Thursday Buff Bites - Welcome Back Buffs!

Man, it's good to be back in this country.  Don't get me wrong; England's got great castles and awesome Ancient Egyptian loot artifacts, but there's one thing they don't have, and that's CU BUFFS FOOTBALL!  Only 2 Days Left until Buffs Football is Back!

The Athletic Department's theme this year looks back at the 1990 Championship Team.  Meanwhile, we continue our inexorable departure from the Big 12 and news breaks on the Big Ten's new divisonal alignment.

CUBuffs.com has double-nostalgia going, as they're re-printing the Rocky Mountain News stories of each CU football game from the 1990 National Championship season.  Brooks starts with our Tie against Tennessee.

Big Ten Divisions Set, Traditionalists Can Breathe - Bleacher Report - The Big Ten divisons have no name but do have a guaranteed cross-divisonal rivalry game.

"At present, the divisions are simply being called "X' and "O," and geography had nothing to do with how they were chosen."

Kiszla: Coach Mac still sharp as a tack - The Denver Post 

"Colorado football is a sleeping giant!" McCartney declared Wednesday "I think like a football coach. I smell like one," McCartney said. "I never stopped missing football."

I love how McCartney speaks, and it sounds like some of our new assistant coaches have some of the firebrand in 'em as well.

 CU Buffs defense: No more big plays - Buffzone 

Remember spring and summer practices a year ago, when defensive players and coaches often insisted they weren`t making significant changes in advance of the 2009 season? Turns out they were... All you hear these days from the Buffs as they reflect on the past is how they`re much better acquainted with the schemes they plan to use this year, beginning Saturday in the season opener against Colorado State.

"We`ve got so much more experience," linebacker Tyler Ahles said. "All the same guys are back. In terms of last year, it was kind of a little bit of a new defense, and this year it`s something we`ve been working on since the spring and all of last year. So I would say we`re way ahead of that."

With Colorado State fielding an inexperienced offensive line and a true freshman quarterback on Saturday, the Buffs are expecting the Rams to run the ball as much as they can. "We know we can stop the run," Major said. "They have a young quarterback and you can expect them to run the ball. I mean, they`re a running team. Preparation for this game has been significantly better."

Cross Country is ranked, Richardson might be a specialty-use player, and the Daily Camera says every week should be a rivalry.  After the jump.

Tyler Hansen now ready to lead CU Buffs - Buffzone

Tyler Hansen is ready for whatever the college football season throws at him. It`s apparent in many ways, from his command of the offense and leadership on the practice fields to how he handles himself in interviews with the media and how he spends what used to be free time.

More props for CU rookie receiver Richardson - The Denver Post

"Paul is a smart young man," Prince said. "We just want to make sure we put him in positions where he can succeed. We’re not going to necessarily throw the whole playbook at him. We’ll definitely be smart with what we do with him."

State of a rivalry: CU Buffs won't look past CSU - Boulder Daily Camera

"It would be good to get Nebraska back on the schedule, but at the same time, we`ll have our hands full in the Pac-10," said former CU standout and current assistant Jashon Sykes. "I hope people don`t just say, 'We want Utah to be our rival.` "I`d rather our rival create itself. It doesn`t mean as much if it`s not created by the guys who are playing on the field."

..."To me, every game is a rival. You have to go into every game thinking this team wants to beat you and you want to beat them just as bad," CU safety Parker Orms said. "I wish we could play Nebraska every year, but we have to win the games that we`re playing." Starting with Colorado State on Saturday at Invesco Field.

Tomorrow will be All About CSU.  Go Buffs!