Recapping Colorado Buffaloes, Pac-12 and College Football News, Links, and Stories
Jon Embree, Tyler Hansen don't regret guaranteeing CU's victory at UCLA - Buffzone
Colorado coach Jon Embree predicted the Buffs would end their 22-game road losing streak this week at UCLA in the euphoria of a victory on senior day last week. Quarterback Tyler Hansen took it a step further and guaranteed it. Neither man and nobody else in the program felt any regret Tuesday in providing the Bruins and coach Rick Neuheisel with bulletin board material.
"It does not change how teams are going to play," Embree said. "Rick Neuheisel wants to beat Jon Embree's behind, in anything we do, and it goes all the way back to noon hoops when he was here as an assistant. So I don't expect it to change. ... There is not a coach in America that doesn't go into a game thinking his team is going to go win.
"So whether it's said in the locker room, whether it's said publicly, to me it doesn't change anything."
Elsewhere, Embree is quoted as saying:
"We need to get that road brick," he said. "That'll be the one I cherish the most being a part of."
Boyle's CU Buffs ready to work in Puerto Rico - Buffzone
The Buffs will try not to get lost in paradise this week. Two years ago, Colorado played well at the Maui Invitational but let second-half leads slip away in losses to Gonzaga and Arizona. CU salvaged a win and some pride with a victory over Chaminade.
There isn't a Division II host team at the Puerto Rico Tip-off. The Buffs (1-0) open the four-day tournament Thursday night against defending NIT champion Wichita State at Coliseo de Puerto Rico (5:30 p.m., ESPNU). Seven of the eight teams in the field posted at least 20 wins last season and Maryland had 19 wins. Entering the tournament, the participating programs are a combined 8-1 this season.
"If our guys aren't ready to play, we could come back 0-3," CU head coach Tad Boyle warned. "There's no Chaminade in this tournament. No disrespect to Chaminade."
Colorado Daily – UCLA " CU At the Game - A CU Football blog by Stuart Whitehair
On If This Team Is Taking On The Character Of The Head Coach – "I do feel like it is starting to do that. I do believe as a position coach and as a player, that your players reflect you and I do see that in our team. They are having fun now. We had a timeout right before the first touchdown and Ethan Adkins told me that when they score, they are all going to get together and do this dance called the ‘Bernie’ from Weekend at Bernie’s. I said, ‘Alright, you better score,’ and they did and they did their thing and they did it in a way that it wasn’t an excessive celebration and got off the field. For them to come and say that to me and some of the things like that, that was how I was like as a player and as a person. I’m out there and I want to let you know what we are going to do and then I want to do it. That is just how I am. I believe in reaching success and obtaining things, you have to say it. If you want to win a championship, then you have to say, ‘I expect us to win a championship,’ and then you have to go and do it. I think every team that has done it and has had that success, that is what they have done. You don’t just sit there and sneak up and get in after the fact. If you believe in something so strongly that you say it, then all of your actions that you do from that point forward have to be to get success in those goals."
If that's the case, then I want more 'Weekend at Bernie's' dances in the Rose Bowl!
Some small-ball articles after the jump, and then some more football after that...
CU Buffs' Texan players get chance to go home - Boulder Daily Camera
The demands of a college basketball season can be tough on players. That's why Colorado women's basketball coach Linda Lappe does what she can to help her players get home from time to time.
"We always try to do that," Lappe said. "This year, our schedule is very neat because every single one of our players gets to play close to home, and when I say close to home, I'm thinking four hours or less. I think that's really important. It's kind of a special year in that way."
Women's basketball: CU Buffs top Texas A&M-Corpus Christi - Buffzone
Road games used to be near impossible for Colorado's women's basketball team to win. Now the Buffs are getting the hang of this travel thing. On Wednesday night, CU defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 71-58 at the American Bank Center. Dating back to last season, it was CU's fourth straight road win, its longest road win streak since a six-game streak in 2003-04.
Colorado Pulls Away Late For Road Win - CUBuffs.com
Chucky Jeffery notched her 12th career double-double and a late spurt allowed Colorado to pull away for a 71-58 road win against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Wednesday night at the American Bank Center.
Jeffery scored 16 of her team-best 19 points in the second half and pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds.
"We went in at the half and said we need to take care of business on the boards, they were getting a lot of offensive rebounds. Coach Lappe told me to rebound, so that's what I did," said Jeffery.
Women’s Golf Signs Three To NLI - CUBuffs.com
University of Colorado women's golf coach Anne Kelly has announced the signing of three student-athletes who will continue their education and play golf for the University of Colorado.
Bill Hempen resigns as CU Buffs soccer coach - Buffzone
Bill Hempen sat in a Boulder eatery late Wednesday afternoon with tears in his eyes trying to explain what led him to resign from his position as University of Colorado womens soccer coach earlier in the day.
Hempen, one of the 15 winningest women's soccer coaches in NCAA Division I history, loves coaching, loves the game and loves his players, which made his sudden decision to leave Colorado after 11 seasons a major surprise to most who follow his program.
It wasn't quite Bill McCartney announcing his retirement on the day his star running back essentially won the Heisman Trophy back in 1994 or Ceal Barry deciding to hang up her whistle and leave the basketball court in 2005, but it's probably in the top three when it comes to the history of surprise exits at CU.
"I talked a lot with my family, with the team and with the administration and after all of those conversations I decided there were a lot of expectations and it was time to move on," Hempen said wiping away a solitary tear. "This was very difficult for me."
The Alphabetical, Week 12: Chip Kelly Will Eat Anything You Leave On The Counter - SBNation.com
In this week's college football Alphabetical, Spencer Hall examines the rally car labrador style of Chip Kelly, the WAC's insistence on using telephones from 1983, and the unfortunate musings of Tim Brando.
F is for Fiscal Responsibility. If the fate of the BCS--and getting two undefeated teams in the BCS Title game--is tied at all to Oklahoma State's ability to finish out the rest of the schedule undefeated, then the BCS can maintain a cautious optimism. The Cowboys stand first in the nation in the magical stat of turnover margin, having acquired 34 balls courteously placed in their custody while losing 16. Believe it or not, not all of these happened in their game with Texas A&M.
This Week In Schadenfreude: Houston Nutt's Open Source Playbook - SBNation.com
This is how Ole Miss's world ends. Dooley needs to support the troops... in his pants! Illinois goes from 6-0 to 6-fire Ron Zook. It was suppose to be for A&M, but instead terrible thing are happening to their fans on television. And we get up to quota on Ty Willingham references.
2011 Heisman Trophy Watch: Starting Over - SBNation.com
After Andrew Luck's struggles against Oregon, we hit the reset button on the Heisman race. A week ago, I railed against the "Andrew Luck Consensus." Now, the only Andrew Luck consensus is that his stock was damaged by Stanford's loss to Oregon. Poor Luck was forced to step into a quickly-collapsing pocket and attempt passes to extremely well-covered receivers; his dinged-up Cardinal were just outmanned by the Ducks' defense. But his stumble (even if it was more his team's than his own) have officially taken the Heisman race from "foregone conclusion" to "wow, I have no idea."
Pac-12 coaches in the poorhouse - Pac-12 Blog - ESPN
A job that pays between $2.8 million and $600,000 is good work, particularly in tough times. So if my pointing out how poorly Pac-12 coaches are paid is going to bother you, stop reading.
Pac-12 coaches are paid poorly.
RINGO: South winner could miss bowl game - Buffzone
When dreaming of expanding his conference to 12 teams and adding a football championship game, Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott likely never envisioned that title game doubling as a bowl game for any of its participants. That might have to be how this season's representative from the South Division views the game if the final two weeks of the regular season unfold just right. It's possible that a team could win the South Division with a 6-6 record this season, play in the championship game, lose that game and not be eligible for a bowl game at 6-7. Whoever does represent the South will certainly be the underdog and the road team, likely against Oregon in Eugene.
Glass is half full: How about that for motivation to pull the upset?
Glass is half empty: How about that as a reward for winning your division?
Brooks: Buffs Prep To Cope With Neuheisel's 'Pistol' - CUBuffs.com
Nevada coach Chris Ault is viewed as the father of the "pistol" offense, which requires a dual-threat quarterback to make it armed and dangerous. Ault had to know he was asking his QBs to play Russian roulette, but then college football Saturdays always have been littered with physical risks. Wanting to beef up UCLA's running game, Coach Rick Neuheisel went to the pistol a year ago and has encountered mixed results.
It apparently caused a rift between Neuheisel and legendary offensive coordinator Norm Chow, who left LA for SLC and the same role at Utah. But the change also produced a moderate boost in the Bruins' ground game: their 186.7 rushing yards a game are up from 175.6 in 2010. But here's the dicey side of Neuheisel's pistol, which has the QB lined up four yards behind center ostensibly to better read the defense and run/pass more effectively: Starter Kevin Prince missed one game after suffering a separated right shoulder and concussion in the opener against Houston, then was out a couple more games after separating his left shoulder on a passing play two weekends later against Texas.
Pac-12 Notes " CU At the Game - A CU Football blog by Stuart Whitehair
UCLA junior quarterback Keith Prince has 22 career starts; junior Richard Brehaut has 11. According the Bruin head coach Rick Neuheisal, it will be Prince who starts against Colorado. "There is no question about that," Neuheisel said. Prince has started the past three games as Brehaut has sat out with a broken leg. Brehaut’s status, however, has been upgraded from "questionable" to "probable", giving rise to speculation that Brehaut may return to the starting lineup … especially after Prince’s poor performance last weekend in a 31-6 loss to Utah. Prince had 163 yards rushing against California. He finished with 10 yards rushing against Utah. After completing 11 of 17 passes for 196 yards against Arizona State, he was 12 for 24 for 146 yards, with two passes intercepted, against Utah.
CU Buffs' Orms still has passion for game - Buffzone
Three seasons have passed and Parker Orms still hasn't made the impact on the Colorado football program he hoped to when he signed with the Buffs in 2009 after a storybook career at Wheat Ridge High School. Orms redshirted during his first season in Boulder and suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the season opener in 2010.
He was feeling great about his comeback entering fall camp back in August and then he suffered a severely strained calf, which forced him to miss most of August practice. He played in the Buffs' firstfour games but left a late-September loss at Ohio State when he aggravated the calf injury. He was also dealing with a tight hamstring and swelling in his surgically repaired knee.
Should a guy with this kind of luck really have changed his jersey number to 13 before the season?
It was difficult for him to deal with mentally because he had never missed a game due to injury in high school. "This offseason I'm definitely going to focus on getting my leg stronger, and hopefully I can be healthy next year and my last year after that," Orms said.
2001 Championship Revisited: Game 12 - Texas - CUBuffs.com
"When we left the hotel today, I told them that we are a team of destiny," Barnett said. "And we’re a team of destiny because we play the right way." Even the head coach makes the wrong call, things go right for these Buffs. The 2001 Big 12 champions.
It won't be long before we're playing in a Pac-12 Championship game...Go Buffs!