Colorado Daily

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Colorado Daily – Utah

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November 30th – Game Day !

… CU in a few minutes … 

Laviska Shenault: “We can’t really make mistakes and we just gotta do us”

From the Daily Camera … While Tucker has never publicly identified the Utes as rivals, as McCartney did with Nebraska, there’s no question the Buffs’ head coach sees in Utah what he’d like his Buffs to become.

“When you look at our league and people talk about the Pac-12 and talk about who are the most physical teams in the Pac-12, Utah is the first team that comes up,” Tucker said. “Big, strong, physical football team. Very well-coached. They play with a lot of confidence. They’ve got a lot of good players on both sides of the ball and special teams. They really don’t have weaknesses overall as a team, so it’s going to be a tremendous challenge for us.”

On Saturday, Tucker will lead his Buffs (5-6, 3-5 Pac-12) into Salt Lake City for a showdown with the Utes (10-1, 7-1) and there is plenty at stake for both teams, who joined the Pac-12 together in 2011.

With a win, the Utes will claim their second consecutive Pac-12 South title and keep hope alive for a spot in the College Football Playoffs. Colorado is aiming for bowl eligibility.

“We’re hungry,” CU linebacker Davion Taylor said. “We’re really trying to push and give everything we’ve got this week because it’s really like do or die.”

… Continue reading story here …

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November 29th

… CU in a few minutes … 

*Video – Mel Tucker Friday Press Conference*

From YouTube, courtesy of CUSportsNation:

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Mel Tucker credited with turning the tide of Ohio State/Michigan rivalry to Buckeyes

From Cleveland.com …  For the first time in 19 years, an Ohio native will not coach the Ohio State Buckeyes against the Michigan Wolverines. But 1,200 miles from Columbus, in Boulder, Colo., a head coach from Cleveland can affect the Buckeyes once again.

Cleveland native and Cleveland Heights grad Mel Tucker, a former assistant for the Buckeyes and the Browns, will lead the Colorado Buffaloes against the Utah Utes on Saturday. If Utah wins, it will remain on track for a possible College Football Playoff bid if it also wins the Pac-12 Championship next week. That could mean a potential playoff semifinal matchup with Ohio State.

If Colorado wins? The 5-6 Buffaloes could make their second bowl game in the last 12 years.

Tucker, 47, received a chance to run his own college program for the first time this season after 22 years as an assistant in college and the NFL, working for coaches ranging from Nick Saban to Jim Tressel to Romeo Crennel. Now, he’s one of seven head coaches among the 65 power conference teams that was raised in Ohio, joining: Les Miles of Kansas, from Elyria; Pat Narduzzi of Pitt and Mark Stoops of Kentucky, both from Youngstown; Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio, raised in Zanesville; Matt Campbell of Iowa State, from Massillon; and Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh, born in Toledo and raised in Ohio for parts of his childhood as his dad coached at several colleges. (We didn’t count Texas’ Tom Herman, who was born in Cincinnati but moved to California when he was 6.)

“That’s just a way of life in Ohio,” Tucker told cleveland.com. “In Ohio, football is almost like a religion. There’s a reverence for the game of football. And coaches are held in high esteem, whether they’re Pop Warner, Police Athletic League coaches, junior high, high school, or Mount Union or Youngstown State, it doesn’t matter. The tradition is so strong, I think it means something to be a coach in the state of Ohio.

“It’s an honorable profession. And there’s almost a responsibility to give back. That’s what drew me to coaching.”

His parents, Mel Sr. and Brenda, still live in the Cleveland area, as does his younger brother Rhys. If you see a Colorado flag flying in Northeast Ohio, you’ll know why — one of Cleveland’s own is building the Buffaloes. In a recent interview from his office in Boulder, Tucker took me through his career and the path that finally led him to Colorado.

… Continue reading story here …

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CU will try and get running game going against nation’s No. 1 rush defense

From the Daily Camera … It may take at least a year or two for the Colorado football team to establish the type of run game that head coach Mel Tucker would like to see from his offense.

During the past few weeks, however, the Buffs have shown signs of getting there.

In back-to-back wins over Stanford and Washington, the Buffs racked up 379 rushing yards on 82 carries, an average of 189.5 yards per game and 4.6 per carry. The ability to run the ball in the fourth quarter has been vital to the Buffs (5-6, 3-5 Pac-12) chewing up the clock and securing wins.

“It is important to be able to run the ball on your terms, when you want to run it and when you need to run,” Tucker said after the Buffs’ 20-14 win against Washington last Saturday, when his team ran for 207 yards on 41 carries, including five straight runs to finish the game.

CU’s run game will get its toughest test, by far, of the season when they visit No. 6 Utah (10-1, 7-1) on Saturday (5:44 p.m., TV: ABC).

Utah’s run defense has been historically good this season. The Utes lead the country, allowing just 55.9 rushing yards per game. No team in the Football Bowl Subdivision has allowed fewer than 63 yards per game since TCU in 2008 (47.1).

Opponents are gaining 2.29 yards per carry against the Utes, the country’s lowest number since Alabama gave up just 2.01 per carry in 2016.

… Continue reading story here …

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November 28th – Happy Thanksgiving!

… CU in a few minutes … 

Stopping Utah’s rushing attack first order of business for CU defense

From the CUBuffs.com … Over the last two games, the Colorado Buffaloes’ defense has produced outstanding efforts against the run.

In wins over Stanford and Washington, the Buffs allowed an average of just 79.5 yards per game on the ground, including holding the Huskies to just 32 rushing yards on 32 carries. Prior to those two games, CU had been allowing an average of more than 150 yards per game rushing.

Mel Tucker‘s Buffs (5-6 overall, 3-5 Pac-12) will need that run defense to produce again Saturday when they meet sixth-ranked Utah (10-1, 7-1) in a 5 p.m. game at Rice-Eccle Stadium (ABC). The Utes have had the most productive run game in the Pac-12 this season, averaging 215.3 yards per game on the ground, and they are the only team in the league to average 5 yards per carry for the year.

“We want to be a run stop defense, that comes first,” said CU linebacker Davion Taylor. “We practice it all the time and in the last two weeks we’ve been putting more of an emphasis on it and trying to keep our opponent under 100 yards. We’ve succeeded these last two games and we know that Utah loves to run the ball, so we’re more hyped to take on the challenge of keeping them under 100 yards and stop their run game.”

That is a lofty goal. Not only have the Utes averaged more than 200 yards per game, they have been held under 150 only once, when they managed just 115 on the ground in a 33-28 win at Washington three weeks ago.

It has been a calling card of Kyle Whittingham’s Utah teams — along with a physical defense — and that hasn’t changed this season.

… Continue reading story here …

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November 27th

… CU in a few minutes …

Young defenders gaining experience: “Just keep chopping at the stone, sooner or later it’s going to break”

From the Daily Camera … Whether it’s veterans or freshmen, there’s a common theme among the players that are stepping up on defense for the Colorado football lately.

Opportunity.

Throughout the second half of the season, the Buffs (5-6, 3-5 Pac-12) have shown steady improvement on defense, and that has shown up big time in the last two games.

Along the way, the Buffs have seen a few freshmen – such as nickelback Mark Perry, cornerbacks KJ Trujillo and Tarik Luckett, and defensive lineman Na’im Rodman – work themselves into starting or rotational positions. The Buffs have also had veterans such as linebacker Akil Jones and safety Derrion Rakestraw emerge as starters.

That group of six played a combined 36 snaps in the season opener against Colorado State because they were all slotted behind others on the depth chart. In CU’s 20-14 win against Washington on Saturday, that group played 238 combined snaps – and four were in the starting lineup. All of them figure to play key roles when the Buffs face No. 6 Utah (10-1, 7-1) on Saturday in Salt Lake City (5:44 p.m.; TV: ABC).

In each case, those players are performing better as the season goes along, and it has made the entire defense a better unit.

“When everybody knows what we’re doing, you can play faster and that’s how you make plays,” senior Star backer Davion  Taylor said.

… Continue reading story here …

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Davion Taylor: “We really want this bowl game”

From CUBuffs.com … CU senior linebacker Davion Taylor said the Buffs are no doubt motivated by the opportunity to extend their season.

“We’re hungry,” Taylor said. “We really want this bowl game. It’s been since 2016 that we’ve had a bowl game here in Colorado so we’re really trying to just push and give everything we’ve got this week. It’s do or die and we’re really just trying to be physical and competitive in every moment at practice this week. They’re a very good team and we’re projected to lose and we’re trying to come out on top. We’re hungry for it, we’re going to work for it, and we’ll just see how it comes out on Saturday.”

Heavy Underdogs: It hasn’t escaped the Buffs that the Utes are four-touchdown favorites.

“That’s just going to give us a little bit more energy and make us a little bit more rowdy,” said wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr.

Tucker wouldn’t say if he has addressed CU’s heavy underdog status, but acknowledged that his team is probably aware.

Quarterback Steven Montez, meanwhile, shrugged it off.

“Let them sleep,” he said. “It doesn’t really matter to us. We’re still going to work and we’re still going to go out and play as hard as we can.”

… Read full story here …

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November 26th

… CU in a few minutes … 

Transcript: Mel Tucker’s Tuesday Press Conference quotes

From CUBuffs.com …

On Utah Limiting Their Opponents Offensive Possessions
“We have to make sure we take care of the football. We want to end every series with a kick, whether that’s an extra point, a field goal or a punt. We have to move the ball efficiently on offense and have a balance in how we distribute the ball. We have to play penalty free football and when we get in the red zone we have to get points. Most importantly, we need to finish with touchdowns. We’re going to make the most on the possessions we get and we have to do a really good job on defense of getting the ball back to our offense. It’s going to be a team effort of complementary football. Utah doesn’t make a lot of mistakes and they don’t beat themselves so we’re going to have to be at our very best, and that’s why preparation is very critical to our success.”

On The Respect He Has For A Physical Team Like Utah
“Tough, physical, hard-nosed football is how I believe the game was meant to be played. That’s the essence and purity of the game is the physicality of it all. I have a tremendous amount of respect when I turn on the film and I see a physical line of scrimmage, running the ball, stopping the run. I think you can measure the toughness of a team by how your receivers block and how your corners tackle. When you turn on the film with Utah, that’s what you see. So I have a high level of respect for them and for the brand of football they play.”

On The Strength Of The PAC-12
“The PAC-12 has a tremendous amount of parity. There’s a lot of great coaches. When you look at the head coaches in this league, it’s really a whos-who of coaches. The guys have had a lot of success, college and pro. There’s really good players on both sides of the ball week in and week out, every team has a good quarterback and skill guys, athletic linemen, good running backs. Defenses have good pass rushers, good corners that can cover, linebackers that can run. Every team has good specialists. It’s a very competitive conference and every week you have to be at your best against really good coaches and great football players.”
xecute and play tough football, because we know they’re going to be tough and they’re going to execute. We need to match their intensity and I think we can, I think we have the guys who can do it. We’re going to go out and play the best football that we possibly can for 60 minutes.”

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Mel Tucker: “We’re gaining confidence and cementing our culture”

From CUBuffs.com … It’s been a while since the Colorado Buffaloes have played on this kind of stage with these kinds of stakes.

When Mel Tucker‘s Buffs square off with Utah in a prime time nationally televised game (ABC) Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium, there will be plenty on the line for both teams.

The Buffs (5-6 overall, 3-5 Pac-12) will be vying for their first bowl bid since 2016. The sixth-ranked Utes (11-1, 7-1) will not only be trying to clinch a Pac-12 South title, they will also be playing to keep their name in the College Football Playoff mix.

It all adds up to an opportunity Tucker and his team relish.

“This is a great opportunity for our program because we get a chance to play football,” Tucker said Tuesday. ” You don’t get many opportunities to play games. There’s a lot of preparation in the offseason for very few opportunities. To play on a national stage in front of a great opponent is something that we have to take advantage of and we’re going to finish strong.”

It’s the kind of game Tucker envisions his program playing on a regular basis in the future — one with bowl and playoff implications.

But to get there, CU’s first-year head coach knows he has to rebuild the culture of the program, something he started to do the day he arrived last December.

Now, with a two-game win streak over two perennial Pac-12 powers (Stanford and Washington), Tucker said he can see that foundation beginning to take shape.

“Saturday night was really good to see,” Tucker said of the 20-14 win over Washington. “It was great to see our players have success against a very strong opponent and well-coached football team. Just cementing our culture — you could see that Saturday with the way our guys played. Washington is very well coached and our guys play relentless football, very physical. That’s a brand of football that is a winning brand in my opinion.”

Tucker’s message to his team this week has been to take the momentum and confidence they gained from the last two games, build on it in practice this week, then be at their best Saturday.

… Continue reading story here …

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Kordell Stewart’s pregame message: “You’re not as good as you think you are, and you’re not as bad as they say you are”

From The Athletic … Before Colorado’s startling 20-14 victory over Washington at Folsom Field on Saturday, as the Buffaloes cut in half their long-shot to-do list for reaching a bowl game, Stewart sauntered through his old locker room. The space looks nothing like the digs he knew in Colorado’s heyday, back when Bill McCartney had the Buffs in the top 10 on a regular basis.

Stewart was not there to tell the young’uns what it was like in the glory days and shake his fist at the clouds. He wanted only to remind the players of the ups and downs and the importance of the middle.

“You’re not as good as you think you are, and you’re not as bad as they say you are,” Stewart told the Buffs. “If you can stay as mild-mannered as possible and not get too high with the highs and too low with the lows, anything is possible.”

As a Colorado senior in 1994, Stewart and the No. 7 Buffaloes walked into Michigan Stadium to face the No. 4 Wolverines and 106,000 fans. With six seconds on the clock and at his own 36-yard line, Stewart zigzagged 10 yards back like a Tecmo Bowl freeze-out and heaved a pass toward the end zone, high and far and full of hope. The ball fell into a crowd, bounced up and landed like a puppy in Michael Westbrook’s hands for a touchdown. The Buffs won the game of the decade 27-26. It is The Miracle at Michigan.

But Stewart’s pass did not complete the ’94 season. There were other equally important moments. They scored two touchdowns in the final 2:16 that day in Michigan. They tried the same Hail Mary play to end the first half, a play they called “The Rocket,” and it failed.

They trounced No. 10 Wisconsin the week before The Miracle and won another difficult game the next week, at No. 16 Texas, and barely. They lost their No. 2 ranking in late October after a 17-point loss at rival Nebraska. They played out the final two games, knowing the season was McCartney’s last.

The Miracle is what people remember. But The Miracle did not make that team.

… Continue reading story here (subscription required) …

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November 25th 

… CU in a few minutes …

Nate Landman on Utah: “It’s a huge challenge but it’s one that we love”

From CUBuffs.com … With two straight wins under their belts and bowl eligibility on the line, Mel Tucker‘s Colorado Buffaloes returned to work Monday with all eyes focused on Saturday’s regular season finale at Utah.

The Buffs (5-6 overall, 3-5 Pac-12) know exactly what they will see in the 5:30 p.m. nationally televised matchup (ABC) against the sixth-ranked Utes (10-1, 7-1).

“Big, strong, physical football team,” was Tucker’s succinct assessment. “Very well coached. They play with a  lot of confidence. They have a lot of good players on both sides of the ball. Special teams are solid. They really don’t have weaknesses overall as a team.”

But if the last two games are any indication, the Buffs shouldn’t be fazed. Colorado has won two in a row against teams — Stanford and Washington — traditionally regarded as among the Pac-12’s more physical programs.

Kyle Whittingham’s Utes will be CU’s third game in a row against one of those teams.

“When you look at our league, and people talk about the Pac-12 and talk about who are the most physical teams in the Pac-12, Utah is the first team that comes up,” Tucker said. “That’s a tremendous challenge for us. We’re going to prepare and we’re going to be ready for that.”

… Continue reading story here …

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*Video – Mel Tucker post-practice talk with media (Monday)*

From YouTube, courtesy of CUSportsNation.com:

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Best photo of Laviska Shenault’s “How did he do that?” catch against Washington

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Alex Kinney named Pac-12 Special Teams Player-of-the-Week

From the Pac-12 …

SPECIAL TEAMS: Alex Kinney, R-Sr., P, Colorado (Fort Collins, Colo.)
• In CU’s 20-14 win over Washington, he helped the Buffs pin UW deep in their territory at key times. He had four punts for a 45.8 average, with three inside-the-15 (two inside-the-10, including one that curled out of bounds at the 1-yard line.

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Neill Woelk: Ten Takeaways from the Washington game

From CUBuffs.com … It was just one year ago, after the Colorado Buffaloes had fallen to 5-6,  that CU athletic director Rick George determined a coaching change had to be made.

Saturday evening at a rollicking Folsom Field, the Buffaloes improved to 5-6 and Buffs faithful — and CU administrators — are smiling.

The difference in trajectory could not be more pronounced. In the span of less than a year, Mel Tucker has breathed new life into the program. Recruiting is trending up, fan support is doing the same and Tucker’s Buffs are playing a brand of football that is making the rest of the Pac-12 sit up and take notice.

Don’t take our word for it.

Ask Stanford’s David Shaw, who brought his Cardinal to Boulder two weeks ago and saw the Buffs beat him at his own game, hammering Stanford in the trenches. Ask Washington’s Chris Petersen, who saw the Buffs finally turn the tables on the perennial power from the North and bully the bullies all night long in Saturday’s 20-14 Colorado win.

Then ask the Buffaloes, who have fully embraced the culture change Tucker has brought to Boulder. They believe, and it shows.

Remember, it was just more than two weeks ago that Colorado was mired in a five-game losing streak. Parallels were being drawn to last season’s seven-game season-ending slide that precipitated the coaching change.

But Tucker and his staff refused to allow this year’s slump to become a season-defining spiral. Instead, they stayed the course. They refused to panic. They refused to allow chaos and discord to creep into the equation.

Now, no matter what happens next week in Utah — the Buffs head to Salt Lake City with an opportunity to become bowl eligible — the future looks bright after Saturday night’s win.

Our weekly takeaways:

… Continue reading story here …

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November 24th 

… CU in a few minutes … 

CU/Utah kickoff set – Buffs first prime time ABC game since 2008

From CUBuffs.com … The Colorado at Utah football game on Saturday, November 30, will kickoff at 5:30 p.m. MST and be televised nationally by ABC.

Note: This will be Colorado’s first prime time “regular season” appearance on ABC since Nov. 15, 2008, when the Buffs hosted Oklahoma State in a split-national broadcast; previous, CU played in the Big 12 Championship game three times (2001, 2002, 2004) in the prime time slot on ABC (2005 was a day game).

The times and television for the final weekend of the regular season:

Friday, November 29, 2019 

2:00pm MST – Washington State at Washington, FOX (previously announced)

Saturday, November 30, 2019 

2:00 p.m. MST — Notre Dame at Stanford, FOX

2:00 p.m. MST — Oregon State at Oregon, PAC-12 Network

5:30 p.m. MST — Colorado at Utah, ABC

8:00 p.m. MST – Arizona at Arizona State, ESPN

8:30 p.m. MST – Cal at UCLA, Fox Sports 1

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Tim Lynott, Jr. the first offensive lineman to win “Buffalo Heart Award”

From the Daily Camera … Offensive linemen typically don’t get a lot of attention unless they do something wrong.

Colorado’s Tim Lynott Jr. was honored on Saturday because of all that he did right.

The Buffaloes’ senior center was given the Buffalo Heart Award after CU’s 20-14 win against Washington at Folsom Field. Founded by four friends – Pat Grimes, Craig Augustin and Ashley and Thaddeus Cernac – in 1998, the award is presented by fans to the Buff who demonstrates grit, determination and toughness. It typically goes to a senior, but is open to any player on the roster.

“That’s something that is special,” said Lynott, who is the 22nd winner of the award and the first offensive lineman. “I didn’t really know about it until just recently, like within this last week. I think that’s awesome and I really believe that it is something special that I will never take for granted. That is something that the fans give, and I can really appreciate what they did for me and how they supported us throughout these years. Props to them, and that is a great reward.”

… Continue reading story here …

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Pat Rooney: Big Boy Football has returned to Boulder

From the Daily Camera … Good for all the Buffs’ seniors, but good for Buff fans, too. With one game remaining, CU’s postseason hopes, improbably, remain alive. And at this point it’s difficult not to be on board with the idea that something special may be brewing in Boulder under first-year head coach Mel Tucker.

For just the second time since 2011 the Buffs won on Senior Day, and no doubt it was a night those 17 seniors will recall fondly wherever their journey takes them, as CU kept its postseason hopes alive with a 20-14 win against Washington on Saturday.

Big boy football has returned to Boulder.

Regardless of next week’s result at No. 6 Utah, Tucker has done exactly what his predecessor, Mike MacIntyre, was unable to accomplish last year. Not only has Tucker turned things around after a five-game losing streak that made bowl-eligibility an uphill climb, but he has reversed the tailspin while simultaneously giving notice the Buffs should be much more of a force to reckon with in 2020.

… Continue reading story here …

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Neill Woelk: “Complementary football” paves the way to CU victory 

From CUBuffs.com … That’s Colorado football, Mel Tucker style.

Tough, relentless defense, an efficient offense that features a punishing run game, and outstanding special teams. It is a recipe that produces “complementary football” — one of Tucker’s favorite terms — and for the last two games, the Buffaloes have conducted a clinic on how it’s done.

Saturday night at a brisk Folsom Field, 44,618 Buff faithful showed up to see if Colorado could take care of a Pac-12 bully in CU’s home finale and Senior Night.

They got what they came to see. Colorado pounded out a 20-14 win over a Washington program that has been among the Pac-12 elite for the last three years, keeping CU’s bowl hopes alive — but perhaps more importantly, sending a signal that the Mel Tucker culture is taking hold.

In two straight games, the Buffs have beaten two conference standard bearers when it comes to physical football — Stanford and Washington — at their own game.

Saturday night, defensive coordinator Tyson Summer’s defense throttled Washington, limiting the Huskies to 238 yards total offense. The Buffs tortured UW quarterback Jacob Eason from the get-go, finishing with five quarterback sacks, four more hurries, an interception and five more tackles for loss. They stifled Washington’s run game, limiting the Huskies to just 32 yards rushing on 32 carries (yes, that’s 1.0 yard per carry).

Most importantly, when the Buffs absolutely had to have a stop, they delivered. There was a red zone interception by Nate Landman in the first quarter. A three-and-out that led to a CU touchdown in the second quarter. Then, a fourth quarter stand after Washington had marched to the CU 32-yard line. Mark Perry’s second sack of the night forced a UW punt, and from that point, the offense took over.

… Continue reading story here …

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Tags: Tim Lynott, Tim Lynott Jr.
This post, about the Utah game, from the 2019 Season, is filed under Article.
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