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Colorado Daily – Stanford Week
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October 15th
… CU in a few minutes …
Coach Prime spoofed on Saturday Night Live (pretty funny, actually)
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October 13th – Game Day!
… CU in a few minutes …
LB Coach Andre Hart: “We want to win in a certain fashion, with dominance”
From the Daily Camera … Stanford comes to Boulder as a struggling squad that’s lost four in a row, but the Buffs are in no position to take the Cardinal lightly.
As Sanders lays the foundation at CU, he appreciates the challenge in front of Stanford’s Troy Taylor – hired by the Cardinal in December, about a week after Sanders came to CU.
“We have a daunting task, not only defeating one another but building our programs,” Sanders said of himself and Taylor. “I got opportunity to meet all the coaches at the Pac-12 meetings and all those guys, to me, they were above board, they were cool. They were straight.
“(Taylor) is doing a great job to me. He’s doing his thing. They’re playing hard. They have fight in them. They won’t give up. They have some specialists that are pretty darn good. And I love what they’re putting on the field. It’s gonna be a great task.”
Despite its struggles, Stanford has talented players that could come together and bite the Buffs if they aren’t ready. CU faced a 1-4 team last week, too, and needed a late rally to knock off the Sun Devils.
“Like coach said, we won the game, but we didn’t play to our full potential,” linebacker LaVonta Bentley said. “We need to start fast from the jump. We don’t need to wait until the second or third quarter to get on these boys. A win is a win, but we ain’t satisfied because we know we left some stuff out there on the table.”
CU’s offense has struggled early in games. The run game hasn’t been much of a threat all season. The defense has given up too many yards and points. Special teams have had too many bad moments. And, only four teams in the country have been penalized more than CU (52 times).
Those are all issues Sanders and his staff hope to fix as they start the second half of the season against the Cardinal.
“We want to win in a certain fashion, with dominance,” Hart said. “Do you want the win? Yes, of course, it helps you. But there’s a certain way you need to look, there’s a certain way things ought to be done. And that’s what we want to get across to our team and to our coaches, and that’s what Coach Prime wants.”
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October 12th
… CU in a few minutes …
Folsom at 100: The Brightest Lights
From Ted Chalfen at DNVR.com … In 1987, the Colorado football program was on the rise. So, too, was ESPN. Since their first college football broadcast from Folsom Field eight years earlier, they had become a major player in the sports media landscape. The Big 8 had adjusted its schedule that season so that CU now played Nebraska at home in odd-numbered years, which meant the rematch of 1986’s shocking upset would again be played in Boulder. ESPN wanted the game, but the proposed 2 PM start time in late November meant that it would finish in darkness. The only problem was that Folsom Field was not equipped with lights. The solution was to bring in portable lights from an Iowa-based company specializing in large events like football games.
The 1987 Nebraska game was notable for another reason. To mark the occasion of playing under the lights at home, Bill McCartney, always a consummate showman, dressed the Buffaloes in black pants for the first time ever. The look was a winner, but the Buffs were not, and they missed out on a bowl game that season despite a 7-4 record.
The following year the Buffs, behind quarterback Sal Aunese and running back Eric Bieniemy, won eight games and entered the national rankings for the first time in a decade. Folsom Field also hosted its first true night game, when ESPN broadcast the game against Oklahoma. CU came up short once again, but they would become an ESPN late night favorite for the rest of the decade; and they would usually come out on top. Folsom Field is a stunning setting for a daytime football game, but there’s something magical about the place at night.
… Continue reading story here …
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Neill Woelk’s Keys to the Stanford game
From CUBuffs.com … After last week’s narrow 27-24 win at Arizona State, Colorado’s Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders vowed to address the Buffaloes’ recent tendency of starting slow and having to come from behind.
The 4-2 Buffs (1-2 Pac-12) will get their chance Friday night to show whether they’ve made any strides in that department when they play host to Stanford (1-4, 0-3) in an 8 p.m. matchup at Folsom Field (ESPN).
In six games this year, the Buffs have been outscored 121-72 in the first half. But they have still managed to win four of those six games, thanks in large part to a 74-35 edge in fourth-quarter scoring. CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders has engineered three fourth-quarter comebacks to lead the Buffs to wins.
But Coach Prime and his staff aren’t exactly keen on the thought of continuing to fall behind, then having to come back every week. That’s not a recipe for success in the long haul.
So how do the Buffs change that tendency?
Our weekly Fast Five Keys for Colorado:
1. Get QB Sanders in a groove early. Colorado’s quarterback has been fantastic in the fourth quarter this year — in fact, he leads the nation in passing yards (669) and touchdowns (seven) in the final period.
But it’s not the same story in the first quarter, when he has amassed just 289 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. The Buffs need to take that fourth quarter script, flip it to the first period and get Colorado’s offense in rhythm right away.
… Continue reading story here …
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ESPN – Grading 46 transfer quarterbacks (only two got A’s, including … )
From ESPN … It’s no secret college football coaches are increasingly using the transfer portal to find starters and contributors at quarterback.
This season alone in the FBS, transfer quarterbacks have started 53.4% of games. Those transfers have accounted for 53.3% of all passing yards thrown this season, and we have seen some outstanding performances by transfers who switched schools this past offseason.
Shedeur Sanders, the nation’s leader in passing yards, has helped lead Colorado to a 4-2 start, setting a team single-game passing record in his debut and holding his own against Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams and USC. Sam Hartman started the season at 5-1 with 14 touchdowns and no interceptions before struggling last week at Louisville. Both quarterbacks have been success stories from the portal and already have helped put their teams in the national spotlight.
Because there have been so many signal callers to change schools, we decided to grade each starting quarterback who switched schools prior to this season. For our grades, we looked at current starters along with some notable names from this past offseason that have yet to make a big impact and why.
Here are the grades for 46 of the first-year transfer quarterbacks so far this season:
Shedeur Sanders, Colorado Buffaloes … Grade: A
Transferred from: Jackson State
2023 stats: 2,020 passing yards, 16 TD passes, 2 interceptions, 3 rushing TDs
How he has fared so far: Sanders put up impressive numbers in two seasons at Jackson State — 70 touchdown passes and 6,963 passing yards — but there was uncertainty about how he’d fare in a power conference. He put all the doubts to rest in his Colorado debut, setting a single-game team record with 510 passing yards in an upset of TCU. Sanders has passed for 239 yards or more in four of five games and completed 72.7% of his passes this season. He has done so playing behind an offensive line that trails only Old Dominion in total sacks allowed (31). Colorado’s run game is spotty and Travis Hunter has missed the past three games, but Sanders continues to hurt defenses, entering the radar for both the Heisman Trophy and the NFL draft. “Without Shedeur, they don’t have those wins,” a Pac-12 coach said.
From the Pac-12 …
DJ Uiagalelei, Oregon State Beavers … Grade: B+
Transferred from: Clemson
2023 stats: 1,307 passing yards, 13 TD passes, 4 interceptions, 131 rushing yards, 5 rushing TDs
How he has fared so far: Uiagalelei might have been the most intriguing quarterback of the transfer cycle, given his profile at Clemson. Oregon State coaches were impressed with his willingness to learn a new and more complex offense, which requires quarterbacks to absorb and process a lot. His results have been mostly positive. Uiagalelei had a near-flawless debut at San Jose State — 239 pass yards and three touchdowns while completing 20 of 25 passes with two rushing touchdowns — but then began to struggle with his accuracy, a problem during his Clemson tenure. He completed a combined 45 of 89 passes against San Diego State, Washington State and Utah, before another brilliant performance in the Bay Area against Cal (275 pass yards, five touchdowns). Uiagalelei’s mobility has helped the Beavers; he has averaged 4 yards per rush with five touchdowns.
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Ben Finley, Cal Golden Bears … Grade: D
Transferred from: N.C. State
2023 stats: 533 passing yards, 3 TD passes, 4 interceptions
How he has fared so far: Finley played in four of the first five games for the Golden Bears and started two. He and Sam Jackson V have gone back and forth this season with one replacing the other, not really knowing who the starter is. It was Jackson who took all the snaps in the win against Arizona State, and Finley threw for three interceptions in the first half of the Washington game before leaving with an injury. Finley is healthy now but continues to find himself in a battle with Jackson for the starting spot.
Sam Jackson V, Cal Golden Bears … Grade: D
Transferred from: TCU
2023 stats: 556 passing yards, 5 TD passes, 2 interceptions, 1 rushing TD
How he has fared so far: Jackson has gone back and forth with Finley for starts and snaps at Cal so far this season. Neither has taken the reins and shined as the starter. Jackson was the quarterback for the Golden Bears in the win against Arizona State and had 130 yards and one touchdown, but he hasn’t had a convincing season thus far.
Jeff Sims, Nebraska Cornhuskers … Grade: D-
Transferred from: Georgia Tech
2023 stats: 220 pass yards, 1 TD pass, 4 interceptions, 156 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD
How he has fared so far: Sims brought starting experience and dual-threat skills to Nebraska’s offense under a new coaching staff but had a very rough start before an ankle injury late in a Week 2 loss to Colorado. The accuracy and turnover issues that surfaced at times during his time at Georgia Tech showed up as he had three interceptions in a painful opening loss to Minnesota, and then three more giveaways (two lost fumbles, one interception) in the Colorado debacle. Sims’ running ability jumped out — he had a 57-yard touchdown run against Colorado — but so did the mistakes, and Nebraska is moving forward with Heinrich Haarberg at QB.
Drew Pyne, Arizona State Sun Devils … Grade: Incomplete
Transferred from: Notre Dame
2023 stats: 273 passing yards, 2 TD passes, 3 interceptions
How he has fared so far: Pyne seemingly was in line to start Arizona State’s season before injuring his hamstring in a preseason scrimmage, one of several key injuries the Sun Devils have endured. The 10-game starter for Notre Dame in 2022 didn’t make his ASU debut until Week 3, and it was a rough one, as he completed only 5 of 13 passes for 52 yards with two interceptions in a shutout loss to Fresno State. Pyne had more success the following week against USC, passing for 221 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
Collin Schlee, UCLA Bruins … Grade: Incomplete
Transferred from: Kent State
2023 stats: 21 passing yards, 0 TD passes, 1 interception, 95 rushing yards, 2 rushing TDs
How he has fared so far: Schlee started for coach Sean Lewis at Kent State last year and came to UCLA expecting to compete with decorated recruit Dante Moore and holdover Ethan Garbers for the starting job. But Garbers started the season opener and then Moore emerged, showcasing his talent before a tough Week 4 loss at Utah. Schlee didn’t see the field against Utah despite the offense’s struggles, and had just six pass attempts as a Bruin. His highlights have come on the ground, namely a 57-yard rushing touchdown against North Carolina Central.
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October 11th
… CU in a few minutes …
Linebackers coach Andre Hart and LaVonta Bentley meet with the press
From Nikki Edwards …
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Linebacker LaVonta Bentley …
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Coach Prime: “I don’t give a darn about no bowl right now. We want to win”
From the Daily Camera … The message to dominate has been there every week, though, and the Buffs haven’t done it often.
“There’s lofty expectations for every game for me, and I’m not going to change my standard,” Sanders said. “My standard is my standard. The way we practice, the way we prepare, the way we perform. My standard is my standard. I have a lofty standard. That’s why I’m here.”
Although the Buffs haven’t often hit that standard, they are in a good position at the midpoint of the season. Sitting at 4-2, they are two wins away from bowl eligibility. That’s a big deal for a CU program that’s been to just two bowl games in the previous 15 seasons.
It’s not that big of a deal to Sanders, though.
“We want to win,” he said. “I don’t give a darn about no bowl right now. We want to win. If that’s part of the package at the conclusion of the season of winning, I’m all for it. Thank God, when I was in college (at Florida State), we had an opportunity to go to four straight bowl games, which was a true gift that was wonderful. Me and my teammates enjoyed it. They had wonderful packages of bags full of gear and all those sorts of things, surprises for you. And it was a great time.
“But that’s one of my least concerns right now is a bowl.”
… Continue reading story here …
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October 10th
… CU in a few minutes …
*Video: Coach Prime’s Weekly Press Conference: Travis Hunter practicing*
From Brian Howell at the Daily Camera …
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October 9th
… CU in a few minutes …
Kicker Alejandro Mata named Pac-12 Special teams Player-of-the-Week
… Mata is the seventh 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), Shilo Sanders (defense, CSU), Omarion Miller (freshman, USC) …
From the Pac-12 …
SPECIAL TEAMS: Alejandro Mata, So., K, Colorado (Buford, Ga.)
- Hit 2 field goals of 40+ yards, one being a 43 yard game winner with 12 seconds left
- 3-of-3 on extra points
- First Colorado player named Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week since WR/KR Jordyn Tyson last season. First Buffs placekicker to win since Evan Price in 2019.
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Updated Bowl projections: CU v. Wyoming interest anyone?
From ESPN … Oklahoma shook up the top four by beating Texas, while Georgia and Michigan posted their most impressive wins of the season to solidify their positions in our projected playoff pairings.
With the Longhorns slipping, who takes their place? Florida State, which cruised past Virginia Tech? Ohio State, after handing Maryland its first loss of the season? Penn State? Oregon? The Sooners?
College Football Playoff
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: Georgia vs. Michigan
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. USC
Schlabach: Penn State vs. Texas
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl
State Farm Stadium (Glendale, Arizona)
1 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Oregon vs. Penn State
Schlabach: Oregon vs. Air Force
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Pac-12 bowl affiliations, in order of selection …
Valero Alamo Bowl
Alamodome (San Antonio)
Bonagura: Texas vs. Washington State
Schlabach: Kansas vs. USC
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl
Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas)
Bonagura: Rutgers vs. Oregon State
Schlabach: Wisconsin vs. UCLA
Holiday Bowl
Petco Park (San Diego)
Bonagura: Duke vs. Utah
Schlabach: Notre Dame vs. Oregon State
Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl
Sun Bowl Stadium (El Paso, Texas)
Bonagura: Syracuse vs. UCLA
Schlabach: Syracuse vs. Washington State
LA Bowl
SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, California)
Bonagura: Colorado vs. Wyoming
Schlabach: Utah vs. Wyoming
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl
Independence Stadium (Shreveport, Louisiana)
Bonagura: UCF vs. Arizona
Schlabach: Oklahoma State vs. Colorado
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October 8th
… CU in a few minutes …
Every week a new offensive hero: Javon Antonio
… Each week, a different player has had a breakout game, starting with running back Dylan Edwards (TCU) … then it was Tar’Varish Dawson (Nebraska), Michael Harrison (Colorado State) and Omarion Miller (USC) …
From CUBuffs.com … Every week, it seems another Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver has a breakout game.
Saturday, it was Javon Antonio’s turn.
After catching just three passes in CU’s first five games (he missed two games with an injury), the 6-4, 225-pound grad transfer had a five-catch, 81-yard effort in the Buffs’ 27-24 win over Arizona State. Antonio had a 9-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter that gave the Buffs their first lead of the day, 21-17, and then added a clutch 43-yard reception on CU’s last possession that put the Buffs in position for the game-winning field goal.
“It was awesome,” said CU’s Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders. “It was awesome because he didn’t have a great game last week. But I love his resilience and he bounced back. I believe in him 100 percent. I’m glad he got back in there and was able to do what he did because he’s a grown man and he’s a dog. Plays his butt off. Never complains. A really good kid, was raised tremendously right.”
… Continue reading story here …
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Rooney: Winning ugly better than losing ugly
From the Daily Camera … Given the misery of 2022 and, really, most of the two decades previous, it still feels somewhat disingenuous to haggle over the quality of a victory for the Buffaloes. Saturday’s win boosted the Buffs to 4-2, already quadrupling last year’s win total and leaving CU just one more victory away from matching the win total from the past two seasons combined. With struggling Stanford coming to town for a Friday night battle, followed by five opportunities to get another win, topping ASU provided a critical piece to the puzzle in CU’s quest to land a bowl bid for just the second time in the 15 most recent full college football seasons.
Still, this was winning ugly. Which, again, beats not winning at all anytime. Yet all the shortcomings that have made every game an uphill battle to one extent or another for CU were on full display once again in Tempe.
If last week was a loss that stirred confidence and left a sense of encouragement after a near-comeback against a legitimate top-10 team in USC, Saturday was its mirror image — a victory the Buffs should feel fortunate about that again exposed the weaknesses of a program still patching holes in its abrupt rise to Pac-12 relevancy.
… Now halfway through the season, the Buffs aren’t likely to stray from the established script. A talented bunch that certainly won’t flinch in tight fourth-quarter situations, but still is hindered enough by personnel issues at key positions to make every contest a struggle. The Buffs might very well rise up to beat one of the Pac-12 heavyweights remaining on the schedule. Yet they’re equally capable of still turning in a frustrating performance that ends in a loss that should have been a victory.
But hey, a year ago the Buffs were losing ugly. Winning ugly is a welcome change.
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9 Replies to “Colorado Daily – Stanford Week”
Well, so much for winning through dominance.
I’m starting to see my way past the hype and into the reality of this hastily assembled team and coaching staff. After the first two games of this season, the buffs have scraped and clawed their way to a two and three record. Either the team can’t learn, the coaches can’t teach, or the lesson being taught aren’t winning ones. In any case, I’ll be shocked if the record is any better than 5-7 (and that’s my optimism shining through the gloom) and half this group of pick ups and has beens isn’t replaced by next spring.
Still much better than losing by 30-40 every week, right?
And lest you forget, the one win – the single, solitary win – last year that saved us from goin 0-12 was a lucky break against cal.
Wow. Much prefer this year. Don’t you?
Go Buffs
Prime doesn’t like the 8 pm start
Tough Just win it
go buffs
Neill said one thing that scares me. He said one of the Stanford QBs has good rushing stats. I’m guessing he starts, especially if Hunter starts for us making the pass a little more scary for them.
You are taking that into account with your game plan…. right Kelly?
WARS ARE WON IN THE TRENCHES….IT’S YOUR LAST LINE OF DEFENSE-OFFENSE.
We saw Shedeur releasing the ball against ASU FRACTIONS OF SECONDS before getting his arm hit. These were – in part – the reason we beat ASU.
ONE MIGHT SAY WE WERE FRACTIONS OF SECONDS AWAY FROM ANOTHER LOSS…NOT A WIN.
SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE….SHEDEUR IS A PURE POCKET PASSER, BUT THAT’S WHERE HE BECOMES “MEAT FOR THE WOLVES.” WE’VE SEEN HIM OUT OF THE POCKET COMPLETING PASSES ACCURATELY WHERE HE CAN EVADE ONCOMING RUSHERS. ‘COMON LEWIS….IF SHEDEUR IS A MOVING TARGET HE CAN BE MORE SUCCESSFUL.
ENUFF’ SAID……….GO BUFFS.
They actually let that schlabach head make predictions after what he said about the Buffs before the season started?
These pundolts must be like the coaches. Get paid millions for utter failure.
Does New Mexico still have a bowl? CU and WY would fill that one being so close. 3 and 1/2 hour drive for me and I get to dine in Santa Fe a couple of times. I would rather eat there than in Paris.
What say you exAZ?
HEAR HEAR ep!!!! I just received my latest cookbook from the Santa Fe School of Cooking. I think the New Mexico Bowl would be a nice bowl for the Buffs. It used to be sponsored by a company that sells Men’s Underwear……….each player receives a 3PAK of Skivvies, color to be Silver and Gold with a Black elastic waist band.
Any bowl game will interest me.
GO BUFFS 🦬🖤💛🖤🦬
Every week a new WR-WOW!!! No shortage on talent there. Now let’s recruit the lines.
I see we are far behind in volume, double digits behind a lot of schools. I’m guessing the portal will be used again for about 10-15?