Spring/Summer – 2020

Sports Illustrated has three Pac-12 teams in Top 20 (but ASU needs to be wary of CU) … Preseason USA Today/Coaches poll released – Eight Pac-12 teams receive votes … Stewart Mandel (The Athletic) predicts revised Pac-12 standings … Seattle Post-Intelligencer Pac-12 Preview …

Betty Hoover, one of CU’s “twins”, passes away … NCAA sets August 21st deadline on fall sports championships; bans medical waivers … CU provides four options to season ticket holders for upcoming season …

What changes will there be to CU’s schedule to balance it out? … Which Power-Five schools should CU emulate, both on and off the field? … Is it naive to believe CU can again be an elite team? … Why has CU been unable to produce an NFL-quality quarterback? …

Dave Plati’s Top Three Game Twelve’s … No. 1: 2001 – Big 12 Championship Game: No. 9 CU 39, No. 3 Texas 37 (with video) … No. 2: 2016 – Buffs claim Pac-12 South – No. 9 CU 27, No. 21 Utah 22 (with video) … No. 3: 1990 – Buffs claim Big Eight title with 64-3 win over Kansas State …

Dave Plati’s Top Three Game Elevens … No. 1: The 2001 62-36 thumping of No. 3 Nebraska (with video) … No. 2: Rashaan Salaam races into history in 1994 home finale (with video) … No. 3: Sefo Liufau leads No. 12 Buffs to 38-24 win over No. 20 Washington State (with video) …

Report: Pac-12 Players threatening to boycott season … Proposed Name, Image and Likeness legislation comes with notable guidelines … SEC, ACC and Big 12 not ruling out keeping non-conference schedules … Why didn’t Mike Bohn fire Clay Helton? Two words: “Guaranteed contract” …

We should have seen this coming! … After playing the appropriate role as patsies in the 20th century, the Fresno State Bulldogs have been a thorn in CU’s side in the 21st Century (a denial of a national title berth; a humiliating beat down; and now, TWO postponements) …

Buff fans have been wandering in the desert for 15 years, but at least we were together on the journey … Without games, we have lost out outlet for our joys and frustrations … We need to have the matchup against CSU to take place, if only to have a (socially responsible) way to vent our emotions …

Is it time to push the panic button on CU’s 94-ranked Recruiting Class? … Should CU be scheduling twice as many Power Five non-conference as do its Pac-12 rivals? … Would Sal Aunese, had he not been stricken with cancer, have led CU to back-to-back national championship games? …

You want numbers? Well, here are the numbers … A look at non-conference scheduling in the Pac-12 (CU has 18 Power-Five games lined up; half of the Pac-12 has nine or less) …. CU Recruiting numbers for the past decade, looking both at composite rankings and total Power-Five offers …

Dave Plati’s list includes the ’89 win over Nebraska (Hagan-to-Pritchard pitch) … To which I have added … The 32-23 win over No. 22 Oklahoma in ’90 … The fake field goal which defeated Oklahoma State in ’91 … And the Isaiah Oliver punt return game v. UCLA in 2016 (with video highlights of all four games) …

From the Archives: Stories from the turbulent first two weeks of June, 2010 … Would there be a “Pac-16”? Would Baylor be able to squeeze out CU? Would Nebraska leave the Big 12 for the Big Ten? What about Missouri? Texas A&M? … Then, for five days, there was the “Pac-11″…

Dave Plati’ Top Three includes big wins in 1961, 1976, and 1989, all of which helped lead CU to Big Eight titles … To which I have added: Mike Moschetti leads Buffs to upset of Oklahoma in ’99; Buffs take down Kliff Klingsbury in ’02; and Buffs clinch bowl bid in road win over Stanford in 2016 …

1989: The Buffs journey Husky Stadium in Seattle to face No. 21 Washington … The game, a 45-28 CU victory, came just a week after the death of Sal Aunese, and was an emotional trip for the Buffs and their fans …

Recap of the 1989 CU/Washington game … with video highlights … the trailer for “Born to Lead: The Sal Aunese Story” … the “Uecker seats” commercial … and … the photo of Brad with his CU jacket …

Dave Plati’s Top Three Game Seven’s includes the epic 20-10 win over No. 3 Nebraska in 1986 … My contributions include the 40-16 “Statement” win over No. 24 ASU in 2016; the 19-17 win in 1998 over undefeated No. 22 Texas Tech; and the 35-21 win over No. 19 Kansas State in 1994 …

Dave Plati’s Top Three includes a last minute win in 1981, a rout of Missouri in 1991 and the “This One’s for Fred” game in 2001 … To which I have added a 27-10 road win over No. 9 Oklahoma in 1993; Chris Brown’s 309-yard game in 2002; and CU’s 50-47 overtime win over Kansas in 2003 …

Links to articles and stories mentioned in the CU at the Game Podcast, including links to the most recent stories about the future of the 2020 season, the status of the Name, Image, and Likeness legislation, and the precarious position of CU’s Recruiting Class of 2021 …

What is the latest best guess as to how/when the 2020 season will be played? … Is there reason for concern about the CU Recruiting Class of 2021 (when commits are being made at a record pace nationally?) … Will the NCAA get its NIL recommendations passed by Congress? …

Dave Plati’s Top Three Game Five Games includes a big win over Nebraska … To which I would add: John Hessler’s five-touchdown debut in 1995, an overtime win over Missouri in 1999 … and Laviska’s four-touchdown effort against Arizona State in 2018 …

Dave Plati’s Top Three Game Four’s includes Bieniemy rallying the troops in Austin in 1990 and the Buffs taking out Washington after Sal Aunese’s death … To which I am adding a take down of No. 3 Texas A&M (and a game for the ages in 1980) …

Dave Plati has posted his top three game threes of all-time, including the 1994 Michigan game … Just for fun, I’ve added three more top three games from the past 40 years, including impressive debuts by Sal Aunese and Koy Detmer …

Episode 5 introduces a new series: “Road Trips!” … Up first: CU’s September 19th opponent, Texas A&M … If you are a fan of college football, a trip to A&M for Yell Practice is mandatory … Also: The Dixie Chicken and the history behind the 12th man and Reveille …

Contracts for CU’s undrafted free agents (Montez gets some guaranteed money) … Three drafted Buffs slated to receive over $4 million in signing bonuses … CU up to 275 all-time draft picks; holds onto No. 23 on all-time list … Grading CU’s draft picks (Viska, Taylor get “A’s” – Hambright not so much) …

When, and under what circumstances, will football be played in 2020? … What to make of the three new tight ends – and of the three defections from the Recruiting Classes? … What are the first “way-to-early” projections for CU’s record in the upcoming season? …

Welcome to Episode 3 of the Podcast … Sean Tufts is the President of Buffs4Life, and we talk about the good works the organization is involved in, with plenty of time to talk about Sean’s days as a CU linebacker (62-36!), his time in the NFL, and his days as a Ralphie Handler …

Email: Buffs4Life golf tournament a go in June (at least for now) … Video highlights from Sean Tufts’ career, including the 2001 Nebraska game (62-36! – was Sean’s first tackle a facemask penalty?), the Big 12 title game v. Texas, and the 2002 win over Kansas State …

Nebraska being Nebraska – The Corn Nation already looking to get a recruiting advantage on Name, Image, and Likeness issue … “Dear Mr. George”: How an open letter in 2013 led to my meeting Rick George …

From last spring … Discussion on Rick George’s appointment to the NCAA working group on Name, Image and Likeness … Also: How will CU be able to keep its coaches from being poached by schools with greater resources (the interview coming a week before Mel Tucker left for Michigan State) …

A companion piece to Episode 1 of the CU at the Game Podcast … A look back at all of the CU head coaching changes, from Bill McCartney taking over in June, 1982, to Mel Tucker’s introduction to the Buff Nation just over a year ago … Some new coaches worked out – some didn’t …

Welcome to the premiere of the CU at the Game Podcast! … In the first of what will hopefully be a long-running series of podcasts, Brad Geiger and I discuss the departure of Mel Tucker, the hiring of Karl Dorrell, and the status of CU football …