Mike MacIntyre's CU Buffs Didn't Have a Chance in Corvallis... and it was NOT because of the players

When Brian Lindgren and Mike MacIntyre look at themselves in the mirror today, they will be looking upon the main reason their team wasted a huge opportunity in their 44-17 loss to Oregon State. When the rest of the coaching staff looks in the mirror, they should know that they had the chance to change what was happening... but nothing was done to alter the outcome.

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.

It is really quite simple. But I guess if you cannot figure out the wind is blowing hard it might be seem complex. Right now, unless Neinas is doing amazing things on the recruiting trail, his paycheck is a waste of taxpayer dollars.

 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.

Colorado vs. Oregon State: Why it is a Winnable Game for the Buffs

After three long weeks off courtesy of a bye week and 100 year flooding, the Colorado Buffaloes head off to Corvallis with a chance to extend their 2013 record to 3-0. Nobody outside of Boulder seems to think the Buffs have much of a chance, but the view from here is that the Beavers and everyone else in the conference are going to be re-evaluating Colorado after the game. Or just maybe, they will be taking a harder look at Oregon State.

Let's go back to August and remember that these Beavers were ranked in the top 25 to start the season. There were high expectations as they took the home field against FCS team Eastern Washington... and proceeded to give up 49 points in a LOSS. An update to the dominating offense shown by EW shows they scored only 21 points in their latest game, a loss to powerhouse Toledo.

It it true that OSU has responded to their shocking opening game loss to EW by winning three straight games... but they have been very uninspiring in those games which they should have won easily if they were really a top 25 caliber team. After all, Hawaii and San Diego State are a combined 0-6.

Even then, it took a collapse of damn near biblical proportions for San Diego State to lose their game against Oregon State. Even though they were way ahead deep in the fourth quarter, the Aztecs decided to keep throwing and gave up two interceptions (including a pick 6) to seal their stunning come from ahead loss. If they had opted for the old "3 yards and cloud of dust" followed by a couple of punts, the Aztecs would be reveling in a big win this week.

In retrospect, the Beavers did go on the road and earn a big win over Utah. Like Colorado, not  much was expected of Utah this year. But they beat Utah State, an 11 game winner last year, and a team that should have defeated USC at the Coliseum in Los Angeles had their coaches not been so poor in clock management. They also beat BYU a week after the Cougars destroyed the Texas Longhorns. Even so, BYU's record still stands at 1-2, while Utah is 3-1.

That means that OSU has won three straight against teams with a combined record of 3-7. It is not something that should be inspiring fear in any future opponent, including Colorado.

Despite the 2-0 start for the Mike MacIntyre's Buffaloes, many CU fans have been wringing their hands at the lack of a running game. As bad as it has been running the ball for Colorado, it has been much worse for OSU. This reason alone shows why Sean Mannion has to throw so much. Hell, he threw 50 times against Hawaii and the game wasn't even close. But if you cannot run the ball, there really is no other option.

While the college football world seems to be caught up in calling Mannion the greatest thing since Beaver pelts in pre-industrial America, the fact is that his stats are only marginally different than those of CU's Connor Wood. And Mannion has had to throw the ball more than 48 times a game, which is 7 more per game than Wood has heaved it up.

One of the reasons that Mannion has put up such large numbers passing has been that the Beavers have HAD to throw the ball while trying to play catch-up or being caught in a shoot-out. The OSU defense has been a little shell-shocked this year, and not to some very good teams.

It is a FACT that the Beavers have not had to play a receiver of the caliber of Colorado's Paul Richardson this year. Richardson leads the country in yards per game with back to back 200 yard games. How good is that? In more than 100 years of CU football, there had only been three 200 yard games by receivers before Richardson arrived in Boulder. With his start this year, Richardson now has 3 all by himself. That's pretty good when you consider how many NFL wide-outs have played their college ball in Boulder over the years.

Taking a long hard look at Colorado and Oregon State offers the promise of an exciting game. One HUNDRED passes and more than 1000 yards of total offense look likely. There will be LOTS and LOTS of highlights.

What the game will most likely come down to is DEFENSE. Whoever can make the most big plays and create some turnovers will win. Whoever can pressure the quarterback effectively and minimize big plays will win. Both teams have shown they can come back and both have fought through adversity to win. Neither team can count on the other team giving up, even if they are down.

These facts will make this an exciting game. It is a winnable game for both teams. Methinks the Buffs come out with a 3-0 record, and a pride that has not been seen for a long, long time. It is a win that should earn them a brick in the wall.

FUCK 'EM UP, FUCK 'EM UP... GO CU!