Recapping Colorado Buffaloes Football and Pac-12 Stories, News, and Links
Paul Richardson emerging as big catch for CU Buffs - Buffzone
Where is Paul Richardson? It's a question Cal's defense will have to know the answer to on Saturday when Colorado hosts the Bears in CU's home opener (1:30 p.m. Fox Sports Pacific). But where was the Buffs' dynamic receiver on the preseason All-Pac-12 lists?
Maybe the best-kept secret in Boulder is finally out after Richardson caught two touchdowns in CU's 34-17 loss to Hawaii to begin his sophomore season. In only 13 college games, the 6-foot-1 receiver from Gardena, Calif., who originally committed to UCLA before becoming a Buff, has eight touchdown catches.
"He's one of those guys where very rarely will he make the same mistake twice. As a coach, you love players like that because that's how you make improvement and improve quickly," Embree said.
"So I think Paul Richardson has an opportunity to be a guy that is mentioned with some of the best that have played here."
Pac-12 predictions: Week 2 - Pac-12 Blog - ESPN
The Pac-12 went 8-4 last week. I went 9-3. This week I'm going to try harder.
Colorado 24, California 21: This week's upset special! The Bears look better on paper, and they whipped the Buffs 52-7 in Berkeley last year. But think about it: This is EXACTLY the type of game in which Cal throws up on itself.
HAHAHAHHA! God I hope this is true. Everything anecdotal I've read about Cal says this is the case. This is the type of game where Cal throws up on itself... BWAHAHAHAHA...I can't...I can't breathe... oh, so funny.
What to watch in the Pac-12: Week 2 - Pac-12 Blog - ESPN
Ten issues to consider heading into the second week of games.
4. Can Colorado block Cal? You might have noticed that I picked Colorado to upset California. If you want to know why that pick may end up making me look bad, it's the matchup of the Buffaloes offensive line against the Bears strong front seven. Hawaii pushed the Buffs around, recording seven sacks and held them to 17 yards rushing. Cal has a more talented front seven than Hawaii, so that's a huge issue worth watching during the early going: Are the Buffs able to protect Tyler Hansen and create some gaps for Rodney Stewart. Playing at home will help, but the Colorado O-line is where an upset will start. Or end.
There are a Metric Boatload of links after the jump, most relating to Pac-12 Expansion/Big-XII Implosion. Oh, what's that? You had work to do today? Just make the jump...
WHEN THE BAND BROKE UP: THE ORAL HISTORY OF THE BIG 12 - Every Day Should Be Saturday - Just. Plain. Amazing.
College Football Rankings: BlogPoll Rewards LSU With No. 1 Spot, Fawns Over Baylor - SBNation.com
LSU knocks Alabama out of the Week 2 BlogPoll's No. 1 spot with its big win over Oregon, which drops 11 spots to No. 14. Baylor is the week's biggest mover though, climbing 53(!) spots to make its debut in the rankings. The Ralphie Report had the second lowest swing this week, meaning (in the BlogPoll's words): "A low number means that you're damn sure you're right no matter what reality says."
[From Jon] Yep, sounds about right to me...
Buffs remember Berkeley beat down - Pac-12 Blog - ESPN - Hopefully, after this weekend, we won't have to remember last year in Berkeley anymore.
Pac 12 Sightlines: Week 2 - UW Dawg Pound
California at Colorado Both teams performed about as expected in week 1. Clearly, Cal is much further ahead than Colorado and I expect the result from this game to reflect that. The fact that the game is in Colorado is an interesting twist, but probably not a huge factor. While I am intrigued by Zach Maynard, my sightline will be the front seven of the Cal Bears. They came into this season as a projected strength and this will be their first test against an O-Line with some legit Pac 12 talent on it, including celebrated sophomore David Bakhtiari. Cal is an intriguing underdog in the Pac 12. If they rise it will be driven by their D. We should get a sense of how stiff a test Cal is going to be after this one.
Utah, USC opens the Pac-12 era - Pac-12 Blog - ESPN
Utah fans will file into their pie slice of the Coliseum on Saturday and they will enjoy the music. At first. "Boy," one will say. "USC has great fight songs. 'Fight on!' is inspiring." "I prefer 'Tribute to Troy'; it's cool how they play it after every defensive stop, even though I don't want our beloved Utes to be stopped," another will reply. Then the third quarter will arrive. Upon the, oh, 132nd playing of each song, feelings figure to be a wee bit different for those adorned in red. "I hate the USC band," the first will say. "Me too," the other will respond. And Utah will officially become a member of the Pac-12. If that's all that's required to become an official member of the Pac-12, then I've been one since the band made the away trip to USC in 2000.
Concerts force USC Trojans to play on damaged field - ESPN Los Angeles
A concert at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum will force USC to play this season on an uneven playing field which will be painted green on a weekly basis to hide numerous areas of dirt and dead spots. L.A. Rising, a music festival featuring Rage Against the Machine, Muse and Rise Against, was held at the Coliseum on July 30, five weeks before USC's Sept. 3 season opener against Minnesota. The short window between events did not give the Coliseum enough time to replace the field, a process which normally takes six weeks. USC is now stuck with the field in its current condition until the end of the season. "We did not find the condition of the turf to be acceptable," Raspe said. "After the concert that was held on July 30, the turf had substantial damage. There were multiple dead areas where there were fires on the field
Wisdom of Crowds: Oregon to Face Utah in the Pac-12 Championship Game - California Golden Blogs
Bad news, Buffs: the results from our 1000+ projections (many thanks to all of you who participated) indicate that Colorado may face a rough introduction to the Pac-12. Week 12 observations: I'll call it now: Colorado's four-year losing streak on the road will come to an end when they visit UCLA.
KNOW YOUR ENEMY: Colorado Offense Preview - California Golden Blogs - Enemy? Uncool. Good outsiders look at the CU offense, mostly because they admit it's hard to make judgments off of one game.
Here Follows TONS of Conference Re-Realignment Links. You have been warned.
Texas A&M Aggies accepted into SEC, but legal threat delays move - ESPN
The member presidents of the Southeastern Conference unanimously voted to accept Texas A&M Tuesday night as the league's 13th member, but the Aggies' official acceptance has been delayed by the potential threat of legal action. The SEC's presidents want assurances that no individual Big 12 school will sue for contractual interference over Texas A&M's departure. Baylor has not given that assurance to this point, according to sources. "We were notified yesterday afternoon that at least one Big 12 institution had withdrawn its previous consent and was considering legal action," University of Florida president and SEC chairman Dr. Bernie Machen said in a statement released Wednesday. "The SEC has stated that to consider an institution for membership, there must be no contractual hindrances to its departure. "
The Calm Before The Storm - Building The Dam - Building the Dam with a fantastic breakdown of the realignment scenarios.
SEC Realignment: Analysis Of Baylor's Legal Position Vs. The SEC - A Sea Of Blue
Everyone who reads A Sea of Blue on a regular basis knows I'm not a lawyer, and I don't play one on this blog. With that said, you don't have to be a lawyer to read and understand the law in its basic form, even though the procedural and precedential twists and turns can always trip you up.
The latest according to TexAgs.com's Billy Liucci is that Baylor is not backing down on its threat to sue the SEC for tortious interference if Texas A&M leaves the Big 12. Given that SEC presidents will not budge on their requirement of legal waivers from all Big 12 schools and the conference, it means that TAMU's move to the SEC is on hold. I think that's a great development. I couldn't be happier with that news. I understood it when Colorado left the Big 12, because its cash-strapped program needed the Pac-12's impending windfall badly. I understood it when Nebraska left the Big 12, because it had been the Big Eight kingpin and never got along with Texas in their 15 years together in the conference. I don't fully understand why Texas A&M and Oklahoma are in such a hurry to get out of the Big 12 as well.
RINGO: Don't hold your breath on Pac-16 - Buffzone
The general rule of thumb in college athletics is any idea that will increase revenue is a good idea regardless of what other sacrifices might have to be made. Most folks seem convinced the presidents and chancellors of the Pac-12 Conference will stay true to that way of thinking when it comes to the possibility of further expanding the league to 16 teams and adding Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State. Count me as one who believes they will come to their senses and opt not to make this move. Numbers game 155 The number of freshmen and redshirt freshmen who played for the first time in their collegiate careers for Pac-12 teams in Week 1. Washington State led the league with 19 true and redshirt freshman playing in its win over Eastern Washington. Stanford and Oregon State each had 16.
Tortious Interference and You: Roadblocks to Texas A&M Joining the SEC - Burnt Orange Nation
First things first: the press release from the SEC Presidents today does not mean that Texas A&M will never join the SEC. The Aggies could in fact still bolt in the next couple of weeks. What it does do, however, is (a) smack down the eagerness of the Ags a bit (and refutes the ridiculous notion that A&M had any sort of "standing offer" to join the SEC), giving us a lot of material with which to make fun of them (as if we needed more), and (b) force all parties involved to go through all of the motions to make the move happen. Essentially, the SEC is refusing to move on the Aggies' timeline, which may or may not make a difference in the long run, but certainly decreases the chances of A&M leaving the Big 12.
Texas A&M-to-SEC Roadblock Baylor Looking To Big East, According To Report - SBNation.com
Few predicted conference realignment would reach a point at which the Baylor Bears would look like the overlord. From delaying Texas A&M's escape to the SEC -- whether you like the move or not*, that's an association both parties have agreed on -- to planting a story that Baylor isn't alone in trying to hold either A&M or Oklahoma hostage, the Bears are trying every trick in the book to keep the Big 12 together. * And plenty of SEC fans really don't like it.
Bowl system will be "chaos" if Big 12 implodes - CBSSports.com
If the Big 12 implodes next season by Texas A&M leaving for the SEC and more Big 12 teams leaving for other leagues, it would open up a BCSbowl spot for an at-large team but also would have an even greater impact on the bowl system. "If the Big 12 isn't around next year, I can sum up the bowl system in one word: chaos," a college football industry source told CBSSports.com.
Texas and the Pac-12: It’s not really about The Longhorn Network | College Hotline - Jon Wilner doesn't think that Texas is going to end up in the Pac-12.
Schroeder, Thompson Receive Athlete of the Week Honors - CUBuffs.com
Volleyball's Kerra Schroeder (junior) and cross country's Christian Thompson (senior) received the honor of being named CU's Athlete of the Week for the week of Aug. 29- Sep. 4. Schroeder, originally from San Diego, Calif. (Torrey Pines), recorded her third double-double of the season with 20 kills and 11 digs against Albany on Sunday in the final match of the Omni Hotels Colorado Volleyball Classic. Leading CU to a four-set victory, Schroeder hit .308 with just four hitting errors on 52 attempts. She was CU's high point-scorer with 20.0 total points for the match. CU finished the weekend on top, 1-0. Thompson, originally from Candor, N.Y. (Candor), was CU's top runner at the time trial this past Saturday. Finishing second overall, Thompson finished the 8k course in 26 minutes, 8 seconds. Thompson's teammate, freshman Ammar Moussa, finished first in the time trial.
Way to Go Buffs!