Ultimate Buffalo Tournament: Elite Eight

Well, thank goodness that huge distraction is finally gone. After watching the three hour ref highlight reel that was the National Championship, the public’s focus can turn fully to the real tournament: the Ultimate Buffalo Tournament. Like the Eye of Sauron, I expect to be burned by the hot takes shifting over to our site. There were some controversial upsets last round, aided by a recency bias, and now that we’re down to eight Buffs, it’s going to get harder and harder.

#1 Whizzer White vs. #3 Rashaan Salaam

And, as we should have expected given CU’s tradition, we are down to two running backs in the football region. Arguably the two most accomplished award winners in the school’s history. Both were the best running backs in the country, for multiple years in Whizzer’s case. Whizzer gained 1,121 in 8 games, while Salaam gained over 2,000 in 12. White was also CU’s first ever All-American. Salaam was the school’s first and only Heisman winner.

#1 Chauncey Billups vs. #3 Josh Scott

This was the regional final I expected all along. Chauncey Billups, the most dominant player in program history, has been a shoe-in throughout the bracket, as his closest competition was a 94%-to-6% romping of poor Spencer Dinwiddie. He may finally see some competition in the form of recently-graduated Josh Scott. The ambidextrous four-year starter barely got past Cliff Meely and Andre Roberson these past two rounds, but he can still pull off the upset. As Jack noted in the intro, the recency bias is strong with you voters, and while you’re all very aware of Billups’ dominance, maybe Scott can garner enough votes to make this matchup interesting.

#2 Bill McCartney vs. #8 Fred Folsom

I should have expected this. The Coaches bracket has boiled down to arguably the two best coaches in the football program’s history. Skiing and cross-country be damned, pigskin is where CU’s bread is buttered. In one corner, you have Fred Folsom, the first great coach at CU, and also the first coach. Conference titles in three decades, a stellar win percentage, and a laying of the foundation for everyone to build off of. Also, the stadium. In the other corner, you have Coach Mac himself, Bill McCartney. Hired in 1983, he entered CU with the expectation to turn the program around. And he kept his promise. He presided the best single decade in Buff football history, capped with a national championship in 1990. An unbelievable motivator of young men.

#3 Jenny Simpson vs. #9 Emma Coburn

I’m a little surprised with how this region turned out — I thought Cliff Branch, Lisa Van Goor and Hale Irwin would do better — but I shouldn’t be in hindsight. Jenny Simpson and Emma Coburn are arguably the most visible former Buffs in the sporting world. In the 2016 Olympics, both of whom became the first ever American women to medal in their respective competitions. Simpson and Coburn have both blown out all their Buff Bracket competition, so this is an intriguing matchup to keep an eye on as we decide the Final Four.