Recapping Colorado Buffaloes Football and Pac-12 News, Links, and Stories
CU Buffs appreciate Embree's straightforward nature - Buffzone
After Monday's practice, Embree said coaches also made mistakes during the pivotal final 5 minutes against Washington State and share equally in the loss. He said both coordinators, Eric Bieniemy and Greg Brown, would make some different calls in the decisive stretch if they had it to do over.
Players also say they haven't been bothered by Embree's comments about an overall lack of talent on the roster or preseason comments that he expected to be an underdog in every game this season. In fact, some appreciate Embree's unequivocal nature.
"He's just keeping it real," defensive back Terrel Smith said. "There is no sugarcoating nothing. That's what I like about him. He gets straight to the point and tells us how it is. That's what we need. We don't need no one telling us, 'Oh, it's OK to lose.' ... He's putting his foot down and saying he's going to be honest with us. That's what we appreciate the most."
The Alphabetical, Week 5: The Annual And Variable Invincibility Of Alabama - SBNation.com
This week's Alphabetical covers the types of clocks installed in QB's heads, wonders if Dan Beebe cursed Texas A&M, and says that Alabama would like you to quit ASAP.
A is for Archetype
Brooks: Buffs Run Better, Now Eye Run At Cardinal - CUBuffs.com
CU Coach Jon Embree has referred to Luck as "the franchise," and that's how Luck will be regarded in next spring's NFL Draft. He's eighth in Pac-12 passing (253.2 yards a game), but first in passing efficiency with a 178.0 rating after throwing 11 touchdown passes against one interception.
"If you haven't seen this guy . . . I mean I can only imagine what John Elway was in college and this guy is no different," CU offensive line coach Steve Marshall said. "I've seen him firsthand the last two years (when Marshall coached at Cal), and you marvel at the way he plays the game. We certainly have to keep our defense on the sideline as much as we can. We have to create opportunities and we have to score. That's going to be a big issue."
Sick of people comparing Andrew Luck to John Elway? Don't worry, now there's another NFL quarterback they're comparing him to...
Where's the defense? - Pac-12 Blog - ESPN
Can we talk about defense? No, not quarterbacks. They're great. The best in the nation. No, not running backs. They're great, too. Or tight ends or receivers or NFL-quality offensive linemen. The Pac-12 is fine on offense. Yes, defense. Let's take a look at the numbers. Yeesh.
Hey, did you say something about quarterbacks?
Pac-12 Receiving Stats: Levine Toilolo Is The Nuclear Option - Pacific Takes
Robert Woods is the best wide receiver in the Pac-12, Levine Toilolo is the deadliest, and Keenan Allen, Marvin Jones, Markus Wheaton and Paul Richardson all deserve honorable mention.
Stanford football: Luck calls his own plays in Manning-esque fashion | College Hotline
Stanford unveiled several dazzling pages of its playbook in a 45-19 victory over UCLA, using quarterback Andrew Luck as a receiver and tailback Tyler Gaffney in the Wildcat formation. But the most impressive aspect of the Cardinal’s 12th consecutive victory was Luck doing his best Peyton Manning impersonation.
For parts of five possessions Saturday, Luck called his own plays out of the no-huddle offense – a rare role for a college quarterback. Time and again, he’d scan the UCLA defensive formation, then walk up and down the line of scrimmage barking instructions the way Manning has done it for years for the Indianapolis Colts.
Two of the no-huddle drives orchestrated by Luck resulted in touchdowns.
Conference Realignment Benefiting Pac-12 - Pacific Takes
The realignment of other conferences like the Big 12 and ACC is serving to keep the Pac-12 in a stable yet strong position. The Pac-12 is in position to reap the rewards of their strong union in the years to come. They have their teams and their TV contract and they should all be alright for the near future. Everyone else seems to be falling in front of their face to try and keep up when they don't really need to keep up.
Weekend rewind: Pac-12 - Pac-12 Blog - ESPN
Thought of the week: Pac-12 defenses need to pick it up. No conference team ranks in the top-25 in total defense -- Stanford and California are 26th and 27th, respectively -- and eight rank 50th or worse. Here's a guess that the teams playing for the Pac-12 title on Dec. 2 will have top-50 defenses.
Quick look at week six games - Pac-12 Blog - ESPN
Colorado (1-4, 0-1) at No. 7 Stanford (4-0, 2-0) 7:30 p.m. Versus: The Buffaloes are coming off a crushing home loss to Washington State, but Stanford is not where a team wants to go to feel better about itself. The Buffs secondary, a worry to begin with, has injury issues. Got a feeling Andrew Luck is looking forward to this game. These teams haven't played since 1993, a 41-37 Stanford win.
CU Buffs get unLucky draw in Stanford - Buffzone
"It's another week for me to play corner and be a well-rounded corner. It's time for me to get over being a novice and be an expert quick," Lockridge said after making his defensive debut against Washington State. "I've just got to give (Luck) a horrible look on my end. Make his job a little bit harder than he thought it would be. "He's a good quarterback, and I expect him to come hard next week."
Colorado Daily – Stanford " CU At the Game - A CU Football blog by Stuart Whitehair
On the learning curve as to knowing what to say publicly – "I’m learning some things the hard way, there’s no doubt. Words I shouldn’t use. The hard thing for me is that I wear my heart on my sleeve, especially when you just come off of competition like that, and you feel like your heart has been ripped out, and you see your players, and some of your guys are just devastated. It’s like when you are a parent, and you see your kid hurting, it bothers you. I’ll get better with it as I go, there might be some pretty boring press conferences in the future."
CU Buffs' Ahles pulling double duty - Buffzone
Ahles suddenly found himself practicing and reviewing film on both offense and defense last week at fullback and linebacker...Embree and his assistants decided Ahles is one of those players they can trust in all three phases of the game. "I think it's a great opportunity," Ahles said Monday as the Buffs began preparing for a trip to Stanford this weekend. "Only a few players get to do it. It's awesome just to have that kind of role."
Go Ironman Buffs!