Recapping Colorado Buffaloes Football and Pac-12 News, Links, and Stories
Brooks: Buffs Living Through Defensive Nightmare - CUBuffs.com
The out-of-control numbers don't sit well with Greg Brown or, for that matter, do much for his sense of well-being. The only way his Colorado defense could be allowing more yards and points in the Pac-12 Conference might be by using 10 players - and there have been times over the past five weeks when Brown swore that was the case. Nightmares can return, but the Buffaloes' defensive nightmare won't end. In five Pac-12 games, CU has allowed an average of 44.8 points and 523.8 yards, losing those five contests by an average score of 45-13.
Brown isn't at a loss for words as much as a loss of players. "I've never seen this many guys injured or gone for whatever reason," he said. "Our big problem has been depletion - big-time. We've got to all get better as players and coaches . . . we've just got to improve. It's tough, but we're going to play the hand we're dealt."
The hand Brown has been dealt is a cruel joke. If injuries have rattled the entire team, the epicenter has been on defense, where both starting safeties have missed time due to injury and leading tackler Doug Rippy, the starting middle linebacker, is out for the season after knee surgery.
T.I.P.S. Colorado vs. USC " CU At the Game - A CU Football blog by Stuart Whitehair
Five teams from the Pac-12 have seen the light of day in the Associated Press Top 25 in the 2011 season. Colorado has had to face all five …. in succession. In a stretch of games in which Colorado has gone without its leading tackler, leading wide receiver, leading running back, and starting quarterback, the results have been, well, awful.
Even the most pessimistic of Buff fans would not have predicted a run in which the Buffs were not only defeated, but mauled. This week, senior quarterback Tyler Hansen is healthy, and will start. Also expected to return to action are running back Rodney Stewart and wide receiver Paul Richardson. Will they make a difference?
All you need to know about the Colorado offense in October: 1) Stewart has missed the last 2 1/2 games, yet is still is the Buffs leading rusher, and by a wide margin. Stewart has over double the number of yards of the No. 2 guy, Tony Jones (473-212); and 2) Richardson is still the Buffs’ leading receiver (474 yards to 301 over the next wide receiver, Toney Clemons), even though Richardson has played in only five of the Buffs’ first nine games.
Will the return of Stewart and Richardson make that much of a difference, with the Buffs 21-point underdogs at home to No. 21 USC? Will the return of the "Blackout" to Boulder" help turn the tide in favor of the black-and-gold? Will the weather play a factor? Will the altitude? Or will the Buffs be behind by three touchdowns in the first quarter … again? Only one way to find out … here are this week’s "T.I.P.S."
The Alphabetical, Week 10: The Home Stretch Beckons - SBNation.com - Emphasis added by article clipper
Since Spencer Hall was on the road all weekend, this week's Alphabetical is both delayed and different in that it appraises teams going into the home stretch, continues to say nice things about Lane Kiffin, and features no fart jokes.
A is for Afterthought. It is truly a bizarre week when most of the attention is paid to a game that will happen the following week, but LSU/Alabama is not going to hype itself, people. Watching Georgia/Florida on CBS had to be like watching the undercards on a less-than-stellar UFC fight, and then discovering that you had signed up for not just a UFC fight, but a hammer match between two apes. Florida got to hold the hammer in round one, and then Georgia was given the hammer in round two. On behalf of all other SEC alums, I apologize for you having to watch that, though if you watched Florida's offense in the second half you deserve everything you got.
"Well hell. Without fart jokes, how will I keep distracted from our train-wreck of a season? Oh, hello beer!"
The Forde-yard dash has switched conferences! Make the jump to see if he wound up in a basketball conference...
Predictions: Pac-12 Week 10 - Pac-12 Blog - ESPN
USC 44, Colorado 24: If Colorado, indeed, gets RB Rodney Stewart and WR Paul Richardson back, the Buffaloes will pose a far stiffer challenge than their 1-8 record suggests. Don't be surprised if USC is a little flat after all the emotions of last weekend against Stanford. Trojans had better not be too flat.
Here's a collection of Week 10 bowl projections, all of which feature two teams from Oklahoma in BCS games. But let's not forget about the other 34 bowls, each of which needs projecting as well.
Concerning those 'other' 34 bowls, refer to the first entry in the alphabetical...afterthought.
The Numerical, Week 9: 12 Quarterbacks Equal One Case Keenum - SBNation.com
4.9: Average gain of the 18 passes targeting USC receiver Robert Woods in the Trojans' 56-48, overtime loss to Stanford. Woods caught just nine passes for 89 yards and a touchdown as the Cardinal did more to limit the spectacular receiver than virtually anybody else has this year. Of course, that opened up Marquise Lee (10 targets, seven catches, 94 yards) to a nice game. 24.6: Value, in equivalent points (as defined here), of the five turnovers committed by Colorado in their 48-14 loss to Arizona State. Three of the turnovers came inside the ASU 40, and when combined with the fact that ASU gained 222 yards (11.7 per play) and scored 21 points on their first four drives ... yeah, this one was over quickly. The Buffs were one-upped, however, by UAB; the Blazers committed five turnovers worth 30.7 equivalent points in their 59-14 loss to Marshall.
The Forde-Yard Dash: Pat joins the Yahoo! party - College Football - Rivals.com
In keeping with the times, The Dash Board of Directors (membership total: one) gave itself permission in mid-October to explore other options in terms of Internet affiliation. The Dash received interest from Yahoo! Sports. After careful consideration, The Dash applied for membership and was accepted by the worldwide leader in sports journalism.
Big 12 Expansion: West Virginia To Sue Big East In Order To Leave Early - SBNation.com
Hey, what's the worst thing in the world? Conference realignment during football season? Yes! Now, what's the next worst thing in the world? Lawsuits, maybe? Good thing nobody's thought to combine them in a really long tiOH NOOO:
THORBURN: Rebuilding of Buffs going to take time - Buffzone
How long is it going to take Jon Embree to rebuild this program? Three years? Five years? As long as it took Bill McCartney (eight years before the good times really started to roll)?
The first-year Colorado head coach was asked during his Tuesday press conference if he had a long-term Rose Bowl plan mapped out. "I don't have any timetables like that. I'm more of a now guy," Embree said. "Where are we now? What do we have to get better at? I'm looking at it from that standpoint.
"If you start looking three, four, five years down the road, there may not even be a Rose Bowl at this rate the way this thing is changing."
CU Buffs' 2007 O-line class didn't panned out as planned - Buffzone
Nine offensive linemen came to the University of Colorado together in the summer of 2007 to shore up woefully thin numbers in the trenches in Boulder. They had big dreams for turning around a program that had gone 2-10 the previous fall with too few linemen remaining after that season to have serious scrimmage periods in spring practices.
One of them was a Parade All-American, one of them was a walk-on from Aspen. One was a giant from Hawaii, one was the younger brother of a former CU standout. They received varying grades and accolades from recruiting services. Together they were considered the future of the program and fans looked ahead with glorious visions for what they might achieve by the time they were juniors and seniors.
None of it panned out. Five seasons later, seven remain in the program -- one has been converted to tight end -- and they are preparing for the final two home games of their careers Friday night against Southern Cal and next week against Arizona.
CU-USC Game To Be Broadcast On ESPN 3D - CUBuffs.com
Friday night’s Colorado versus Southern California football game at 7 p.m. (MDT) will be televised both on ESPN and on ESPN 3D, making it only the second football game ever that ESPN is fully producing for ESPN 3D and ESPNHD, simultaneously utilizing a single crew and a single set of cameras.
What would be better than beating USC? Beating USC in THREE-DEE, man!*
