Colorado Reaches Crossroads Against Washington State

It's been a particularly odd and peculiar year for the Colorado Buffaloes and their fans. 

Last season was a remarkable run that ended with the Buffs playing in the Pac-12 Championship game after winning 10 games during the regular season. And after a decade of losing football, the wonder and joy of returning to winning form was a welcome respite from the years of disappointment.

Before this season began, excitement permeated all who had an interest in Colorado football. The coaches, the players, and fans expected the team to continue their winning ways based on the foundation  built by head coach Mike MacIntyre. 

Through recruiting and player development, it took Mac three years to turn a down program into a team able to compete in the Pac-12. Just looking at wins and losses, however, did not tell the whole story. Mac's teams won four, two, and then four games again in those first three years. But each year the Buffs got closer and closer to competing equally in the Pac-12. 

Then, in year four, they finally started winning the close games.

And they also started to win big against some of the struggling teams. Things were finally good again in Buff land. And the Colorado faithful were excited. First a trip to the conference title game, and then a bowl for the first time in a decade. Thanksgiving weekend in 2016 left the Buffaloes with a 10-2 record and most CU fans were giving football thanks for the first time in longer than they cared to remember. Excitement for the future was sky high.

Since that weekend last November, the Buffaloes have won only four of nine games.

There not only lost, but were blown out of both the conference title game and the bowl game. And this season, the Buffs are limping along with a 4-3 record. They were 3-0 against over-matched non-conference foes Colorado State, Texas State and Northern Colorado. And even though the Buffs won those games, they looked very uninspired doing so.

Once they started Pac-12 play, things got ugly quickly. Washington came to Boulder and handed Colorado a beating that was eerily similar to the one the Huskies dealt CU in the Pac-12 title game. Fans and coaches rationalized that game by pointing out that UW was a top 10 team.

Following the Washington debacle, CU lost their next two conference games to teams that were struggling so badly that their coaches were rumored to be on the hot seats as far as job security. Both Jim Mora at UCLA and Rich Rodriguez at Arizona got much needed wins against Colorado. Those two losses left Colorado looking stunned at 3-3.

Last week, finally, the Buffaloes played a team truly struggling. In fact, things were so bad that the Oregon State head coach Gary Anderson walked away from a guaranteed $12 Million contract and resigned. The Buffs faced one of the worst teams in the country, and walked away with come-from-behind 36-33 win. More discouraging is that the 3 point win came against a team that had not been within 28 points of any FBS teams this season.

But, it has been argued, the Buffs won the on road in a Pac-12 game. They were the ONLY team in the league to win a conference game on the road last week. 

It's a tough conference to begin with and winning on the road is very difficult. Last week, three Top 25 teams in the conference went on the road against Pac-12 foes and they all lost. Top 5 Washington lost at Arizona State. Top 10 Washington State was thrashed by California 37-3. And Top 25 Utah lost on the road to USC.

Utah lost to a fellow Top 25 team, but UW and Wash State lost to teams with records of .500 or worse. It's a tough league.

Now the Buffaloes reach a crossroads in their away game at #15 Washington State.

If they win, they move to within one game of qualifying for a bowl game. If they lose, they fall to .500 with a 4-4 record with giant-killers Cal and Arizona State looming before season ending games against heavyweights USC and Utah.

Will the Buffaloes play like they aspire to be in the Top 25? Or will they play like a team that loses big to every Top 25 team on their schedule? The Buffs haven't beaten a Top 25 team ranked above them anywhere since 2008 when they beat West Virginia. And they haven't beaten a Top 25 team on the road since 2002 against UCLA.

Time is running out if the Buffaloes want to make a bowl game for the second consecutive year. Are they and their coaches up to it? Will they celebrate an important victory or find more ways to rationalize another loss?

The Colorado Buffaloes Have Delivered a Magical Season. It's Time for Fans to Return the Favor!

The Colorado football family has enjoyed a magical season so far in 2016. The Buffaloes sit at 8-2, and their six conference wins this season has more than doubled their previous five year total since joining the Pac-12 in 2011.

Folsom Field has once again become a hard venue to play in for opposing teams. And, as Ryan Moeller pointed out, the Buffs are now a team with a "certain swagger" to how they carry themselves off and on the field. It's the end result of countless hours of relentless work to turn the Buffaloes from one of the worst teams in the country to one which is now in the Top 10 of teams ranked for the College Football Playoff.

Fans should appreciate the quality of football being offered to them this month. They would have to look all the way back to 1996 to find a November in which the Buffs played two games against ranked opponents while also being ranked themselves. 

This year is a special treat for the Buffs family, because both of those games are set to be played at Folsom Field. Number 20 Washington State, riding an eight game winning streak, comes to town this Saturday to pit the Pac-12's #1 team from the North against the #1 team from the South.

Next week, #11 Utah comes to Boulder. If the Buffs win both these games, they will represent the South division in the Pac-12 championship game. If they lose even one of the two, the championship game scenario becomes much more unlikely. 

Some have erroneously reported that if the Buffs lose even one game that they cannot  win the South. That is not true. But they would need serious help. The Buffs would absolutely have to beat Utah, and USC would have to lose to UCLA (unlikely, I know, but Trojan-Bruin rivalry is not based on records). That would give the Utes and the Trojans three conference losses, and the Buffs would only have two if they beat Utah and lose to Wazzu.

What is absolutely true is that any loss would end Colorado's unlikely possibility of playing in the college football playoffs. What is also true is that if Colorado wins the last two games and earns a trip to the Pac-12 Championship game, it will mean ending the season against FOUR ranked teams if CU's bowl game is counted.

These things make this a rare year for those in the stands at Folsom Field. The opportunity to watch TWO ranked teams take the field in Boulder does not happen very often, and to have it happen twice in the Golden Games of November is rarer still. 

Fans should enjoy the job that has been done by Mike MacIntyre and his entire coaching staff. And they should also appreciate the work done by a remarkable group of student athletes.

We can show our appreciation by making Folsom Field LOUD, PROUD, and CROWDED for the final games of the year. The Buffs have done their part this year to make this season magical. It's time for Buffs fans to do their part as well and give their boys a full house to play in these last two weeks.

Go Buffs.

Where Have You Gone, Colorado Offense? Must the D do it all?

In some ways, 2016 has already been a magical season for long-suffering fans of the Colorado Buffaloes. For the first time in almost a decade, the Buffs know they are going bowling. Pre-season hot-seat head coach Mike MacIntyre is now listed as a top 5 candidate for Coach of the Year. 

Better than that even is that these Buffs who were picked to finish last in the Pac-112 South are alone in first place in their division with two out of three of their last games at Folsom Field. This season, for the first time in what seems like forever, the Buffs control their own destiny.

Last season, the Buffs defense made a large improvement under the guidance of new coaches Jim Leavitt (Coordinator and Linebackers) and Joe Tumpkin (Safeties). Buff fans expected the D to be even better this year, and the defense has outperformed even the most generous prognosticators.

After nine games, the Buffs have given up only 155 points, slightly over 17 points a game. But that stat is skewed because 45 of those points were scored by #2 Michigan in Ann Arbor. The main reason the Buffs are in first place in the Pac-12 South it that they are giving up only 16 points per game against conference foes. As the season goes along, though, the D is becoming a dominant force. They have given up only 15 points total in the last two games, against Stanford and UCLA.

In a few hours from now, they will take on the Arizona Wildcats in Tucson. Arizona has had a horrible year, but they are a historically solid program with eight bowls in the last nine years. That won't happen this year, but the UA players and their head coach Rich Rodriguez are a proud bunch who would love nothing more than to take down a ranked team to help salvage their season.

Meanwhile, the Buffs offense has struggled mightily the last few games. In three of the last four, the Buffs have averaged less than 16 points per game. That's a far cry from the 42+ points per game the Buffs scored earlier in the season.

It will be important to get the offense going tonight, for sure, because the next two opponents, Utah and Washington State, are both ranked in the Top 25.

After many explosive plays earlier in the season, they seem to have dried up for the Buffs. The have had 38 plays of 20 yards or longer (including 13 of more than 40), but only TWO total in the last two games. Both of those were runs by Phillip Lindsay. The Buffs have not had a pass completion longer than 20 yards since the Arizona State game.

Even though the Buffs stand at 7-2, Buff fans are wondering loudly what happened to the explosiveness of the offense. They point out that early in the season that the Buffs were an unknown since they had a new co-offensive coordinator in Darrin Chiaverini and a new commitment to the hurry-up offense. That speed of play seemed surprising to many of the teams on the schedule, and the pace allowed the Buffs to surprise people with big plays over and over again. They even did it to #2 Michigan, the best defense in the country.

Lately, though, some of the better coaches in the league have seemed to figure out how to slow the Buffs big play offense, particularly in the air. David Shaw, Jim Mora and Clay Helton (with help from defensive mastermind Clancy Pendergrast) have quite effectively taken away the big passing game of the Buffs.

Granted, Stanford and the LA schools have the talent in the defensive backfield. But Michigan has a great secondary as well. What the Buffs seem to have lost is their element of surprise that was in their favor early in the season. It seems like they have fallen back to the bad form of being completely predictable in their play-calling.

Also, the offensive co-coordinators Brian Lindgren and Darrin Chiaverini, have been horrible at making in-game adjustments to their game plans. They also have a very questionable habit of going away from what is working. It's like they want the Buffs to be a dominant passing team even when the opponent gears their defense to stopping the pass. Likewise, they choose to run between the tackles against stacked box defenses.

Fortunately, the Buffs SHOULD be able to put numerous big plays on the board tonight against a reeling Arizona team. But the coaches need to be ready, because better teams are ahead and the Buffs cannot waltz to the Pac-12 championship game. USC is rolling right now, and they are just behind the Buffs and win the tiebreaker due to their victory over CU. Utah is also just behind, but the Buffs play them to end the regular season.

Most importantly, the Buffs must strive to be better. We have seen the strides made by the D this year to become one of the best in the country. 

But the offense seems to be collapsing with inconsistency at the most important time of the season. The players can't be faulted though. The Buffs offense is really not good enough to be dominant if the opposing defensive coordinator has a good idea what plays the Buffs will call. 

I know I am not alone in being able to pretty accurately anticipate what plays Lindgren will call in certain situations. And that's from watching the games once (sometimes twice). The Buffs need to realize that their opponents are studying their game film to find a way to stop them. In the last two games (and three of the last four), it has worked like a charm.

The saving grace has been the DEFENSE. But the Buffs cannot insist that the D does it all if they want to make it to the Pac-12 Championship.


 

Colorado Posts Largest Conference Winning Margin in 24 Years, Routs Oregon State 47-6 and Takes Over 1st Place in Pac-12 South

The question most Colorado fans had at the beginning of the season is whether the Buffs could finally "turn the corner" in Mike MacIntyre's 4th season at the helm. The question has been answered emphatically the last two weeks with a win on the road at Oregon and a Folsom Field annihilation of Oregon State.

The Buffs have not only turned the corner, they are accelerating out of the curve.

The comparisons between MacIntyre and the great Bill McCartney have been hot and heavy for several years now. The similarities are rather remarkable. McCartney's record after 3 seasons was 7-25-1. MacIntyre's record after 3 was 10-27. McCartney's first three teams won only 4 conference games. MacIntyre's first three won only 2 games against conference foes.

For the first coach Mac, the turnaround came in year four (1985) when the Buffs won 7 games after winning only one the previous year. The job of McCartney was so impressive to his fellow coaches in the Big 8 that he was voted Coach of the Year even though Barry Switzer's Oklahoma Sooner team won the National Championship. 

Now, in Mike MacIntyre's 4th season, the Buffs stand at 4-1. More importantly, CU is 2-0 in conference play. What does that mean?

The Colorado Buffaloes will go to bed tonight knowing that they are alone in first place in the Pac-12 South Division. 

With Cal's goal-line stand to win against Utah, and USC's throttling of Arizona State, the only team in the South with a perfect conference record is Colorado. To put it in more perspective, the last time the Buffs won consecutive conference games was 2010. This was different, however. The 2010 Buffs lost their first 5 conference games before the two game winning streak. The last time they won two in a row when it mattered was 2005.

Colorado still has seven conference games to play this season. But, none of the teams remaining on the schedule looks unbeatable. USC is 2-3. Arizona State, undefeated coming into today, was exposed as a horribly flawed team. 

Even Stanford, a preseason pick to make the national championship playoff, was destroyed against Washington in their worst loss in almost a decade. The Buffs know they can play with anyone in the conference. But, they won't play Washington unless both make it to the Pac-12 Championship game.

But today, right now, the Buffs look like serious contenders to win the Pac-12 South. And Mike MacIntyre looks like a serious threat to win Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors.

Why Aren't Pac-12 Teams Winning Conference Games at Home?

Cue the music to The Twilight Zone... because something very mysterious is going on this year in Pac-12 football. In a top to bottom conference in which every league game is to tough to win, the one historical advantage that every team banked upon were the all-important "home games."

It's an old adage in college football that if you want to go bowling at the end of the season, the key was to win all your home games and play .500 on the road. By and large, those numbers will give you at least 9 wins year in and year out (unless you play in the SEC, where most of the teams seem to have seven or eight home games every year). Nine wins means a trip for the holidays.

This year, the world of Pac-12 football has turned upside down. Eleven games into conference play, and the home teams have only won TWICE!

And it is NOT because the ranked teams are beating up on the unranked (UR) teams. In fact, there seems to be no rhyme nor reason. Out of those eleven games, these are the numbers:

• UR Stanford beats #6 USC in L.A; 41-31
• #21 Stanford beats UR Oregon State in Corvallis; 42-24
• UR Cal beats UR Washington in Seattle; 30-24
• #9 UCLA beats #16 Arizona in Tucson; 56-30
• #18 Utah beats #13 Oregon in Eugene; 62-20
• #19 USC beats UR Arizona State in Tempe; 42-14
• UR Arizona State beats UCLA in L.A.; 38-23
• UR Oregon beats UR Colorado in Boulder; 41-24
• UR Washington beats #17 USC in L.A.; 17-12

Breaking those numbers down, this is what we see:

• FIVE UNRANKED teams have won on the road in conference play.
• THREE of those UNRANKED teams have beaten RANKED teams on the road.
• ONE ranked team has beaten a lower ranked team.
• ONE lower ranked team has beaten a higher ranked team.
• Only TWO ranked teams have beaten UNRANKED conference foes on the road.
• Perennial power USC has lost TWICE at home already to UNRANKED Pac-12 teams. 

The only two times that Pac-12 teams have won at home are:

• #24 Cal beats UR Washington State; 34-28
• #18 Stanford beats UR Arizona; 55-17

Things are stranger than fiction this year in Pac-12 football. How long will it go on?

Pac-12 Football: The Split Personality Reigns Supreme

Only five weeks into the 2015 college football season and to quote Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, "What a long, strange trip it's been!" In the preseason AP Top 25 poll, the Pac-12 had SIX teams in the Top 22 and a total of EIGHT which received votes.

Preseason:
# 7 -- Oregon
# 8 -- USC
#13 -- UCLA
#15 -- Arizona State
#21 -- Stanford
#22 -- Arizona

Two weeks in and things have changed. Arizona State lost to #27 Texas A&M, Stanford lost to Northwestern.

Week 2 Poll:
# 7 -- Oregon
# 8 -- USC
#13 --UCLA
#22 -- Arizona
#21 -- Utah

Stanford and Arizona State drop out of Top 25, Utah joins.

Oregon loses to then #5 Michigan State and drops in polls.

Week 3 Poll:
#  6 -- USC
#10 -- UCLA
#12 -- Oregon
#20 -- Arizona
#21 -- Utah

USC loses to Stanford, Stanford re-enters Top 25 but is still ranked behind USC.

Week 4 Poll:
# 9 -- UCLA
#13 -- Oregon
#16 -- Arizona
#18 -- Utah
#19 -- USC
#21 -- Stanford

Utah destroys and humiliates Oregon in Eugene, UCLA manhandles Arizona in Tucson, USC rips Arizona State. Undefeated California enters the poll and Oregon and Arizona drop out of Top 25.

Week 5 Poll:
# 7 -- UCLA
#10 -- Utah
#17 -- USC
#18 -- Stanford
#24 -- California

Arizona State dismantles UCLA in L.A.,  Stanford rips Arizona. Stanford finally is ranked ahead of USC

Week 6 Poll:
# 5 -- Utah
#16 -- Stanford
#17 -- USC
#20 -- UCLA
#23 -- California

After five weeks, Utah has jumped from unranked to #5. Oregon, Arizona State and Arizona have fallen out of the Top 25. Stanford has dropped out and then rejoined the Top 25. California is ranked for the first time in years.

The powerful Pac-12 has only two undefeated teams left... and that will change this weekend when Cal takes on Utah.

Only 3 teams are undefeated in conference play (Stanford, Cal and Utah) and that will drop to two after this weekend. Stanford has a bye.

---------------------------

Week by week, teams that played awful and lost the week before come back and upset a ranked team the next week. How it plays out is anybody's guess.

Will Dr. Jekyll show up and dominate? Or will Mr. Hyde ruin the day once again?


 

CU Buffs Game Against Oregon and the Rest of October Now Looks a Little Less Daunting

Go ahead and admit it... If someone had offered to bet you straight up that Colorado would have a better record than Oregon after four weeks of the 2015 season, you would have bet the house. The whole country would have.

If someone told you that one of the two teams (either the Buffs or the Ducks) would be giving up nearly 41 points per game and the other only 16.5, you would have been willing to wager that it was the Ducks with the better numbers.

Surprise! One week before the Oregon Ducks limp into Boulder for a night game on ESPN, the Buffs now find themselves knowing that the Ducks can be beaten. Indeed, only four weeks into the season and the Ducks have already lost twice. And even in their two wins (Eastern Washington and Georgia State), the Ducks gave up 42 and 28 points, respectively. They are not a strong defensive team.

In their game at home against Utah, Oregon gave up 62 points and were outplayed in every facet of the game.

Marcus Mariota and his Heisman Trophy are no longer running the show for the Ducks and it certainly shows this year. Things are about to get ugly. Last week, the Oregonian ran the story: "AP Top 25: Oregon Ducks fall to lowest ranking in 4 years"

This week, the Ducks are very likely to be out of the Top 25 for the first time in a long time. Or they may squeak in at around 24 or 25, but they certainly shouldn't. A 2-2 team who gives up 62 points at home to a team they were favored to beat by 10 points does not deserve to be in the top 25.

Oregon is not the only team the Buffs play in October that is struggling. 

The Buffs schedule for the month now looks like this:

• October 3 -- Oregon Ducks (2-2) Lost at home 62-20 to Utah
• October 10 -- Arizona State (2-2) Lost at home 42-14 to USC, and face UCLA next week. Will likely host CU with a record of 2-3.
• October 17 -- Arizona (3-1) Lost at home 56-30 to UCLA, and plays at Stanford next week. Will likely come to Boulder with at least two losses.
• October 24 -- Oregon State (2-2) Lost at home to Stanford 42-24, and plays at Arizona on Oct. 10th. Will likely host Colorado with at least 3 losses.
• October 31 -- UCLA (4-0) Beat Arizona 56-30 in Tucson. Face three tough games (ASU, Stanford, and California) before coming to Boulder.

Of the teams listed above, only UCLA seems to be on a roll worthy of a top 10 team.

The Colorado Buffaloes will have five chances in October to show they deserve to play in a bowl game this year.

At the beginning of the season, the October schedule looked like a "Murderers Row" to fans, but four games into the season the schedule looks a lot less scary. The Buffs know that none of their Pac-12 games will be as easy as their 48-0 blowout over Nicholls. They have been saying since camp began back in August that they have the talent to play with anyone. And they have said they are ready to win the close ones.

With the games in October, the Buffs have a chance to prove it. And it begins when Oregon comes to town next weekend.

Cherish the Wins Over Teams Coming Off 10 Win Seasons, It's What it Takes to Win in the Pac-12

Colorado Buffaloes football fans, especially those who have been around the program for a couple of decades or more, like to think of the Colorado State Rams as "little brother" and that the Buffs should never lose to their in-state rival. Guess what? Little brothers have an annoying habit of growing up and becoming as big and strong as big brother. Colorado State has grown up and is a very strong and physical football team. Make no mistake, CSU is a good football team and will be playing in a bowl at the end of the year.

Lots of fans commenting on articles and blogs have discounted the Buffs' overtime win by saying that a win over CSU doesn't count for much. That's BS to the highest degree. Colorado State won 10 games last year, and has won 18 in the last two years. It took the Buffs the last FOUR YEARS to win a total of 10 games, and the last SIX YEARS to win a total of 18.

Since 2000, the Rams have had FOUR 10-win seasons. The Buffs have had only one. Discounting the victory over a team with 10 wins last year is ludicrous because it has not happened very much to Buffaloes over the last 10 years,

In fact, this win is only one of four. In 2011, the Buffs beat a Utah team which had gone 10-3 in 2010. In 2008, the Buffs took out a West Virginia team which had won 11 games in 2007. And in 2007, the Buffs beat an Oklahoma team which had won 11 games in both 2006 AND 2007. Those are the only four times the Buffs have accomplished the deed in the last 10 years.

One thing all those four games have in common is the very close scores. Two of the victories came by 3 points in overtime, and two came by three points in regulation time.

Why is the 10 win threshold so important? The Buffs still have a lot of those games to play this year. Four of the teams the Buffs play in the Pac-12 this year won at least 10 games last year. Two more won 9 games. They are:

• Oregon (13-2)
• UCLA (10-3)
• Arizona State (10-3)
• Arizona (10-4)
• Utah (9-4)
• USC (9-4)

Stanford won only 8 games last year, but after thumping USC in the Coliseum last week, they look like they might win more games than that this year.

The Buffs only have two teams on their Pac-12 schedule which had losing seasons last year (Washington State at 3-9 and Oregon State at 5-7). Needless to say, those teams are also looking at Colorado as a team on THEIR schedules which had a losing team last year. Those two teams (and CU) are 2-1 so far in 2015.

The Pac-12 enters this weekend with six teams in the Top 21 in the country. Four of them are in the Pac-12 South with the Buffs, and the other two are on the Buffs schedule this year. For the Buffs to meet their goal of a bowl game at the end of the year, they will need to beat one or more of those six ranked teams. To make it even harder, a seventh team on the Buffs schedule (Arizona State) is just outside of the Top 25.

This weekend the Buffs will certainly win their third straight game, and that is a big deal. The last time the Buffs won 3 games in a row was in the 2008 season when they opened with wins over Colorado State, Eastern Washington and West Virginia.

For the Buffs to once again be a team that goes bowling every year, they will need to start having three game win streaks every year and perhaps more than once a year.

The Buffs are finally starting to grow up and believe in themselves. They are developing an attitude that could very well turn into a nasty streak. And a good nasty streak is what is needed these days to be a winning football team in the Pac-12.

Colorado Buffaloes Football 2015: What to Expect

BOULDER-- The Colorado Buffaloes left early this morning on a flight to O'ahu for their opening game against the Rainbow Warriors of the University of Hawai'i this Thursday.

Head Coach Mike MacIntyre is starting his third season at the helm in Boulder. His first two seasons produced four wins, and two wins, respectively. Entering his third season, the head coach knows the expectations for his Buffs is much higher than in the first two.

Mac took over a program that was arguably one of the very worst in the country at the Division 1 level, and absolutely the worst team from one of the Power Five Conferences. He knew he had his work cut out for him at Colorado, but he was fresh off an amazing job turning San Jose State from a perennial cellar dweller to a 10 win bowl team in three years.

Nobody expects the Buffs to reel off 10 wins this year, but seven wins and a bowl game are what most Buff fans have in mind. They need to remember that the Buffs won only two games last year. On the other hand, the Buffs were a few lucky bounces from being a six game winner last year. The goal this year is to win those close games, particularly against Pac-12 foes. The Buffs lost in DOUBLE overtime not once, but twice last year (UCLA and CAL).

Facing the Buffs is the reality that they play in the Pac-12 South, the toughest (bar none) conference division in college football. How do the other teams of that division rank in the opening AP poll?

• USC is ranked #8
• UCLA is ranked #13
• Arizona State is ranked #15
• Arizona is ranked #22 
• And Utah is ranked #30

Add to that tough division schedule is the fact the Buffs also have to play conference foes Oregon (#7) and Stanford (#21) from the Pac-12 North. That means the Buffs will be playing SEVEN teams in the Top 30 in the country, which are also all within the Pac-12. For the Buffs to win seven games this season, they need to beat every other team on the schedule besides those listed above, AND they need to beat one of those teams as well to be bowl eligible.

Even for an experienced rebuilder like MacIntyre, it will still be a tough row to hoe. But if anyone can achieve it, it is Mac and his staff. Mac is known for his organizational prowess. When he got into Boulder following the disastrous 2012 season, he started putting the foundational blocks down to build the Colorado football program back to respectability.

He brought in Brian Lindgren as his offensive coordinator. Lindgren's first year as OC at San Jose State saw the Spartans win 10 games. Lindgren took the raw and young Colorado offense which was one of the worst in the country and made the passing attack #34 in the country last year. The Buffs also rushed for more than 4 yards a carry and more than 150 yards a game for the first time in a decade.

Mac also brought Dave Forman, one of the best young Sports Performance Directors in the country. Forman came in and transformed the old "strength and conditioning" routine into a modern machine capable of increasing strength, speed, and stamina for athletes across many collegiate sports. The Buffs were routinely out-muscled back when Mac and Company arrived, but the Buffs are now able to compete in the Conference of Champions knowing they are just as strong or stronger than their opponents.

The results on the field on the defensive side of the ball have been slower to arrive to the casual fan. At the end of the day (or season), many look only at the wins and losses. But it is important to remember how the wins and losses occurred. In 2012, the Buffs were losing by an average for more than FOUR touchdowns a game (28.17 pts.). In 2013, that dropped to less than 13 points a game, and in 2014 it dropped to 10.5 points per game.

The response of the defense, which still ranked in the bottom fifth in the country last year, was not fast enough for Mac. He responded by bringing in two "Home Run" type hires for his defensive staff. The legendary Jim Leavitt was coaxed away from the San Francisco 49ers and joined the staff as defensive coordinator, and brought in Joe Tumpkin from Central Michigan University, where he had served as defensive coordinator. At Colorado, Tumpkin will coach the Safeties, which now have the added responsibility of calling the on-field defensive plays.

Leavitt is known as one of the finest defensive minds in all of football. His style of defense is known for its aggressive and attacking style. Tumpkin is known for creating hard hitting defenses which cause a lot of turnovers. That experience and prowess can only help the Buffs, which was one of the worst teams in the country last year in creating turnovers. In fact, the Buffs only had three interceptions the entire year, despite the fact that they play in one of the most pass-happy conferences in the country.

Expect much to change this year. The Buffs offense should be even better this year, perhaps a top 30 in the country if the rushing game can jump to the next level. The defense should be a great surprise to fans and opponents alike. Expect to see waves of defensive players going into and out of games to keep the players fresh. Expect more turnovers created by the defense and fewer committed by the offense.

Expect Nelson Spruce to again be one of the best receivers in the country and expect to hear his name called in the next NFL draft. Expect Sefo Liufau to cut his number of interceptions by more than half, while continuing to be a very efficient passer.

Expect Colorado to win at least seven games this year and go bowling. Expect one or more of those rated teams coming into Folsom Field this year to leave with a loss. Expect Colorado to have turned the corner after a decade of futility.

Expect the Colorado Buffaloes to be a winning football team.

Colorado Earns Respect as Buffs Prove They Can Score Big Points in Pac-12 Play

In the first three years that Colorado was playing in Pac-12 games, their opponents scored 40 or more points 22 times. In fact, their Pac-12 opponents scored 50 or more 8 times during from 2011-13.

During that same time span, Colorado only scored more than 40 points twice in Pac-12 play. That 22-2 difference pretty much sums up that the first three years in the league were extraordinarily tough. Mike MacIntyre was the head coach in only one of those first three years, but his Buffs have made steady improvement and are now poised to shoot it out with their conference foes.

The Pac-12 is an offensive league. Points are scored at a high rate and no team can ever be counted out. Arizona scored 36 points in the 4th quarter to come back and beat California.  Utah gave up a 21 point lead to Washington State to lose by one. Colorado was twice up by 14 points against Cal only to lose the game by three points in double overtime. The "Berkeley Shootout" saw 115 points scored and 14 touchdown passes.

Colorado showed against Arizona State that they could move the ball up and down the field against a very good Pac-12 team. Turnovers and mistakes led them to lose after dominating the last three quarters against the Sun Devils. Against California, the Buffs again put massive yards up, but this time put up a score to match with 56 points. Unfortunately, Cal scored 59, but the game confirmed that the Buffs finally possessed the offensive firepower to put big points on the board in conference play.

The next step for Colorado is continuing improvement toward eliminating big plays by the competition. Take away five defensive breakdowns for Colorado against Cal and the Buffs win by 20 or more.

California scored 35 points on plays of 25, 26, 40, 75, and 92 yards. Those 258 yards in five plays represented 44% of the Golden Bears' yardage on the day. They also led to almost 60% of the Bears' points.

By comparison, Colorado's ball control offense moved the ball in much smaller chunks. The yardage on their longest 5 touchdowns combined was only 96 yards total. Those scores covered 30, 25, 22, 12 and 7 yards. The yardage on those 5 touchdowns represented only 15% of their total offense of 630 yards.

What the Buffs have going for them is that their offensive style allows them to control the ball and the clock. If opposing defenses play deep to take away the long ball, the Buffs are adept at chipping their way down the field. If opponents play too close to the line, the Buffs can go over the top to score. Going forward, that style of ball control gives the Buffs their best chance to win. As they continue to improve and their running game becomes more reliable, the Buffs will be harder and harder to stop.

The Buff defense is still giving up a lot of points, but other league teams are working much harder to score them. In years past, the Buffs were usually going against 2nd and 3rd stringers (or 4th!) in the second half. This year, Cal and ASU had their starters in the entire game. The Buff D has also developed a swagger that has not been seen in Boulder for a long time. It's good to see and a sign of better things to come.

If fans only look at the final scores, it might seem hard to see the great improvements made by the Buffs in 2014. It is necessary to watch the games to see how improved they are. They are hitting harder as a group and scoring more points as well. They are scratching and clawing to become relevant in the best conference in the country. Before our very eyes, they are learning to compete to the final whistle. And before long, they will be learning to win in the Pac-12 on a consistent basis.

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Seeing the Buffs play this year, especially in person at Folsom Field, will also give Buff fans a chance to see Nelson Spruce obliterate the record book for receivers at Colorado. Just as casual fans turned out to watch Chauncey Billups play hoops at CU, they should also do the same for Spruce. They should also cross their fingers that Spruce blesses Colorado with one more year before going off to the NFL.

Big Dogs Beware: Colorado Poised to Turn Corner Against Pac-12 Foes

In every conference, they have what are commonly referred to as the "Big Dogs" which dominate conference play. When you play in the Pac-12, those big dogs are a pack of six schools which do fairly well on an almost annual basis during the football season.

The Big Dogs of Pac-12 football these days are (alphabetically):

• Arizona State
• Oregon
• Stanford
• UCLA
• USC
• Washington

Those six teams combined to win 61 games last year. Before this season, the Colorado Buffaloes had played these titans a total of 17 times in conference play. Their record? 0-17. The average score for those 17 games was 49.5 - 12.5. That's right, Colorado had averaged losing to these teams by 37 points per game.

In fact, in only one of those 17 games did one of those Big Dogs fail to score at least 42 points. Washington won in 2012 by 38-3. The three points scored by the Buffs in that game were not the worst they had done. The Oregon Ducks beat CU 45-2 in 2011, and Stanford shut out the Buffs 48-0 in 2012.

What's the point? In all 17 of those games, Colorado was completely manhandled in every phase of the game. In most cases, the Buffs were going up against 2nd and 3rd stringers after halftime. The stat sheets after those games showed Colorado giving up massive amounts of yards as well as points.

That all changed this past Saturday night against the Arizona State Sun Devils. Colorado was not only "in" the game until the very end, but had completely dominated the stat sheets following the first quarter. The Buffs put an astounding 523 yards on the Sun Devils in the final three quarters, while holding ASU to 204 yards in that time. The ASU starters (not counting injuries) were on the field the entire game.

Unfortunately, the Buffs committed three turnovers which led directly to 14 points for the Sun Devils. Take those away, and you have a tie game. More importantly, one of the interceptions should have gone for a touchdown for Colorado. Nelson Spruce was WIDE open deep down the field, but the moonball toss to him was so high that the ASU safety was able to come from all the way across the defensive backfield to intercept the ball. What should have been a Colorado touchdown instead led to an Arizona State touchdown.

Later, right after Colorado had cut a 17-0 deficit into a 17-14 nail-biter, the Buffs fumbled the ball deep in their own end and gave the Sun Devils a 7-point gift to put them down by 10 again at the half. The Sun Devils took the opening kickoff and scored another touchdown and were once again up by 17. Although Colorado dominated both sides of the ball for the rest of the game, the 17 points were too many to overcome. Colorado lost 38-24.

While some fair-weather fans bemoaned yet another loss, the more astute Colorado fans noted that the Buffs had played one of the conference "Big Dogs" tough for the very first time since joining the Pac-12. They noted that Colorado was equal or superior  in most of the statistical categories against the Sun Devils. The two parts that ASU won, however, determined the outcome. The Sun Devils won the turnover battle and the final score.

The Buffs almost doubled their average score against the "Big Dogs" and also held the Sun Devils to a tie for the least amount of points scored against them by the big six. The 14 point loss was far and away the closest game against any of those teams. Remember, the Buffs average loss to the Big Dogs was by 37 points.

Head Coach Mike MacIntyre  and his players have said time and again that they are not looking for moral victories. That is good. They are pursuing real wins against conference opponents. In three years in the Pac-12, the Buffs have defeated 4 conference teams one time apiece. They have beaten Arizona, California, Utah and Washington State.

The way the Buffs played indicates that they are ready to be competitive on a regular basis against conference foes.  After a 4-24 record in three years against Pac-12 teams since they joined the conference, being competitive is a MAJOR step up.

The Buffs may not win six games this year to become bowl eligible. Buff fans have to remember that two of last year's four wins came against lower division FCS teams. There are none of those teams on this year's schedule.

Remember that UMass played Boston College tough for 30 minutes and only trailed 7-6 at the half. That is the same Boston College team that whipped USC last weekend. Colorado had to come back to beat UMass, but they did come back and win.

Hawaii only has a record of 1-2 coming into the game this weekend, but their two losses were very close games against Pac-12 opponents. Norm Chow is a great coach and the Rainbow Warriors are a much better team than people think. The Buffs will have to play hardnose and smart football to beat them.

This writer has been watching the Buffs for 30 years now, many of them as a season ticket holder. I have travelled to see them play. I have been to bowl games. I was there for some of the best times and teams in Colorado history. I have also seen some of the worst times.

For the first time in a long time, I am hopeful and proud of the way the Buffs have started to improve. I see good things ahead for these young men. College football is not as simple as it used to be. Learning from one coaching staff is difficult enough. Some of these young men are on their 3rd, but their hard work and the teaching ability of the coaching staff is finally start to pay dividends.

Look for that investment to begin paying off very soon. These Buffs CAN play in the Pac-12, and if last week was any indication, they can also put up a fight against the Big Dogs!

Colorado Buffs Win a Rare One on the Road

All Buff fans know that the Colorado football team has been having a tough time for a good long while now. 2007 was the last time that CU managed to win half their games and qualify for a bowl game.

That Independence Bowl game following the 2007 season was a pivotal point for two programs with great histories. The Colorado Buffs and the Alabama Crimson Tide entered the game with identical 6-6 records. The Tide prevailed 30-24 in a close game that was supposed to be the start of good things for both programs.

It was the turning point for Alabama under Nick Saban, as they went on to win 3 of the next 5 National Championships, and are now considered to be the most dominant program in the country.

What about Colorado? Following a rare road win in 2007 against Texas Tech, the Buffs went on to lose 23 straight games played on the road, not counting neutral site games. They haven's been to a bowl game since the clash with Alabama.

They finally broke that string at the end of the 2011 season when they managed to take down Utah on the road in the season finale. Their next road game took the Buffs to Fresno State, where they gave up 35 points in the first quarter on their way to losing 69-14.

They were on their way to being blown out again the next week at Washington State when the Cougars pulled one of the biggest meltdowns in conference history by giving up a 20 point lead in the final 7 minutes of the game and losing to CU. If nothing else, that gave the Buffs 2 wins out of their previous three road trips. That winning percentage would not hold up, however, as the Buffs had lost every road game since then until...

Colorado 41, UMass 38

Forget the fact that Colorado was a 17 point favorite going into the game.

Forget that since the Minutemen had joined the FBS, they had a combined record of 2-23.

Forget everything about UMass, and remember that road victories for the Buffs don't happen very often. That being the case, Buff fans should savor this victory because it might be a good long time before they see another one.

In fact, it might be a good long time before the Buffs see a victory of any kind. Arizona State's potent offense, led by chief gunslinger Taylor Kelly, is champing at the bit to get on the field with the Buffs. Even Hawaii, who comes to Boulder the week after the Sun Devils, is greatly improved. Their one point loss to a top 25 Pac-12 team in the first game of the season has them thinking that the Buffs might be ripe for the taking. And after that, it's nothing but Pac-12 level offenses and defenses for the Buffs to contend with.

For one week, at least, Buff fans and players should enjoy the knowledge that the team won one on the road. Enjoy the feeling. You never know when you'll be able to feel it again.

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?

Sefo Liufau Takes Over as Quarterback for the Colorado Buffaloes, Ushers in New Youth Era in Boulder

Less than 4 1/4 games into his freshman season at the University of Colorado, Sefo Liufau found himself taking over at quarterback for the Buffaloes. Despite entering the game with a 25 point deficit, and facing a fired up Arizona State team that was dominating the Colorado offensive line, Sefo never blinked and ended up completing 69% (18 of 26) of his passes. He threw one touchdown pass and two interceptions.

Although Liufau was listed 2nd on the depth chart behind Connor Wood, the line from the coaching staff was that they planned to redshirt the young man out of Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma, Washington if at all possible to allow him to acclimate to university life and grow and learn on the football field.

All was going according to plan during the first two games of the season. Wood completed 68% of his passes for 741 yards and 6 touchdowns in those two games. Wood threw only two interceptions during those games and the Buffs started the season with two wins.

Excitement was high in the Buffs program since new coach Mike MacIntyre had led the team to more wins in his first two games than the Buffs had experienced all of last year under fired coach Jon Embree. Riding high, the Buffs worked hard during a bye week and then the 1,000 year rains came to Boulder and Colorado and brought devastating floods. The result was that their game with Fresno State was ultimately cancelled.

After two long weekends away from being in live game situations, the Buffs headed to Corvallis to face Oregon State and had their dreams of a 3-0 start blown up and away by the winds and the Beavers. After flying high to start the season, the Buffs came crashing back to earth in a 44-17 beatdown.

The next week the #2 Oregon Ducks came to Boulder and showed why they are favored to be in the national championship game at the end of the season. The 57-16 whipping given by the Ducks was shocking in how quickly it happened after they fell behind the Buffs 10-8 in the first quarter. The responded with three touchdowns before the quarter ended and never looked back.

The first quarter against Arizona State in Tempe started the same way and before the Buffs could catch their breath in the desert they were behind by a score of 25-0. Out came Connor Wood and in came Sefo.

Unlike the first two games, the stats for Connor Wood against the Oregon schools and ASU were less than gaudy or even acceptable. He completed only 25 of 71 passes (35%) for only 351 yards and had 5 interceptions vs. 2 touchdowns. After Wood started 0 for 4 for zero yards and an interception and fumble and a 25 point deficit against the Sun Devils, MacIntyre pulled the starting quarterback position from Wood and the redshirt for Liufau.

Perhaps it was the play of some fellow freshman that led MacIntyre to allow Liufau to come off the bench. Addison Gillam went into the ASU game leading the Pac-12 in tackles and has already proven himself a star in the conference. Tailback Michael Adkins now gets more carries than listed starter Christian Powell. Wideout Devin Ross is now returning kicks and playing regularly with the offense. Defensive backs Chidobe Awuzie and Tedric Thompson are also finding themselves on the field with greater and greater frequency.

After Liufau's effort, MacIntyre announced that the new plan was to allow Sefo to start for the remainder of the season ("unless something happens" of course). That means that he will be working with the number one offense during practice and getting many more reps, which can only help his game and confidence.

His first start will be at home in Boulder against undefeated FCS team Charleston Southern, who agreed to come to Boulder to replace the lost game against Fresno State. After facing an aggressive ASU team, the game against CS should allow Sefo a little more time to think on his feet as he moves into his new starting quarterback role.

One thing Buff fans and coaches can look forward to is increased athleticism at the quarterback position with Liufau. On top of the high percentage of passes that Liufau completed in Tempe, he also showed a much nicer touch on short passes than Wood has shown this year. He also seems to have some live legs that will allow him to move in the pocket or run more effectively than Wood.

Will Sefo make some rookie mistakes? Of course he will, but it is all part of the learning process. Those of us old enough to remember when Darian Hagan came to CU know that it can take some time to harness great talent and get it moving in the right direction. Liufau clearly has the talent to be the next great quarterback at CU, but he has to be given the chance to get his time in and be able to compete from the opening kickoff week after week.

In a season which now looks to part of a rebuilding process, watching Sefo Liufau and some his fellow freshman grow and mature as players will give fans a peak into the future. Perhaps fans of the Buffs got spoiled by two wins to start the season and got our hopes up higher than they should be. But in retrospect, the condition of the program was horrible when MacIntyre and his staff showed up. It is much better than it was, and it will continue to improve.

The Pac-12 is a tough conference to play in (just ask Stanford after their trip to Utah). At this point in the process, the Buffs need to show improvement. The wins will be hard to come by, but they will come in time. Look at Mac's record at San Jose State. His teams struggled to win until turning the corner, and then they won at an amazing rate.

The nature of college football is much more aggressive than in years past. It used to be that teams tried to wear each other down, and now it seems like there are a lot of teams that are swinging for the fences on every down. It is certainly exciting, but sometimes it is hard to watch when the other team is dominating. All it takes is a half dozen breakdowns by some defensive players and good teams will score 50 on them. These fastbreak offenses are designed to take advantage of mistakes.

A great deal of football is psychological. Mac and his staff are working on these guys, but it's gonna take some time to get their heads right. It will be frustrating while we wait, but a whole lot of fun when it happens. Let's hope that Sefo Liufau is an important part of solving this puzzle.

Go Buffs!

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!