Nebraska QB Joe Ganz wants to do what the Buffs did to him last year:

"It's an absolute redemption game for me, for the seniors, for everyone who was a part of it last year," Ganz told the Lincoln Journal-Star. "That's one thing on our mind ... to see how they'll like it, sitting at home, watching everyone else play, like we did last year. That's one thing on our mind. ... We have to come out and play our best football because we want to do everything we can to keep them out of a bowl like we did last year."

Bo Pelini wants Joe Ganz to shut up:

"I wish Joe would just worry about Joe," he said.

I think coach Pelini should have used this line on Nebraska OL Matt Slauson who went off yesterday and gives the Buffs plenty of bulletin board material.

As a somewhat native of Colorado, I have an extreme distaste for them," Slauson said Tuesday. "I wouldn't mind keeping them out of a bowl just like they did to us last year and just like they did to us in '04."

 "I have an extreme distaste for them. They recruit guys there for one reason, and that's to beat Nebraska. If you take that away from them, they have nothing."

"They're in the Big 12 and when you think Big 12 schools you think Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska," Slauson said. "(The Buffs) seem irrelevant. Boy, that's bulletin-board material."

Thanks bud. Yep, those Nebraska Cornhuskers are full of class.

It looks like Buffs starting senior safety Ryan Walters will not play (very doubtful) Friday after suffering a knee and ankle injury on the first play of the Oklahoma State game. That means two freshmen will be patrolling the safety positions: Anthony Perkins and Patrick Mahnke. The good thing for the Buffs is that Perkins has seen a lot of playing time and Mahnke played the whole game last week for Walters.

Neil Woelk of the Daily Camera says don't worry CU fans, the Buffs know the Nebraska game is important. But he also says this game is not as important as it once was as the Buffs used the game as a measuring stick and frankly, the Huskers aren't that good:

But in all honesty, beating Nebraska these days doesn't carry the same status that it did even six or seven years ago. It is in no way, shape or form a measuring stick of playing against the best.

Rather, the last few years it's become a way for Colorado to salvage a season -- and that's not what CU should be pursuing as an "end all."

The Huskers may indeed be an upper-tier team again someday. This year, though, they have just one victory -- against Kansas -- that would be considered a "quality" win. Otherwise, they're a team also trying to catch the big boys in the Big 12.

Nebraska wide receiver coach Ted Gilmore met with University of Wyoming officials yesterday to interview for their head coaching vacancy.

Tim Griffin of ESPN highlights all of the rivalry games this week in the Big 12.

The Buffs men's basketball team beat the Lafayette Leopards last night in Boulder 73 - 59 after, once again, running away with it in the second half. The Buffs are sure lucky to have sophomore G Cory Higgins on the team right now. Higgins had 24 points last night as he led all scorers. Three other CU players were in double digits last night: freshman Nate Tomlinson (10), freshman Austin Dufault (11) and junior Dwight Thorne (14). The Buffs shot another strong percentage last night (52.1%) while their opponent only connected on 35.1%. The Buffs did a good job of guarding the Lafayette three-point shooters as the Leopards only made 5 of 21 attempts. Still, Colorado was out-rebounded by a 35 - 30 margin which continues to be the Buffs Achilles heel. The Buffs also turned the ball over 19 times which is something Bzdelik wants his team to improve on.

The next game for the Buffs is on the road against Stanford.

The 2008 Big 12 All-Academic Teams were announced yesterday. Five Buffs made the first team and one made the second team:

First Team (3.20+ GPA)

Name, School Class Major Hometown
Jake Behrens, Colorado So. Accounting Omaha, Neb.
George Hypolite, Colorado Sr. Ethnic Studies & Women's Studies Los Angeles, Calif.
Travis Sandersfeld, Colorado Fr. Business Limon, Colo.
Devin Shanahan, Colorado Jr. Economics Highlands Ranch, Colo.
Nate Solder, Colorado So. Biology Buena Vista, Colo.

Second Team (3.00 to 3.19 GPA)

Name, School Class Major Hometown
Patrick Devenny, Colorado Jr. Marketing Roseville, Calif.

Graham Harrell has a 4.0 GPA. I didn't know that. Other notables who made the first team include Sam Bradford, DeMarco Murray, Todd Reesing, Chase Daniel, Joe Ganz and Colt McCoy.

Those of you looking for something to do Friday night after the Buffs game should head up to Keystone for a free show by awesome local band Devotchka.  Should be a good time.   Next week is Girl Talk and if you haven't seen him before you need not miss it. - Woodrow

Devotchka - The Last Beat of My Heart

Well, well, well. A couple hours from now, CU will take try and save their season. A win and there is a great chance the Buffs will be bowling and, with a good chance of beating Iowa State and a punchers chance at beating Nebraska, the Buffs could actually get to that 7 win mark. What does seven wins mean? Improvement and progress even though we might not see it on the field. 7 is better than 6. And even though we can't see improvement on the field, 99.6% of this teams offense is generated by freshman and sophomores. 99.6%. That unenviable for any coach. Throw in a couple of big injuries and Buffs fans can put a pretty nice spin on this year, even with blow out losses to Missouri and Texas. Lose this game, no bowl game, no marked sign of improvement and a questioning fan base. Fair or unfair, that is what will happen. Some of the criticism will be fair, some will be unfair but it will all be in the direction of desired results. Buffs fans don't want to keep saying, "next year." This is also a big game for recruiting. If the Buffs can string together 2 wins in a row and 3 in the last 4 going back to the Kansas State game, interest begins to go up for the Buffs. Lose, the Buffs have 5 commits which is not a strong base in the Big 12. Not saying they will lose any of the them but concern will grow about increasing that number to 15 or 18 commits. Not to sound doom and gloom on all of you but this is a spring board/pivotal/must win/really freaking big game that must be won. It's a game that I believe the Buffs should win. Texas A&M has beat Army, New Mexico and Iowa State on the year. Do you think the Buffs are better than those teams? The Aggies have lost to Arkansas St. and Kansas State. Yes, A&M has been accumulating stats like a fat kid accumulates Halloween candy but that is not the substance of this Aggie team. This Aggie team is young, slow and very beatable.

Nothing new here, just pleading for the Buffs to look at how they played Kansas State and they will win. So "Keys" will be really similar to that game. In honor of offensive coordinator Helfrich's wish, let's simplify:

Stop the Tex Ags Rushing Attack: The Buffs can give up two touchdown passes to Jerrod Johnson and still win the game. What the Buffs can't do is let the A&M rushing game get going. A&M is the worst rushing team in the Big 12. With the health of leading rusher Mike Goodson up in the air, A&M is an even worse rushing offense. The Buffs need to shut it down early and force Johnson to throw the ball a ton. I like the way our defense matches up with A&M. I think the CB's can keep pace with the Aggies WR's and with a little extra commitment to LB's at the line of scrimmage, I believe the Buffs can get to Johnson. But if CU starts giving up big runs, look for the CU defense to struggle against the pass as well. Stopping the run, limits a team's momentum and it also forces a young team like Texas A&M into long 2nd and 3rd down situation where the Buffs can start the turnover train.

the other keys to the game and prediction after the jump...

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How disappointing was yesterday's performance against the Kansas Jayhawks? Let me rephrase that; how disappointing has the 2008 season been so far? So much anticipation coming off a bowl season, a year when recruiting couldn't have been any better and the Buffs were finally going to play with coach Hawkins players. It is hard to even know where to begin to assess this game. Is there even a bright spot on this team? Can you name more than three players wearing black and gold who you feel is really playing great football right now? Only questions fill my mind today. It's gone from anger to sadness  to just wanting to sit down with the coaches and ask them a couple of questions. Yes it is hard to coach with all of the injuries, the ineligibility, the coming in to training camp out of shape and the defections but these guys get paid a nice chunk of change to do the things that is not frankly getting done right now. You name it, the Buffs camp isn't doing it. Its starts and never ends with game planning, game day adjustments, player personnel decisions, play calling, schemes and, what should be an easy task of getting this team ready to play. By ready to play I mean show a pulse. Where is the excitement? This was  7 - 9 game at halftime and it just looked like the Buffs were expecting to lose. There is no leadership on this team, nobody trying to get people excited to play football...this team is going through the motions. So if I was granted my 5 minutes with coach Hawkins and the coaches I would ask these questions. I would probably get a cavalier response but at least I would feel better.

Frankly for me, it starts on defense...I know, what?

Coach Hawkins, what is the point of rushing three lineman and allowing a great quarterback to sit back there all day and pick and choose where he wanted to go with the ball? Frankly coach, the only way that you are going to beat teams is win the turnover battle and I don't think the no pass rush scheme is going to force any turnovers? And the whole time while you were rushing three, you once again made a team's weakness (Kansas' rushing game) turn into one of their strengths. Did you not see that Kerry Meier was hurt in the first half and try to blitz like crazy knowing he wasn't a viable option at that time? Don't you think you have to put a defensive scheme out there that will win you ball games and not just keep you in ball games? Frankly coach, you came out in the first quarter and blitzed, I have a hard time figuring out why you stopped. You allowed Todd Reesing to get comfortable back in the pocket and gain confidence. If there is any team in the country who should know what pressure does to a quarterback's play, the Buffs should, I mean look at how Cody is playing these days? Do you realize Kansas had more rushing yards against the Buffs than any other division one team this year?

continue reading the fictious Q&A session after the jump...

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        VS.        

How can you go against history. Take the points Buffs fans! CU is going into Lawrence tomorrow and coming out with a victory. Call me crazy but read the preview from yesterday. Now the Buffs need to follow these "Keys to the Game." Tomorrow won't be easy but I don't think it is as hard as the Texas game or the FSU game. In recent years, CU has had trouble with more athletic teams and I am of the opinion that Kansas does not have the athleticism of FSU and by no means Texas. I grade this game harder than West Virginia though and the Buffs will still need to play their best game of the year (not saying much because they haven't played a complete game this year yet). Kansas is a team capable of blowing the Buffs out early but Hawk should have this team ready to go. Plus, the Buffs seem to win these games when their backs are against the wall. Either way, this contest is big for the rest of the 2008 Colorado Buffaloes season. My feelings are that if CU wins, it is reasonable to expect that the Buffs can reach that 7 win mark with wins against Texas A&M, Kansas State and Iowa State with a possible 8 win season if they go into Lincoln and take care of business. We would all love those results. Lose this game, who knows how a young team will respond? A three game losing streak with a dangerous offensive team coming into Boulder against what would be a demoralized CU team could turn into a big five game slide...then who knows? This is the biggest swing game I can remember in Boulder in quite a while; definitely of the Dan Hawkins era.

Last week I put together offensive and defensive keys to the game and you know what, we got ahead of ourselves. Like the current CU offense, we need to simplify and streamline things. I take the blame for the loss last week. I had too many points going towards too many things that we got ahead of ourselves. It is time to get back to basics!

Put Your Keys Up: "The Basic Keys to the Game"

When in Doubt, Look in the Past:

I am sorry for harping on it but the symmetries between the game against Texas Tech and this game tomorrow is ridiculous. The main point I would take away from history is the turnover margin. Kansas has lost two games in the past 2 years and should have lost last week. Coincidentally, those are the only three games the Jayhawks lost the turnover battle in the last two years. Morale of the story: Kansas is human. They win by being a mistake free football team. The Buffs need to play a cleaner game. If they do, history shows Kansas will lose!

Keep Weaknesses As a Weakness:

The Buffs defense has made a habit of letting their opponent turn a supposed "weakness" into a strength or better said, not exploiting a weakness. Against FSU, the dirty elephant in the room was QB Christian Ponder. Everyone and their mothers knew if the Buffs could make Ponder try to beat them, the Buffs would come out victorious. The Buffs allowed FSU to be successful on the ground and the offensive didn't help the defense by putting up points on the board. Ponder wasn't forced to beat the Buffs. Last week, RB Chris Ogbonnaya was able to shine from the running back position, something that Texas did not have in the four previous games. Kansas' running game is not strong, as much as the press wants to say they are back after last week (see why here). Make this Kansas team even more one dimensional than they want to be. Force a quarterback to throw 40+ times and let the defense pin back its ears to pressure Reesing...that will lead to turnovers.

...continue to read this preview and prediction after the jump...and hey, give us your prediction! Go Buffs!

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Last weekend was tough. Start to finish nothing went Colorado's way from missed field goals to an offense that could qualify for FEMA funds. It felt and looked as if CU had been dealt the knock-out punch that could send a young team spiraling straight into a 5 win season. At the beginning of this week, I was close to closing up shop on the 2008 Buffs and start previewing the 2009 season. But as the week went on and the more I analyzed this game, I am excited to report that the Buffs are going to win Saturday. I am back on the positivity train and it is heading into Lawrence, Kansas with a little mojo on its side. And this isn't some crazy claim without any empirical evidence. This claim is backed up by rock solid facts and if the Buffs have history on their side and follow my "Keys to the Game," CU will be 4 - 2 against Kansas State next week. Of course, if history hates CU like it did last week and the Buffs don't make good on my "Keys to the Game," well, 3 - 3 is looking the Buffs squarely in the face. You are probably wondering what "history" I am referring to. Well Buffs fans, join me on my magical time machine to 2007.

Specifically, October 27th, 2007...Where were you? I remember where I was. I had just gotten home from Wal-Mart. Yes, weird, I know but I remember. You know why? The Buffs were shellacking the 6 - 2 and heavily favored home team in Texas Tech by 14 points in first quarter. The Buffs went on to win by 5 in Lubbock that day. Why is the Texas Tech game significant? Because their are a plethora of parallels between the game coming up this Saturday and the one last October in Lubbock.

1. The Buffs will be on the road in Lawrence, like they were in Lubbock 349 days ago. Keep reading, I promise the comparisons get better. I won't use the "both games where on a Saturday" or "both games were played in the month of October" link.
   
   
2. The Buffs will be coming off a two game losing streak just like they were last year. Coach Dan Hawkins has not had a three game losing streak since November 6th, 2006 with Gary Barnett's players. Last year, the Buffs had three 2 game losing streaks. Each time Colorado was able to come back and win that third contest to avoid a three game slide.
   

See the rest after the jump...

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Along with our Q&A session with the Kansas blog, Rock Chalk Talk, another blog, Kansas Jayhawks...It's Business Time, asked us to sit down with them as well. The more love for The Ralphie Report, the better. Here is the questions we asked KJIBT and his associated responses. Check out how we answered KJIBT's questions. Enjoy

The Ralphie Report (TRR): First things first, what is the mood like right now in Lawrence and around the Jayhawk Nation? Is this team better than they were last year or is there is still questions surrounding the 2008 Jayhawks? What is the biggest difference between this team and last year's team?

Kansas Jayhawks...It's Business Time (KJIBT): I think there are two different moods.  The casual fans (of which there are many) are still swinging on the pendulum.  When things are good, 13-1 and national championship is attainable; when they're bad, they may not win again.  For the rest of us, we're still in wait-and-see mode.  There is a ton of promise on this team, but so far we really haven't seen them put it all together for an entire game yet, which is something they did a lot of last year.  Which brings me to the biggest difference; the lack of a running game.  Todd is great, but there's nothing like a good running game to halt the skids when things aren't going right or to move the clock when they are.  This was a strength last year; this year it's non-existent.

TRR: What happened against Iowa State in the first half? I know the Jayhawks aren't as bad as they showed in the first half but are they as good as they showed in the second half?

KJIBT:

I'll answer the latter first.  They are definitely as good as they showed in the second half.  But like I said in #1, they don't have that consistency yet, because they don't have the proper balance from a legitimate running game.  I don't have a good explanation for what happened, other than that they weren't ready to play.  The first four drives (2 O, 2 D) were as bad as I've seen in years and that was all it took to fall behind 14-0.  From there, the defense turned it on, but it took the offense until halftime to reorganize.  Outside of possibly the KSU game, they don't have any more games where they could feasibly get away with doing that again.

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Kansas Jayhawks
Coach: Mark Mangino (41-37 in six seasons)
In 2008: 4-1, 1-0 in Big 12 | Ranked #16
In 2007: 12-1, 7-1 in Big 12 (tied for first in North Division)
Returning starters: Offense—6. Defense—9. Special teams—0
Key losses: Offense— T Anthony Collins, TE Derek Fine, WR Marcus Henry, RB Brandon McAnderson, T Cesar Rodriguez. Defense — T James McClinton, CB Aqib Talib. Special teams — P Kyle Tucker, K Scott Webb.

It is now time to get over the Texas loss and look forward to our next test in Kansas. Is this tough schedule ever going to end? The Buffs might get a breather next week at home against Kansas State but then CU travels to Missouri to face the Tigers who trounced Nebraska last week even though the Nebraska players supposedly threw balls at Missouri players in pregame warmups...according to QB Chase Daniel. I wouldn't put it past Nebraska to do this but at the same time, you think someone other than Chase Daniel would be talking about this by now? My guess is Nebraska probably pee'd on Missouri too.

Below is how Kansas and Colorado match-up from a statistical point of view. Kansas doesn't have as daunting of a number advantage as Texas had last week but now we have to factor in the Buffs on the road truly for the first time this year as well as the things QB Todd Reesing can do that doesn't show up on the stat sheet. How bad do Buffs' fans wish they had a QB like Todd Reesing!

Click after the jump to see a breakdown of some key players and stats for the Jayhawks. For more stats, go to the ncaa.com site. It is a lot better than ESPN or CNNSI for detailed analysis of players for both teams. No I am not working for the man...it is just better.

National		Category	National
Rank	Actual		Rank	Actual
92	120.6	Rushing Offense	96	118.6
72	205	Passing Offense	6	347
89	325.6	Total Offense	14	465.6
77	24.2	Scoring Offense	25	35.2
89	171.4	Rushing Defense	17	95.2
44	114.1	Pass Efficiency Defense	26	104.75
61	354.2	Total Defense	39	322.8
75	26.4	Scoring Defense	38	18.8
65	34.36	Net Punting	91	32.65
48	10.79	Punt Returns	18	16.17
53	22.32	Kickoff Returns	119	13.23
59	0	Turnover Margin	T-52	0.2
36	182.8	Pass Defense	84	227.6
61	124.77	Passing Efficiency	11	160.66
46	2	Sacks	T-36	2.2
T-60	5.6	Tackles For Loss	29	6.6
T-91	2.2	Sacks Allowed	54	1.6

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If you look on our old site, you will see that Buffs fans chose quarterback Cody Hawkins as the player who will most dictate the success of the Colorado Buffaloes this year. Cody has been receiving high remarks from training camp this year, coming in stronger and having a year of experience under his belt. In the first scrimmage this year, Cody put up great numbers going 17-26 for 268 yards and 5 total touchdowns (3 passing, 2 rushing) and in the second scrimmage, he was strong again completing 17 passes out of 25 for 225 yards and 2 touchdowns with 1 interception. Entering his second year, there will be an expected improvement for Hawkins that will be needed to take the Buffs from a 6 win team in 2007 to a 7 - 8 win team with a very difficult schedule in 2008. What kind of improvement you ask, well luckily for us, the Big 12 has been deemed the best quarterback conference in college football this year so we can take a look at some of the best the Big 12 has to offer and see where Cody needs to improve. There are 7 quarterbacks in the Big 12 who we looked at that had played at least two years - Chase Daniels, Josh Freeman, Colt McCoy, Todd Reesing, Graham Harrell, Stephen McGee and Zach Robinson. Although some of these quarterbacks had limited action in their freshman/1^st year, they all had extensive playing time in their 2^nd year. Other than McGee, these quarterbacks are seen as some of the top players in the Big 12, if not the country. You can view the stats of all the quarterbacks mentioned above here. Below are the average statistics of these quarterbacks and where Cody needs to go in his sophomore year compared to the other QB's in the Big 12. Like I said before, this is a strong comparison sample.

By all accounts, Cody had a great year when you compare his freshman year with the other quarterbacks' freshman year in the Big 12. Most of the top quarterbacks listed didn't get extensive work, though, in their first year of eligibility so Cody has a leg up there. But looking at the chart and comparing Cody's freshman year to the 7 Big 12 quarterbacks 2nd year, the word consistency jumps off the page at me. Cody will have to become a more mature and consistent passer. The interception:touchdown ratio needs to get down to the 1:2.5 to 1:3 range. The Buffs had too many turnovers last year coming up -4 in the all important plus/minus stat. His completion percentage is also well below the average by about 7%. It's definitely not all negative for Cody either. His touchdown passes are very comparable as well as his passing yardage.

As the Buffs begin to open up the offense, I believe you will see Cody's numbers begin to flourish. Teams were able to game plan against a rather vanilla offense last year where the Buffs couldn't match the talent levels of most of the teams they played. The Buffs now have a wrinkle in their offense as Coach Hawkins begins to implement his Boise State style of play, throwing in a no-huddle and almost exclusively going out of the shotgun which is more of the offense Cody played in high school. Second and probably the most important reason that Cody will improve his statistics to join the upper echelon quarterbacks in the league is the talent he is now surrounded with. The Buffs have great WR's in Josh Smith and Scotty McKnight whom both provide something different in the Buffs' attack. If Patrick Williams turns to corner this year, you have three solid WR's with experience plus an experienced tight end in Riar Geer.

Cody also has a more versatile backfield. Last year, Hugh Charles could dazzle but he never was the dependable workhorse that the Buffs needed, often drawing criticism from the coaches. Demetrius Sumler and Darrell Scott will be instant improvements over last year while Rodney Stewart will be the surprise of the bunch. I can't wait for those outside of Boulder to see this kid run. For you Kansas State fans, he is about 5'7" and wears #43 if that rings a bell and he is exactly that type of player. Right now they are saying Stewart is ahead of both Polk and Scott.

The talent the Buffs have right now is definitely exciting. If Cody Hawkins can improve his numbers to be in line with the quarterbacks that came before him, we could be looking at a special year in Boulder.