Boy, did Dan Hawkins rile up some reporters. Hawkins, among other things, had this to say about reporters this weekend after the game:

"The only speculation was from you guys," he told reporters. "There was no speculation from my boss, there was no speculation from our big hitters (donors). That speculation came from you guys." OK. Was the week following a 58-34 loss at Toledo disconcerting? "Not at all. I love these guys. I’ve said this many times before. "Unfortunately in this (media) business, there’s not a lot of you that have children. I don’t know why that is. But when you have kids, you love them up. You give them unconditional love. And you hang in there. "And sometimes they flunk science, and sometimes they strike out and sometimes they drop fly balls and sometimes they miss last-second shots. But when you’re a true parent, you’re a true teacher, and you hang in there and you keep believing them and keep working on things, and eventually it turns."

Patrick Ridgell from the Longmont Times and Woody Paige of the Denver Post responded to the comments made by Hawkins in some pretty comical articles. I thought Ridgell's article was very well written and all the "speculation of Hawkins job being in danger" wasn't all on the reporters as Hawkins indicated. It all comes down to this for me: reporters have a job to do. Dan Hawkins has a job to do and he gets compensated probably 10 times more than those reporters do. Hawkins needs to be bigger than the comments he has put out there on paper. Sure, the Ralphie Report criticizes, fans criticized and reporters have questioned what is happening in Boulder but Hawkins needs to be above that, say next question and move on. Just win football games. The program doesn't need comments like this from Hawkins out there, especially when he fires out like this after beating the all powerful Wyoming Cowboys. Fire away after West Virginia, Kansas and Texas.

And for the record, I don't have kids yet, way too young but soon enough and I have played football at a pretty high level so I have been in the arena before. Just an FYI to Coach Hawkins so he knows my standing.

On to the Buffs Bites:

Paige: It's proof positive — Buffs are great - The Denver Post
Woody Paige may or may not have been drunk when he wrote this but here is all you need to know about this article:

Hawkins should have been more pleased than he seemed. (I mentioned in the hallways that he selected this profession. He said it has changed. Dan, you're not in Boise anymore.)

Harried Hawkins fiesty after win - Boulder Daily Camera
More Hawkins quotes:

"I thought it was awesome for our fans," he said. "To show up and over 50,000 people in the stands. Again, you've got everybody flicking dirt on you, and for those people to show up and be supportive and be enthusiastic and cheer and hang to the end, I thought that was awesome.

Dan Hawkins Sounding Like Mike Gundy When It Comes to Sportswriters -- NCAA Football FanHouse
Even FanHouse compares Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy (I'm a man, I'm 40) to Dan Hawkins. If Hawkins would have raised his voice to "it's intramurals brother" levels, it would have gotten just as much pub as the Gundy rant.

But Hawkins wasn't doing much of that. "It's easy to stand outside of the arena and point fingers and say you're not good enough and criticize and be negative,'' he said in his opening remarks after the game. "But, when you're in the arena and you're scrapping, you're never that far away from victory and you're never that far away from defeat. And until you're in the arena, until you've gone through it a time or two, until you've done some things in your life, until you've strived and you've succeeded and you've failed... people don't get that.''

So, evidently, not only do not many sports writers have children, they haven't strapped on helmets and laced up cleats. Hawkins couldn't resist taking dig after dig after the game at all the reporters last week who speculated he was on the hot seat. He lauded the 50,535 fans who showed up even though "you've got everybody flipping dirt on you.'' OK, so the Buffaloes aren't buried yet. But Saturday's win won't result in a lot of shovels being put back in the tool shed.

CU's Kasa Says He'll Practice - The Longmont Times
Welcome back Nick. Now get ready fast!

Nick Kasa still doesn’t know if he’ll play as a true freshman for the Colorado football program in 2009. His decision could be made soon. Kasa said Sunday he will practice Tuesday for the first time since Aug. 17, when he suffered a partially torn MCL in his left knee during pass-rushing drills. CU is listing him as day-to-day.

more Buff Bites after the jump...including an Oregon fan who is getting a little peeved at Mark Helfrich

Why is No One Blaming Helfrich? | Bleacher Report
This Oregon fan compares Jeremiah Masoli to Cody Hawkins and sees a correlation: regression.

Yes, Chip Kelly is still calling the plays, but he is not a man on an island. He’s got a lot of other responsibilities now. As the goducks.com bio for Mark Helfrich states "The Oregon native and the Ducks’ former graduate assistant coach… will concentrate his efforts on the Ducks’ passing attack."

Colorado-Wyoming Quotes - CUBuffs.com—Official Athletics Web site of the University of Colorado
Quotes from both Colorado and Wyoming representatives after the game.

What we learned in the Big 12, Week 3 - Big 12 - ESPN

4. Colorado's simpler defense pays off. There's a message in how Colorado played defense Saturday against Wyoming. After the game, Colorado coach Dan Hawkins said that the Buffaloes made things easier by running fewer personnel groups and fewer specialized situations. The result was Colorado’s first shutout in two years, punctuated by only five Wyoming plays of 10 yards or more. Sometimes limiting defensive demands works out better.

Big 12 helmet stickers, Week 3 - Big 12 - ESPN

The Colorado defense: Yes, this is the same unit that was gashed for 1,000 yards and 77 points in its first two games. The Buffaloes answered their critics with their first shutout in two seasons in a 24-0 victory over Wyoming. In the process, the Cowboys were limited to 230 yards as the Buffaloes racked up four sacks, seven tackles for loss and six passes defensed. And making it even sweeter, it came against Wyoming coach Dave Christensen, who has blistered the Buffaloes for 113 points in the last two seasons when he served as Missouri's offensive coordinator.

Brooks: The Monday AM QB - CUBuffs.com
B.G. Brooks of cubuffs.com talks about how the defense cut the playbook by more than half and reiterated something that the Ralphie Report has been saying for the past two weeks: Where is Andre Simmons, Anthony Wright and Markques Simas and can the Buffs' staff not find a few plays for them each?

One coach predicted as many as 25 calls used in the first two games were to be trimmed to half a dozen; a player chimed in with a guesstimate that the Buffs would use perhaps "eight or ten" defensive calls against the Cowboys - that total being reduced from about 50 in the entire package. ... The ground game finding its legs was a plus, but the passing game was middling. Quarterback Cody Hawkins (17-of-31, 175 yards) hit several critical throws, but missed a couple of open receivers - not what is expected of a three-year starter whose forte is accuracy. Eight players caught passes, but none by Markques Simas, Andre Simmons or Anthony Wright. That trio has accounted for two catches in three games (one each by Simmons and Wright, Simas was suspended for Games 1-2). That's not nearly good enough for players CU is counting on to stretch the field. Before the opener, offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau said Simmons, who was not cleared to play until the next-to-last week of August camp, and Wright, a late switch from cornerback, would be given 12-15 plays to grasp for Game 1. Going into Game 4, their knowledge of the playbook and roles in the offense should be expanding - unless there are complications with blocking or running routes, they're not yet in sync with their QB, or they're simply bogging down mentally. In which case, does the offense take a hint from the defense and go "lite"? Just a thought.