Recapping Colorado Buffaloes Athletics, and Pac-12/College Football News, Links, and Stories
Colorado won its first five games primarily with a defensive flair, win No. 6 came with an offensive punch.
Chucky Jeffery had a career-high 26 points to lead Colorado to an 84-66 win over San Francisco Wednesday night at the Coors Events Center. Colorado improves to 6-0, its best start since beginning 7-0 in 1993-94. San Francisco, led by Rheina Ale's 23 points falls to 1-7. Jeffery also had 12 rebounds to notch her second-straight double-double and third of the season.
The College Football Alphabetical: The Endgame, Or How To Love The Bowl Season - SBNation.com
This week's Alphabetical fast-forwards past conference championships and talks about the most important thing of all: how to enjoy the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl and the rest of college football's postseason.
A is for Aphasia. As good an analogy for the BCS voters' current conundrum as the 2011 season winds up to its shambolic finish. The voters can be mocked at this point--that's always fair game, and in Craig James' case more than justified--but if you are not happy with a matchup between Alabama and LSU, the voters have little choice in the current system, and lack the words to make other arguments. They're simply not there, since the season has removed them, and Alabama really does seem to be the only team capable competing with LSU. This happens when you take a disorder and call it a system. The BCS at this point is a customer service rep playing you off badly over the phone. "Alabama vs. LSU as a rematch? No, sir, that is not a bug. That is a feature. You're welcome!"
U is for Utah. Before it slips over the horizon, though, let us salute this fantastic picture from Colorado's improbable win over Utah in Salt Lake from last week. In case you wonder if kickers ever experience anything but agony in the Pac-12, the answer is no. They are all miserable all the time except when they are extra-super-miserable.
Thus the go-go offenses of West Coast football: no one likes to watch sad kickers, and thus the emphasis on actually scoring touchdowns. (See this in contrast to Nick Saban, whose style currently dominates the SEC. A kicker saved his life once, and Saban has tried to pay him back ever since by making it the centerpiece of his offense. You sort of hate the way football is played in the SEC right now, and that is okay. We all do.)
Ringo: Roberson's frustration good sign for CU - Buffzone
Prior to Wednesday night at Moby Arena, I can't recall having seen a member of either basketball team as torn up about a loss in the series as CU sophomore Andre Roberson when he finally emerged from the Buffs' locker room. Roberson did all he could to hold back the tears puddling in the corners of his eyes as he endured questions about Colorado's puzzling one-point loss to the Rams and his struggles within the game.
"Devastated," Roberson said about the 65-64 outcome. "That's all I'm going to say. I feel like I can help my team out a lot more than I did. I didn't so, move on to the next game."
But the look on his face and the frustration in his voice told a different story. He was nowhere near moving on. This one might sit like a rock in his gut for awhile, especially since the Buffs don't play another game for a week.
"Should have killed them," Roberson said. "They were a good team. They're a talented team, but I feel like we we're better. And we should have played better than we did, but can't do nothing about it now."
It struck me that Roberson showed more heart and fire in his reaction to the loss than many members of the CU football team did in most of their 23 straight road losses over the past four years.
Fewer Buffs links just means more Pac-12 Coaching carousel and College Football links...
CU Buffs making San Antonio a football recruiting hotbed? | The Field House
Apparently so. During his final media luncheon of the year, Buffs coach Jon Embree said of the Texas metropolis: "San Antonio is turning out pretty good for us. "And it’s good to get back into Dallas and Houston."
The Numerical, Week 14: Dry Spells, Fabulous Freshmen, And A VanTubbergen - SBNation.com
A look at the numbers that mattered in Week 13 of the college football season, from Tino Sunseri's ridiculous sack rate, to Marqise Lee's explosion, to the Mark Richt Special, to offensive ineptitude in Minnesota, Kentucky and Florida.
6.02: Expected points, on average, derived from field goal attempts of 26, 42 and 48 yards. Utah kicker Coleman Peterson produced zero points in three field goals from those distances. His three misses set the table for a 17-14 upset loss, at home, to a Colorado team that was previously 1-7 in conference play, and Utah finished a game short of the Pac-12 South title. Ouch.
SEC Championship Game, Georgia Vs. LSU: Comparing The Schedules - SB Nation Atlanta
With the league title bout upon us, it's time to blow up the myth of LSU's formidable schedule. They haven't even had to play the No. 1 team in the country yet, for one thing.
Championship Week? Pssh, more like Championship Weak.
Prediction: Pac-12 Week 14 - Pac-12 Blog - ESPN
Went 6-1 last week, missing on Colorado's upset win at Utah -- how the heck did I not see that coming? -- and the season record is 65-24. I won't miss more than one game this week, either.
Friday: Pac-12 championship game
Mike Leach To Washington State: The Long- And Short-Term Implications - SBNation.com
Looking at how Washington State's hiring of Mike Leach impacts both the Wazzu program and West Coast football as a whole.
Leach to WSU: Moos shoots... he scores - Pac-12 Blog - ESPN
At least in terms of name recognition, the Pac-12 is ramping up with its coaches. First, Arizona hired former Michigan and West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez. Now Washington State has perhaps trumped that by hiring former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach, the pirate himself, to replace Paul Wulff, who was fired only Tuesday.
Leach, 50, went 84-43 in 10 seasons at Texas Tech before his controversial firing. One of the high priests of the spread offense -- the "Air Raid" -- he produced eight QBs who led the nation in passing. Five times he guided the Red Raiders to top-25 national rankings, including a final No. 12 ranking in 2008.
And, not unlike Pullman in the Pac-12, Lubbock, Texas, is considered a Big 12 backwater, a place where it's widely viewed as difficult to win consistently. Leach's replacement, Tommy Tuberville, whose team is 5-7 and 2-7 in the conference this season, is finding that out.
Let's say it now: Perfect fit. Well done, athletic director Bill Moos.
UCLA bowl waiver approved - Pac-12 Blog - ESPN
If UCLA wants to go to a bowl game with a losing record, the NCAA ruled Wednesday that it can.
Danny White: Failure to control Vontaze Burfict cost Dennis Erickson his job at ASU
White praised recently fired ASU coach Dennis Erickson for upgrading the program's talent, but wondered if enough emphasis was placed on intangibles like discipline and mental toughness.
Cesmat mentioned that he thought ASU junior linebacker Vontaze Burfict was a microcosm of the Erickson era. (In Friday's game against California, Burfict was benched for a series after committing his second personal foul in the second half. According to sources, the middle linebacker later refused to return to the game.)
Sumlin, who has led the Cougars to a 12-0 record, the Conference USA West Division title and the doorstep of a Bowl Championship Series game, is likely to be on the wish list of any athletic director at an automatic-qualifying conference school with a head coaching vacancy. But Sumlin and UH athletic director Mack Rhoades have already been proactive in talking about the head coach's future at the school. Both said Monday that they've recently had preliminary discussions about a contract renegotiation.
Focus on rebounds paying off for Linda Lappe's CU Buffs - Buffzone
Colorado women's basketball coach Linda Lappe knows her team will miss a lot of shots. Heck, even the best teams miss half the shots they take. That's why Lappe has put a strong emphasis on what happens to the ball after a shot is taken. She wants her team to be the one grabbing the rebounds.
"We do a lot of drills in practice," freshman Lexy Kresl said. "We focus on positioning. We focus on being physical. We focus on absolutely everything. We have so many principles regarding rebounding and I think that's why it helps because we focus on it so much."
CU women ranked No. 24 in final college golf poll of the fall season | The Field House
Golf Week magazine has released its final coaches polls for the fall golf schedule. The Colorado women are ranked No. 24. The CU men didn’t make it in the top 25 but were on the "also receiving votes" list with four votes
Go Buffs!