Colorado Daily – Fresno State

Colorado Daily – Fresno State

September 19th

Reporter in Hawai’i weighs in on potential CU/Hawai’i matchup

From Honolulu Star-Advertiser reporter Stephen Tsai, who posted the story (posted yesterday, below) which has everyone thinking about 10/19 …

The blog host doesn’t get a vote.

But if he did, he would mark, “Heck, yes!” on the Proposition 10/19 question: Should the Rainbow Warriors accept an offer to play Colorado in Boulder on Oct. 19?

First, it’s football, and playing one more game is better than staying put at 12. I mean, face it, how thrilling was last week’s bye? Paint the town beige, anyone?

Then there’s Colorado’s latest offer of a $600,000 appearance fee.  If we were to minus travel, hotel and food costs, that still would leave more than $300,000. That’s a lot of bagels, fruits and nuts for an athletic program that threw a news conference to announce a $150,000 donor.

If I were UH, I’d even knock off $100,000 in exchange for round-trip charter flights. It still would come out ahead, even if the team stayed at the Four Seasons.

Of course, the tsk-tsk folks will argue that the players will miss too much school time. But will they? This year, the Warriors are leaving a day later than they did last year. They are on track to miss 12 1/2 school days, including the week they will remain on the mainland between the Utah State and Navy road games. If they were to get a charter flight  to Boulder, they could depart on Friday, missing only one full day of school. So, yes, they would miss Friday’s lectures. But let’s not pretend we really care if a player misses an extra day of classes. Coaches care. Parents care. Players probably care. The rest of us? Not so much.

Take the game. Take the money. Then close your office doors, shut the blinds, and do the celebration dance because this is indeed a much-needed windfall.

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September 18th

Latest rumor … Hawai’i

From the Honolulu Star-Advertiser … The on-again, off-again negotiations that would send the University of Hawaii football team to Colorado next month to play a school-record seventh road game are apparently on again.

UH athletic director Ben Jay said Tuesday night that negotiations are back on the table and a decision on whether to play could come as soon as (Wednesday).

… Colorado is rumored to be offering Hawai’i $600,000 for the game, a game which is estimated to be worth $4.5 million to the University and Boulder community.

Hawai’i is an option as they have an open date on October 19th, and presently only have 12 games scheduled (Hawai’i, along with teams who travel to the islands to play the Rainbow Warriors, are allowed 13 games). The Buffs already have a contract with Hawai’i which will bring the Rainbow Warriors to Boulder in 2014 and send the Buffs back to the islands in 2015.

Hawai’i is currently 0-2 on the season, having dropped the opener at home to USC, 30-13, and a road game against Oregon State, 33-14.

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September 17th

Buffs close to a deal for a 12th game?

When asked about practice on Tuesday, coach MacIntyre talked about the layoff, saying it could be a “blessing in disguise” to get players healed up, but “then we’ve got a ten game stretch, saying “we’ll have to practice a little bit different with ten straight games”.

Well, the only way for Colorado to play “ten straight games” would be for the Buffs to play at home on October 19th, a scheduled bye date.

Sounds like an agreement in principle has been reached with either: a) Fresno State, UNLV (the Bulldogs current 10/19 opponent), and another team or two willing to shuffle games around; or b) the more likely scenario, an agreement has been reached to bring in another FCS team, or another FBS team which can make the 10/19 date, and has permission from the NCAA to either play a 13th game.

Best guess … another game against an FCS team.

We’ll see, perhaps as early as this afternoon.

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Fresno State to raise money for Colorado flood victims

I’m beginning to think I don’t want to play a re-scheduled game against Fresno State … because I am becoming a Bulldog fan.

First, on Friday afternoon, when the game was postponed, Fresno State offered to have their charter fly to Denver anyway, bringing supplies and officials willing to lend a hand.

Now, the school is using their nationally televised game-of-the-year against Boise State Friday night to help raise funds for Colorado flood victims (press release below).

That my friends, is a class act … props to the Bulldogs and their fans!

FRESNO, Calif. – Fresno State Athletics has teamed up with the American Red Cross to help raise money that will go towards the recovery efforts in Boulder, Colo. following record rainfall led to devastating floods in the area this past week.

Led by the Fresno State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), around 25-30 student-athletes and another 25-30 Red Cross volunteers will be collecting donations from 4:30-6:15 p.m. in and around Bulldog Stadium on Friday night when the ‘Dogs play Boise State at 6 p.m. in a game being televised nationally by ESPN.

“As a part of SAAC here at Fresno State, we realize that this would be a tremendous opportunity to help out a fellow institution as well as a community that is in serious tribulation due to a terrible natural disaster,” said Bulldog sophomore football player Jordan Brown. “We hope to do all we can to help and ensure this college campus and entire town can return to its normal lifestyle as soon possible”

Fresno State and the University of Colorado were scheduled for a football game on Saturday, Sept. 14 before the floodwaters caused the postponement of the game. No make-up date has been set.

On Saturday, Fresno State head coach Tim DeRuyter said “we understand the tragic situation there and we send our thoughts and prayers out to the people of Colorado and wish them the best in their recovery efforts.”

All proceeds raised on Friday night will go to the American Red Cross in helping the residents of Boulder County recover from the devastation of the floods.

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September 16th

Buffs still trying to find a way to have a sixth home game in 2013

From the Daily Camera … The Colorado football team returned to the practice fields Monday morning after three days off because of historic flooding in Boulder that postponed Saturday’s game against Fresno State.

CU had no news to report regarding a possible makeup date for the Fresno State game but athletic director Rick George continues to work in tandem with Pac-12 Conference administrators to find a solution.

One scenario that was discussed but ultimately discarded was for Cal to come to Boulder this week instead of Nov. 16. The Buffs already had this week scheduled as a bye before the flooding. Cal coming to Boulder this week would have allowed Fresno State to come to Folsom Field on Nov. 16 when it has a bye.

“I don’t think so at this point,” George said when asked Monday afternoon if he believed the Buffs would play this week.

George said he is juggling multiple scenarios involving numerous teams. He said CU is exploring every option, including not playing Fresno State at all this season and replacing the Bulldogs with a different opponent.

“We haven’t moved beyond that,” George said of focusing on trying to reschedule Fresno State. “That would be our priority to get Fresno State.

“…We have to look at all of them collectively and figure out which one is going to be the right way for us.”

Colorado could replace Fresno State on the schedule with a team from the Football Championship Subdivision during its Oct. 19 open date. Doing so might be the easiest fix of all.

The Buffs have already played one FCS team this season in Central Arkansas and could only count one win over an FCS team toward the six it needs to qualify for a bowl game. Given the extraordinary circumstances and the fact that CU is working with the NCAA and the Pac-12 to try to reschedule the Fresno State game first, it’s possible the Buffs could get a waiver from the NCAA to be bowl eligible if it won at least six games with two of those victories coming against FCS teams.

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September 15th

“We’ll make it up”

From the Daily Camera … If Colorado and Fresno State are going to reschedule their football game for a date later this season, both will have to miss their respective conference championship games Dec. 7 or get a lot of help reworking the schedule from fellow schools in the Mountain West and Pac-12 Conferences.

The Buffs and Bulldogs were scheduled to play at Folsom Field on Saturday but the game was postponed by historic flooding in Boulder after days of heavy rains this week.

This much is certain, having to postpone and possibly cancel the game wasn’t good news for a CU athletic department that experienced a $7.5 million shortfall last year because of poor ticket sales in football. CU needs all the revenue it can muster from its flagship program and badly needs to play six home games this fall.

Colorado athletic director Rick George and coach Mike MacIntyre sounded optimistic that they will be able to find a solution that works for the Buffs and Bulldogs but they didn’t know exactly how Saturday afternoon as they helped feed flood victims on the suite level at Folsom Field.

“We’re looking at (numerous) options,” CU athletic director Rick George said. “I’ve been on the phone all morning (Saturday) and I will continue to be on the phone. We’ll find a solution that works for us and works for Fresno State. They’ve been great to work with. They’ve been fantastic.”

“We’ll make it up,” coach MacIntyre said. “There are a lot of things happening on that. The NCAA will jump in. They will make sure. I mean, this is a national disaster. This isn’t just a little thing. We’ll be able to make it up some how some way.

“We’ve been talking back and forth. There are teams that can move that have been talking to us. There are all kinds of situations. I’m pretty sure if that didn’t happen, the NCAA would let us play somebody else because we need to be able to get our revenue back and also help the community with the revenue.”

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September 14th

Fresno State offered to help in clean up efforts

The Colorado/Fresno State game remains in limbo, but out of a difficult story comes some positives.

First, as to the latest efforts to re-schedule the game between the Buffs and the Bulldogs …

“We will reconvene with Fresno State in the next couple days to talk about the future and evaluate how we’re going to reschedule this game,” CU athletic director Rick George said.

“Moving games around at this point in the year, it would have been hard three months ago; right now it’s very difficult,” Fresno State Thomas Boeh said. “We have a responsibility to explore every option. Our job will be to exhaust all of those possibilities.”

Charter flights, hotels, television schedules, season ticket holders and other issues make moving a single game tough. Trying to move several games “adds a whole other complexity to it,” Boeh said.

“Football games by definition in many places are the largest public events in town and they’re very difficult to move around,” Boeh said.

There’s a chance this game won’t be played at all.

“I think we have to accept that as a possibility,” Boeh said, “but before we do that, we’ll explore every option. If it came to that, it would be very disappointing, but hopefully neither team would be put at a disadvantage later in the year if it came to access to postseason play and that kind of stuff.”

Nice gesture department …

From the Buffs … “We have 115 guys that can lift a bunch of weight, so I think we can be a huge help to the community at this time,” CU quarterback Connor Wood said. “It’s a pretty hard time for some people, for sure.”

On a day when they should have been playing football, CU student athletes will be serving meals to evacuees and rescue workers in the Club Level of Folsom Field. They also plan to help clean up Graduate Housing near Boulder Creek.

From the Bulldogs … The Bulldogs were about ready to board an airplane for Colorado when they got word that the game would not be played.

Fresno State athletic director Thomas Boeh didn’t hesitate to offer help.

“Once it was clear that we weren’t going to be able to play the game, I just gave the notion that maybe we could take some players and some staff and some others (to Boulder) and we could be some assistance,” Boeh said. “It didn’t work out, but we felt it was appropriate, if we could help, we’d try to help.”

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September 13th

Colorado & Fresno State will be talking over the next few days about a makeup

From CUBuffs.com … Athletic department officials from the University of Colorado and Fresno State University will confer soon about rescheduling the schools’ football game, CU Athletic Director Rick George said Friday.

Speaking at an on-campus news conference about two hours after the decision was made to postpone Saturday’s game at Folsom Field, George indicated there had been no preliminary makeup dates targeted as of yet.

“Our first priority was to get through this decision . . . we’ve agreed to talk over the next several days,” said George, adding that Fresno State President Joseph I. Castro and Athletic Director Thomas Boeh were prepared to fly to Boulder and lend whatever help they could in the wake of the devastating floods in Boulder County.

The CU football team has two open dates this season – the first on Saturday, Sept. 21, the second on Saturday, Oct. 19. Fresno State has open dates on Saturday, Oct. 12, and Saturday, Nov. 16. Both teams open conference play later this month – CU at Oregon State in its Pac-12 opener on Saturday, Sept. 28, and Fresno State against Boise State on Friday, Oct. 20.

The Buffs’ final regular-season game is Saturday, Nov. 30, at Utah, while the Bulldogs close their regular season on Friday, Nov. 29 at San Jose State. The Pac-12 championship game is scheduled on Saturday, Dec. 7 (site TBD).

CU Chancellor Phil DiStefano said the decision to postpone Saturday’s game went well beyond the scope of athletics, with Boulder’s already stretched resources factoring heavily. He said the Boulder Police Department usually allocates about 60 to 70 members of its force to work on CU home game Saturdays. In light of Boulder’s widespread flood plight, “It would be difficult to get that number of officers for the game,” DiStefano added.

DiStefano, George and coach Mike MacIntyre addressed CU’s players before the postponement was announced. DiStefano said he was “proud” of the players’ reaction: “They understood that we put the community and the state of Colorado first.”

George said the decision to postpone Saturday’s game took into account the transportation of the teams, fans and alumni traveling to the game, as well as the strain put on Boulder’s resources.

“It was the entirety of it all,” George noted. “There was collaboration of everyone at the table . . . at the end of the day, the chancellor, coach MacIntyre and I were all on the same page.”

Said MacIntyre: “This is bigger than a football game. It’s a great life lesson for these young people (players) . . . they’ll bounce back from and be ready to go whenever we play next.”

MacIntyre said the homes or apartments of six of his players had been impacted by the flooding on campus and they were moved to a hotel. He also said with next week’s practice schedule loosened by the upcoming open Saturday (Sept. 21), his players would help in what promises to be a massive cleanup operation in Boulder.

“It could be Monday or Tuesday or whenever. But we’ve got some big strong kids who can help some people out,” said MacIntyre, who called floods of the type Boulder experienced “a life-changing event.”

The Buffs’ practice schedule for the upcoming was to be firmed up in a football staff meeting following Friday’s news conference. The players most likely will be given Saturday, Sunday and Monday off – their first extended break since beginning preseason camp on Aug. 6.

Next week’s practices likely will be conducted at Kittredge Field rather than CU’s practice fields north of the Dal Ward Athletic Center that are near Boulder Creek. The Buffs worked on Kittredge toward the end of this week when Boulder Creek first threatened to overflow.

When practice resumes, MacIntyre said, “Our kids will respond and our staff will have a plan . . . we’ll keep the speed of the game going.”

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Colorado v. Fresno State postponed

From CUBuffs.com … Saturday’s football game between the University of Colorado and Fresno State has been postponed, university officials decided Friday morning.

After careful consideration, CU-Boulder Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano has decided that the University will not hold a football game tomorrow, and that school officials will discuss a possible make-up date for the game.

“Even though the weather is improving, Boulder is still designated as a national emergency site,” the chancellor said. “Our community is hurting. Many of our students are displaced from their homes, including many of our student-athletes. This is not an appropriate time for us to hold a game that would put pressure on the community, both in terms of security/emergency personnel, but also in diverting attention from people in need.”

DiStefano also said that “ensuring the safety of CU affiliates and fans has always been the No. 1 priority.”

Athletic Director Rick George said the decision was made with fans’ opinions in mind.

“We feel that this decision is the appropriate one in light of the circumstances,” George said. “Many of our students, alumni and fans have been affected by the events of this week and again, this is the right decision to make in light of those.”

CU head football coach Mike Macintyre said his players are supportive of the decision.

“Our players have a strong desire to compete, but many of them and many of their friends have personally been affected and I know they support this decision to postpone as well,” he said. “This is the appropriate decision and we are all 100 percent in agreement.”

The Athletic Department will be communicating details as soon as possible with tickets holders regarding how they will be able to utilize the tickets for the make-up date.

This is the third game in CU history that has been postponed; in 1963, the CU-Air Force game in Colorado Springs was delayed two weeks after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy; and in 2001, Washington State was set to visit Boulder on Sept. 15 but all college games were called off after the terrorist attacks on 9/11. That game was not made up until the 2003 season.

(Note … The 9/11 game which was postponed was actually to be played in Pullman … and so the road game against Washington State was not made up in Boulder in 2003, but in Seattle in 2004).

When will the game be made up?

No makeup date for CU/Fresno State has been announced. Colorado has a bye week next weekend (September 21st), but the Bulldogs have their big matchup against Boise State.

The Bulldogs have a bye week on October 12th, but that weekend CU will be on the road taking on Arizona State.

The Buffs’ next bye week comes the following weekend (October 19th), but Fresno State will be in Las Vegas taking on UNLV.

What about after the regular season? The weekend after Thanksgiving neither team has a game scheduled. However, that is the weekend of the Pac-12 and Mountain West championship games. While CU may not be busy that weekend, the Bulldogs would certainly be planning on participating in the MWC title game.

But that date is still a possibility … From the Fresno Bee … Fresno State and Colorado will attempt to play the game Dec. 7, although that is the date of the Mountain West Conference and the Pac-12 Conference championship games. If either the Bulldogs or Buffaloes reach their respective conference title game, their matchup likely would be cancelled, although they still could attempt to work out an arrangement.

Which leads us to future schedules …

2014 … Colorado has CSU (Denver), at Massachusetts, and Hawai’i. Fresno State has a killer non-conference schedule, with road games at USC and Utah, and a home game against Nebraska. Don’t be looking for the Bulldogs to pile on a fourth “Big Boy” game on their schedule.

2015 … Much more likely … Colorado opens on the road with Hawai’i, then has home dates with UMass and CSU, plus an open date which has yet to be filled (With the road game against Hawai’i, the Buffs get to play 13 games). Fresno State has non-conference games with Abilene Christian and Utah at home, and Ole Miss and BYU on the road. Fresno State would have to push back one of these two road games, with independent BYU probably the most flexible.

So, if you want a guess today … Colorado will host Fresno State on Saturday, September 26, 2015 …

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Fresno State flight delayed

From the Fresno State website (from noon MT) … “We continue to work closely with CU officials regarding Saturday’s game. Flight to Denver has been delayed. More details to come”…

From the CU twitter account … “We are continuing to monitor the situation and will have more info available soon with regards to Saturday’s football game with Fresno St.”

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100-Year Flood continues to wreak havoc in Boulder

The Daily Camera is reporting that there are 17 people “unaccounted for” as a result of the flooding in Boulder County.

While thoughts and prayers are with those trying to live through the ordeal, there is also the matter of a game to be played Saturday at noon.

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The latest on the weather … It’s letting up. But it’s not over.

The National Weather Service said Friday morning that the intense rain activity that has deluged Boulder this week and triggered a 100-year flood event is finally loosing its grip on the immediate region.

Showers will remain intermittent through the day today, with about a 50 percent chance of rain, which could still bring another inch to Boulder, on top of the 14-plus inches that already have fallen since Monday, said meteorologist Kari Bowen.

“There will still be some (additional) flooding potential with it,” Bowen said of today’s expected rain.

There is a glimmer of good news in the forecast, with Saturday’s rainfall potential slipping to about 30 percent, some periods of sunshine expected with temperatures expected to reach 75, after Friday’s predicted mid-60s.

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September 12th

Fresno State still planning on Friday trip to Boulder

From the Fresno Bee … Tim DeRuyter and the Bulldogs are heading into a flood zone for their first road game of the season on Saturday at Colorado, but Fresno State’s second-year football coach said Thursday that his team is ready to play.

The Boulder area has had severe flooding for the past 24 hours and the National Guard has been called in to assist with rescues.

Before the Fresno State’s final practice before departing Friday for Colorado, DeRuyter talked about the Colorado weather and the test the Bulldogs face against the Buffaloes.

“Obviously, we’re concerned for the people and the families that are there, the players and the coaches,” DeRuyter said. “But as far as playing the game on Saturday we don’t anticipate there’s going to be an issue. We may have some rain to deal with, but both teams will have to deal with that.”

Heavy flooding has come to Boulder County, with at least three deaths attributed to the storms.

Here is the latest from the Daily Camera.

School is canceled at CU today due to the flooding. The Buffs practice fields below the stadium are saturated, so they are going to practice at the Kittredge lacrosse field.

Folsom Field is well equipped for drainage, and there are no reports of any damage to the structure, so the game will be played as scheduled.

There will be no tailgating at Franklin Field next to the stadium, however. Other grass lots will also be closed.

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September 10th

Notes and quotes from Tuesday’s press luncheon

Opening statement … “First of all, a little bit about the Central Arkansas game.  I thought our young men played extremely hard and with a lot of passion.  I thought the student body was extremely loud and our kids really enjoyed that.  I knew that the football team of Central Arkansas was very talented when we were going to play them.  I know they are an FCS team, a lot of those kids have played for three years and were extremely big and athletic.  I thought that our guys played really hard. We kind of let them back in the game a little bit, but then it turned into a battle and we just kept fighting.  I’ve been very pleased with our effort and our intensity to sustain for four quarters and that’s a credit to our players and to our assistant coaches getting that done”.

On Fresno State being a revenge game … “That question has been asked a lot.  In any competitors mind, it’s in the back of your mind.  If’s it not then you’re not a competitor.  I know it’s in the back of our young men’s minds.  I know they’ll use that to motivate themselves.  I do not look at it as a revenge game or anything like that.  I think when you get into revenge all you are doing is getting mad and that’s not focusing.  It’s about executing what we do well better than they do it and playing with all the heart you got.  I think with what happened last year, I think that probably makes you focus better because you know they’re really good and you don’t want to get embarrassed again.”

On the speed of Fresno State … “Fresno State, fast, fast, fast and even faster. They have an excellent quarterback (Derek Carr) that will get drafted I would imagine in the first couple rounds. He is a heck of a player. They are talented on defense. They have an unbelievable safety, No. 13 (junior Derron Smith – voted as the 2013 Mountain West Preseason Defensive Player of the Year). Very, very good football team. Tim DeRuyter is an excellent coach. He is a defensive coach but he has that offensive humming … Hopefully they sprain their ankles getting off the bus.”

On stagnant running game … “I think that we just need to keep pushing it and keep working with it and I think we’ll eventually do better at it.  We just haven’t broken a 50 yard run that you all of a sudden go instead of having 120 yards rushing you’re at 175.  So we need to do that and I’m hoping that happens this week.  There’s different reasons…Either we didn’t block the right guy one time or we missed a cut one time or a guy made a great play but we do need to try to have that happen and we’re working for that.  The other side of that is, our short passing game has been good.  We’ve did a good job in the passing game and sometimes we were able to throw it pretty well.  Sometimes you do whatever you can do to win the football game.”

On freshman linebacker Addison Gillam … “I thought Addison played real well.  He made some big plays for us.  The way their offense was styled he didn’t have as many run fits in situations like he did in the first game but he played good in open space and made some good plays and was around the ball and did a lot of good checks and helped us out.  I thought he played well.”

On freshman defensive end Jimmie Gilbert … “Jimmie’s a really good athlete.  He’s a good player.  He’s going to have a great career here and I’ve been pleased with what he’s done in the first two games and I think he’ll keep making jumps as he keeps playing in games.  I’m very excited about Jimmie and he’s going to get bigger and stronger too.  As the year goes on he’ll get stronger and bigger and next year he’ll get bigger and stronger so he’s got a great future ahead of him.”

On team conditioning … “It’s very good.  We have to keep doing it.  Again, the way Dave Forman works them in the summer and the conditioning factor.  The other thing that’s helped us is our D-line has lost so much weight. They just keep playing, keep playing, keep playing.  Our line backing corps and our secondary corps is in good shape so that helps us a lot.  Offensively, we’re staying healthy and guys are running with the ball and we have enough receivers where we can run guys in and out to keep going.  So I’ve been pleased with what they’ve done.  We have to definitely keep doing it though but I think we’re stepping in the right direction.”

On the decision to redshirt defensive back Yuri Wright (barring significant injury depletion in the secondary) … “Right now we’re planning on redshirting him unless people get hurt … He only played like one year of football in high school and he needs to get bigger and stronger. I’ve done that before, redshirted sophomores that weren’t quite ready physically. You give them another year and you have three great years out of them … I think he’s going to be really, really good,” MacIntyre said. “He’s got a great future.”

On keeping Paul Richardson from being double-covered … Coach Mac praised offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren and wide receivers coach Troy Walters for moving wide receiver Paul Richardson around, giving him a chance to get open. “I think Brian Lindgren does a great job, him and Troy Walters, of moving him around. That’s something we have discussed as a staff long and hard, moving him to all different spots so he could have ways to get open. He’s gotten open down the middle. He’s gotten open down the side. He’s gotten open underneath. So that is all design and that’s a great job by our offensive staff.”

—

Sledgehammer Award … Junior offensive lineman Daniel Munyer won the Sledgehammer award this week because “he got a lot of pancakes up on the line.” The team watches plays nominated for the “best hit” award each Sunday and vote on the winner. The winner gets to carry the Sledgehammer around all week.  “We started it at San Jose State and the hammer deal was something I had done before when I was a defensive coordinator for a big hit.  So we did it on defense and I brought it.  Then the toolbox situation was, Bob Latisser who is a head coach at de La Salle High School in San Francisco Area…winning coach in high school history I think….He’s a San Jose State grad so when I got there I went over to the school and just sat down with him and we talked about a bunch of things.  I said ‘This is my first head coaching job and coach, what is one significant thing that you do?’ He said ‘Well I do a commitment card and box type thing.’  I don’t know if he puts it in the box but he does a commitment card situation so I decided to put it in the box and we carry it around.  So that’s something we do as a team on Thursday night.”

—

Injury update … Sophomore tailback Christian Powell, who has been limited with a thigh bruise – “Christian is doing good.  He practiced well today.  He just kind of got hit on that thigh a little bit and he’s got a pad on and he just kind of had a dead leg for a second but he’s completely fine.  He practiced the whole practice today so hopefully that won’t reoccur” … Back-up fullback and special teams contributor Clay Jones suffered a neck sprain against the Bears and is listed as out indefinitely … Back-up linebacker and special teams contributor K.T. Tu’umalo is listed as questionable with a hamstring injury. Tailback Josh Ford (ankle – 3-4 more weeks), quarterback Jordan Webb (knee – 3-4 more weeks) and offensive lineman Jeromy Irwin (foot – out indefinitely) all remain out.

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September 9th

Colorado/Fresno State stats suggest high scoring affair

With only two games to work with, it’s easy to note that statistics at this point of the season are going to be a bit skewed.

Still, if the first two games are any indication, fans who attend the Colorado/Fresno State game at noon Saturday (all 34,000 of us … the ticket sales through Monday) will see a shootout.

Some numbers and national rankings:

Total offense: Colorado – 44th, 467.0 yards per game; Fresno State – 47th, 453.5 ypg.

Passing offense: Colorado – 8th, 370.5 yards per game; Fresno State – 19th, 332.0 ypg.

Scoring offense: Colorado – 33rd, 39.5 points per game; Fresno State – 16th, 44.5 ppg.

Of course, CU’s Paul Richardson leads the nation in receiving yards (over 100 yards more than the No. 2 receiver), and Connor Wood is 5th in passing yards.

Fresno State counters with the much-heralded Derek Carr, 11th in the nation in passing yards, with the Bulldogs’ top receiver being Davante Adams, who is 39th in the nation in receiving yards.

Considering Fresno State put up 35 points in the first quarter against CU last fall (and had a 55-7 lead at halftime), it’s no stretch to say that the Bulldogs know how to put up points.

The real issue Saturday is whether the Colorado offense, scoring more than twice its 2012 average (of 17.8 ppg.) will be able to keep up.

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September 8th

First Look – Fresno State

Fresno State takes care of business against Cal Poly

From ESPN … Isaiah Burse had three touchdowns, two on punt returns, to lead Fresno State over Cal Poly 41-25 Saturday night.

Burse’s touchdown returns of 61 and 58 yards came in the first half and tied a Fresno State (2-0) record set in 2005 by Clifton Smith.

David Carr, coming off a record-setting performance last week against Rutgers, threw three touchdowns, including one to Burse. Carr’s third TD was to Davante Adams who now has caught a touchdown pass in 10 straight games, adding to his school and Mountain West records.

Carr also adds to the Bulldog record book with 71 career touchdown passes, becoming the third Bulldog to surpass 70.

Chris Brown led the Mustangs (1-1) with three touchdowns. He connected with Willie Tucker for a 7-yard touchdown, and then rushed for two more fourth quarter.

Bulldogs more dominant than final score of 41-25 suggests

From the Fresno Bee … Fresno State receiver Isaiah Burse made it look fun and easy with his punt returns.

Offensive lineman Austin Wentworth added some laughs thanks to a tricky hook-and-ladder touchdown.

And the Bulldogs defense was stifling when it mattered.

Just as Fresno State should look when a potential BCS-busting team is paired against a lower-level opponent.

The Bulldogs entertained early and dominated long enough in other facets before the reserve units dampened the excitement with a sloppy finish en route to a 41-25 victory against Cal Poly on Saturday at Bulldog Stadium.

The Bulldogs led 34-0 at the half before emptying their bench early in the second half and surrendering a couple of touchdowns soon after in front of the announced crowd of 33,260.

“Should’ve finished the game much better than we did,” Bulldogs coach Tim DeRuyter said. “We’ve got to do a much better job developing our depth. Having said that, the goal every week is to go 1-0. And we did that.”

Buffs a 9.5 point underdog to the Bulldogs

Vegasinsider.com has Colorado listed as a 9 1/2 point underdog at home to Fresno State this weekend.

Considering Fresno State ran out to a 35-0 first quarter lead against Colorado last season, and were a comfortable 34-0 ahead of Cal Poly at the half on Saturday, a 9.5 point spread is perhaps not a bad line for the Buffs.

Mike MacIntyre v. Fresno State

CU head coach was 1-1 against Fresno State in his time at San Jose State, with both games coming against former head coach Pat Hill.

In 2010, the Spartans fell at home to the Bulldogs, 33-18. The loss was fifth in a row for San Jose State, on its way to a 1-12 season. When the Spartans played the Bulldogs, they were already 1-6, with losses to Alabama (No. 1), Wisconsin (No. 11), Utah (No. 13), Nevada (No. 21) and Boise State (No. 3) … Thank heavens the Buffs do not face that lineup in Year One of the Mike MacIntyre era at CU!

In 2011, MacIntyre and the Spartans got even with the Bulldogs, winning 27-24 in Fresno. The victory gave MacIntyre and the Spartans a 5-7 overall record, and a two game winning streak to take into the 2012 season. The Bulldogs would go on to lose to San Diego State in their finale (to finish 4-9), the final game under Pat Hill.

This post, about the Fresno State game, from the 2013 Season, is filed under Article.
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