Monday Grab Bag: Tired of losing

I can't help but agree with Coach Embree when he says he's tired of losing.  It sucks, there's doubt about it, and Buff Nation may be seeing a lot of it for quite awhile to come.  But, I just can't stay in defeat mode until the team gets it shit together (if ever).  I take my cues from Monty Python:

Some things in life are bad,

They can really make you mad.

Other things just make you swear and curse.

When you're chewing on life's gristle,

Don't grumble, give a whistle,

And this'll help things turn out for the best, and...

Now, if only someone could let me know what that bright side is, I'd be in business.

Click below for the bag...

A miraculous failure -  How?  Why?  What does this bunch have to do to get a damn win over anyone but fucking CSU?

Washington State tried its best to give that game to CU.  10 Cougar penalties went for 125 yards, WSU QB Lobbastael gave CU the early gift of a 52-yard INT return (which the Buffs couldn't score off of), and a mind-boggling pooch kick gave CU a 3-point lead going into half time.  In the second half the team stuck to the game plan, and churned out a 10 point lead with 5:11 left.  Playing at home, even with the Cougars out-gaining CU on the afternoon, that lead should've been enough.

When Speedy plunged in with just over five minutes left, it looked like victory was assured.  From: the BDC

But it wasn't to be.  After the Cougars scored with 2:35 left on the clock, to cut the CU lead to three, they kicked-off, rather than try for the onside, giving CU a great chance to kill the clock with the running game.  While that didn't work, with CU passing incomplete on 3-and-6, CU still managed to pin WSU inside their own 10 with 1:50 left and no timeouts.  But then, after a series that saw Lobbastael fumble, recover, and complete a pass to convert on 3rd down, the WSU QB found a streaking Marquess Wilson behind the CU defense for a crushing 63-yard score.  A retaliating CU drive went for naught as Paul Richardson fumbled at the end of a 24-yard reception.

My thoughts exactly.  From: the BDC

Incomprehensibly, with CU seemingly ready to walk away with a hard fought victory, it was the Cougar faithful that ended up celebrating. 


Tired of losing - Coach Embree was typically blunt in assessing the caliber of the team after Saturday.  "When are they going to get tired of finding a way to lose? ... [We've] got to find a way to win with what we have; we don't expect to win."

Embo's tired of this shit.  Me too, dude.  From: the BDC

I fear, as Coach Embree expressed in sentiment if not words, that this team is a group of losers.  I don't mean that in a pejorative way, although some might take it as such, I mean that they just don't know how to win.  Given the opportunity, they'll find a way to lose the game.  There's no way that a team should give up a game like Saturday or the Kansas loss from last season; those should be guaranteed wins.  You would almost have to try and lose to pull defeat from the jaws of victory in those circumstances.

The only explanation I can come up with is that they have just lost so much that they've lost the ability to win.  The legacy of Dan Hawkins in action.


Staring 1-12 in the face - We need to begin preparing ourselves, the members of Buff Nation, for the possibility of a one-win season.  There are four games left in the month of October, and the Buffs should/will be over 10-point underdogs in each.  More to the point, I don't think CU will be close in any of them; regardless of spirit or coaching, this group will not be able to hang with Stanford, Oregon or ASU.  I don't think there's any was that CU leaves the month of October with anything but a 1-8 record.

There are a handful of winnable games left in the season once the calendar flips to November, but, if the Buffs can find a way to lose a game like Saturday, what's keeping the team from blowing those winnable dates left on the schedule as well. Additionally, the team is only going to get more injured, more exhausted as the 13-week marathon continues and the losses pile up; I have to ask, will there be any spirit left if the month of October goes by without a win?

1-12 is an almost unthinkable horror, but after choking away winnable games over the last 5 weeks while they could savor them, I think this squad is headed down that path.  What that will mean for the long-term future is yet to be seen or even considered, but it won't be good, I can tell you that.


Notes from around the nation of football - 


College Football


Nebraska at Wisconsin - In happier news, the Huskers fell flat on their face Saturday night, losing 48-17 in Madison.  The Badgers, down 14-7 early in the 2nd quarter, proceeded to reel off 35 straight points to put the game away.

If the Buffs can't take victory when it's presented to them, I might as well enjoy the collective suffering of Husker nation.    Every successive touchdown scored by the righteous Badgers, a group I don't usually find myself supporting, made my sporting outlook brighter and brighter.  Such is the magic of schadenfreude.

Northwestern at Illinois - Almost in spite of themselves, the Illini continue to roll on.  A 38-35 win over rival Northwestern has Illinois sitting pretty at 5-0. 

NFL

Lions at Cowboys - Speaking of teams finding a way to lose, the Cowboys had to work hard to choke away a 27-3 3rd quarter lead.  With the ball, and that 24-point lead, Tony Romo proceeded to give the Lions 14 points through successive pick-6's.  Without the Detroit offense stepping on the field, the Lions were back in the game.  Stafford to Megatron provided the rest.

Megatron will beat single coverage every time.

49ers at Eagles - Still speaking of teams finding a way to lose, the Eagles held a 23-3 lead in the 3rd quarter only to choke it away.  How 'bout that Dream Team!

Jets at Ravens - 5 returns for touchdown couldn't save this game.  It was an awful game to watch, and inconceivably, with two teams already choking away big leads late on the day, the Ravens were still throwing the ball in the 3rd quarter, almost asking a talented Jets defense to keep NY in the game.  Finally, the Ravens wised up and salted the game away with a punishing run attack to walk away with the 34-17 win.


Happy Monday!