The Rocky Mountain Showdown (Denver, Boulder: college, move to, stadium)

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by iknowftbll

As promised here is the latest from Colorado and Colorado State Universities.

Colorado fell 30-28 to Sacramento State in their home opener. Colorado State fell 22-7 to North Dakota State in their home opener. Do you all see the obvious problem here? I hate to sound disrespectful to Sacramento State and North Dakota State, but these are games that the home teams should have won by decisive margins. I did not follow the Rams game, I just looked at the score. But the Buffs seemed unable to get a stop on defense. And clinging to a 1 point lead late in the game, the allowed their opponent to drive into FG range for the game winner.

What this says to me is that both programs have a long way to go. Before the season started, I figured that both schools were capable of 6-6 seasons. After yesterday I am thinking both are looking at 1-3 win seasons unless some drastic adjustments are made.

Next year's Rocky Mountain Showdown is shaping up to be a real snoozer at this rate.

Go Buffs!

Not that it's acceptable to lose to an FCS team, but the difference between Sac. State and NDSU is night and day. NDSU won the FCS championship last year, beat their first opponent this year 52-0, and came into the CSU game with a 5-3 record against FCS opponents. Sac. State was 4-7 last year and got thumped in their first game this year by WAC bottom-feeder New Mexico State 49-19.

After seeing the stat sheet for the CU game, I knew CSU was in real trouble. Our offense struggled against a defense that got lit up by Sac. State. The Hornets piled up 466 yards of offense on CU's rotten defense.

CSU's offense was terrible yesterday. They opened the game with a 69-yard TD pass from Garrett Grayson to Crockett Gilmore and that was it. The rest of the day they were stuck in the mud and had trouble even getting past mid-field. CSU's defense was solid again. After giving up 2 TDs in the first quarter, CSU held the Bison to 2 field goals the rest of the game.

CSU is going to have offensive problems all year. The O-line can't pass protect worth a damn and the run blocking is spotty. The running game will pick back up when Chris Nwoke comes back from his ankle injury, but they won't set the world on fire.

After watching the first two games, I expect CSU's defense to be solid enough to keep them in all their games. NDSU was one of the toughest games on our schedule. I don't like losing it, but it's definitely not as bad as losing to Sacramento State. There is a very real possibility that CU goes 0-12 this season.

[iknowftbll]

When I said that I would update this thread weekly the presumption was that the Rams and the Buffaloes would at least make things worth talking about. After all, the success of these two teams this year shapes how appealing the Rocky Mountain Showdown will be next year. Right now it's looking like it's going to be one of the most irrelevant games in all of NCAA football, and that includes all Div I-AA schools too.

Both teams went out to California yesterday, with the Rams falling 40-20 to San Jose State and the Buffs...just...wow. That was sloppy. After last week's game against Sacramento State I started to consider the possibility of an 0-12 season. After giving up 35 points in the first quarter to Fresno State, I am now certain of it. The Bulldogs turned off the motor in the second half, limiting themselves to a final score of 69-14. They could have hung 100+ on the board had they chosen to do so.

Colorado needs to figure this thing out. Nobody expects them to be a national contender yet or within the next few years. But these past two weeks should have this staff on notice. It takes time to build a program, but losing to a Big Sky school one week followed by a 69-14 loss the next week? No coaching staff should have job security after that. They had better find a way to pull it together and come out of this season with some wins. They have not even reached the hard part of their schedule.

[DOUBLE H]

I wish I knew or could get a handle on the major problem, but after Saturday's debacle, it is plain and simple that every facet of the CU program is a major problem. I'm not quite the fan of college ball as I am the pros, but I know this: In its long history, no team has ever performed as poorly as CU has, and I mean nobody! I remember how Chuck Fairbanks took over the head coaching job from Bill Mallory and how the program hit the skids during his tenure. And how it took Bill McCartney a long time to get the program back on track. This years club however is worse, much worse.

[Josseppie]

Well all is not lost as two Colorado teams have a chance to win a national title this year. The Denver Broncos in the NFL and Colorado State University - Pueblo in division 2. As of today both teams are undefeated.

[iknowftbll]

Good call on the Broncos, Joss. They did not look good to start the game against the Falcons but they never let the game get out of hand, even when trailing 20-0 and again 27-7. Previous Broncos teams, let by the likes of Jay Cutler, Kyle Orton, and Tim Tebow would have been taken to the cleaners. This team rallied to make it a respectable loss.

As for the CSU-Pueblo team, I am glad that they have a program that is doing them proud. I am not going to jump on the band wagon simply because they are doing well, but I generally root for all things Colorado.

I liked the Rams when I was a kid and first moved to Colorado. Then I went to school at the University of Colorado. I like the Buffs a lot more than the Rams, but still want to see the Rams succeed. That school needs to get that stadium built. The facilities in NCAA football are getting better and better and expectations of prospective athletes keep rising. If CSU wants to compete, they need to make the investments necessary. Plus the environment of an on-campus stadium is just so awesome. I remember how fun it was to be on campus outside of Folsom Field on game day. Great environment. I have extended family who are huge Bulldog fans and they travel to a lot of games every year. A couple years ago they visited Boulder when Georgia played Colorado. They were really impressed with the game day environment on campus and outside the stadium, and this is coming from SEC people. Colorado State needs to replicate that and start a better on campus tradition. We'll know in a couple more weeks what direction the school wants to go.

As for tomorrow's games, we have Colorado traveling to take on Washington State, a game that I expect will be another loss. Meanwhile Colorado State hosts Utah State. I hate to say it, but our Colorado programs are looking at 1-5 collectively after Saturday.

Maybe they will surprise me though. More tomorrow after the games.

[iknowftbll]

Wow! What a game by the Buffs! After trailing 31-14 going into the 4th quarter, they came storming back to beat Washington State 35-34 as time expired. It was an emotional win, coming on the heals of that embarrassing loss last week at Fresno State. While the Buffs are only 1-3 on the season, they won one on the road and in the Pac-12 Conference. This is a good way to start their conference slate. While I'm not ready to call this a turning point on the season, it is good to see the team not quit on each other and grind out for an improbable win.

Right now Colorado State trails Utah State 10-0 in the 2nd quarter. Let's hope they can turn their game. Maybe the Rams and Buffs can still set up a worthwhile showdown next year.

Go Buffs!

[DOUBLE H]

This big victory couldn't have come come at a better time. The club in general and head coach John Embree Jr. in particular had been under fire all week in the papers and the sport talk stations were howling as well.

They got further behind in the second half and then just came alive all of a sudden. The call on fourth down was a very gutsy decision but worked. Congrats to coach Embree and the team on a big victory!

[bluescreen73]

Gotta give Embree some credit. He rallied a team I was pretty sure he'd lost last week. Granted Wazzou isn't a worldbeater, but it's a start. I still don't have high expectations for the Buffs going foward because the Cougars are the weak link in their Pac-12 schedule. With the exception of Utah, the rest of the teams on their schedule could curb-stomp the Buffs handily.

I don't know what to make of my Rammies. I know they're not very talented, but I'm not seeing a lot of progress as the year goes on. The team is fighting the whole game and not rolling over like they did under Steve Fairchild, but they're not very good on either side of the ball. We may win 2 or 3 more games, but based on the way we're playing right now, that's about it.

[iknowftbll]

No doubt about it they needed that win. If for no other reason than to give them hope and confidence going into the conference slate. UCLA is next and it is a home game. Even with a win today, it's hard for any fan using his head to predict a Buffs win, but I'll sure be hoping for it.

Meanwhile it looks like the Rams lost, dropping them to 1-3 on the season. I did not follow that game, simply looked at the score. Perhaps a Rams fan can share some details?

[iknowftbll]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

I don't know what to make of my Rammies. I know they're not very talented, but I'm not seeing a lot of progress as the year goes on. The team is fighting the whole game and not rolling over like they did under Steve Fairchild, but they're not very good on either side of the ball. We may win 2 or 3 more games, but based on the way we're playing right now, that's about it.

This is key. Attitude is everything. If your team is losing but you can tell they are fighting all the way, then that is one thing. I recall watching the Broncos in 2010. It was bad enough that they were constantly getting railed that season, but what made it worse was that they looked like they just didn't care. That is infuriating as a fan.

I was really glad to see that even in the early goings in today's game with the Cougars that the Buffs didn't show any quit. When the score was 31-14 I feared that they'd let an otherwise inspiring performance taper off and phone in the remainder of the game. I did not expect them to pull it out, I just wanted them to "finish."

If the Rams are fighting all the way, then sooner or later it is going to pay off. They are going to topple a better team at some point in the season, or if not, it is going to result in a better team next year.