUCH better playing shape than they have been in years. Heck, the top 10 defensive linemen alone have lost almost 200 pounds since spring while gaining strength and stamina.
Christian Powell is down more than 20 lbs since he arrived on campus last year as a true freshman who led the Buffs in rushing. He's is still a monster to contend with when he hits you with 230 lbs of speed and muscle.
And Paul Richardson is back after missing last year. He's faster now than when he was one of the most feared receivers in the Pac-12 in 2011. Anyone remember the 11 receptions for 284 yards against Cal?
Everyone knows that the CSU coach has refused to name a starting quarterback until game time. Does anyone else think that decision was designed to prevent nightmares of Chidera Uzo-Diribe crushing his qb? This guy was damn near unblockable last year, and he's faster and stronger this year.
And lastly, Connor Wood takes over as quarterback. He was one of the best and most sought after QB's in the country coming out of high school. And now he is working with perhaps the best young QB coach in the country in Brian Lindgren. The shudders are starting just thinking about it.
You heard it here first. This game is going to get ugly. The party is going to start in Denver this afternoon and will rock throughout the night in BOULDER. For the Rams, the Rocky Mountain Showdown will end up being the Rocky Mountain Horror Story.
GO BUFFS! Or better yet...
FUCK 'EM UP, FUCK 'EM UP, GO CU!
Monday, August 26, 2013
Pac-12 Football: Colorado Releases First Depth Chart of the 2013 Season
The Rocky Mountain Showdown against CSU is coming up this Sunday and the CU Buffs have released their first depth chart of the season. Needless to say, this chart is not etched in stone, and could change as quickly as the swipe of an eraser on a blackboard.
Although it may or may not change before the opening kickoff, Mike McIntyre and his staff will be evaluating their players with well trained eyes to see how they perform in live game situations. And they will also be evaluating themselves to see how effective they have been installing confidence and knowledge in their men.
OFFENSIVE STARTERS
C - GUS HANDLER
LG - KAIWI CRABB
RG - DANIEL MUNYER
LT - JACK HARRIS
RT - STEPHANE NEMBOT
TE - SCOTT FERNANDEZ
QB - CONNOR WOOD
TB - CHRISTIAN POWELL
FB - JORDAN MURPHY
WR (X) - NELSON SPRUCE
WR (H) - D.D. GOODSON
WR (Z) - PAUL RICHARDSON
DEFENSIVE STARTERS
LEFT DE - JUDA PARKER
DT - JOSH TUPOU
DT - NATE BONSU
RIGHT DE - CHIDERA UZO-DIRIBE
MIKE ILB - ADDISON GILLAM
WILL ILB - DERRICK WEBB
SAM OLB - PAUL VIGO
LC - KENNETH CRAWLEY
FS - JERED BELL
SS - PARKER ORMS
RC - GREG HENDERSON
NICKEL BACKS - CHIDOBE AWUZIE and MARQUES MOSLEY
SPECIAL TEAMS
P - DARRAGH O’NEILL
PK - WILL OLIVER
PR - NELSON SPRUCE
KOR - MARQUES MOSLEY
Look for further postings regarding position by position starters and backups.
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