Colorado Daily – ASU Week

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Colorado Daily – Arizona State Week

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October 7th – Game Day!

… CU in a few minutes … 

… Injury update … Right tackle Savion Washington is doubtful today, with Reggie Young expected to start … Safety Shilo Sanders, DB Myles Slusher and DB Carter Stoutmire are all probable against Arizona State today. (Slusher may be on a pitch count.) DB Kendrick Breedlove will return after missing last week …

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Coach Prime: “We got to win the first and second quarter”

From the Daily Camera … For the first time this season, it feels as if the Colorado Buffaloes are simply playing a football game.

There is no national pregame show on site to cover the Buffs. There’s no team involved that’s in the national rankings. Heck, the game isn’t even on national TV.

“This is the first week I can count all of you (in the media),” head coach Deion Sanders joked as he sat down for his weekly press conference on Tuesday.

This might be more of a low-key game than CU (3-2, 0-2 Pac-12) has had so far this season, but Saturday’s visit to Arizona State (1-4, 0-2) is pivotal for a team that harbors bowl hopes for this season.

“We could care less,” Sanders said about having less of a spotlight this week. “We’re gonna be on somebody’s television, I promise you that. We’re gonna be on somebody’s television and we’ve got to go out there and exceed expectation. We really do.

“It doesn’t matter if we on a national stage or not. We’re national. People understand that we’re here and understand that we’re coming and they understand what we’re building. So we just got to have a consistency and a continuation, especially early on. The challenge and the goal this week, we’ve got to win the first and second quarter. That’s the challenge and that’s the goal. We got to win the first and second quarter.”

… Continue reading story here …

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October 6th

… CU in a few minutes … 

Neill Woelk’s Keys to the Arizona State game

From CUBuffs.com … Colorado’s Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders definitely wasn’t shy earlier this week when asked about the Buffaloes’ expectations for Saturday’s game at Arizona State (4:30 p.m., Pac-12 Networks).

“The expectation that we have of ourselves is to go in and win this game,” Sanders said. “You want to win every game but you really expect to win some games a lot more than others.”

This is one of those games. The 3-2 Buffs are favored to get a road win against the 1-4 Sun Devils, and for good reason. While CU has dropped two in a row after a 3-0 start, both losses came to top 10 programs and the Buffs have played well in all but one of their games.

ASU, meanwhile, hasn’t won since opening the season with a 24-21 victory over Southern Utah. The Sun Devils have used three different starting quarterbacks in five games, have forced just one turnover while losing 13 and have scored a grand total of 10 touchdowns in five games (their 17.6 points per game is 124th in the nation).

Simply put, the game is an opportunity for the Buffs to end their losing streak and build a little momentum as they hit the halfway point of the season.

Our weekly Fast Five keys for Colorado:

1. Start fast. We’ll keep listing this as a critical key for the Buffs until they actually do it — which hasn’t happened since the first game of the season.

After scoring 17 points in the first half of a 45-42 win over TCU, Colorado’s offense has scored just four touchdowns and two field goals in the first half of the last four games, and the Buffs have been outscored 104-58 in the first half this season. The slow starts very nearly cost them the game against CSU, buried them early against Oregon and put them in a hole from which they couldn’t quite extricate themselves in last week’s loss to USC.

It’s a trend Colorado needs to halt in a hurry. The Buffs need to put a couple of scores on the board early and not give the Sun Devils any unnecessary hope.

… Continue reading story here …

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Coach Prime the cover story on Time magazine: “The Unwavering Confidence of Deion Sanders”

From Time magazine …

The story from Time … On an autumn weekend in Boulder, the sports miracle of the season is clearer than the blue Rocky Mountain sky. Whereas for years, the University of Colorado football team delivered Saturday misery—the Buffaloes enjoyed just four winning seasons in the past 20 years and finished 1-11 in 2022—Boulder now may be the hippest, happiest place in America. “The Stampede,” a Friday-night pregame pep rally down Pearl Street, used to feel more like a tiptoe. But on Sept. 29, the night before Colorado faced off against No. 8 USC, the restaurants are full and the sidewalks packed. A handful of little kids even line the rooftop of a trattoria to watch the marching band play.

A little before 6 a.m. Mountain time the next day, hundreds of University of Colorado fans, most wearing white cowboy hats adorned with LED lights, have assembled on Farrand Field, smack in the middle of campus. Some are students, others alums and locals, while a significant number have traveled from far afield, never having imagined they’d have reason to gaze at those picturesque peaks in the backdrop. Fox Sports’ Big Noon Kickoff pregame show won’t start for hours, but the revelers are ready. They’re here to see Deion Sanders, or Coach Prime—a play on Prime Time, his nickname from his 1980s and ’90s heyday—who arrived as head coach in December, radically made over this year’s team, and turned Colorado into the biggest story in sports.

Before kickoff, the sidelines at Colorado’s stadium are now the place to be seen. There’s rapper DaBaby hyping up the crowd. There are Sanders’ friends and fellow football Hall of Famers Terrell Owens, Warren Sapp, and Michael Irvin. Hey, that’s basketball Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett and future baseball Hall of Famer CC Sabathia and rapper Symba. The VIPs wear a special credential around their necks: Prime Passes, in the shape of the gold whistle Sanders uses in practice. Boulder County is 1.3% Black, yet as one sideline spectator observes, the scene “feels like Black Hollywood.”

And what’s been happening on the field is as spectacular as what’s happening off. As the Buffaloes charged back against the Trojans, slicing a 41-14 third-quarter deficit to 48-41 with just under two minutes left, Folsom Field, filled with more than 54,000 roaring fans, felt like the epicenter of sports. Could Sanders’ squad, which had already exceeded expectations, stimulated the college-football economy, and compelled more than 8 million people to watch Colorado beat Colorado State in double overtime after 2:15 a.m. Eastern time in mid-September—ESPN’s highest college-football viewership figure at that hour—pull off this monumental comeback?

USC recovered the late onside kick to clinch the game, but Colorado’s charge just added to the Coach Prime euphoria. “The atmosphere is electric, man,” DaBaby tells me before leaving the field. “Look, f-ck the NFL game. Right now this is the most exciting place to be in football.”

… Continue reading story here …

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October 5th

… CU in a few minutes … 

Update on Alton McCaskill: “We feel good about him, but we just have to bring him along slowly”

From the Daily Camera … CU brought Alton McCaskill IV in as a transfer from Houston during the offseason, projecting him as its lead running back. That hasn’t happened yet.

McCaskill missed the 2022 season because of a knee injury and didn’t play in the first three games this year. In the last two weeks, the 2021 AAC freshman of the year has played sparingly, with six carries for 22 yards.

On Thursday, running backs coach Gary Harrell, the Buffs’ associate head coach, joined the Buffaloes Primetime Radio Show and gave an update on McCaskill.

“(Coming off the knee injury), we wanted to make sure we took care of him, that we did not put him in harms ways,” said Harrell, who filled in for Coach Prime, who was under the weather. “He didn’t move very well (early on). He was very frustrated, trying to force the issue, so we kind of slowed him down.

“We think right now he’s to the point where he can make the right cuts off the knee. He knows the system. We want to continue to build his confidence, but it was good to get him in a game setting to get hit and get a good feel before we move forward.”

McCaskill is also just a sophomore and Harrell said the coaching staff is thinking long-term with his health.

“We’re very intrigued to see, once we get him to that point, how he’s going to help us in the run game,” he said. “We feel good about him, but we just have to bring him along slowly. He’s a dynamic player.”

… Read full story here …

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Cam’Rom Silmon-Craig tied for fourth nationally in interceptions; Slusher and Sanders return to practice

From the Daily Camera … Making plays isn’t a new thing for Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig, but after beginning the year on the bench, the Colorado junior has been putting on a show.

“He is ballin’ man,” CU head coach Deion Sanders said Tuesday as the Buffs (3-2, 0-2 Pac-12) prepare for a trip to Arizona State (1-4, 0-2) on Saturday (4:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network).

A 5-foot-10, 185-pound safety, Silmon-Craig didn’t earn a starting job in preseason camp, suiting up for only seven snaps in the Sept. 2 season opener at TCU.

In that game, however, starting safety/nickel Myles Slusher was injured late in the fourth quarter. Slusher hasn’t played since, as Silmon-Craig has taken over the starting spot at nickel. He’s recorded 20 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack and a Pac-12-leading three interceptions. Only three players in the country have more interceptions.

“He’s a dawg,” Sanders said. “He’s a go-getter. He don’t play hurt. If he’s hurt, he’s hurt for real because you’ve got to pull him off the darn field. Always wants to practice, works his butt off in the weight room, as well. Just a great kid. When you say smart, tough, fast, disciplined with character, he is all of that. He checks every box and I’m proud of him.”

CU knew it had good depth at safety coming into the season and that’s come to fruition so far this year. In addition to Slusher missing four games, Shilo Sanders missed Saturday’s 48-41 loss to USC. Rodrick Ward took Shilo’s spot and lead the team with nine tackles.

Slusher and Shilo Sanders have returned to practice this week, adding to a safety group that includes Trevor Woods, Silmon-Craig and Ward. That group of five combined for 128 games and 74 starts in college before this season.

… Continue reading story here …

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October 4th

… CU in a few minutes … 

Shedeur Sanders: “I feel like we’re now settled in with the offense”

From the Daily Camera … Although Shedeur Sanders has played a lot of football in his life, there are always going to be bumps in the road with a new offense and a new team.

Five games into his first season at Colorado, Sanders has been spectacular and the Buffs (3-2, 0-2 Pac-12) are on pace for their best statistical year in three decades. Yet, it’s been far from perfect.

“I feel like we’re now settled in with the offense, with everything that’s going on, with the nuances of it,” Sanders said Tuesday. “We went through real tests together as a team and in the system, so now we know, OK, what we like, what we don’t like and now I feel like this is the second half of the season and we’re really comfortable in it.”

… With Shedeur Sanders at quarterback, the Buffs have been in all but one game. He willed them to victory against TCU and CSU. He nearly brought them back to beat USC. And, he’s thrown for an impressive 1,781 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Throughout the season, though, Shedeur has had moments where he knows he and the offense have to be better.

“When you go back and watch film, OK, it’s a couple of reads you missed or a couple of throws you missed or you’ve got to quicken up and just understand the pieces you got around you and use them to the best ability,” he said. “So that’s the main thing that you go back and do, but I don’t think no quarterback in the world just has a perfect game.”

… Continue reading story here …

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What it’s like to be recruited by Deion Sanders

From ESPN … Deion Sanders is fond of saying, “I ain’t hard to find,” when talking to recruits and detractors alike. Recruits, however, should not expect an open line to the Colorado coach.

“I don’t think Coach Prime gives his number to any recruit, from what I know,” Butler, a 2024 CU commit and the No. 80 prospect in the ESPN 300, told ESPN. “It’s just how he is and he doesn’t want dudes just having his number. When you’re playing for him, it’s serious, it ain’t no fandom. His job is to coach and when you get there, he’s going to coach you.”

If a recruit wants to talk to Sanders or he wants to talk to a recruit, an assistant coach will facilitate it. When it comes to recruiting, Sanders is as personable and hands-on as he can be, especially when recruits and families are on campus.

“He’s just a laid-back person, he just talks about life. He said [on a visit], ‘Don’t lie to a kid,’ and that really made my mom smile,” ESPN 300 recruit Kamron Mikell said. “I think recruits are drawn to him, because people see him as somebody who turns us kids into believers and he makes everyone believe in themselves.”

When Davis-Swain, a defensive end recruit, arrived at Pasta Jay’s during an official visit to Colorado in June, he and his father, Brandon Davis, saw a more laid-back version of Sanders.

Pasta Jay’s, a quaint 35-year-old Italian restaurant in Boulder with a sign out front that reads “Prime for President,” has become Sanders’ go-to place for hosting recruits and their families on official visits.

Inside, Sanders and the recruits have the place to themselves. The Buffaloes’ coach held court as the appetizers rolled out, followed by what seemed like unlimited pizza and pasta.

Davis had been around Sanders briefly on the visit, but never in this relaxed, intimate setting. He didn’t know what to expect and was still a little star struck, realizing he was eating dinner with Deion Sanders.

“It’s Prime Time,” Davis said with a big laugh.

These on-campus visits might be much more valuable during this recruiting cycle. After having surgery in March 2022 to have two toes amputated and part of a muscle taken out to help with circulation, Sanders had not been able to travel. Sanders had another procedure over the summer to relieve blood clots in both legs. Because of that, Colorado recruits and their families haven’t been able to spend as much time in-person with Sanders.

When Butler and his family took an official visit to Colorado in April, they met Sanders in a room off his personal office.

The room has a wall of windows overlooking Folsom Field with the mountains in the distance. Sanders typically sits in a leather chair that feels purposefully higher off the ground than where the prospects are sitting.

The conversations are more akin to the Pasta Jay’s experience than they are the flash and extravagance. They can range from how the prospect fits on the field, what is expected of them, life lessons or sometimes just cracking jokes. And they quickly get past Sanders’ celebrity.

“It was right after they had offered me and [Sanders] pulled a couple of us [recruits] aside and had a sit-down with him for about 30 minutes,” Talan Chandler, a three-star offensive line commit, said. “It’s Coach Prime, you’re meeting with Deion Sanders and you’re shell shocked, but he’s just such a charismatic guy and he’s super genuine. He doesn’t have an ego, he doesn’t think he’s better than you and he makes you feel like he cares about you.”

There are plenty of coaches who relate to recruits, but Sanders, according to Walker, has different qualities that differentiate him from other coaches.

“Having a coach who went through the recruiting process, went through the collegiate process and went to the NFL,” Walker said. “Being coached by a guy like that and in a place where you can be you and you can get your name out there. You can get the connections you need, you can develop, he’s not afraid to play freshman and he’s a player’s coach.

“It’s all those things combined.”

… Read full story here …

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October 3rd

… CU in a few minutes … 

ESPN: Inside Deion Sanders’ first month of games at Colorado

From ESPN … About 90 minutes before Saturday’s kickoff, Colorado assistant coach Tim Brewster took a lap around Folsom Field, stopping near where USC quarterback Caleb Williams was going through his pregame routine.

Williams, the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner and the projected No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL draft, had the standard set of TV cameras and smartphones pointed toward him as he head-bobbed to music. But it hardly compared to the paparazzi-like throng parked in front of Colorado’s tunnel in the northeast corner of the stadium.

First came the visiting athletes: C.C. Sabathia, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, DeAndre Jordan and Desean Jackson, then others who are frequently hanging with coach Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes, such as Terrell Owens and Warren Sapp. Then came the rappers: DaBaby, who high-stepped when he and Sanders led the team on the field, along with Tobe Nwigwe and Lecrae. Jay-Z and LeBron James had been rumored to be attending but didn’t end up making it.

The last and most anticipated entrance came from Sanders, surrounded by security. He has grabbed attention unlike any first-year coach in FBS history. And like he did as a Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback, Sanders never let the spotlight get away during an incredible first month.

“It’s become way bigger than college football,” said Brewster, who joined Sanders’ staff at Jackson State before coming to Colorado. “Every game is an event.”

Sanders has been a magnet for attention from the moment Colorado hired him in December. The Buffaloes became the story of the offseason with their bold roster overhaul. But when the games began, Colorado and Sanders would be competing for attention with bigger brand names, future Hall of Fame coaches and more recognizable star players, like Williams. A challenging schedule and low win projections seemed likely to nudge Colorado to the side.

Instead, Sanders and the Buffaloes captured eyes and ears in the first month of the season. Colorado drew sellout crowds and set ratings records, while bringing national pregame shows and major celebrities to campus for all three home contests. They kept receipts and built believers. They popularized slogans — perhaps the most appropriate after such a visible month was, “Ain’t hard to find” — and even gestures like the watch flex.

A team that went 1-11 in 2022 won its first three games and finished September at 3-2, scoring more touchdowns on offense (22) than it did all of the previous season (21). Colorado put two stars on the national radar in cornerback-wide receiver Travis Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Deion’s son, who elbowed his way into a crowded group of elite Pac-12 QBs.

“We’re excited, truly, with the attention that’s warranted to this wonderful, beautiful university,” Deion Sanders said after Saturday’s 48-41 loss to USC, a game in which Colorado trailed 34-7 before outplaying the Trojans down the stretch. “I’m excited and elated to be the coach here. I’m excited to really talk about the wonderful attributes that we possess.

“I am happy and thankful that we’re a voice of hope, of just desire and want. That’s the thing that’s touching souls around the country.”

He then pivoted to a refrain repeated often, that many are rooting against him and his team because they’ve been so unconventional and brash. Sanders and the Buffaloes might be polarizing, but everyone paid attention to them in September — and likely won’t be looking away any time soon.

… Continue reading story here …

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*Video: Coach Prime’s Weekly Press Conference*

From Brian Howell at the Daily Camera …

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USC/Colorado the most watched game of Week Five (beating out Georgia/Auburn and Notre Dame/Duke)

Colorado had five of the eight most watched college football games in the month of September:

• CU-Ore (ABC): 10.03M
• Ohio St-ND (NBC): 9.98M
• CSU-CU (ESPN): 9.3M
• FSU-LSU (ABC): 9.2M
• Nebraska-CU (Fox): 8.7M
• Texas-Bama (ESPN): 7.6M
• CU-TCU (Fox): 7.26M
• USC-CU (Fox): 7.24M

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… Colorado vs. USC was the most watched game in Week 5, at 7.24 million. Last year’s CU-USC matchup in the Coliseum drew 525,000 viewers … 

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October 2nd

… CU in a few minutes … 

Wide receiver Omarion Miller named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week

… Miller is sixth Buff to be named as a Pac-12 Player-of-the-Week, joining quarterback Shedeur Sanders (offensive; TCU), Travis Hunter (defensive, TCU), running back Dylan Edwards (freshman, TCU), Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan (offensive line, Nebraska), and Shilo Sanders (defense, CSU) … 

From the Pac-12 …

FRESHMAN:  Omarion Miller, Fr., WR, Colorado (Vivian, La.)

• Before last Saturday, Miller had never caught a pass in a college game, but against USC Miller had 7 receptions, 196 yards gained, and 1 touchdown.
• Tied for most receiving yards in first career game with a reception by an FBS player since at least 1996.  Georgia’s Terrence Edwards also had 196 in 1999 against Utah State
• Most receiving yards in first career game with a reception by a Pac-12 player since at least 1996.  Previous high was Colorado’s Dylan Edwards who had 135 in this year’s season-opener at TCU and Stanford’s Bryce Love who had 135 vs. UCF in 2015.
• Most receptions in first career game with a reception by a Pac-12 player since 2018 (USC’s Amon-Ra St. Brown – 7 vs. UNLV)
• Most receiving yards by a Pac-12 true freshman since 2011 (USC’s Marquis Lee – 224 vs. UCLA)
• 2nd time this season a Colorado player has been named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week after RB Dylan Edwards was honored in Week 1.  Prior to that, the only Buff to win this award since it was created in 2019 was WR/KR Jordyn Tyson last season.

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At stake this weekend: The CU/ASU Nabholz/Unck Memorial Cup

From SportsTravelMagazine.com … The most recent wave of collegiate conference realignment has been unsettling for sports fans in general, but even more so for the fans of the specific teams on the move.

The recent raid of Pac-12 teams by the likes of the Big Ten and Big 12 hit home with special resonance for me when my own alma mater — the University of Colorado — made one of the first moves. On the surface, my school’s move to the Big 12 didn’t have a terribly emotional effect. When I attended school there and marched in the band (where I met my wife), CU was in the former Big 8, and a powerhouse at that. Road games for us were to Lawrence, Kansas, and Stillwater, Oklahoma, among others. A move back to the Big 12 brought back some fond memories of the CU teams we rooted for as students, when it all seemed to mean even more.

Still, when the Buffs left the original Big 12 in 2011 for the newly formed Pac-12, I was all in on the move. The primary reason had nothing to do with tradition. It had everything to do with starting a new one.

My younger brother, Eric, is a proud alum of Arizona State. Before Colorado joined what was then the Pac-10, I supported ASU by nature of my brother’s allegiance. And heck, our teams had almost no chance of playing each other, so who cared? Go Sun Devils!

But when our schools suddenly became opponents in what became the Pac-12 South, things changed. A rivalry was born.

And like all great rivalries, this one needed a trophy if it was going to be worth anything at all.

… Continue reading story here …

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Bowl Projections: CU to Los Angeles (or Shreveport?)

From ESPN … The teams at the top of the college football hierarchy held serve this weekend, although the final scores in wins by Georgia, Washington and USC were a little closer than expected.

Five Top 25 teams took it on the chin, with Utah and LSU both losing tough road matchups, and upstart Duke dropping a heartbreaker to Notre Dame.

How did those games and the rest of the results from Week 5 impact the bowl picture? Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach are here to sort it all out, with projections for all 43 matchups, plus their takes on the College Football Playoff picture, teams in danger of slipping out of the bowl picture altogether and the game they’d be most excited to see.

CFP National Championship presented by AT&T
NRG Stadium (Houston)
Monday, Jan. 8, 7:30 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Georgia vs. Washington
Schlabach: Michigan vs. Texas

CFP Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential
Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California)
Monday, Jan. 1, 5 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Michigan vs. Washington
Schlabach: Michigan vs. Washington

New Year’s Six bowls … 

Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas)
Bonagura: Oklahoma vs. Oregon
Schlabach: Oklahoma vs. Notre Dame

Vrbo Fiesta Bowl
State Farm Stadium (Glendale, Arizona)
Bonagura: USC vs. Penn State
Schlabach: Oregon vs. Fresno State

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Pac-12 bowl affiliations, in order of selection … 

Valero Alamo Bowl
Alamodome (San Antonio)
Bonagura: Kansas State vs. Washington State
Schlabach: Kansas State vs. USC

SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl
Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas)
Bonagura: Rutgers vs. Oregon State
Schlabach: Wisconsin vs. Utah

Holiday Bowl
Petco Park (San Diego)
Bonagura: Miami vs. Utah
Schlabach: Duke vs. Oregon State

Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl
Sun Bowl Stadium (El Paso, Texas)
Bonagura: Clemson vs. UCLA
Schlabach: Syracuse vs. Washington State

LA Bowl
SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, California)
Bonagura: Colorado vs. Air Force
Schlabach: UCLA vs. Air Force

Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl
Independence Stadium (Shreveport, Louisiana)
Bonagura: Texas Tech vs. Arizona
Schlabach: Baylor vs. Colorado

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Pac-12 teams potentially filling slots for other conferences … 

New Mexico Bowl
University Stadium (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Bonagura: Army vs. Coastal Carolina
Schlabach: Arizona vs. Wyoming

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Amon G. Carter Stadium (Fort Worth, Texas)
Bonagura: UCF vs. Georgia Tech
Schlabach: UCF vs. Cal

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October 1st 

… CU in a few minutes … 

Neill Woelk: Takeaways from USC game

From CUBuffs.com … There is an argument to be made that the Colorado Buffaloes may have played their best game of the year so far in Saturday’s 48-41 loss to No. 8 USC.

But while Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders and his staff would likely resist such an assessment, one thing much harder to dispute is this:

CU’s second-half performance was clearly the best 30 minutes of football the Buffs have put together this year.

Offensively, Colorado dominated a top 10 team for the final two quarters. Coordinator Sean Lewis‘ offense outscored USC 27-14 in that stretch while also nearly doubling the Trojans’ yardage (318-165). The Buffs ran 44 offensive plays in the second half, averaged 7.2 yards per play and converted 50 percent of their third-down tries (4-for-8).

But along with a terrific offensive performance, the Buffs also needed a solid defensive effort, and that’s exactly what they got from coordinator Charles Kelly‘s group.

After getting gashed in the first half — Colorado gave up 10.1 yards per play and 34 points in the opening 30 minutes — Kelly’s defense came up with some big moments. That allowed CU’s offense to get the Buffs back in the game.

USC did score back-to-back touchdowns in the third quarter. But the Trojans’ last three possessions ended on a punt, an interception and a missed field goal.

Overall, CU held the Trojans to 165 yards and two touchdowns in the final two quarters. USC averaged just 5.2 yards per play — barely half of its first-half total — and the Buffs held Southern California to just 1-for-5 on third-down conversion attempts.

That led to those three straight empty possessions, each of which gave the Buffs offense a chance to climb back into the game.

That is, of course, exactly what the Buffs did. Had Colorado exhibited just a little better clock management on its last drive, there’s a very good chance they could have gotten one more possession.

And, as Coach Prime noted, “We all knew and a multitude of our fans know that if we would have got that ball last, we were gonna go down and score. We knew that. Everybody in here knows that. His teammates knew that.”

We’re guessing even USC knew that — and that is why the Trojans were very, very happy to escape Boulder with a win.

… Continue reading story here …

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Buffs down to one vote in the AP poll; no votes in USA Today/Coaches poll

From ESPN … Georgia’s hold on No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll loosened Sunday as the Bulldogs received a season-low 35 first-place votes out of a possible 62 while extending their streak atop the rankings to 16 straight weeks.

The Bulldogs needed a late touchdown to escape with a win at Auburn on Saturday, and that sent many in the media panel looking for a new No. 1 team. Georgia had 55 first-place votes and 1,562 points last week but was down to 1,501 points in this week’s AP Top 25.

No. 2 Michigan got 12 first-place votes and 1,436 points but nearly was passed by No. 3 Texas, which received 10 first-place votes and 1,426 points. The Wolverines and Longhorns won big Saturday.

Ohio State kept its spot at No. 4 and received one first-place vote. No. 5 Florida State received the other four first-place votes. Neither the Buckeyes nor Seminoles played this weekend.

No. 6 Penn State and No. 7 Washington also held their spots. Oregon moved up a place to No. 8, and USC dropped one to No. 9.

No. 10 Notre Dame moved back into the top 10 after a dramatic victory at Duke. The Blue Devils dropped two places to No. 19.

Others receiving votes: Maryland 81, Kansas State 44, Texas A&M 31, UCLA 19, Tulane 8, Air Force 7, Wisconsin 6, West Virginia 5, Clemson 5, Kansas 3, James Madison 3, Colorado 1

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Rooney: USC game another reminder of just how far the program has come in the past ten months

From the Daily Camera … A few more minutes, or perhaps even a couple fewer wasted timeouts, and just maybe the result would have been different.

It wasn’t, and a loss is a loss. In this case, though, that’s OK.

Unlike last week’s thorough beat down at Oregon, the Buffaloes put up a memorable fight at Folsom Field on Saturday. And even though No. 8 USC escaped with a 48-41 victory, the gumption displayed by the Buffs squashed any notion the team’s electric start to the season would slowly unravel within the grind of Pac-12 Conference play.

It wasn’t a moral victory. “I don’t know what that is,” said CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders after the near-comeback. Head coach Deion Sanders said he doesn’t believe in them, either. Yet call it what you will, the vibe around the program following Saturday’s setback was a complete reversal from the aftermath of the thumping at Oregon, and the stage remains set for the Buffs to make a run at a bowl berth.

Trailing by 27 points midway through the third quarter, the Buffs had plenty of reasons to pack it in. They didn’t, and many of the factors as to why they nearly pulled of an improbable comeback should bode well for the Buffs in a couple more favorable matchups around the corner, first at Arizona State next week followed by a Friday night home date against Stanford.

On both sides of the ball, Buffs players took the “next man up” approach to heart, getting key contributions from all corners. Two weeks after Michael Harrison’s out-of-nowhere flurry late in the win against Colorado State, it was freshman receiver Omarion Miller’s turn. Miller had played only sparingly in two of the season’s first four games and remained an afterthought at halftime, but by the end of the day he had collected seven receptions for a CU freshman record 196 yards and a touchdown, doing all of that damage in the second half.

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This post, about the Arizona State game, from the 2023 Season, is filed under Article.
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