Is it Really Only One Week Away?

It is officially one week until the kickoff of college football and I can't wait. I was trying to think when was the last time their has been this much excitement for CU football. In 2001, the Buffs went to the Fiesta Bowl and since then, the Buffs have been down more than up. Isn't it great to have optimism once again? For the past 6 or 7 years, we have had to go into the season with caution and scared of what might come our way. Now we go in intrigued, excited and curious and although the schedule is brutal and the Buffs are young, it's going to be fun to watch and either way it works out, we haven't been able to say that in a long long time.

Next week we will start our inaugural breakdown of the Rocky Mountain Showdown where we, like coach Hawkins and the rest of the Buffs coaches, try to figure out what in the world the Rams will do to try and pull a big upset of the Buffaloes. I can tell you right now, I expect the Buffs offense to put up 35 - 40 points with heavy does of speed and power. As for the defense, just stop CSU RB Kyle Bell.

Let the preparation for CSU begin.

In the annual prep report put out by the Rocky Mountain News, CU recruit Nick Kasa is the headline story for Colorado high school football. At 6'7' 256 lbs and a 4.65 forty, Kasa has all the measurables that coaches dream of. I think the Buffs should also look that the rest of the Legacy Ridge high school line...some big boys.

A promising article about senior DE Maurice Lucas and his new outlook on life & football. I always knew that Lucas has been seen as an underachiever but this stat in the Daily Camera speaks volumes about his lack of productivity in his first three years:

Lucas has played in 30 games and a total of 950 plays in his career but has been in on just four tackles. He also has made three sacks, but looks like he could equal that total in a hurry this season.

That stat is appalling for an athlete like Lucas. But the senior is said to have found his groove. Putting on 20lbs of muscle, relaxing regarding school work and finding a new love for football should help Lucas get his productivity up. At 6'4" 270 lbs, if Lucas can act on his words, the front seven could be a load to handle. The Buffs need to improve on the sack total from a year ago, only getting to the quarterback 19 times, 4 of those belonging to former LB Jordan Dizon.

The Buffs took part in some team building activities and got off the practice field yesterday. I am glad to hear this because it seems like the Buffs have some nagging injuries that could use some rest. Scott said the almost 2 days off has done wonders for his groin and he is now "100 %."

There is now discussion of freshman RB Ray Polk getting redshirted this year. The RMN says that Hagan and Polk will discuss because Polk initially opposed the idea of being redshirted saying he would rather play special teams exclusively. Personally, I think redshirting would be a great option for Polk. You never know if Scott breaks out and leaves after his junior year, now Polk has two years to run the show. An additional year of strength and conditioning would do wonders for Polk as he tries to fill out his frame. Let's face it, Polk is a great talent who doesn't need to be wasted on a year of exclusive special teams work. I know he wants to play and get out of shadow of Scott but this is way to really improve mentally and physically while maintaining eligibility.

"Mr. Five Star" is getting a lot of publicity again as the Buffs are "taking it easy with Scott" during his freshman year after being named a backup that will be used for short yardage situations only. As Lee Corso says, "Not so fast." There is going to come a time in week 2 or week 3 when Scott will be the starter, that's my prediction.