Colorado Daily – UMass

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Colorado Daily – Massachusetts

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September 12th

… CU in a few minutes …

Colorado celebration video in the new lockerroom

A video of the Buffs celebrating their big win over Massachusetts  can be found here.

Enjoy!

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UMass website poll on CU game ….

Masslive.com has posted a poll, asking its readers to predict the outcome of the game between Colorado and Massachusetts.

The results can be found here.

(The last time I checked, UMass readers were leaning about 70/30 … for the Minutemen.

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MacIntyre: “I believe they have definitely kept their confidence”

From cubuffs.com … It’s not a stretch to say the Buffs need a win in a big way, for a variety of reasons.

For starters, the Buffs are just 3-6 in their last nine home openers, including a 1-1 record under MacIntyre. Perhaps more importantly, the Buffs are currently mired in a nine-game losing streak stretching back to last season, just one away from the all-time school mark.

But most importantly, the Buffs need a win to make sure this year doesn’t start following the same spiral of 2014, when they spent too much of the season bemoaning the close ones that got away. They opened the season brimming with confidence; a win would be a major step toward making sure their belief in themselves doesn’t melt away.

“I believe they have definitely kept their confidence,” MacIntyre said. “We just have to finish these games and get ahead and keep the lead.”

The visiting Minutemen are in many ways a mirror image of the Buffs. On their way to a 3-9 finish last year — which included a narrow 41-38 loss to CU in Foxborough — UMass lost five games in which they were either tied or held the lead in the fourth quarter.

“They’re a very good football team,” MacIntyre said. “Coach (Mark) Whipple does a good job. I’m impressed with how their team kept improving as the year went on last year when we watched their film.”

… Continue reading story here …

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September 11th

… CU in a few minutes …

A few game notes worth noting

– Could this game be a big one for CU junior defensive back John Walker? It might be, if you believe in signs … Colorado will take on Massachusetts on September 12th, in a game which kicks off at 12:00 p.m., in the school’s 1,200th game … In case you were wondering, John Walker wears No. 12 …

– In case you were wondering, CU’s record in its first 1,199 games: 681-482-36 – 23rd on the all-time list;

– UMass has only traveled this far west once before in its history, traveling to Missoula, Montana, in 2008 for a 1-AA playoff game againt the Montana Grizzlies;

– The last time Colorado played its second game against a team playing its first was in 2003, when the Buffs, coming off of a 42-35 win over Colorado State, faced UCLA. The Buffs won that game, too, 16-14;

– Last year, Colorado was mauled in the return game, with opponents posting 547 yards returning punts, interceptions and fumbles to a grand total of 145 for the Buffs. In the opener against Hawai’i, the Buffs had the return edge, 74 yards to 21. Hopefully, a sign of better days to come …

– Sefo Liufau needs just three completions to become only the fourth quarterback in CU history with 500 completions. With nine completions against UMass, Liufau will pass Tyler Hansen for third place on the all-time list (Cody Hawkins, 667; Joel Klatt 666);

– Michael Adkins, with his 90 yards rushing against Hawai’i, became the 52nd rusher in CU history to eclipse 1,000 yards in career rushing. Colorado as a school ranks 7th nationally on the all-time list, behind only Oklahoma, Ohio State, USC, Nebraska, Alabama, and Army.

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UMass notes from masslive.com …

Injury report … The Minutemen have stayed relatively injury free in the preseason. There’s nothing longterm to report, but there are some nagging issues (plus a couple unusual medical situations) the team will be dealing with this week.

• WR Jalen Williams (undisclosed)
• LB Da’Sean Downey (leg/ankle)
• RB Sekai Lindsay (sickle cell trait)
• LB/DB Zeke Edmonds (sickle cell trait)

We haven’t seen much of Williams in camp, so his status is very much in doubt. Lindsay and Edmonds didn’t make the trip and that’s a significant blow considering both were expected to see snaps Saturday.

Mark Whipple on opening at Colorado: “It’s a hard opener because they’ve played a game. Colorado, they’ve always played really well at home. And it’s their home opener. So those things concern me. We’re going to make mistakes, but I’ve told the guys it’s about how we handle the adversity.”

WR Shay Fields: Nelson Spruce will get most of the attention and headlines, but the Minutemen know all too well what the sophomore wideout is capable of. Against UMass last year, Fields caught six balls for 93 yards and a touchdown. Against Hawaii last week, he had six catches for 60 yards. 2014 statistics: 50 receptions for 486 yards and four touchdowns.

Final Thoughts: This is a fun opener if you’re a UMass fan. Not only should the action should be fast-paced with lots of scoring, but this is also a winnable game for UMass. The Minutemen haven’t won their season opener since defeating Holy Cross 24-16 as an FCS program back in 2011. If the scores like it did last season and the defense can keep the Buffs from putting up 41 points again, we could be looking at a 1-0 start in 2015.

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Derek McCartney: “It would be really cool to be able to say I helped CU grow, just like my grandpa did”

A nice article on sophomore defensive lineman Derek McCartney can be found here at cubuffs.com.

The opening: Derek McCartney most likely had been dreaming of his first college interception, and last Thursday night he leapt high and pulled it out of the sticky hot island air in Honolulu.

Now, his dream has a sequel. In it he will outrun everyone in pursuit. No, he doesn’t fantasize himself as being a blur; he merely wants to be swift enough to . . . well, let him tell it:

“I’m obviously not the fastest guy; I got caught, got run down from behind,” he said with a laugh the other day after practice. “But I’ve worked a lot on speed and quickness stuff and my feet have gotten a lot better since last year.”

Truth is, he’s gotten a lot better from the feet up. He’s on the way to becoming the toe-to-head total package, maybe a defensive end/outside linebacker from the same mold that longtime University of Colorado football fans remember from late ‘80s, early ‘90s.

… Continue reading story here …

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September 10th

… CU in a few minutes …

First Pearl Street Stampede to feature Jeremy Bloom

From cubuffs.com … The much anticipated Pearl Street Stampede is back for its 11th season and will again be held the night prior to every Colorado Buffaloes home football game this season at 7 p.m., with the first one slated for Friday night prior to the Buffs game against Massachusetts on Saturday (Noon, Pac-12 Mountain).

Notable for the first Stampede this year will be the appearance of Jeremy Bloom, who is in town calling the game as part of the television crew for Pac-12 Networks.

Come join the CU football team, led by the Golden Buffalo Marching Band and CU’s spirit squads (cheerleaders, dance team and Chip), from the Boulder County Courthouse west to the end of the walking mall at 11th and Pearl.  This FREE event is great fun for the whole family and a fantastic opportunity to meet your favorite CU players, listen to the Golden Buffalo Marching Band and wish the team well prior to the game.

Before or afterwards, stay and enjoy dinner or shop at any of the more than 1,000 restaurants and business in the Downtown Boulder area, 85 percent of which are locally owned and operated.  For more information on the area, please visit www.boudlerdowntown.com.

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Folsom Frenzy video … Ralphie Revolution

From YouTube …

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UMass looks at Colorado … By the Numbers

From masslive.com … Here’s a look at some important numbers and statistics about Colorado to consider as the University of Massachusetts football team prepares for Saturday’s season opener against the Buffaloes.

215: Rushing yards last week against Hawaii

The Buffs pounded the ball on the ground 53 times last week, averaging 4.1 yards per carry. Eighteen of those carries came from quarterback Sefo Liufau, which is surprising, but also pressure-based.

10-142-2: Nelson Spruce’s receiving line vs. UMass last year

I know, I know, that’s three different numbers, but you really need all of them to get an idea of just how much damage Spruce did against the Minutemen last year. It was Spruce’s two scores that completed the Buffs’ comeback.

266.7: Yards per game for Sefo Liufau in 2014

Liufau finished 20th in the nation in yards/game as a sophomore. Expectations are high for him to take another leap in 2015, but game one vs. Hawaii was a struggle (23 of 40, 156 yards, interception)

6: Wins for coach Mike MccIntyre since taking over in 2013

Make no mistake about it, MacIntyre’s job will be in jeopardy if the Buffs struggle through another 2- or 3-win season again in 2015. Last week’s loss to Hawaii – the only team other than UMass that Colorado beat last season – already has the fan base grumbling.

4.5: Sacks for defensive end Derek McCartney as a freshman last season

McCartney’s name has come up a few times with coach Mark Whipple as being Colorado’s best down lineman. He didn’t have a sack in the opener but did record four tackles (one for loss), a quarterback hit and an interception that he brought back 33 yards.

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September 9th

… CU in a few minutes …

Sefo Liufau: “We have to be able to perform in those tight situations”

From cubuffs.com … But one game into the season, the Buffs also know they’ve already danced up to the edge of a cliff. They let one get away they know they should have had, and they know those opportunities won’t last forever.

“We have to believe in ourselves and play loose, not cocky, but with a certain confidence and swagger,” Liufau said. “We know that we’re good but I think we’re putting too much pressure on ourselves to go out and perform, or we expect other people on the team to go do something. If you’re in a close game, which we will be a lot of times this year, we have to be able to perform in those tight situations.”

Of course, the best way to gain a little confidence and swagger is to win. It’s hard to swagger when your last effort ended in disappointment.

But if Tuesday’s press conference — and Tuesday’s practice, a brisk full-pads affair — is any indication, the Buffs may finally be reaching the point that they’re sick and tired of being sick and tired.

They’ve looked in the mirror and acknowledged their mistakes. They believe they are a better team than they showed in their opener, and now they’re just a little bit ticked off.

This much is clear: with 12 games remaining, no one inside the Buff locker room is even looking for a panic button. There’s what amounts to a full season still remaining for the Buffs to prove to the world — and more importantly, to themselves — that they are not a rewind of the 2014 team.

“We’ll be ready to play this week,” Liufau vowed.

… Continue reading story here …

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Coach MacIntyre talks with the media after Wednesday’s practice

YouTube video courtesy of BuffStampede.com …

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September 8th

… CU in a few minutes …

Buffs still learning how to win … “it is extremely frustrating for the players, for the coaches, and for the fans, too”

From cubuffs.com … On Tuesday, at MacIntyre’s initial  2015 media conference, I asked him if he believes the Buffs were close to learning how to win and what his coaching career had taught him about the process.

He said he “definitely believes” his team is learning, adding, “We need to, that’s for sure . . . what we got to do now is make sure we go do it.”

Continued MacIntyre: “When we start doing it, you can kind of point to a game. But it’s a process, it’s a whole mental process the whole time. You just need to do it, then you can do it again, do it again, and do it again. That’s what we need to make sure we take advantage of to make sure we have a chance.

“The one thing I will say, even the other night and about the team last year which I think has carried over. They never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever (that’s six “evers” if you’re counting at home) give up. If you keep doing that then eventually you are going to get those and you are going to start winning those games. But it is extremely frustrating for the players, for the coaches, and for the fans, too. But it’s more frustrating for those players; they’re out there doing it. I can guarantee you that.”

… Continue reading story here …

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Injury Report

OLB – Jaleel Awini – leg – suffered a quad strain on Aug. 24 (when awkwardly missing a step on some stairs) – DAY-TO-DAY

DE – Tim Coleman – hamstring – He was hampered with a severe strain much of the summer (he injured it on June 15), and reinjured it on Aug. 27 – DOUBTFUL

FB – John Finch – ankle – suffered a severe sprain in scrimmage action (Aug. 15) – DOUBTFUL

DE – Terran Hasselbach – ear – suffered a laceration on Sept. 6 (off the field injury) – PROBABLE

DE – Tyler Henington – ankle/leg – suffered dislocation/fracture when accidentally stepping in a hole walking home (July 25); had surgery on July 26 – OUT/SEASON-ENDING

OG – Gerrad Kough – ankle – suffered a sprain in the third quarter at Hawai’i (Sept. 3) PROBABLE

LB – Travis Talianko – knee – he tore ligaments in conditioning workouts in late July; had surgery on July 28 OUT/SEASON-ENDING

DE – De’Jon Wilson – back – has endured muscle spasms throughout the summer, has limited him at times – DOUBTFUL

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Tuesday Press Conference quotes

From cubuffs.com …

General
“We have UMass coming in here, and they have the most returning starters of any team in America this year. Offensively, their quarterback is first team all-conference. No. 7, Blake [Frohnapfel], I’ll probably mis-pronounce his last name, I just know he can throw the ball really well. He is an excellent passer and a great leader for their team. They got hot at the end of the year, then he got hurt and they lost their last two games. They have an excellent receiver, who is the best receiver in the MAC. Tajae Sharp, really good player – big, athletic, fast –does an excellent job. Defensively, they have a really, really experienced secondary coming back, and good pass rushing outside linebackers. I think they are a very good football team. Coach Whipple was there before. Won a national championship, and then kind of made his rounds through the pros a little bit. Then, he was at the University of Miami for a while. When I was at Duke we went against each other. He’s an excellent coach, does a great job; a very good offensive mind. I’m impressed with how their team kept improving as the year went on last year when we watched their film. The one disadvantage we have is they have a game on us, we don’t have anything on them. I’m pretty sure they will have a few new wrinkles, but I’m pretty sure they will get the ball to No. 1 as much as they can.”

On CU’s secondary being tested against UMass
“I think it will be a very big test. I think they have excellent . . . not only is [WR Tajae] Sharp good, they have a young man, No. 10, that is really, really quick and athletic. Their other receivers are big and athletic. One thing that surprised us last year when we played them, was their big tight end No. 87 [Jean Sifrin] wasn’t even on the team until two hours before our game started. He wasn’t eligible. He’s playing the in NFL now. He’s 6’7″. I was like, ‘Who is that?’ I asked coach Whipple before the game, ‘Who is that guy?’ He said, ‘Well he just got eligible.’ I asked, ‘He couldn’t know everything by now, could he?’ And he sure did; he was a good player. The quarterback is a very good player. He can make all of the throws. He’s a guy that can drop back, like a pro quarterback, and throw it from this hash all the way across the field, a perfect out route on a frozen rope. He can make all the throws, he’s a really good player.”

On TB Michael Adkins and his performance at Hawai’i
“Michael ran really well during the game. He was hampered during the pre-season with an ankle [injury], and he got going. He is extremely fast, he’s a 10.7 – 10.8 hundred meter young man. He’s put on about eight pounds of bodyweight from last year. He was in the low 190s now he’s in the high 190s. He’s a powerful runner, but also has speed and ability to pull away from people. It was a little hot there; he wore down a little bit and got his energy back and went back out there. So we look for Michael to be able to run the ball a lot for us.”

On whether he believes the team appeared tight at Hawai’i
“I don’t think they appeared tight. I think they made bone-head mistakes that cost us a football game. We outplayed that team, we out “physicaled” that team, we out rushed that team, we out gained that team. We just made bone-head mistakes. Maybe that was because some of them were tight, I don’t know. They didn’t seem tight to me, we just made some bone-head mistakes that we’ve got to coach better to not have happen, or we would have won that game by a few touchdowns. It’s very frustrating.”

On if he can explain what happened at the end of the Hawai’i game and how he saw it
“I think [ESPN radio’s] Mike and Mike explained it well enough.”

On leaning on the ‘Leadership Council’ this week against Massachusetts
“We do every week. I’ve got some really fine young men on this football team that want to be successful and do a lot of things right. We meet every Monday as a group on our day off at lunch; because lunch is mandatory for them, so I eat lunch with those guys. We talk about different things: things that we need to improve on and things that we need to do for our team and upcoming games. I definitely lean on those guys hard.”

On teams needing to learn how to win and whether this team is closer to doing that
“I definitely believe so. We need to, that’s for sure. I definitely believe we are. We need to do it. That’s what we got to do now, make sure we go do it.”

On the importance of having a “good showing” against Massachusetts
“All we need to do is win. I’ll take a win anytime and to me that’s a good showing. We need to go win football games.” 

On whether he was pleased with the defense after reviewing film of the Hawai’i game
“They played really hard and got after it. We gave up a few plays we should not have. They’re going to make a few plays. We turned a 20 yard gain into a 70 yard gain. You can’t do that. I thought physically up front, I thought they were stout against the run and they pushed the pocket pretty good. We only had one sack, but they were a really quick passing team in tight situations, so it’s a little different. But I thought they pushed the pocket well and did some good things there. I thought we tackled well except for a couple of instances that hurt us. But overall I thought we tackled pretty well on defense.”

Getting back to learning how to win…do you see it as a process that can happen in one or two games?
“When we start doing it, you can kind of point to a game. But it’s a process, it’s a whole mental process the whole time. You just need to do it, then you can do it again, do it again and do it again. That’s what we need to make sure we take advantage of to make sure we have a chance. The one thing I will say, even the other night and about the team last year which I think has carried over: They never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever . . . ever give up. If you keep doing that, then eventually you are going to get those and you are going to start winning those games. But it is extremely frustrating for the players, for the coaches and for the fans too. But, it’s more frustrating for those players; they’re out there doing it. I can guarantee you that.”

On team maintaining confidence after the loss at Hawai’i
“Confidence comes from within, and each young man has to do that. Of course, we inspire them; we motivate them every way that we can. But when they put their helmet on and step out between the lines, they got to keep their confidence. I believe they definitely have kept their confidence. When you watch the game, and they watch themselves on film they can see how much stronger they are and how physical they are. They can see that they are a step faster on closing on the ball, and they can see a little bit more power on some different things. Sefo [Liufau] is a good example of a guy that has kept working hard and improving his body. I mean watching his run from (the Hawai’i game) to his freshman year – it’s night and day. I think if you see that, that’s the way the rest of our team has done. Now we just have to finish these game and get ahead and keep the lead. I think he is a prime example of what the weight room and physical activity has done just in the way he is moving, to me.”

On what he thought of the performance by the specialist at Hawai’i
“I thought [K] Diego [Gonzalez] did really, really well. I thought our holder Colin Johnson did a good job. We had new guys protecting up front near the field goal; I thought that operation was smooth, it was on time. I thought that Chris Graham did a good job of kicking off. It was really humid, really dense weather and it’s hard to kick it out of the end zone. His placement was excellent and we had excellent kickoff coverage, which is something we didn’t have the first couple years (his staff has been at CU), but we did the other night. I think we pinned them within the 15 (yard line) the first two times they got it, which is pretty impressive. Punt-wise, that was a gigantic miscommunication, glitch that we hadn’t had happen like that, period. I thought it was good the way our punter kind of recovered from it. His first punt in college and it gets blocked. It’s shocking to you if you are an 18-year old kid. He did some good things and he’ll punt better this week; he has a very powerful leg. I thought our coverage units when we did punt, were excellent. They didn’t really have any room, they fumbled a couple and we were right there. I thought they did a good job on that. The punt block was disastrous, is the best way to put it; but everything else on the kicking game, if that wouldn’t have happened, you would have said we had a pretty excellent kicking game, except one of his punts was a little bit short. But after you get it blocked, I can kind of understand that for a young kid. That won’t happen to him again.”

On whether he would prefer Sefo Liufau running as much as he did against Hawai’i
“No, because some of them were scrambles that he had to get out of the way of the rush. I would say no on that. But his ability to run adds a different dimension to the defense. Now that defense can’t just play coverage, they got to have someone spy on him, they got to make sure they rush the lanes, and they can’t just get exotic wide splits and try to run by us because they know he can run now. That helps us. It helps you in the red zone because if they widen out and try to double your wide receivers and they type of thing, he’s able to run it in so that will eliminate them being able to do that as much. No, I don’t want him to run as much, but I am glad he can run.”

On if he was surprised by how long it took Liufau to get into a rhythm
“I think he had to move in the pocket a little bit earlier in the game then I think that he thought (he would have to). When it’s the first time I’m doing that. Your windows and your pocket’s are a little messed up, so you’re having to throw the ball from different angles, and so once he kind of got a rhythm of feeling that and he got a little better protection at times, he was a little more accurate. He might not have played as well as he’d like or I’d liked in the first half, but there were some circumstances on that. He’s not going to point fingers at anybody, and we won’t either. It was a whole team effort. His competitive spirit showed though, and he kept fighting, trying to find a way.”

On his first impressions of the new defense under coach Jim Leavitt
“Again, I thought they played hard; I thought they did some good things. We made a couple of mistakes in the red zone, where we should have made them kick more field goals; and a couple touchdowns they got, which would have made a big difference. We need to keep getting better in that area. Teams are going to get to the red zone, in today’s college football, a lot. We’ve got to improve in there and that is something that we will do.”

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Redshirt freshman defensive lineman Jase Franke one of the few bright spots from the Hawai’i debacle

From cubuffs.com … Jase Franke had a strong spring and a solid fall camp, thus earning some quality playing time at defensive tackle in CU’s season opener last week in Hawai’i.

He responded by recording five tackles — second best among CU’s defensive linemen, despite playing just 23 snaps — and a quarterback sack that resulted in a fumble and very nearly a CU touchdown.

It’s a safe bet that Franke will be seeing more playing time in the future.

“He made some really tremendous plays,” Jeffcoat said after Sunday’s practice. “He made the sack and he made some plays in the run game. That’s just from effort. That’s the kind of player Jase is. A lot of what he does is just great effort.”

… “I honestly just want to contribute as much as I can,” Franke said earlier this week. “I watched us last year have a rough season and decided I wanted to do whatever I could to change that around. We just need to come out and win some games.”

… Continue reading story here …

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Fixing offensive line a priority for Game Two

From the Daily Camera … As the Buffs (0-1) look ahead to Saturday’s matchup with Massachusetts (0-0) and beyond, they realize their offensive line has to get better.

Liufau was sacked four times. Only once last year did the Buffs give up four sacks (at Southern California). In addition to the time Liufau was taken down, he scrambled out of trouble on a number of other plays. He did run for a career-best 81 yards, but about 60 of those came on plays where he dropped back to pass, but scrambled.

“Obviously we don’t want him to ever get touched,” CU center Alex Kelley said. “It’s going to happen in a game. It would have been nice to have a little less, but they came out there ready to play, and we just had to match that.”

… Continue reading story here …

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September 7th

… CU in a few minutes …

UMass releases depth chart for Colorado game

Here is a link to the UMass depth chart for this weekend.

Two players (not significant contributors) will not be making the trip.

From masslive.com … Adjusting to the higher altitudes and thinner air of the Rocky Mountains is an issue all University of Massachusetts football players will have deal with as the team prepares to open its 2015 season at Colorado Saturday.

But for freshman running back Sekai Lindsay and sophomore linebacker Zeke Edmonds, the increased elevation poses a medical threat serious enough to keep the pair of expected contributors grounded in Amherst when the rest of the team takes off for Boulder.

According to coach Mark Whipple, Lindsay and Edmonds both tested positive for sickle cell trait, a condition that puts them at increased medical risk playing at high elevation. Because of the unusual circumstances, the pair be held out of the Colorado game as a precaution.

“We test them when they come in,” Whipple said. “We’re not going to put them in harm’s way.”

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Buffs begin preparations for the UMass pass-happy offense

From cubuffs.com … For the second week in a row, the Colorado Buffaloes will face an opponent that will be playing its first game of the season.

In normal circumstances, that would make it difficult for the Buffs and head coach Mike MacIntyre to prepare for this week’s game — but these are not normal circumstances. The Buffs are already quite familiar with their opponent.

After all, it was only a year ago the Buffs saw all they wanted from the University of Massachusetts and the Minutemen’s standout quarterback, Blake Frohnapfel. The Buffs barely escaped Foxborough with a win last year, overcoming a 31-20 third-quarter deficit to take a 41-38 victory.

… “They’ve got a good football team,” MacIntyre said. “Coach (Mark) Whipple does a good job. They’ve got a really good quarterback who can really throw it, and they’ve got an excellent receiver. Defensively, they’ve got a really good corner (Randall Jette, who had an interception against CU last year) and some excellent linebackers.”

A year ago, the 6-foot-5, 230-pound Frohnapfel threw for 267 yards and three touchdowns against the Buffs. For the season, he finished with 3,345 yards and 23 touchdowns. His favorite receiver from a year ago, Tajae Sharpe, is also back. Sharpe caught 85 passes for 1,281 yards and seven touchdowns last season, and had a five-catch, 83-yard day against the Buffs.

Overall, the Minutemen return their starting quarterback, their top two rushers, four of their top five receivers and their entire offensive line from a team that rang up 38 points and 372 yards in total offense a year ago.

… Continue reading story here …

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Injury update

From cubuffs.com … MacIntyre said he wasn’t sure if linebacker/nickelback Jaleel Awini would be available for the UMass game. Awini was penciled in as a starter against Hawai’i, but suffered a quadriceps injury walking down steps from class and has been out of action since.

“Hopefully he’ll be able to play this week,” MacIntyre said.

MacIntyre also said he expected starting guard Gerrad Kough to be ready to play this week. Kough injured an ankle in the Hawai’i game in the first half. “He should be ready to go,” MacIntyre said.

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Buffs look to correct errors made in Game One

From cubuffs.com … One day after the Colorado Buffaloes touched down from their longest flight of the season, they were back on the field, working on correcting the errors that paved the way for a 28-20 loss to Hawai’i in Thursday’s season opener.

By the time the Buffs hit the field Saturday afternoon, they had all had the opportunity to watch game film of the defeat, a loss that included a blocked punt, three turnovers and one Hawai’i pass play that accounted for nearly 40 percent of the Rainbow Warriors’ total passing yardage.

“The first half, we shot ourselves in the foot … pretty monumental shots to the foot to say the least,” head coach Mike MacIntyre said. “We really shot ourselves in the leg, the head .. (But) things like that happen and you have to overcome it. I thought we battled back and had a chance to overcome it and kept fighting.”

Defensively, MacIntyre said the Buffs “played hard,” but made critical errors in the red zone and on the 79-yard pass completion that went for a touchdown. Offensively, the Buffs struggled against Hawaii’s stunting front, which resulted in four sacks of quarterback Sefo Liufau; and there was a missed assignment on the blocked punt.

… Continue reading story here …

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September 6th

Coach MacIntyre talks with the media after Sunday’s practice

YouTube video courtesy of BuffStampede.com …

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Colorado a 16-point favorite against UMass

The opening line at vegasinsider.com for the CU home game against UMass (noon, Pac-12 Networks) was 14 points, but has since gone up to 16 points.

That being said, Colorado was a 17-point favorite on the road last season against UMass, and had to overcome an 11-point third quarter deficit to defeat the Minutemen, 41-38 …

Other lines of note …

– Utah a 10.5-point favorite over Utah State

– Ohio State a 38-point favorite over Hawai’i

– Minnesota a 6.0-point favorite over Colorado State

– Michigan a 14.5-point favorite over Oregon State

– Oregon and Michigan State a “pick ’em” game

– Cal a 9.0-point favorite over San Diego State

– Arizona an 11.0-point favorite over Nevada

– Rutgers a 5.5- point favorite over Washington State

– USC a 42.5-point favorite over Idaho

– Stanford a 17.0-point favorite over Central Florida

– UCLA a 30.0-point favorite over UNLV

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September 5th

Coach MacIntyre talks with the media after the first practice since the Hawai’i game

YouTube video of Mike MacIntyre’s post-practice talk with the media can be linked here.

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UMass preparing to play at altitude by coming in on Thursday, bringing oxygen tanks

From GazetteNet.com … A season where the UMass football team is trying to take its program to new heights will start in a lofty spot.

Colorado’s Folsom Field, which hosts the Minutemen’s opener against the Buffaloes on Sept. 12 at 2 p.m., is nestled in the Rocky Mountains, 5,360 feet above sea level. Only Wyoming (7,215 feet) and Air Force (6,620) have Bowl Subdivision stadiums closer to the sky.

“Boulder is at about 5,300 (feet). Acclimatization issues really come into play at about 7,000 or 7,100 feet above sea level,” said Jennifer Brodeur, the UMass football team’s head athletic trainer. “But psychologically, they come in at about 15 feet above sea level. So we’re doing a lot of things.”

High on the list is hydration. There are signs hanging in the UMass locker room reminding the players to drink fluids throughout the preseason. Players’ weights are monitored and if someone dips too low, they’re given more fluids.

“We’re hydrating them more than we probably would if we were playing later in the season out there or we weren’t playing at altitude,” Brodeur said. “We’ll have almost two whole weeks of almost over-hydration.”

Like most teams that visit Colorado, Colorado State, Air Force or the Denver Broncos, UMass will rent oxygen tanks.

“I don’t know how many will use it, but we’ll have it as a precaution,” Brodeur said. “Talking to a Colorado athletic trainer, they said visiting teams will come and use it for the first couple series and then it goes by the wayside. It makes the players feel better knowing it’s there.”

The Minutemen, who usually travel to Saturday road games on Friday, will head west on Thursday. They’ll get to practice at Folsom and adjust to the altitude and two-hour time change.

“Just getting on the road, you build more as a football team on the road,” Whipple said. “So we’ll have an extra day.”

Having played at Denver as an NFL assistant, Whipple wasn’t worried about the thin air.

“It didn’t make any difference,” he said. “It’s not like anybody came out and said ‘Aw geez this air is thinner.’ The football field is the same except they have grass.”

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Buffs vow to lean on each other; tune out negatives

From the Daily Camera … After spending the offseason building up their confidence, the Colorado Buffaloes boarded a plane early Friday morning trying to maintain it.

A 28-20 loss to Hawaii in Thursday’s season opener was disappointing, but the Buffs walked out of their locker room at Aloha Stadium aiming to look forward.

“It’s definitely a stop in our tracks to what we want to do, but it’s the first game,” running back Michael Adkins said. “It’s good to get that out of the way so we know what we need to do and evaluate and move on toward the season. We have 12 more games left. One game is not going to change that. It’s going to allow us to push forward better.”

… other quotes … “Everyone has their own opinion,” Sefo Liufau said. “This one stings, but we’re just going to get back to work. We’re going to fly home tonight and … go back to the grind. If we don’t have the support, that’s OK. We have our teammates, we have our brothers, we have our coaches. If no one wants to support us, then we’ll go 12-1 the rest of the year on our own.”

… Nelson Spruce: “(MacIntyre) still believes in us and we still believe in each other, so it’s just a matter of going back to work next week.”

… “We just have to deal with the pain for the next day and then move on to UMass next week,” defensive end Derek McCartney said.

… Full story can be found here ..

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Colorado rated as only the fourth most difficult game on the UMass schedule

… and it’s worth noting that the list was compiled before the Buffs lost to Hawai’i on Thursday night …

From GazetteNet.com … Ranking the Minutemen’s schedule, from most difficult to easiest. In the “first tier” was a road game against Notre Dame. In the “second tier” were games in which the Minutemen would enter as underdogs, but would at least be competitive. The No. 2 game was Bowling Green, No. 3 was Toledo, with Colorado coming in at No. 4 (just barely ahead of No. 5 Temple).

Thoughts on the CU game:

4. Colorado – The Buffaloes are talking breakthrough, but seemingly the only thing anyone can agree on in Pac-12 predictions is that Colorado is going to be last. Still the Buffs will have played a game already, and it’s not only a road game for UMass, but a road game at altitude.

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This post, about the Massachusetts game, from the 2015 Season, is filed under Article.
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