Colorado Football: The Real Story Behind Play-Calling Criticism of Brian Lindgren

Through five games this season, much has been written and talked about regarding play-calling for the University of Colorado Buffaloes. Many fans have taken to criticizing starting QB Sefo Liufau, but that criticism is misplaced. Liufau does not call the plays. Offensive Coordinator Brian Lindgren does.

Sefo is a college student who spends many hours on football in addition to his duties as  a student. OC Lindgren is paid very handsomely to do his job full time. If there is any criticism about play-calling, it needs to start with Lindgren and the buck ultimately stops with the head coach, Mike MacIntyre.

It is easy to be deceived by typical game and season statistics. They do not tell the whole story.

If you look at the official statistics for the Colorado-Oregon game, they read as follows for the Buffs:

• 36 Rushing attempts for 77 yards, which is 2.1 yards per rush.
• 42 passes, 25 completions for 231 yards, which is 5.5 yards per attempt and 9.2 yards per completion.

MacIntyre, who claims that he has no problem with the play calling of Lindgren and might even point out that rushing attempts were more than 46% of the offensive calls. Unfortunately, that is a gross distortion of the truth in that sacks and quarterback scrambles for positive yardage are listed as rushing plays.

Sefo Liufau was sacked five times by Oregon for losses of 38 yards, an average greater than 7 1/2 yards per sack. By contrast, Oregon's QB's were sacked three times for a total of six yards, or an average of two yards per sack.

Take away those sacks and Colorado's rushing attack is a little better. It's not great, but a lot closer to the old standard, "four yards and a cloud of dust."

• 31 rushes for 115 yards, or 3.7 yards per rush

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More importantly, it is very enlightening if one looks at the breakdown of what Buffs offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren actually called against Oregon.

Called Running Plays -- 26 : -- which is 32.9 percent
Called Passing Plays  -- 53 : -- which is 67.1 percent.

More telling still is to break down what happened on those 53 called pass plays.

• 5 times -- Colorado QB sacked 
• 6 times -- Buff QB scrambles for positive yardage
• 5 times -- QB hit while passing or throws ball away

That means 16 times (that's 30% of all called passing plays) the Buffs tried to throw the ball but were unable to successfully get the pass into the field of play.

When the Buffs were able to successfully get a pass off, the numbers are very telling. In this stat, the numbers show where the ball was thrown to and caught, and not at how many yards were gained after the catch.

• 6 times -- Buffs threw the ball behind the line of scrimmage. (Completed 5)
• 13 times -- Buffs threw between 0-5 yards. (Completed 10)
• 12 times -- Buffs threw between 5-10 yards (completed 7, with 1 TD and 1 interception)
• 3 times -- Buffs threw between 10-20 yards (completed 2)
• 3 times -- Buffs threw more than 20 yards (completed 1)

In 53 called passing plays, the Buffs only managed to "spread the field" by calling a pass 10 yards or more beyond the line of scrimmage six times. That's a paltry 11.3% of called passing plays that Oregon had to worry about a man down field.

If you were a defensive coordinator in the Pac-12, those kind of stats make your life a whole lot easier. You would know that 89% of the time the ball on passing plays would be tossed in front of where your safeties would likely start the play or the QB would be sacked, hit while throwing, or be forced to run.

What Lindgren does not seem to understand is that throwing the ball down the field keeps the defense honest and does not allow them to continually bring their safeties up for run support.

With the number of fast receivers on the Colorado offense, they should be used frequently to stretch the field.

In the first half against Oregon, which ended with a 17-17 tie, the Buffs threw the ball beyond 10 yards 4 times. In the second half, in which the Ducks outscored the Buffs, CU only threw it past 10 yards twice.

Neither half showed enough balls down the field. Some might even argue that balls thrown between 10-20 yards hardly counts as "down the field" in Pac-12 play. In that scenario, the Buffs really only stretch the field less than 6% of the time on called passing plays.

Against Oregon, the Buffs threw as many passes BEHIND THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE as they did 10 or more yards down field. That's a travesty. And not new. Even when Lindgren's Buffs had speedster Paul Richardson, they often threw as few as two out of 36 passes beyond 12 yards down the field.

To help the running game, the offensive coordinator needs to call passing plays that keep defensive players on their heels. When the running starts going well, it will open of the passing lanes for Colorado receivers.

More and more, Colorado players have shown they can play with anyone in the Pac-12. But they do not call their own plays. They have improved mightily on the defensive ball under Jim Leavitt and all the defensive coaches. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the other side of the ball.

Brian Lindgren is the LEAST FEARED O.C. in the Pac-12.

Lest anyone think this is a new conclusion, see these prior posts:

• History Says It's No Anomaly, the Buffs Need to Run to Win  (published 09/14/2015)
• Colorado Head Coach Mike MacIntyre Must Take Control of the Offense  (published 9/01/2014)
• Colorado Must Stretch the Field and Utilize Goodson to Win in Washington  (published 11/09/2013)
• Passing Game Predictability Working Against Buffs in Pac-12 (published 10/20/2013)                  

Delusional CSU Fans Looking for an Upset Against Colorado in the Rocky Mountain Showdown

Lots of folks around the country and even Colorado like to make fun of Boulder and its lifestyle. That's okay. It's all in fun. And in many cases it's jealousy. That's okay too. Nobody makes much ado about Fort Collins because, frankly, most people around the country have no idea where the home of Colorado State University is located (other than being in Colorado, that is).

Boulder, however, is a completely different matter. It's the home of the University of Colorado. It's the location of the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The National Institute of Standards and Technology is here. IBM is in Boulder. Google has offices in Boulder. The home of Mork and Mindy is in Boulder. A Heisman Trophy and an NCAA football championship trophy also have a place in Boulder. CU has the greatest live mascot in all of college athletics. And the magic little town below the Flatirons also has the most highly educated population level in the United States.

It's easy to see why those up in Fort Collins might be a little jealous. It also makes sense why more Ram-leaning folks go the CSU game against Colorado than to any other game. I mean, really, where else can they see a real live buffalo leading a team onto the gridiron? It's a lot more impressive than a sheep with horns.

In any case, we digress. The subject at hand was delusions. An article published earlier today in the Coloradoan talked about the three keys for CSU to beat Colorado in the Rocky Mountain Showdown in Denver tomorrow. The first thing the article mentioned was running the ball and doing it well. Good advice nearly always.

The delusional part came next. The writer made the claim that "top to bottom, CSU has more talent at running back than it did last season." Really? Last year, the Rams had Kapri Bibbs, who set a CSU record by rushing for 1,741 yards and became only the 3rd player in D-1 history to rush for 30 touchdowns in a season. Bibbs now plays for the Denver Broncos. Unless the Rams plan to change their offensive philosophy to running the wishbone (thus having 3 backs behind the quarterback), there is no chance "top to bottom" or even sideways that they will have more talent on the field at the running back position than they had last year.

The next "key" was to keep Colorado under 300 yards passing. Sad to say, the Buff having under 300 yards passing will most likely be due to them rushing for more than 250 yards and eating up the clock while they do it. What the CSU faithful need to hope for is that the revamped Colorado line does not dominate the clock and wear down their defense. If Colorado has big passing numbers and small rushing numbers, it means that offensive line of Colorado is not doing its job.

The Buffs passed for 400 yards last year but took 46 passes to do it. Take away the 157 yards on two Paul Richardson TD catches and Colorado only had 243 yards on 44 passes, which works out to 5.5 yards per pass. Those numbers are good enough to beat the likes of CSU, but they will not hold up against the rigors of Pac-12 play.

The last "key" listed in the Coloradan was the play of CSU wide receivers. They will have their hands full since the Colorado defensive backfield finally has some depth as well as talent, and should be better than it has been since Gary Barnett was coaching. That's saying a lot, since the 2011 NFL draft took Colorado cornerbacks in the first and fourth rounds.

The real key to CSU beating Colorado is if the Buff team and its fans get stuck in construction traffic on highway 36 and don't make it to the game on time. Don't count on it, though. The best advice would be for CSU fans to stay in Denver for the weekend and take in a show or go to the zoo. That way the trip down won't be a total bust. Colorado wins this one in a more impressive fashion than last year, and won't need Paul Richardson to do it.

It's Time for Colorado Buff Fans to Get Over Paul Richardson

With less than four days before the start of the 2014 Colorado Football season, some Buff fans are doing some serious hand-wringing and fretting over the fact that Paul Richardson has moved on to the NFL's Seattle Seahawks. They need to stop worrying.

The 2014 CU Buffs will be a better TEAM without Richardson.

While reading the stories and blogs (and their comments) about CU football, a common theme is that the Buffs will be unable to overcome the loss of Paul Richardson. Many of the comments by younger folks than myself give the impression that they think that Paul Richardson was the best player ever to don the Black and Gold. These people need to listen to their elders when we tell them that is not the case. In reality...

Richardson was the best player on some of the worst Colorado teams ever.

Colorado's record while he was in Boulder was 13 wins and 36 losses, and many of those were some of the worst losses in CU history. Although Paul stood out as a shining light in some very dark times for Colorado football, the fact remains that he was not enough of an impact player to make CU a winning team.

His stats from 2013 were impressive:

• 83 catches for 1,343 yards.
• 1 rush for 7 yards.
• 10 touchdowns.
• Total all purpose yards -- 1,350 on 84 touches.
• An average just over 16 yards every time he touched the ball.

Just a reminder, his team finished with 4 wins and 8 losses. In addition, Richardson was the "Go-To" guy on the team.

Compare Richardson's season with that of Mike Pritchard in 1990.

His stats from CU's National Championship team were amazing:

• 28 catches for 733 yards.
• 29 rushes for 450 yards.
• 16 kickoff returns for 331 yards.
• 11 touchdowns.
• Total all purpose yards -- 1,514 yards on 73 touches.
• More than 20.7 yards every time he touched the ball.

This team won the National Championship and Pritchard shared the spotlight with Eric Biemiemy, who finished 3rd in the Heisman Trophy race, and Darian Hagan, who finished 5th in the Heisman the year before.

The moral of the story is that Pritchard was a great player on a great team.

A winning team is not made by lots of passes to just one guy.

In addition to the National Champion team in 1990, every Buff fans should know about the 1989 and 1994 teams.

 The '89 team went undefeated in the regular season and lost in the Orange Bowl as the #1 team. That 1989 team threw a grand total of only 102 passes the entire year. But they had 4 receivers who averaged more than 24 yards per catch. They also rushed for 4,090 yards as a team.

The 1994 team may have been the most talented in Colorado history. 

Quarterback Kordell Stewart threw for 2071 yards and rushed for 639. His top 5 receivers that year were:

• Michael Westbrook -- 36 catches for 689 yards.
• Christian Fauria -- 35 catches for 356 yards.
• Rashaan Salaam -- 24 catches for 294 yards.
• Phil Savoy -- 17 catches for 283 yards.
• Rae Carruth -- 14 catches for 255 yards.

In addition to throwing the ball, the Buffs also featured a running game powered by Rashaan Salaam's 2055 yards and 24 touchdowns on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy.

(Those numbers do not reflect the bowl game -- Salaam rushed for 3 touchdowns, while Stewart took the Offensive MVP with 205 yards passing and 143 rushing.)

The team blew one game to arch-rival Nebraska to be denied the National Championship game. I watched from the stands as they destroyed Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl 41-24 to finish the season ranked #3.

The 2013 Buffs threw lots of passes. They had to. The were one of the worst teams in the country at rushing the ball.

Last year, the Buffs threw four times as many passes as the 1989 team that played for the National Championship.

They threw twice as many as the team that won the National title in 1990.

They threw 155 more passes than the 1994 team.

The 2014 Buffs must be able to run the ball and control the field.

Last year, the Buffs were the worst in the Pac-12 at getting into the red-zone and also into the end zone for touchdowns on their way to a four win season.

This year, if they want to be competitive in the best conference in the country, they need to change that. They need to compete in the trenches. If they continue to get manhandled on the lines, a great talent like Paul Richardson cannot make them a winning team.

Football is a TEAM sport, and great numbers for one guy don't mean squat.

Colorado Buffs Football: 2013 in Review

How bad had things gotten for the University of Colorado football program? So bad that four wins this past season constituted an unqualified success for new head coach Mike MacIntyre. For those still not happy with the direction of the program, please know that two decisions out of the control of Mac's coaching staff were what kept the Buffs from winning enough games to qualify for a bowl THIS year.

Those of us who are old enough to remember when Bill McCartney came to Boulder in 1982 remember the last time that Colorado football was a laughingstock before the last half dozen years. Chuck Fairbanks came to Boulder in 1978 from the New England Patriots. Prior to that, he had been head coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1967-72. During his six year stint leading the Sooners, OU finished the season ranked in the top 15 five times, including three times ranked in the top 3. Fairbanks record at OU was 52-15-1.

The national prominence achieved at Oklahoma was not repeated in Boulder, where Fairbanks led the Buffs to only 7 wins in 33 games. He resigned as head coach in June 1982.

McCartney's first three years in Boulder were quite similar with 7 wins in 33 tries. The difference was the foundation that McCartney was laying would put the Buffs on the national map for something other than the Bottom 10. Over the next four years, the Buffs averaged a respectable 7 wins per year.

As the wins came, so came the better level of high school recruits. During McCartney's last 6 years leading the Buffs, his team won 58 games. Among those games played, two were for the National Championship, and one other team was a single loss from playing for the national title once again. The Buffs finished in the Top 20 all six of those final years under McCartney, including three in the top 4 and were the AP national champions following the 1990 season.

Like McCartney back in 1982, MacIntyre arrived following the 2012 season to a program that was in shambles due primarily to a coach with an excellent track record before coming to Boulder. Dan Hawkins had led Boise State to an amazing 53 wins in five years before being hired by the Buffs. Like Fairbanks before him, the magic was not to be repeated. In five years leading CU, Hawkins won only 19 games, which was 34 games LESS than he won in Boise over the same time frame.

Following the firing of Hawkins, Colorado turned to former Buff Jon Embree despite the fact that he had no prior head coaching or even coordinator experience. To make matters worse, Embree hired for his coordinators other coaches with no prior experience in those roles.

That inexperience showed often in almost comic incompetence as the Buffs on offense frequently got their plays relayed in to the QB with nearly no time left on the play clock, causing numerous delay and procedure penalties. Another showcase of their bad coaching came when OC Eric Bieniemy called a QB sneak on 1st down after failing to notice that the Buffs had barely picked up a first down the previous play.

On defense, things were no better under coordinator Greg Brown. The Buffs gave up 552 points in 2012, which included giving up 50 or more five times. They allowed 69 to Fresno State, and 70 points to Oregon. Their lone win in 2012 was really a fluke, as Washington State imploded after leading 31-14 halfway through the 4th quarter. The Cougars gave up 3 touchdowns in the last 7:06 to lose by one point. It was the only thing that kept the Buffs from going 0-12 for the year.

This "lucky to win only 1" team was what MacIntyre inherited when he took over following the firing of Embree and his staff. What he found when he arrived was a team that had no sense of TEAM or BROTHERHOOD. What he also found was a group of young men that was not having any fun playing a game. And he found that the level of players brought in under the previous two coaching staffs had, by and large, not been systematically developed into FBS level players.

There were individual standouts that moved on the NFL, to be sure, but consistent development of every player was as sorely missing as consistent game plans in any aspect of the game. The Buffs were routinely manhandled by their brethren in the Pac-12, especially in the trenches, and it showed in the final scores.

This is what MacIntyre had available to him, but together with his staff they put their heads and hearts into molding the young men in their program into a TEAM which had enthusiasm for the game and their teammates. After years of being in a down program, it was perhaps the biggest challenge facing the new coaching staff.

The Buffs got stronger this year under the tutelage of Dave Forman, but they also realize that it will take another year or two before they are as strong as they need to be to compete at the very high level required for their conference. They were still pushed around on the lines, and that is the benchmark that determines success at the collegiate or professional levels. Win the battles in the trenches and you will win the games in most cases.

As bad as things were following the 2012 season, the reality is that two losses to the Buff roster determined their fate for this year. Lineman David Bakhtiari left early for the NFL, and now starts for the Green Bay Packers. And fellow lineman Alex Lewis announced his plan to transfer to Nebraska before assaulting an Air Force Cadet and placing himself in legal limbo. Lewis finally accepted a plea bargain to plead guilty on lesser charges on Dec. 21st. Sentencing has yet to be handed down.

Lewis and Bakhtiari were expected to be the stalwarts of an offensive line that was supposed to be a strength of the program. Their losses were the difference between four wins and six wins this year. Indeed, if the two had not left the program, MacIntyre and staff might well be looking at coach of the year honors within the conference.

Losing two dominant linemen made protecting QB's Connor Wood and Sefo Liufau a much harder task. And the two QB's paid the price. It also made the CU rushing game much less reliable. The Colorado backs showed some good signs occasionally throughout the year, but short yardage situations where push came to shove usually found CU being pushed back by stronger lines.

As great as the year put forth by Paul Richardson was, imagine how much better it could have been if the CU offensive line was a dominant unit that allowed the QB to have that extra second or two that would have allowed Richardson and the entire receiving staff more time to break into the open more often. On top of that, a dominant line would have allowed the Buffs to hold onto the ball for much more time, and allowed the defense to be more aggressive  by playing from ahead much more often.

Judging by the talented recruits brought in and quickly developed by MacIntyre this past year, the Buffs are in good hands going forward. Another year of training under Forman and learning the programs of coordinators Brian Lindgren and Kent Baer will only improve the quality of the Buffaloes program.

Much of last year was spent rehabilitating the broken football program. Hell, they even had to spend time teaching these Buffs how to have fun. Now that they understand fun, and devotion to their brotherhood, these Buffs can now focus on getting stronger and playing faster.

When their understanding of the program is so good that they can react without thinking, the level of their play will be the equal of other top notch programs. It may not completely show in 2014, although it might, but the day is coming when the thundering herd of the Colorado Buffaloes will once again be feared. And Buff fans and players will have this coaching staff to thank for it.

Mike MacIntyre -- Head Coach
Kent Baer -- Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers
Brian Lindgren -- Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks
Klayton Adams -- Running Backs / Tight Ends
Gary Bernardi -- Offensive Line
Charles Clark -- Safeties
Jim Jeffcoat -- Defensive Line
Andy LaRussa -- Cornerbacks
Toby Neinas -- Special Teams
Troy Walters -- Wide Receivers / Recruiting Coordinator

Ode to Colorado Wide Receiver Paul Richardson

Following the end of the football season, Buff fans are dealing with the reality that Paul Richardson has decided to move on from the University of Colorado and try to make the jump to professional football. In honor of #6 and his goal of playing in the NFL, we present a little ditty from "The Graduate" (one of my favorite movies). The song "Mrs. Robinson" was, of course, was written by Paul Simon, one of the greatest poets of modern music.

To help you get in the mood, listen to the real song here.

"Mr. Richardson"

And here's to you, Mr. Richardson,

Buff fans love you more than you will know.

  God bless you, please, Mr. Richardson

The NFL has place for those who play,

hey, hey, hey

They'd like to know a little bit about your for their files
So we'd like to help you learn to help yourself.
Look around you all you see are evaluating eyes,
Wow 'em at the Combine until they take you home.

And here's to you, Mr. Richardson,

Buff fans love you more than you will know.

  God bless you, please, Mr. Richardson

The NFL has a place for those who play,

hey, hey, hey

Lift hard in the weight room where no one ever goes.
Fill your pantry with some protein.

It's not a little secret that Mr. Paul needs some weight.
Most of all you've got to keep your blazing speed.

Koo-koo-ka-choo, Mr. Richardson,
Buff fans love you more than you will know.
God bless you, please, Mr. Richardson.
The NFL has a place for those who play,
Hey, hey, hey

Sitting on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon.
Watching the NFL's great race.

Laugh about it, shout about it
When you've got to choose
Every way we look at this we lose.

Where have you gone, Paul Richardson,
Buff fans turn their lonely eyes to you.
What's that you say, Mr. MacIntyre
Blazing Paul has left and gone away,
Hey hey hey.

Thanks to Paul Simon for writing such incredible songs and thanks also to Paul Richardson for providing such a bright beacon of light in some of the darkest days of Colorado Buffaloes football. We would also like to encourage Mr. Richardson to finish his degree and become a graduate in real life. Thanks for the memories.

Interesting note: The YouTube video above of Mrs. Robinson was to honor the song as #6 in a ranking by the American Film Institute of the best songs in the first 100 years of cinema. Paul Richardson wore #6 for the Colorado Buffaloes.

Colorado Faces Utah, Richardson Faces Decision About Future

The Buffaloes of head coach Mike MacIntyre play their last game of the year today when they take on the University of Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. For the first time under Coach Mac2, Buff fans will get to see how the guys play when their pride is the only thing on the line.

Following the loss to USC last week, Colorado is now officially out of the bowl picture with a record of 4-7. The situation is the same for Utah, which is also 4-7. The game features a fight to determine which is the 2nd and 3rd worst team in the Pac-12 behind Cal.

Although Utah has been dubbed as Colorado's conference rivalry game by the poobahs at Pac-12 headquarters, the fact of the matter is that only time and games that matter over the next decade or so will decide whether the game ever becomes a rivalry. Having bowls or conference championships on the line in the last game of the season is the one way to create a rivalry in short order. Unfortunately, that will have to wait for years to come.

The biggest question for Buff fans is whether this will be the last time we see Paul Richardson wearing a CU uniform. He obviously is very talented and is perhaps one of the best wide receivers ever to grace Folsom Field for Colorado.
But being a great college player at any position does not automatically make one a sure-fire bet to make it big in the NFL.

Richardson is very generously listed as 6'1" tall and 170 pounds by the official CU website, but most estimates put him at around 160 pounds soaking wet. There are very few players in the NFL which play at such a light weight. Indeed, over the last 30 years, there have only been about 21 guys who played at under 165 pounds. The latest was Brandon Banks, who played at around 150. His time in the NFL was short, however, and he now plays in the Canadian Football League.

The advice here is that Richardson should take some time to talk to CU basketball player Josh Scott. Last year as a freshman, Scott had lots of talent but was frequently manhandled by stronger players. An off-season dedicated to building body mass has turned Scott into a force on the boards.

The guy behind the the increase in strength and muscle for Scott was Colorado's Director of Sports Performance Dave Forman, who is starting to be recognized as one of the best in the country. He was at Stanford for the turnaround that made the Cardinal one of the strongest teams in the FBS, and he also helped turn San Jose State into a bowl team that was ranked in the top 25 at the end of last season.

Now Forman's job is to do the same at Colorado, and Josh Scott is living proof that it can be done in fairly short order. Richardson should really evaluate whether he is strong enough for the pounding of professional football right now.

It says here that if Paul Richardson puts on 20 pounds before next season AND keeps his speed, All-American status and having his name called on the first day of the draft are highly likely, as well as a bowl trip for the Buffaloes. If he decides to declare for the draft this year, he should be ready to go undrafted or be a late round pick. The difference in money is huge between those options. Indeed, Canada might well be where he ends up.

I've heard people say that they think Richardson will be a 1st or 2nd rounder this year, but frankly, those people are living in a fantasy world. The NFL is BIG business and they do not waste draft picks. Of the 21 guys under 165 in the last 30 years, ten were undrafted free agents and only THREE were drafted in the first 100 of their draft. The highest was Stacey Bailey, who was drafted 63rd way back in 1982. Check out the list, and another thing these guys all have in common  is that they do not ring any bells as stars of the NFL game. They are mostly answers to the trivia question, "who are the smallest guys in the NFL?"

I wish Paul Richardson all the luck and success in the world no matter what he decides to do. It has been a pleasure to watch him play and help make Colorado an exciting team to watch again. As for his future, does he want to be a star player in the NFL? Or does he want to be part of the answer to the trivia question above?

Only One Way for Colorado Buffaloes to Defeat USC

It's past mid-November, and the Colorado Buffaloes still have a shot at playing in a bowl game at the end of the season. It's a long shot, for sure, but certainly better than CU fans have experienced in a good long while.

For fans of the University of Spoiled Children, it has been a down and up year. With two regular season games left on their schedule, the Trojans sit at 8-3. They have won 5 of 6 games since firing Lane Kiffin following the 62-41 thrashing at the hands of Arizona State in late September.

The Trojans come to Boulder looking run the table against the Buffs and UCLA and represent the Pac-12 South in the conference championship game. Two teams stand in their way, Arizona State and UCLA. Fortunately for SC, the Bruins and the Sun Devils play each other this weekend.

UCLA ends their regular season against USC, and ASU faces their in-state rival Arizona next weekend. If all the cards fall into place, USC could very well be heading to Oregon to play the Ducks in the conference championship game.

The wild card in the equation is the University of Colorado Buffaloes. If the Buffs can manage to beat the Trojans on a cold November night in Boulder, they can ruin USC's plans and keep their own bowl hopes alive. As the Buffs have never defeated USC is seven tries, it would be a big surprise. In it's effect on the resurrection of a once elite program, a home win on Senior night would be HUGE.

Many fans of the Colorado football program have been clinging to irrational hopes for the game. They want bitter cold, or better yet, driving snow to slow down the Trojans and give their Buffs a chance. They cite anecdotal evidence that USC has not historically played well in cold weather games.

But, in reality, the Trojans have not played in the snow since the 1950s. That's what happens when you play on the west coast against teams from the west coast. Not until Utah and Colorado joined the conference several years back did the opportunity to play in the snow really rear its ugly head.

It seems likely that USC will adapt like every other team in the conference when they have to make the cold weather adjustment. In fact, it is likely that playing in snow will not happen very often for the west coast teams or the Arizona teams. The game most likely each year to be influenced by snow will be the season ending game between Utah and Colorado following Thanksgiving each year.

Colorado head coach Mike MacIntyre and his staff, and his players as well, know the truth about the game with USC. To defeat the Trojans, the Buffaloes will have to OUTPLAY them. They will have to play smart and limit their penalties. They will have to win the turnover game. They will need to control the ball and score touchdowns when they get in the red zone. They will need to convert their third downs at a high rate (close to 50%). They will need to play solid special teams and good defense.

Everyone knows that the USC roster is loaded primarily with young men who were rated as 4 and 5 star recruits coming out of high school. But that did not keep the Trojans from going from preseason #1 last year to unranked by the end of the season. It did not keep Lane Kiffin from getting fired. And it did not keep Arizona State and Oregon from scoring 62 points apiece on the Trojans.

You have to play the game on the field. And each team is only allowed 11 guys on the field at a time. And 11 guys playing as a TEAM can always beat 11 INDIVIDUALS who do not play well together.

The game against USC is Senior Day, and will be the final home game for the Buff seniors. Although the Buffs have a very young team, some of their stalwarts will be running onto Folsom Field for the final time in their CU careers. Starting defensive seniors are Safety Parker Orms, DL Chidera Uzo-Diribe, and LB Derrick Webb. Defensive backups include Paul Vigo and Nate Bonsu.

Offensive Senior starters are Linemen Gus Handler and Jack Harris, and Tight End Scott Fernandez. Senior backups on offense include TE Alex Wood and QB Jordan Webb.

The great unknown is whether the game will represent the last home game for WR Paul Richardson. Although he is only a junior, Richardson is one of the best wideouts in the country and may opt to turn pro early like David Bakhtiari did last year.

Do the Buffs stand a chance against the Trojans? Of course they do. But to win, they will have to play as a TEAM and outplay USC on both sides of the ball. They cannot count on the fans or the weather to make the difference. They have to make their stand on Folsom Field as a band of brothers and defend their turf. It's the only way they can win.

Colorado Must Stretch the Field and Utilize Goodson to Win in Washington

Colorado has four games remaining this season. If they want to make it to a bowl game, they need to win 3 of those games. Against a quality opponent like Washington, the only way the Buffs can achieve that goal is to stretch the field more in order to utilize the talents of Paul Richardson, Sefo Liufau, and the underutilized speedster D.D. Goodson.

This blog has pointed out over and over the strong tendency of offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren to have his quarterbacks focus their throws to the outside quarters of the field. The Buffs worked to rectify that tendency a bit during last week's game with UCLA.

After throwing a grand total of six passes between the hash marks against Arizona and Charleston Southern, Sefo Liufau directed five of his 36 passes against the Bruins over the middle. It is still a very low percentage, but much better than the Buffs have normally used this season. See the graphic below for the location of passes by CU against UCLA. The incomplete pass behind the line of scrimmage and between the hash marks was actually a ball that was batted down by a defensive lineman and was not intended to land in the middle of the field.

At least as troubling as the fact that such a high percentage of passes are thrown to the numbers or outside is the fact that only TWO of 36 passes went more than 12 yards down the field. A little trigonometry shows that a 12 yard pass to either sideline must travel as far in the air as a pass thrown 25 yards directly down the field. That the being the case, the Buffaloes should be doing more to clear out that 10 yard box in front of the line.

Making linebackers and defensive backs from the other teams cover more yardage up the field will open up the running game for the Buffaloes as well, since a missed tackle or good hole would lead to a bigger yardage gain than a play with a safety or linebacker sitting in the hole.

Another thing the Buffs could do to open up their offense is to get D.D. Goodson more involved. Since his five catches in the first game, Goodson has had only 10 additional catches in the 7 games since. That is a waste of talent. In yards per catch, Goodson is only a single yard behind Paul Richardson. Why is it that Richardson gets FOUR times as many balls thrown his way? These two are the most explosive guys on the Colorado offense, yet only one is being utilized to the proper degree.

Why isn't Goodson being used as a return man? His ability to bring back the ball on kicks was one of the reasons he was sought after as a recruit in the first place. And he certainly has a lot more moves and shakes and speed than the guys returning kicks now. Goodson also has averaged more than 13 yards per carry for his 3 carries. MacIntyre and Lindgren need to figure out a way to get Goodson a minimum of 10 touches a game to help take the pressure of double and triple coverage off Paul Richardson.

Of course, certain other things will be necessary for the Buffaloes to pull off the upset against the Huskies. Liufau needs to hold form and complete 65-70% of his passes and help his team convert close to 50% of third down opportunities. The Buffs need to limit dumb, drive killing penalties. And the defense needs to control the yards of Washington tailback Bishop Sankey, the #3 rusher in country.

They did a fine job of containing the top running back in the FBS in Arizona's Ka'Deem Carey, but did so only at the expense of letting the Arizona quarterback have a career day rushing himself. Fortunately for the Buffaloes, Washington quarterback Keith Price is not really a rushing threat. They will have to keep pressure on him, however, or he will pick them apart like last year when he threw for five touchdowns.

Lastly, if the Buffs can win the turnover game, they have a chance to come out of Seattle with their long-sought first conference win since September of 2012. That game was also in the state of Washington. Maybe it's just what the Buffs need to get over the hump.

The Day Sefo Liufau Became "The Man" -- and the Colorado Buffaloes Became a TEAM

November 2, 2013 -- Make note of the day. In years to come, it will be remembered as the day Sefo Liufau grew from the true freshman just months out of high school into the MAN who will lead Colorado back to respectability.

Critics of the Buffaloes will harp on the fact that Colorado's loss to #16 UCLA in the Rose Bowl was yet just another in too many consecutive losses to Pac-12 opponents. What these critics DO NOT see is just how how far Colorado has come under Mike MacIntyre. And they do not see how close CU came to playing a competitive ball game for four quarters against a ranked opponent on the road.

Even if he does not share it publicly, the head coach of the Buffs must be very happy in his heart this morning. He took a downtrodden program that was known for quitting or just going through the motions last year, and began the arduous task of rebuilding the Buffaloes into a TEAM.

It took much of spring practice to get the guys to enjoy playing football again, and it took much of pre-season for them to learn to respect and support one another again. Seven games into the 2013 season, the Buffs had tripled their win total from last year.

In game eight at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, the Buffs made their biggest improvement to date because they learned to FIGHT. The offense, led by star wide receiver Paul Richardson, finally decided that they were not going to take BS from anyone. And when the entire offensive line went after Anthony Barr, the top defensive player in the country, following his cheap shot on Liufau, the path back to respectability by the Buffs was finally chosen.

The impetus for the change most certainly came from Liufau. No matter how many times he was knocked down by cheap shots from UCLA, he got up and went back at 'em. He stood up to Barr, and his line came back to help. Despite the pounding, Liufau completed 25 of 36 passes for 247 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions. After this game, Sefo will never again be the young kid trying to adjust to the speed of the college game. He has seen it and knows he can play.

Truth be told, two plays separated this game from a nail biter. An unfortunate fumble by Ryan Severson on a kickoff return gave the Bruins the ball in scoring position. And a long 76 yard pass from Brett Hundley to Devin Fuller that was oh-so-close to being a sack or at least being hit as the ball was thrown. Take those two plays away and the Bruins are looking at one touchdown game.

Take a couple of missed field goals by CU and the game is neck and neck. Turn a couple of those field goals into touchdowns and CU maybe wins this game. The willingness to fight and protect their leader Liufau will make CU a team to be reckoned with going forward.

If the defense and the special teams can adopt the same fight, Colorado will be a much better team from this point on. If it happens this week, the Buffs stand a real chance of standing toe to toe with Washington on the road. Liufau grew up in Washington and has lots of family and friends that will be on hand to support him. He is ready to lead the Buffs to their first Pac-12 win of the season. There will be many more to come.

Mark down the date. The Buffs have 16 games between now and the end of next season. The prediction here is that Colorado wins at least half those games. MacIntyre and his staff have worked very hard to get the program at Colorado turned around. The game against UCLA marked a major turning point, and it was one that had to made before the Buffs finally start to see their progress reflected in the final score.

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Seeing the Colorado and UCLA players on field after the game sharing handshakes and hugs was all the proof anyone could ever need to see why Colorado has found the right home in the Pac-12. CU has a huge alumni base in California. Moving forward, since so many of the Buff football players come from the Golden State, it will only help in recruiting the fertile football valleys of California if those young men know that they can return home and play in front of their families and friends, and with and against longtime rivals.

Go Buffs!

What Colorado Buff Fans Should Expect Against UCLA at the Rose Bowl

Mike MacIntyre's Colorado Buffaloes take on the Bruins of UCLA today at the famed Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The game will be televised at 5:30 pm (Mountain Daylight Time) on FS1.

The Bruins were undefeated and riding high with a national ranking to match after their first five games to the season. The were scoring points at the clip of almost 46 points per game, while giving up a mere 18.

But that was before running into the conference buzz saws of Oregon and Stanford, both on the road, the last two weeks. During those contests, their offensive output dropped to 12 points per game in the two losses, while the Bruins surrendered 33 points per game.

The Bruins are quite happy to be back home in the Rose Bowl to face Colorado, and they are hoping to get their numbers back to "normal" and another win. A win by UCLA would make them bowl eligible. Future games that will be harder to count on as wins include a tough trip to Tucson to face Arizona before welcoming Washington and the red hot Arizona State Sun Devils to Pasadena. The Bruins finish off the regular season a few miles down the road against bitter rival and rejuvenated USC at the Coliseum. For UCLA, the Colorado game looks to be the only "gimme" left in a conference where gimme's are hard to come by.

The Buffaloes arrived in Los Angeles with four big losses in conference games this year, and a losing streak in the Pac-12 that goes back to early in the 2012 season. Coach Mac and his Buffs know that they have tough row to hoe to pull off the upset.

What do the Buffs have going for them? 

Well, for starters, more than 40 players for CU grew up in and played their high school football in the Golden State. Lots of them will have friends and family in the stands and they do not want to look bad in front of their peeps. On top of that, many of them played with and against the players from UCLA, and they share rivalries that go back to high school and before.

The Colorado kickoff returns continue to get better and better each week. Ryan Severson has gotten very close to breaking one for a touchdown and may be able to take one to the house today. As it is, he now stands 2nd in the Pac-12, averaging 28.6 yards per return. Buff fans hope, however, that Severson does not get too many opportunities to break one.

Although CU starting quarterback Sefo Liufau is only a freshman making his third start, he is becoming more aware of the speed of Pac-12 defenders and adjusting his game. Fortunately, Sefo should have his favorite receiver Paul Richardson available for the game. Having a guy who is a threat to take it all the way every time he touches the ball makes life as a quarterback a little less stressful.

The Buffs have the Pac-12's leading tackler in freshman Addison Gillam. Greg Henderson leads the conference in interceptions per game and also passes defended. And Chidera Uzo-Diribe leads the conference and the nation in fumbles forced per game.

What problems do the Buffs face?

The offensive and defensive lines of the Buffaloes have been consistently overpowered within conference play. They have sometimes held their own for a quarter or even close to a half, but then tend to wear down.

The play-calling by CU offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren, especially when throwing the ball, has been VERY predictable and easy to defend. Even with the skills of Richardson, the Buff passing game is not nearly as big a threat as it could be.

The running game, or lack thereof, can most certainly be attributed to the youth of the offensive line. Unfortunately for the Buffs, the most effective running back, Michael Adkins, will miss (most likely) the game due to a concussion suffered last week.

Do the Buffs stand a chance?

Realistically, not much of one. But it certainly would not be the biggest upset ever if they do pull out a win. Colorado would have to play their best game in several years to win this one unless UCLA hurts itself over and over again with turnovers and penalties.

Keys to the Game for Colorado:

• Win the turnover battle
• Convert 3rd downs at 50% (or close) level
• Liufau needs to complete a high percentage of his passes with no interceptions
• Score touchdowns instead of field goals when in the red zone
• Get Paul Richardson the ball, and mix it up to avoid double coverage
• Pressure UCLA QB Brett Hundley
• Limit "home run" plays over 25 yards by the Bruins
• No dumb penalties that kill drives or extend drives for UCLA

Go Buffs!

Midweek Thoughts Regarding Colorado Loss to Arizona Wildcats

Looking back on the game between the Colorado Buffaloes and the Arizona Wildcats, it seems there were some blown opportunities all around. The result of those blown chances was yet another loss to a conference opponent.

I am willing to take some of the blame. After all, I did offer good advice that was not specific enough. Since UA All-American Ka'Deem Carey had rushed for an ungodly 366 yards against CU last year, I had recommended that a key to the game was that the Buffs take Carey out of the game and limit him to 150 or less yards rushing. The Buffs did just that, and only allowed Carey 119 yards.

The problem with the recommendation was that it was too specific to Carey. I should have advised that the Buffs dedicate themselves to shutting down the Wildcat running game, and force them to beat the Buffs with the pasHes. But I didn't, and the Buffs didn't. Arizona put up 405 yards rushing, with 286 coming from folks other than Carey. The biggest hit on the ground came from quarterback B.J. Denker, who averaged almost 13 yards per carry on his way to 192 yards rushing.

On top of the rushing, Denker added 265 yards of passing to earn Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honors. UCLA QB Brett Hundley must be licking his chops this week, since the Pac-12 OPW generally goes to the QB facing Colorado during conference play.

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Colorado special teams continued their upward spiral this past week. That does not include the idiotic decision to run a fake punt from their own red zone. Coach MacIntyre gets the blame for that. Kickoff returner Ryan Severson continues to edge ever closer to going the distance. On his two returns Saturday, he averaged 39.5 yards. Punter Darragh O'Neill had three punts downed inside the 20 with no touchbacks, and had none returned. Kicker Will Oliver had only 1 return of his kickoffs.
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True freshman quarterback Sefo Liufau continued to show positive signs while also showing the growing pains of a young quarterback. His completion percentage against the Wildcats was only 53% (17 of 32, 1 interception), compared to the near 70% he showed against ASU and Charleston Southern). On the positive side, Liufau was not sacked. It was the first time a Buff QB has not been sacked since the Arizona game last year.

Liufau also showed his youth and inexperience by throwing the ball out of the endzone on 4th and goal. As the TV announcer pointed out, you gotta give your own guy a chance to catch the ball since the other team is gonna get the ball anyway on 4th down.

WR Paul Richardson again demonstrated himself as one of the best in the Pac-12 and the country. Unfortunately, he sprained an ankle late in the game and is now listed as day to day. He is hoping to be able to play Saturday against UCLA at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
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The Buff passing game under offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren continues to be predictable, as can be seen by the chart below:

Key to the graphic:

• Black Circle with R inside = completed pass
• Large R = touchdown reception
• Red null symbol (circle with a slash) = incomplete pass 
• Blue null symbol = incomplete pass in the endzone
• Yellow lightning bolt = interception
• 30 yard line as line of scrimmage is used only as a reference
• Click on the graphic to see an enlarged version

Like the game against Charleston Southern, the Buffs had only THREE passes between the hashmarks (and two ON the left hashmarks). 85% of the passes thrown by the Buffs went to the outside 50% of the field, leaving only 15% to the inner half of the field. Note -- the field is 160 feet wide, which means only 5 of 32 passes were thrown within 40 feet of the center of the field.

Considering that the Wildcats had both starting safeties out with injury, one might think that the Buffs would have been better served by attacking the middle.

Another thing to note is that the Buffs were damn lucky that at least one of their passes to the flat was not only almost intercepted but would have been taken to the house for a pic-six. It seems that Pac-12 defensive coordinators are noting (like myself) that the Buffs are very predictable in where they throw the ball. 24 of their 33 passes were thrown within 12 yards of the line of scrimmage, and mostly to the outside part of the field. That's much easier to defend than spreading it across the entire field of play. It also means the ball is spending a lot of time in the air going sideways instead of up the field.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
MacIntyre and the team thought that Arizona was a beatable foe. That may be true, but the same can and is said about Colorado. And right now, CU is more beatable. They have a great deal of young players in starting positions, and that inexperience is being taken advantage of.

The CU offensive and defensive lines are currently losing the battles in the trenches in conference play. That may take a couple years of development to change.

The CU passing game is the most predictable and easiest to defend in the conference. Only the presence of Paul Richardson keeps opposing defenses honest. The Buffs should also do whatever they can to get the ball into the hands of D.D. Goodson -- he is better built for the pounding of reverses and over the middle catches than Richardson.

Passing Game Predictability Working Against Colorado Buffs in the Pac-12

Going into game seven of the 2013 season, the Colorado Buffaloes hope to defend their home turf on Saturday against the University of Arizona Wildcats and their All-American tailback Ka'Deem Carey.

To accomplish that task, the Buffs and their offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren (and head coach Mike MacIntyre, too) must take a long hard look at the utter predictability of their passing game. The passing game has worked well against lesser opponents (Colorado State, Central Arkansas, and Charleston-Southern), but against Pac-12 foes it has been far from effective.

One could argue that Pac-12 teams just play better defense... but one could argue back that Colorado's heavy reliance on outside passes makes it much easier for Pac-12 defensive coordinators to prepare for the Buffaloes.

A small lesson about the playing field in college football:

• Everyone who watches football knows that the field of play between the end zones in 100 yards long.
• Most people DO NOT know that the playing field is more than 50 yards wide. In fact, it is 53 yards and 12 inches wide (160 feet).
• The center of the field between the hash marks is 40 feet wide.
• It is 60 feet from each sideline to the hash marks.
• It is only 27 feet from the sideline to the tops of the numbers.

Key to the graphic:

• Circle with an R inside signifies a completed pass. 
• Null symbol (circle with a slash) signifies an incomplete pass.
• The big R signifies a pass that went for a touchdown.
• The 30 yard line of scrimmage is used simply as a reference.
• Click on the graphic to see an enlarged version.

There is a famous old story in football about how a fan contacted the Dallas Cowboys to let them know that their star running back Tony Dorsett (Heisman Trophy winner and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee) was tipping off opposing teams as to whether the Cowboys were going to run or pass by not putting his mouth guard in on pass plays.

With that spirit in mind, I am hoping that someone (anyone, please!) can share this with the CU coaches. It would make the likelihood of a Colorado win during conference games much greater.

During the game with Charleston Southern this past Saturday, the Buffs threw 21 passes and completed 15 without any interceptions. That was very good, even against an overmatched opponent.

If one looks at the chart above, it shows:

• The Buffs threw 2 out of every 3 balls within 9 yards of either sideline. 
• 1/3 of the passes went at least to the numbers on the left. 
• 1/3 went to the numbers or further on the right. 
• In addition, all those passes to the outside were thrown within 12 yards of the line of scrimmage.
• Only 3 of the 21 passes were thrown inside the hash marks.
• 3 more passes were thrown on the right hash mark.
• 1 pass was halfway between the right hash mark and the numbers.

 There is exactly 106 feet on the field between the numbers on each sideline. On the contrary, there is only 27 feet between each sideline and the tops of the numbers.

The CU coaches need to ask themselves why 67% of their pass attempts are being force fed into less than 34% of the field width within 12 yards of the line of scrimmage? What makes it worse is that the preferred landing location of Buff passes just happens to be the farthest from the Colorado quarterbacks.

The longer the ball is in the air, the more time that defensive backs have to react to the ball. Worse yet, out patterns where the receiver must stop and wait for the ball gives them little chance to catch the ball with momentum.

For the Buffs to make a serious impact on Pac-12 teams with their passing game, they must learn to spread the ball around to include the rest of the playing field. Pac-12 teams are used to fast paced games in which the ball is thrown all over the field. When Colorado concentrates two-thirds of their pass attempts into two small boxes along the sidelines, it makes it much easier for opposing coaches to devise a plan to defend them.

For the Buffs to succeed against Pac-12 teams, they must learn to throw regularly over the middle. Just look at the one passing touchdown this past week. Paul Richardson caught one ball over the middle just three yards from the line of scrimmage. But he caught the ball with momentum and 61 yards later the Buffs had a touchdown.

Richardson is a great receiver, but the Buffs MUST learn to spread the ball around. While Paul was in the game, 10 out of the 17 passes thrown were directed at him. Good teams with excellent defensive backs will double down on Paul Richardson, and make Liufau find other receivers to beat them.

The 2013 season has been a learning experience for the Colorado football players. One hopes that it has been a learning experience for the CU coaches as well. Here's to hoping that they learn to spread the ball around the field and not to focus more than 50% of their passes on one receiver. If they don't, conference wins in the Pac-12 are going to be hard to come by.

For Colorado Buffs to Succeed, they MUST Learn to Convert on Third Down

As Mike MacIntyre's University of Colorado football team gets ready to head south to Tempe, to face the Arizona State Sun Devils this Saturday night, one thing has become perfectly clear: For this CU team to be successful, they have to show the ability to move the chains.

In the first two games, Colorado's offense managed to convert 12 of 30 third down chances into first downs. That means that 40% of the time that they faced a 3rd down, the result was a first down. Not coincidentally, the Buffs won those first two games.

In the last two games, the Buffs have managed to convert only TWO of THIRTY 3rd down opportunities. Two BIG LOSSES later, it is quite apparent that converting less than 7% of their 3rd downs is no way to have a chance to win a game. Even worse than that, in their last game against the Oregon Ducks, the Buffs converted ZERO of their 15 third down opportunities. That 0-15 set a Colorado record for futility.

The O-fer on third downs not only ended drives for the Buffs, they also ended serious scoring opportunities. No fewer than 10 of the Buff failures to convert on third down occurred in Oregon territory (one was on the 50 yard line). Just look at where these failures to convert in enemy territory happened:

• (1st Quarter) 3rd and 4 from the Oregon 23 -- Two yard pass over the middle from Wood to Spruce was dropped.
• (1st Quarter) 3rd and 10 from the Oregon 16 -- Three yard pass over the middle from Wood to Powell was dropped.
• (1st Quarter) 3rd and 15 from the Oregon 45 -- Powell run up the middle for 4 yards.
• (2nd Quarter) 3rd and GOAL from the Oregon 5 -- Wood pass to the right thrown out of the end zone.
• (2nd Quarter) 3rd and 2 from the Oregon 14 -- Run off a pitch to the left for Goodson results in no gain.
• (2nd Quarter) 3rd and 3 from the 50 yard line -- Incomplete 28 yard pass to Paul Richardson down the right sideline. 
• (3rd Quarter) 3rd and 8 from the Oregon 41 -- Screen pass from Wood knocked down by defensive lineman.
• (3rd Quarter) 3rd and 5 from the Oregon 48 -- Short outside pass to Adkins dropped.
• (3rd Quarter) 3rd and Goal from the Oregon 10 -- Adkins run up the middle for 5 yards.
• (4th Quarter) 3rd and 6 from the Oregon 45 -- 25 yard pass incomplete to Ross down the left sideline.

Unlike the last several years, the Buffs under offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren HAVE shown the ability to make big plays on offense. Connor Wood and his band of receivers have hooked up for some very long scoring (and non-scoring) plays. One of the biggest problems for the Buffs, however, has been their failure to score TD's once they get into RED ZONE.

Of Colorado's nine forays into the RED ZONE thus far this season, only one drive ended with a touchdown. Seven times the Buffs settled for field goals, and one time they turned the ball over on downs.

It has become quite clear that the Buffs can extend the field with Paul Richardson and D.D. Goodson, as both average more than 18 yards per catch. The problem seems to be that the Buffs cannot count on those 7-12 yard catches that result in First Downs, particularly when it comes to converting on third downs.

Honing the skill of playing small-ball can only help with third down conversions, and more than likely it will help with red zone efficiency as well. Having the running game consistently pick up 5 yards at a time would also help immensely. Right now they are only averaging a little over 3 yards per carry, and often on important plays they are stopped for essentially no gain. It's hard to harp on the quarterback when the running game offers no respite.

If the Buffs are to have any chance in Tempe, they must be able to control the ball better by converting on 3rd downs. Taylor Kelly is yet another Pac-12 quarterback who can rip a defense apart if given the chance. One of the best defenses to players like Kelly is an offense that keeps him off the field. Running the ball efficiently and converting on third down are the only ways for the Buffs to avoid being blown out in the desert.

Colorado Buff Football: It's Time for Mike MacIntyre to Live Up to his Values

When Mike MacIntyre was hired last December to take over the program from the fired Jon Embree, he came into Boulder and said all the right things. He spoke of "values" and their importance. He brought with him his dedication to the 4-F's (Foundation, Family, Future, and Football).

With a full off-season, spring, and summer to work with, MacIntyre preached tirelessly of the importance of "WE" over the individual. He spoke of togetherness and making the team into a family. He said the right things and started his young charges toward the path of becoming a truly close-knit team.

After starting the season 2-0, the love and the commitment to "WE" was growing around the CU campus. Then came the  flood and the three week break before the next game after the home tilt against Fresno State was postponed. This allowed the good feelings to go on for an extra 3 weeks...

Then came the game in Corvallis against Oregon State and a 44-17 loss.


On a very windy (40-50 mph) day, neither MacIntyre nor the offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren had the intellectual wherewithal to adjust their offensive game plan to account for the wind. The Oregon State coaching staff adjusted, but the Buff coaches proved themselves incapable.

When they should have focused on short passes directly into the wind (and the  longer ones when the wind was at their back), the OC continued to call for long out passes to the sidelines. This rendered Paul Richardson nearly useless, and made Connor Wood look horrible.

The play calling was so bad that the Buffs really had no chance. After starting out strong, the Buff defense tired of fighting an unwinnable battle. They did not give up, like in years past, but they certainly reflected the futility of their efforts. You could see it in their faces that unless their coaches themselves made the adjustment to the game conditions, that there was no possibility of developing an offensive flow.


If you are playing basketball outside when the wind is blowing 40+ mph, you take it the hoop and try to get layups or short shots. You do NOT continue to launch 3 pointers and wonder why the ball ends up 6 feet away from the rim.

Lindgren's play calling was the same as launching 3 pointers in the wind.


It is simple physics and aerodynamics. The shape of a football is designed for the nose of the ball to cut through the air. When strong wind blows on the side of the ball it is quickly disrupted. Maybe Lindgren and Mac should take a science class that will explain this to them.

After about three passes, Lindgren should have changed his play calling strategy. When he didn't, Mac should have changed it for him. When neither did anything, the offense was doomed to failure. In effect, the game was lost long before the final seconds ticked off.

The loss was not the most bothersome thing that happened in Corvallis, however. Most Buff fans have been used to losses for quite a few years now. No, the biggest issue this writer saw was when the coaches talked to the press afterwards.

Like magic, the dedication to "WE" quickly disappeared. All of a sudden, Mac's players were now "THEY," and "They did not do their jobs!" This is bullshit. Football players are often compared to soldiers, and like soldiers they look horrible under bad planning and orders from the officers. The result of this game came from officers (coaches) who froze under fire in adverse conditions. Period. Many of the players were simply "running for cover" after their coaches froze up.

Is it really VALUES? Or is it just advertising?

The test of one's values are NOT when things are going well. The real test comes when things get bad. Based on CU's first loss and his response after the game, Coach Mac deserves an "F" for failing to reflect the values that he claims to hold so dear.

When you get paid millions of dollars a year to lead a group of college kids playing a game, failure on the field should be followed with a big "I" when meeting with the press after the game.

You know, as in "I did not do my very well paid job correctly. My fellow coaches and myself were not prepared, and did not adjust to game-time conditions. We let our players and our university down and we vow not to let it happen again."

Mac and his staff have five days to learn how to address a post game press conference after a loss. It's a month into the season, and Oregon is arguably the best team in the country. A win by Colorado would go down as one of the biggest upsets in college football history.

The CU coaches need to emphasize to themselves the importance of acting like grown men when the game is over. If they cannot do it, how can they expect it from their players?

I knew the end was near for Gary Barnett when he started blaming his players. The same went for Hawkins and Embree. I certainly hoped that it would take longer than 3 games for that crap to come out of the mouth of MacIntyre.

The Buck Stops Here!

Harry Truman used to have a sign on his desk that read "The Buck Stops Here!" It was meant to indicate that HE was responsible for everything under his command. No underling would be blamed for the shortcomings of this president.

By contrast, a popular phrase over the last couple of decades comes courtesy of the cartoon character Bart Simpson when he exclaims "I didn't do it!" when something goes wrong. Unlike Truman, Bart is "passing the buck!"

Saturday and a date with Oregon is close at hand. Coach MacIntyre needs to decide and share with his coaches and his players and the Colorado Buff community the answer to one simple question:

Is MAC a LEADER or a cartoon character?

Check back each Saturday to find out.

Last week he left his players dangling in the wind, both on the field and in the post-game press conference. His angry "deer in the headlights" can be forgiven on the field. Some folks don't respond well under stress, but they can LEARN to respond better in the future.

It is much harder to UNLEARN the habit of blaming others for your mistakes.

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Those who have read my other blog posts know I have been a very strong supporter of Coach MacIntyre and his staff. It pained me greatly to watch him flee from his supposed values after the Oregon State game. Leaders sometimes make great mistakes, but great leaders learn from those mistakes. My hope is that MacIntyre finally recognizes his mistake and learns from it. If not, I hope it is NEVER windy again when he is coaching.

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!

Pac-12 Football: Colorado's Road to Respectability a Combination of Autobahn Speeds and Road Contruction Woes

After suffering through the worst year ever for Colorado Buffaloes football in 2012, perhaps it is still a bit too early to hope for an easy win. Easy or not, though, Mike MacIntyre's Buffs improved their season record to 2-0 after scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter to come back from a 7 point deficit to Central Arkansas. The final score at Folsom Field was 38-24.

Just about everyone conceded that the road to rebuilding Colorado Football by  Mac and staff would have a fair share of bumps and detours. Two games in, that is certainly the case. The difference this year from prior years is that the Buffaloes do not fold when the going gets tough. On the contrary, to borrow a boxing term, when these Buffs get knocked to the canvas they get right back up and start swinging.

In both games, late heroics were enough to pull out victories. Colorado scored 18 points in the fourth quarter in game one against CSU, and bettered that with the 21 points in the final stanza against Central Arkansas. The 39 points scored by CU in the last quarter this year is near the top of the NCAA rankings. Last year, the Buffs scored an average of 17.8 points per GAME. This year, the Buffs are beating that by nearly two points in just the fourth QUARTER!

Overall, the Buffs are averaging 39 points per game. That puts CU at 33rd in the country in scoring. Last year, they were 120th! Paul Richardson is the #1 receiver in the country with 417 yards, 4 touchdown and 21 catches. Connor Wood is 7th in the country in passing, while last year the Buffs finished 99th in that category. While the Buffaloes are still looking for a breakout game on the ground, the passing game has more than made up for it so far this season.

On the defensive side of the ball, the difference has been just as dramatic. Last year, the Buffs had just three interceptions the entire year. That was bad enough to have them ranked 122nd in the country. This year, they equaled that total in one game against Central Arkansas. Moreover, they returned two of the interceptions for touchdowns. After two games, the Buffs are tied for #2 in the country. Add the fumble recovery for a touchdown by Greg Henderson in game one, and the Buffs Defense is averaging 1.5 TD's per game.

Does that mean everything is going smoothly for the Buffs in 2013? Not by a long shot. The kickoff return coverage is so bad that Buffs are by far the worst in the country. Right now it is so bad that kicking the ball out of bounds on purpose to let the opponent start their series on the 35 yard line would be a significant improvement. As for punting, only the mad skills of All-American candidate Darragh O'Neill has kept the punt return stats from being as bad as the kickoff returns.

Strangely enough, other than on kick and punt returns, the overall tackling of these Buffs has been light years better than last year. Coach Mac and special teams coach Toby Neinas are working feverishly to rectify the situation. Neinas is no newbie in the profession, with more than 15 years on his resume. Chances are that some fine tuning on proper lane coverage will eventually lead CU back to respectability. If not that, Buff fans can hope that the team at least gets to the point the every kick does not lead to serious hand wringing.

Through two games in 2013, the Buffs road to respectability has been a combination of Autobahn speeds and road construction woes. So far, the improvements in offense and defense have allowed CU to win despite the setbacks on special teams and rushing. They are working hard, but they knew it wouldn't be clear sailing the entire way, not this early in the process.

This week the Buffs face a Fresno State team which decimated them last year by a score of a score of 69-14. It is obviously a major step up in competition.  These Buffs are a drastic improvement over last year, most notably in their hearts and dedication. They may not beat this FS team which is close to joining the Top 25, but their hearts will be in it to the very end. They may take some damaging shots, and even find themselves on the canvas, but they will land some haymakers of their own. Indeed, count on them to start earning back the respect that disappeared last year in Fresno.

The Hunt Continues: Colorado Buffaloes Look to go Sugar Bear Hunting against Central Arkansas at Folsom Field

The HUNT for victories continues! Six days after successfully bringing down the CSU Rams in Denver for the Rocky Mountain Showdown, the Colorado Buffaloes and Head Coach Mike MacIntyre open their home season at Folsom Field looking to add a Central Arkansas Sugar Bear head to the wall of their 2013 trophy room. In the process, they want to re-establish that Boulder is a tough place to play for visiting teams.

Why is that so important?

Mostly because it has been a long time since it was true. 2012 was the first time in the history of Folsom Field that the Buffs went through the entire season without a win at home. The most embarrassing loss among their 0-6 record at Folsom in 2012 was a loss to mediocre FCS team Sacramento State. It was not much better in 2011, as the Buffs won only one game at home against Arizona. That means that Colorado has only won one game at home in the last 11 tries. It is the primary reason that Jon Embree was fired.

New Honcho in Town

One of the main reasons that Mike MacIntyre was hired is that he had already demonstrated the ability to take a down program and rebuild it to respectability in a hurry. That was important because few programs in the FBS were more down than Colorado. Perhaps more important than the rebuilding itself was the fact that Mac did it right. He did not try to make things easier for the players on the field and in the classroom. NO! He raised expectations all across the board. More importantly still, he and his staff hold themselves accountable first.

One of the hallmarks of the last two coaching regimes (three if you count the last couple years of Gary Barnett) was a consistent blaming of the players when things did not go well. One of the reasons that Mac and staff will be successful in Boulder like they were at San Jose State is that they rightfully take the blame for problems their teams have on the field. It is the way it should be. After all, they and not the players are the ones making lots of money.

Central Arkansas Sugar Bears in Town

Like Sacramento State, Central Arkansas is a team from the FCS. Unlike Sac. St., the Sugar Bears are a good team. They are ranked #5 in the latest FCS poll, while Sacramento State opened the season in Tempe against Arizona State. The Sun Devils spanked 'em 55-0. Central Arkansas opened their season with a 58-7 win against the University of the Incarnate Word. (It must be true because I certainly could not have made that up!)

Check out the Bring the Buff blog by David Smith to find out lots more about Central Arkansas, their unique cereal sounding name, and their silver and purple football field.

How the game will turn out:

Central Arkansas has some good players, including more than a dozen transfers from FBS schools. They are coached very well by Clint Conque and his staff. And they are led by quarterback Wynrick Smothers, who was the offensive player of the year for his conference in 2012. They are an excellent FCS team who could play on an even keel with a good number of FBS teams. In fact, if this CA team were playing the 2012 Buffs, they would likely have smoked the Buffs.

This is NOT the 2012 Buffaloes, however, and chances are that the excellent coaching of Mac and staff will be enough to give the Buffs all they need to take down the Sugar Bears.

Connor Wood passed for 400 yards last week, and Paul Richardson is the #1 receiver in the country after week one. The defense is much more solid, the punter is one of the elite in the nation, and the place-kicker looks dangerous from 55 yards in.

Due to the offense run by the Sugar Bears, the Buffs will spend a lot of time in nickel and dime packages. Fortunately, the secondary looks much better than it has in years. The Buffs had only three interceptions all of last year. Look for their first and maybe second today against the Sugar Bears as Chidera Uzo-Diribe and his mates on the defensive front put lots of pressure on Smothers.

Central Arkansas will make some good plays, but the depth of CU, a loud and fired up student section, and the altitude of Boulder will be more than enough to carry the Buffaloes to victory. Make a place on the wall for a Sugar Bear head.

Are Mike MacIntyre's Colorado Buffaloes Ready to Take the Next Big Step?

It's an old adage in college football that the greatest improvement during the season comes between the first and second games. The first game always comes with the jitters of a new season and playing with new or even freshman guys around one another. For the Colorado Buffs, those concerns were magnified by the fact that Coach Mac's staff was new, along with new schemes on offense, defense and special teams.

The Buffs passed the first test of the season with flying colors when they defeated CSU by a score of 41-27 at the Rocky Mountain Showdown in Denver. The next big question is whether they can improve upon their overall performance this weekend when they open their home schedule at Folsom Field against FCS powerhouse Central Arkansas.

The Bears are ranked #5 in this week's FCS poll, and last week no less than 8 FCS teams stepped up and defeated FBS schools, including a win by Eastern Washington against a ranked Oregon State team. That being the case, there is no reason for CU to be taking the Bears lightly. The Buffs must also remember that they lost at home last year to another FCS team, Sacramento State. They do not want to face the same embarrassment as last year.

The 3-play vs. 2-play debate from the RMS

Although CU came away from the RMS with a seemingly comfortable 14 point win, those at CSU could make a reasonable claim that the game turned on just three plays. Those were the two long touchdown throws from Connor Wood to Paul Richardson that were the result of blown coverages by the CSU secondary, and the stripped ball by Chidera Uzo-Diribe that was picked up by Greg Henderson and returned 53 yards for a touchdown. Take those away and CSU could very well have taken the game, it could be argued.

On the other hand, CU could rightly claim that the final winning margin was much smaller than it could have been due to two special teams plays. CSU receiver Joe Hansley returned a punt for 74 yards and a touchdown, and Thomas Coffman returned a kickoff 84 yards to set up CSU's go ahead touchdown. Take those two plays away and maybe Colorado wins by 30.

It doesn't really matter. The RMS is over and the Buffs won. Coach MacIntyre and his team know that football games are often decided by big plays on offense, defense and special teams.

The game against Central Arkansas

 The trick for the Buffs this week is to continue to improve upon the things they did well in the first game, and to fix any problems they had.

The offensive line did a great job of protecting the quarterback last week but rushing yards from the backs were hard to come by. Colorado knows that was because CSU was rolling the dice that Connor Wood and his fleet of receivers could not beat them. Thanks to the great work by Wood, Richardson, Goodson and the rest of the receiving crew, the gamble by CSU was not successful.

Special teams should show significant improvement this week. Actually, that should be narrowed down. The punter and kicker for CU were outstanding in the first game. What needs to come up to par against Central Arkansas is return coverage. The Buffs know that and have been tweaking it all week. Look for someone on the return coverage units to make a play or two that is worthy of the new Sledgehammer Award won by Parker Orms in week one for his hit that cartwheeled a CSU tight end in the end zone.

On defense, the front line fought a very good CSU line to a standstill, but the lack of pressure they put on the CSU quarterback was only not damaging due to the very poor game passing by the Rams QB. The Central Arkansas quarterback is both a running and passing threat and is likely one of the most athletic quarterbacks that CU will face this season. The secondary and the linebackers must continue their fine work from the first game and the D-line needs to step it up and get pressure on the quarterback.

If the Buffs take the next big step and improve off their first game performance, the opening game at Folsom Field should be a win. If they rest on their laurels and take the Bears for granted, it could be an ugly and embarrassing day. If they play hard and fast and take full advantage of the altitude, the home field, the fans, and their strength and athleticism, the Buffs should walk away with another big win and double their win total from last year.

Go Buffs! FUCK 'EM UP, FUCK 'EM UP, GO CU!

A Cheese-Free Analysis of the Colorado Buffaloes and the Win over CSU

Colorado Head Coach Mike MacIntyre warned his players after the enormous 41-27 win over CSU not to "eat the cheese" that would be headed their way following the victory. The point of his comment was that his players should expect lots of accolades being thrown their way and not to buy into the nonsense that CU is a great team. I agree with Coach Mac2, and hereby offer a cheese-free look at the team's win.

Right now, the Buffs are NOT a great team. Heck, they might not even be a very good team. But they are a much better team than they have been in years. But this is only due to their hard work and commitment to themselves, their teammates and their coaches. They were given a plan and they followed it. If they continue their dedication and work ethic, the team has the opportunity to become not only good, but perhaps pretty darn good. If they decide to eat the cheese, they will have a rude awakening very soon.

Due to the emotion that goes along with the old rivalry with CSU, many Buff fans (and many so-called CSU supporters like Kelly Lyell) have been quick to claim that CSU is a very bad team. They are very wrong. The CSU team that lost to the Buffs in the Rocky Mountain Showdown on Sunday is a MUCH BETTER team than the one that beat the Buffs last year.

CSU Head Coach Jim McElwain is an outstanding coach. The CSU quarterback had a bad game. But their offensive line did a fine job of neutralizing the Buffs defensive line. The CSU running backs ran hard and with passion. The CSU defense made CU earn every yard running the ball.

It's true that CSU stacked the box to stop the running game, but that was obviously due to the fact that their game plan was predicated on the idea that they were rolling the dice that Connor Wood could not beat them with his arm. It was a reasonable bet, considering how bad the Buffs were last year. Nobody at CSU could have reasonably expected that Connor would put up the gaudy numbers that he did. Or that he would take care of the ball so well and avoid any interceptions.

Take away the two broken coverages that led to Paul Richardson scoring very long touchdowns, and the Rams did a pretty good job of containing the Buffs' passing game. Not everybody would be raving if the Buffs only put up 240 yards passing and 350 yards of total offense.

The Rams have two winnable games ahead of them before they head off to Tuscaloosa, Alabama as the guests of honor at a Ram Roast.  That said, the Rams will have had some serious trial by fire before heading into conference play. I look forward to seeing how the Rams do against Boise State this season. The wild Idahoan Broncos were corralled and broken at Washington in the first game of the season. Every team in their conference is looking for some payback. The same goes with Nevada, who was torched by UCLA in their opener. Also, Utah State, who lost to Utah.

The fact that CSU is a much better team than last year is a great sign for the Buffs. It means that CU is also a greatly improved team. But this early in the season, that improvement is precarious at best. They absolutely have to take care of business with a very good Central Arkansas team that is ranked #6 in the FCS. Many of the top FCS teams beat FBS teams in the first week, including a win at #24 Oregon State by Eastern Washington. If CU thinks they have to just show up, they will find themselves beaten like they were last year by Sacramento State.

Cheese-free player profiles for the stars of the game

Paul Richardson

Paul is very good. He is very fast. Blow your coverage on him and he can make you look very bad.

BUT, Paul needs work on his routes, especially if he is in traffic. He needs to listen to his coach Troy Walters and learn to fight for the ball. He was manhandled by the CSU secondary several times, he needs to work harder to create separation when running routes over the middle. The yards and touchdowns are going to be much harder to come by when teams learn they can disrupt his play by getting physical.

Connor Wood

Connor did a great job as the new starting quarterback in the RMS. He did not throw any interceptions and recovered a bad snap. He threw for 400 yards and completed a high percentage of his passes.

BUT, several time Connor tossed the ball away without getting it out of bounds. Do this too many times and the ball is bound to be picked off. Also, Connor has a very strong arm but needs to make sure he is using his body as well. Arming the ball while back-pedaling is very dangerous. If possible, Connor needs to make sure he steps into his throws whenever possible.

Addison Gillam

Addison is a true freshman who started the first game at inside linebacker. He was the first to do so at CU since Jordon Dizon, who went on to become an All-American. He finished the RMS with a game-high 14 tackles. He also had a sack and broke up a pass. He seemed to be everywhere.

BUT, what the hell, there really is no but here. The young man played a hell of a game and has the talent to become the next great CU linebacker. He knows the cheese is there but he will not take a bite. I look forward to watching this young man for the next several years.

The Cheese Stands Alone!

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!