A good set of Buff Bites today, all very much worth the read. Mike Bohn makes some interesting comments (that's me being kind). Hey, even the Ralphie Report got some mentions in the New York Times and Sports Illustrated. Plus, the Buffs break four dubious records against Toledo. Even Toledo head coach Tim Beckman admits that he was a "little surprised" at the talent gap between his team and the Buffs this past Friday night. Read on!
Colorado AD vows support of Hawkins : All Things Colorado Sports Colorado
"I know our fans are frustrated. I'm hurting too. "The team is hurting. All our coaches are hurting. It's a matter of us continuing to work hard. We're all disappointed and we're all frustrated. The good news is, we're coming home (for a Sept. 19 game against Wyoming) and Folsom Field has been good to us, the environment is always good."
Folsom was really good to the Buffs last Sunday...really good, nothing like Colorado State fans on the field. The environment will probably not be that great either. You should expect some pretty pissed off season ticket holders, a half filled student section and a bunch of crazy Wyoming fans who are giddy over their new coach, Dave Christensen, who stuck with Texas for a half Saturday.
see the rest of the links after the jump...
Kiszla: Where the Buffs roam is not a happy place - The Denver Post
Since CU announced last autumn that Hawkins' contract had been extended through the 2012 season, the Buffaloes have produced a 2-7 record. Worse, they have surrendered an average of almost 33 points per game. So, at this point, there's literally no defense for Bohn's business decision.
Kiszla: Onus is on Bohn - The Denver Post
Here is a quote from Mike Bohn that should make you all feel really good:
"How many times did Texas and Oklahoma take to get the right coach? About four. But we're not about to give up on Dan Hawkins," Bohn said. This was the worst loss since a 70-3 drubbing by Texas led Bohn to fire Gary Barnett in 2005. "I know there's anger. How are we going to respond? Are we going to start knee-jerking?" Bohn said. "If we decided it was time to go the Johnny Next Coach route, what kind of message would that send?"
What kind of message are we sending right now?
Barking Carnival — Blog — CU/Toledo Thoughts
Good statement here by the Texas blog, Barking Carnival:
It’s not all Cody. He must be sitting there thinking "why do the Toledo receivers look like TO and Ochocinco and mine look like…well, like McKnight and Espinoza?" I hear you, Cody. Take it up with dad.
Omaha.com - The Omaha World-Herald: - Halftime thoughts: Blaine who?
I usually despise the Omaha World-Herald but this one hits it on the head:
Man, Colorado was really, really bad. That team lacks speed and is poorly coached. I mean, their strength should have been running Scott behind that big offensive line against a Toledo team that can't stop the run. But what did Cody Hawkins have, 55 pass attempts? Why? Even if you're down 21, you still have three quarters left to come back on the ground and you're keeping their offensive off the field! Dan Hawkins looked like fired coach walking all night. No fire, no nothing. That will be interesting these season. Cash-strapped CU can't afford to fire him, but they can't afford to keep him, either.
It figures to only get worse for Buffaloes - Andy Staples - SI.com
The Ralphie Report gets a mention on Sports Illustrated.com.
About 30 minutes later, Colorado athletics director Mike Bohn stood on the field. Those damning numbers, 54 and 38, still showed on the scoreboard. "We're frustrated," Bohn said. "Dan's frustrated. And our fans are frustrated as well." That they are. At halftime, when Toledo led 23-3, the proprietors of the Ralphie Report blog opened a "2nd Half Suicide Hotline Thread" to allow fans to vent their frustration.
We certainly did vent. Look for a top 20 comments post from that game thread this week sometime so we can get some comedic thoughts going in what has been a rough first week of football for Buff fans. Yes, it has only been a week, feels like months.
Holy Toledo, Colorado Looks Awful - The Quad Blog - NYTimes.com
Hey The Ralphie Report gets another mention for our second half game thread, this time in the New York Times:
And while Toledo’s fans partied in the Glass Bowl last night, Colorado’s fans are beyond restless. The message boards had everything from threads offering a suicide hotline to one whose title was Bohn’s e-mail address. (The few Colorado officials and administrators I saw here looked like they swallowed buffalo chips when I saw them at halftime. And it only got worse from there.)
Nice work Woods.
The real embarrassing part of the article came when Toledo head coach Tim Beckman admitted that he was "surprised" at the talent gap between his team and the Buffs:
Toledo Coach Tim Beckman is a friend of Hawkins, but even was taken aback by the Buffs lack of athleticism. "A little bit," he said when asked if he was surprised by Toledo’s athletic advantage. "A little bit, to be honest with you."
Bohn not ready to make coaching change - Boulder Daily Camera
Athletic director Mike Bohn stands behind Dan Hawkins, throwing out a lot of quotes that don't really give you the warm feeling that things are changing for the better:
"We maybe have been guilty of building a façade that maybe didn't reveal the hole that we were in and the severity of the situation we were in associated with the program," Bohn said.
I wish you would explain.
Woelk: CU free-fall inexplicable, inexcusable - Boulder Daily Camera
All you need to know from Neill Woelk's article:
I`m still not betting on a coaching change.
CU-Toledo Notes - CUBuffs.com
Talk about breaking four of the worst records you can possibly break in a game. CU has been playing football for a long, long time and in one game, they broke records you never, ever hope to get to because they all signify that you are behind by a lot of points:
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS A number of individual records were broken or tied tonight:
Most Receptions, Game-11, Scotty McKnight
Most Passing Attempts, Game-64, Cody Hawkins
Most Kickoff Returns, Game-8, Darrell Scott
Most Kickoff Return Yards, Game-204, Darrell Scott
Cowboys vow to compete against CU - Boulder Daily Camera
"They know we have another game next Saturday, a big game down at Colorado," Christensen said. "They`re looking forward to it. They want a chance to compete again and there won`t be a letdown. These guys come ready to play."