Friday Fast Facts
Injury Update
Out for an extended time:
Jared Bell – (Soph.) – defensive back – Out for the season with a torn ACL
Jack Harris – (Soph.) – offensive tackle – Likely out for the season with a broken ankle, surgery on 9/22, possible return in November
Sherrard Harrington – (Fr.) – defensive back – suffered a hip contusion during the summer, will likley red-shirt
Travis Sandersfeld – (Sr.) – defensive back – suffered a fractured fibula in practice on September 13th – out at least another two weeks
Will Harlos – (Fr.) – defensive back – hamstring – “has endured some tightness” – out 3-4 weeks
Tony Poremba – (Sr.) – defensive lineman – suffered a concussion in practice on October 4th – out indefinitely
Paul Richardson – (So.) – wide receiver – suffered a severe strained knee in practice on October 5th – out 2-3 more weeks
Others:
Shawn Daniels – (Sr.) – offensive lineman – Suffered a severe calf strain on August 11th; resumed practice last week; listed as “day-to-day”
Brian Lockridge – (Sr.) – defensive back – suffered a sprained ankle v. Washington State – out another 1-2 weeks
Arthur Jaffee – (Sr.) – defensive back – suffered a sprained knee during California game, swelling persists; listed as “questionable” for Washington
Kyle Cefalo – (Sr.) – wide receiver – elbow injury suffered v. Washington State – listed as “day-to-day”, but is expected to play
Suspended indefinitely – violations of team rules:
Parker Orms – (So.) – defensive back – lower leg injury suffered against Ohio State
Paul Vigo – (So.) – defensive back – hamstring – out since the Colorado State game
Ayodeji Olatoye – (So.) – defensive back – had played the first four games of the season (no tackles)
Liloa Nobriga – (So.) – linebacker – dressed for two home games and CSU game, but had not yet played a down
—
Colorado v. Washington – Notes worth Noting
– Colorado and Washington, though new to each other as Pac-12 partners, have a great deal in common. The two schools have each been playing football for122 years, more years than any other Pac-12 teams. In CU history, the Buffs have played 1,155 games; while the Huskies have played 1,130. Washington has a better overall winning percentage (.612 to .598), but Colorado has more wins – at least for now (672 to 667).
– Since 1989 (Dave Plati’s arbitrary yardstick, so as to give the Buffs the most wins possible in the range considered), Colorado is 31st in terms of winning percentage over that span (.596), while Washington is 35th (.562). Over the past 22 seasons, only USC (13th, .694) and Oregon (17th, .662) have maintained a better winning percentage amongst Pac-12 teams.
– In the 11 games played between Colorado and Washington (5-5-1), there have been some memorable moments. The first game was played in Seattle in 1915 (a 46-0 Washington victory), with the teams not meeting again until 1953. After three games in the 1950’s (a 1-1-1 split), the teams did not play again until 1976 (a 21-7 CU victory). The last six games have been played since 1985, and have included two bowl games, and three games in which both teams were ranked:
– In the 1985 Freedom Bowl, Washington out-lasted Colorado in a game in which CU junior tight end Jon Embree scored the final points;
– In 1989, 5th-ranked Colorado won big over No. 21 Washington in Seattle. The game was one of the most emotional in CU history, coming a week after quarterback Sal Aunese died. Aunese’s charge to the team, “bring home the Orange Bowl“, served as an inspiration to the team the remainder of that Big Eight championship season;
In 1990, 20th-ranked Colorado held off 12th-ranked Washington in Boulder. The Buffs were 2-1-1, and were playing their fourth ranked opponent in five games. An interception in the endzone by Deon Figures with under a minute to play sealed the victory, putting the Buffs back into the national spotlight, on their way to a national championship;
– In 1996, No. 8 Colorado and No. 13 Washington squared off in the Holiday Bowl. The Buffs, snubbed by the Cotton Bowl, fell behind 14-0 early, but roared back behind record-setting performances by quarterback Koy Detmer and wide receiver Rae Carruth;
– The last two games played between the two teams came in 1999 and 2000. The games were emotional for the Buffs, as the players were facing off against former head coach Rick Neuheisel. Both games were close, but Washington won in Seattle, 31-24, and in Boulder, 17-14.
—
– Rick Neuheisel is not the only Washington head coach with CU ties. Legendary Washington head coach Don James was a defensive coordinator at Colorado, working for Eddie Crowder from 1968-70;
– Washington running back Chris Polk is second in the Pac-12 (to Oregon’s LaMichael James), and eighth in the nation, in rushing average, with 122.2 yards per game;
– Husky quarterback Keith Price is second in the nation (to Baylor’s Robert Griffin III) in touchdown passes, with 17. Six different players have caught at least ten passes in the first five games of the 2011 season.
—
Speedy Watch
– Colorado senior running back Rodney Stewart has continued his assault upon the CU record books this season. Though his quest to become the all-time leading rusher in Colorado history has been stymied by the failure of the Buffs’ offense to generate a consistent ground attack, other records have been broken, or are within reach:
– Career rushing yards: Stewart, 3,175 (record: Eric Bieniemy, 3,940). Stewart would need to average 110 yards per game in his final seven games to catch Bieniemy;
– All-Purpose yards (rushing, receiving, kick and punt returns) : Stewart, 4,228 (record: Eric Bieniemy, 4,351). With Stewart’s use as a receiver and kick returner adding to his totals this fall, this is a record which should fall in the game against Washington;
– Career Total offense (rushing and passing): Stewart, with 3,198 yards, is in 14th place all-time. While Kordell Stewart’s 7,770 yards is well out of reach, Stewart has a shot at the top ten (10th place: Eric Bieniemy, 3,530 yards);
– Career Receptions (running backs): Stewart already owns the record for most receiving yards by a running back (815), and is closing in on Lee Rouson’s record of total receptions (86 to 74). Oddly enough, Stewart, despite his success catching the ball out of the backfield, has never had a touchdown reception;
– Career Yards from Scimmage (rushing and receiving): Stewart, with 3,990 yards, trails only Eric Bieniemy, with 4,320. Again, with Stewart’s utilization as a receiver, this is another record which should fall to Stewart in the next few games.
—
Buff freshmen kickers faring well
– There are 11 freshmen punters seeing regular duty in the FBS (eight true, three red-shirt). Colorado true freshman Darragh O’Neill has the most punts in the group (32, with Cole Way of Tulsa posting 28 punts to date). Overall, O’Neill’s average is not only the best amongst the 11 freshman, but his 44.1 yard average is the best overall, and one of only five over 40 yards per punt.
– There are 13 freshmen kickers in the FBS (eight true, five red-shirt). Colorado true freshman Will Oliver is third in the group in points, with 39, and his eight field goals is second only to the nine successful kicks made by Oregon State’s true freshman, Trevor Romaine.
—
Pac-12 Notes of Note
– Colorado has played 13 true freshmen to date, but the Buffs are not alone in trying out new talent. Four other teams – Arizona, California; Oregon State; and Washington State – have all played ten or more true freshmen in 2011;
– ESPN’s College GameDay will be in Eugene for the game between No. 18 Arizona State and No. 9 Oregon. It will be the first trip to a Pac-12 venue for the GameDay crew this season;
– After Thursday night’s 30-9 loss to USC, Cal has now lost eight straight in the series to the Trojans, and has averaged less than ten points per game in those eight losses;
– Utah plays Pittsburgh on the road on Saturday. Utah is 8-0 all-time against current members of the Big East, including a 2-0 record against the Panthers, including a 27-24 overtime win in Salt Lake City last season;
– Oregon State is also playing a non-conference game this weekend, taking on BYU at home. The bad news for the Beavers: at 1-4, Oregon State entered October with a losing record for the eighth consecutive season. The good news: in those same eight seasons, the Beavers have gone 38-15 in the months of October, November, and December.
– Arizona State has a 15-game losing streak against teams ranked in the top ten. The good news is that the last time the Sun Devils defeated a top ten team, it was at Oregon in 2002, the same venue Arizona State plays in Saturday night.
– Washington State, like Arizona State, will be trying to break a streak of losses to top ten teams when it takes on Stanford. The Cougars have lost nine straight to top ten teams, dating back to 2003;
– Utah is second in the Pac-12 (to Stanford), and is 19th nationally, against the run, giving up only 99.4 yards per game;
– Stanford not only has tied its longest winning streak in school history (13 games), the Cardinal is doing it in style. Stanford has won its last eight games by at least 25 points. Not only is that a school record, but its a record for any team in the Pac-12, dating back to the formation of the Pacific Coast Conference in 1916. The last team to pull off such a feat was Florida, which had a similar run in 2008 on its way to a national championship;
– In case you are wondering … In 1989, Colorado won seven games by more than 25 points but the longest consecutive string was three. The Buffs also opened the 1995 season with three consecutive wins of over 25 points, and also had a run of three in 1977 (BTW – in checking this out, I noticed that the 1978 Buff team opened with five straight wins – and in each win, the opposition was held to seven points. The Buffs won 24-7; 17-7; 22-7; 55-7; and 17-7 … weird).