Yes, that whole running the football thing - Last week I said CU would have to run the football against Hawaii, if only to prove they they can properly take game film study and apply it to game week prep. Good news; they properly prepared for Hawaii! Despite falling behind early, the Buffs continued to pound the ball; ending up with 52(!) rushes for 252(!) yds. They actually got a little lucky by only falling behind 10-0 at the half; it could've (should've) been much worse. Had the defense not stepped up (like men!) in the first quarter when the offense couldn't hold onto the ball, the Buffs easily could've been down by 3 or 4 scores. Imagine how different the game would've been if Jimmy Smith hadn't run his ass off from the other side of the field to make the TD saving tackle on the second play of the game, allowing for the first of 2 goal-line stands; if CU goes down 7 right away, it could've gotten ugly. Thankfully, that was not the case, and the CU offense was able to stick to the gameplan and smack Hawaii around with the O-line. Great job by all involved as Speedy and B-Lock became the first RB duo since Bobby Purify and Chris Brown to each go over 100yds rushing.
(B-Lock doing whatever it takes to run the football. From: The BDC)
Passing game still not there - The success on the ground almost makes up for the struggles through the air. While Tyler ended up with 200 yds passing and 2 TD's, 106 yds and both touchdowns came on 2 "lucky plays;" the 72yd busted Toney Clemmons catch (great job sticking with the play, though) and the 23 yd "volleyball" TD thrown to Scotty (his 2nd one of those btw). Of course you'd rather be lucky than good, but the passing game just isn't what I expected. Tyler's new-found inhibition against scrambling is actually hurting CU. When Tyler is not only a threat to run but actually running the defense opens up that little bit. Just look at that pass to Clemmons. When Tyler is "out-and-about," the defense can let a WR or two sneak behind them. A similar thing happened in the first half; Tyler just overthrew Kyle Cefalo. If Tyler is going to succeed as the starting QB he has to get out of the pocket and become a dual-threat.
(We need to get Toney Clemmons the ball more. From: The BDC)
Momentum into the bye week - CU now has 2 whole weeks to think about how awesome they are. With the bye next week before Georgia, the team has the unique opportunity of sitting at home and physically watching their opponent play live (and in color!). Georgia has stubbed its toe a few times already the year, and that combined with the second half output against Hawaii should give the Buffs some much needed confidence headed into the matchup. Imagine that, after all of that doom-and-gloom CU is not only guaranteed to not go into conference play with a losing record, the Buffs could (I said could) go in at 3-1. Think happy thoughts Buff nation.
That crowd is why Bohn is a great AD - The crowd of over 47,000 shocked the hell out of me. Yes, it was the home opener, but I was sure many people would bypass that game for the Georgia one. The weather was even lousy, yet the people still turned out for a game against a middle-of-the-road WAC school. It was a lively group, and they didn't even turn sour when things looked bad early. Kudos once again to the AD's office for getting butts in the seats.
(Surprisingly good crowd. From: The BDC)
Emotion: it's a good thing - You could tell the players were fired up starting the second half. Those first two drives were things of football beauty; 14 plays/80yds and 10 plays/60yds. Throw in a safety and a two-point conversion, and Hawaii was knocked back on its feet with 17 quick points out of the gate. By all accounts, Kiesau really tore into the offense at halftime, and the offense responded by coming out intense and ready to go. CU finally looked like a football team on a gameday. In a game built around intensity I've never been too sure about Hawk's "even-keel" philosophy, and I think CU has suffered as a result. But Saturday they were fired up, and it showed.
Hawk's nose - Speaking of being fired-up; Hawk got a little too fired up and head-butted a player who already had his helmet on (or got punched in the face if you believe baseless internet rumors). LB B.J. Beatty said "He was ready to go today, I think he wanted to play." (-link) Good to see some fire from Hawk, I guess he does want to keep his job. The vultures were circling on Saturday, and Hawk gave em an intense middle finger. Way to go, I guess...
(I know it's a bad picture, but it's the best I got.)
Bears and Dolphins 2-0 - Shockingly, my two favorite NFL teams have decided to go 2-0. The Fins have gotten their two wins by showing off their great defensive unit. The Bears have gotten to 2-0 by getting lucky against the Lions and playing a terrible Cowboys team. Not much analysis to go around here; all I'm going to say is Lovie Smith sucks and still needs to be fired. Sparano: you're still doing good work, keep it up!
Brett Favre and Vince Young suck terribly - A special "I hope you get ass cancer" message goes out to Brett Favre. For the 4th year in a row, I have somehow ended up with Favre on at least one of my fantasy teams (not for lack of effort trying to keep him away, either). While he was decent last year, severely reducing his turnover numbers, he has now reverted to what I call "one-eyed gunslinger" Brett. You see, Brett just can't see that 4th defender covering his intended receiving target, what with the cataracts and all. Good thing you came back this year Brett. At least with Tavaris Jackson you know that shit will fly. And you football Jesus (Vince Young): WTF, dude? All I needed was 4 weeks out of you, and I could've plugged Roethlisburger in. Now I have to scramble to find another option. FUCK YOU AND YOUR DAMN TURNOVER ISSUES!
(Fantasy Football Bitch Session now concluded)
Sox stagger drunkenly toward the finish line - Fuck me they've been terrible. Last week I thought they had a decent shot at 90 wins, now I'm wondering if they'll fuck up enough to hit break-even. Someone needs to take this team out back and put it out of its misery. 0-6 since that last post (at home, mind you). Damn, that's awful. I know they've been "sad-faced" by the end of the division chase, but they can at least try for the paying fans. At least they made it to football season before completely shitting the bed.
(Even Ozzie knows that's bad baseball. From: The trib)
Happy Monday!
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