Tag: CU Buffs

Nuggets to sign former CU Buffs star KJ Simpson to 2-way contract

[ad_1]

The Nuggets are planning to sign former CU Buffs star KJ Simpson to a two-way contract, filling the spot they opened up by converting Spencer Jones to a standard NBA deal Wednesday, league sources told The Denver Post.

Simpson, 23, was waived by Charlotte after the trade deadline this month. Drafted 42nd overall by the Hornets in 2024, he played in 50 games over the last two seasons and started 17 of them, averaging 7.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists.

The 6-foot-2 guard represents additional ball-handling depth for the Nuggets as they prepare for the last third of the regular season. He won’t be eligible to play in the NBA playoffs on a two-way contract. Denver now has three guards occupying its two-way spots, with Simpson joining rookies Curtis Jones and Tamar Bates.

Simpson played 98 games during a three-year college career at Colorado. He earned First Team All-Pac-12 honors as a junior and stamped his place in program history during the 2024 NCAA Tournament, when he buried a game-winning shot against Florida to send CU to the second round.

Players on two-way contracts split their time between the NBA and G League depending on where they’re needed. Denver’s G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold, has been without key players such as Jones, Bates and big man DaRon Holmes II for most of the last two months, with Jones and Holmes assigned to Denver and Bates injured.

The Nuggets have used Jalen Pickett and Julian Strawther as complementary guards in the starting lineup over the last month while navigating injuries. They prefer to use Tim Hardaway Jr. off the bench to generate an extra scoring jolt when they make substitutions, though Hardaway has also closed a number of games this season.

Want more Nuggets news? Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis.

[ad_2]

Bennett Durando

Source link

February 18, 2026
Keeler: CU Buffs transfers wonder what 2025 under Deion Sanders would’ve looked like if they stayed: ‘They missed out’

[ad_1]

Noah Fenske had his luggage with him Saturday. It wasn’t Louis.

“Just Under Armour,” the former CU Buffs offensive lineman texted me from his vacation in Nashville.

While on the road with his fiancée, Fenske’s also been keeping an eye on an old CU teammate, Alex Harkey. Oregon’s starting right tackle? Yeah, he used to be a Buff.

Harkey, a 6-foot-6, 327-pound redshirt senior, is prepping for a Friday night showdown with Indiana — and another former CU player, the Hoosiers’ Kahlil Benson — in one College Football Playoff semifinal. The Ducks’ bruiser helped Oregon put up 245 passing yards and convert four fourth-down conversions on The Best Defense Money Can Buy, blanking Texas Tech 23-0 in the Orange Bowl.

He’d transferred into CU as a 305-pounder out of Tyler (Texas) Junior College, a 3-star who was weighing offers from Middle Tennessee and Old Dominion. After appearing in 12 games, largely as a reserve guard, Harkey was one of the kids from CU’s 2022 recruiting class swept out in the great Deion Sanders roster purge during the spring of 2023.

Fenske, who played in seven games with the Buffs in ’22, was Harkey’s roommate at CU. He got swept away, too. Under Armour was out, Louis Vuitton luggage was in.

“(Harkey has) done incredible, man,” Fenske gushed. “Because when he first came in (to CU), he wasn’t what he is now. And just seeing his transformation from being a (backup) guard on a 1-11 team to being a first-round or second-round (NFL) draft pick …”

Big Alex could play. So could wideout Jordyn Tyson (Arizona State). And cornerback Simeon Harris (Fresno State). And quarterback Owen McCown, once he’d had some more brisket. McCown, who played as a wafer-thin true freshman at CU in ’22, threw for 30 touchdowns at UTSA this past fall — including three in a 57-20 win over Florida International in the First Responder Bowl.

“We just stay connected, support each other’s success,” Harris, who still belongs to a group chat of former Buffs, told me over the weekend. “You’ve got to expect the unexpected. That (purge) hit us all in the mouth.”

CU fans talk a lot — a lot — about 1-11 in 2022. About rock bottom. About Coach Prime lighting the candle for the climb out of obscurity.

All of it true. But what we won’t talk as much about is just how young that 2022 team actually was. Heading into the opener, 33 of the 81 dudes on that CU depth chart were freshmen. Twenty-three were sophomores. It showed.

“I get that it’s a multimillion-dollar business,” Fenske said. “But what’s missing in college football is the developmental piece to it. For Philip Rivers to come back (to the NFL) after five years (retired) and be better than half the QBs in the NFL, that’s not a talent issue. That’s a development issue …

“I want (the Buffs) to do well, but man, they missed out. They really missed out on (Harkey). Even when he wasn’t a starter, he always kind of carried himself with a chip on his shoulder. He wanted to get better. He knows ball. He was a great person to be around.”

Hindsight is a fickle mistress. You don’t have 2023’s sugar rush and 2024’s Big 12 title chase without Coach Prime. Or without Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders, if we’re being frank about it.

Yet you also could field a pretty darned good college football lineup out of players who left CU’s program following the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons. Check out tthese Post-Prime All-Stars, all ex-Buffs, and their 2025 stat lines:

OFFENSE

QB — Owen McCown, UTSA, 30 TD passes, 7 interceptions

RB — Anthony Hankerson, Oregon State, 1,086 rushing yards

LT — Isaiah Jatta, BYU, 64.1 Pro Football Focus grade

LG — Zack Owens, Mississippi State, 56.0 PFF grade

C — Van Wells, Oregon State, 63.6 PFF grade

RG/RT — Kahlil Benson, Indiana, 72.5 PFF grade

RT — Alex Harkey, Oregon, 64.2 PFF grade

TE — Seydou Traore, Mississippi State, five TD catches

TE — Chamon Metayer, Arizona State, four TD catches

WR — Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State, eight TD catches

WR — Chase Sowell, Iowa State, 500 receiving yards

DEFENSE

DL — Dayon Hayes, Texas A&M, four sacks

DL — Chazz Wallace, NC State, 70.9 PFF grade

DL — Shakaun Bowser, UTEP, 62.3 PFF grade

LB — Nikhai Hill-Green, Alabama, two forced fumbles

LB — Jeremy Mack Jr., Old Dominion, six sacks

LB — Johnny Chaney Jr., FIU, three sacks

CB — Colton Hood, Tennessee, eight pass break-ups

CB — Simeon Harris, Fresno State, five interceptions

CB — Kyndrich Breedlove, Arizona State, five pass break-ups

S — Trevor Woods, Jacksonville State, three forced fumbles

S — Myles Slusher, Purdue, three pass break-ups

It’s a little light up front defensively, granted. But that’s not a bad offensive bunch. It’s probably a better starting 11, McCown included, than what Pencil Pat Shurmur trotted out this past fall.

“I’m not the only one that’s thought that,” Fenske chuckled.

“It’s funny how we all panned out,” Harris added. “But we all (had) wanted to be at CU.”

Meanwhile, the Buffs’ door keeps revolving. According to the 247Sports.com database, CU had seen 30 more players declare for the portal as of Saturday morning. That group included key cogs such as cornerback DJ McKinney, safety Tawfiq Byard, defensive end London Merriott, defensive end Brandon Davis-Swain, wideout Omarion Miller, wideout/all-purpose back Dre’Lon Miller — all of whom could make a future Post-Prime starting 11.

Meanwhile, the Buffs are going to need to import at least 30, and maybe 35-45 transfers, just to fill out a roster whose depth was frequently tested last autumn.

History says they’ll find some dawgs. And recent history says they’ll need twice as many as a year ago.

“I think (CU) is about to go through another rebuild situation,” Harris noted.

Still, the Bulldogs’ defensive back doesn’t harbor any grudges toward Sanders, nor CU. Neither does Fenske, really, despite his exit.

“If I didn’t have the portal, I’m not in the spot I am today,” Fenske said. “The grass isn’t always greener for some. And I would advise people who are going into that position to really think about what they’re doing and to really take a chance on themselves and see if they can develop …

“Maybe the best thing for me was to go down (a level) and be humbled, to re-learn the game of football in a way and re-learn what life is about.”

The Big Guy works in mysterious ways, sometimes. Fenske just wrapped up his eligibility at Southern Illinois, having been named to the Missouri Valley Conference’s second-team offense and to the first team of the league’s Scholar-Athlete squad, thanks to a 4.0 GPA.

Noah also got engaged. He became a foster parent. He opened an athletic training facility, NJF Sports Performance. Just because you’re traveling with Under Armour bags doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the journey. However winding.

“I want those guys (at CU) to do well,” the lineman said. “Boulder was really good to me, and I’m glad that Boulder is doing a little better than it was before I got there. It would be foolish for me to be super cynical about that. I want to see (CU) do well. I want to see that area flourish because it was very welcoming to me.”

Let’s hope so. For Auld Lang Prime.

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

[ad_2]

Sean Keeler

Source link

January 4, 2026
Keeler: Deion Sanders isn’t enough. CU Buffs football needs a sugar daddy for Christmas.

[ad_1]

Omarion Miller finished Julian Lewis’ passes the way Meg Ryan finished Billy Crystal’s sentences in “When Harry Met Sally.”

Alas, there won’t be a happy ending. Or a sequel.

Miller — the CU Buffs’ leading receiver in 2025 — announced Wednesday that he was entering the transfer portal. And apparently Tawfiq Byard will have whatever Miller’s having. The Buffs safety, CU’s best defensive player this past fall despite playing much of it with just one working hand, also plans to transfer out of BoCo next month.

Pain is a process. The gut says, “If we can go 3-9 with you, we can go 3-9 without you, dude.”

The head says something else. Something along the lines of, “Man, Deion Sanders could really, really use a sugar daddy this Christmas.”

Remember when the Buffs hired Coach Prime and finally got out ahead of the college football curve?

That lasted about 16 to 18 months.

Celebrity coaches are out.

Celebrity investors are in.

Texas Tech, per YahooSports.com, raised about $49 million for student-athletes from July 2024 to July 2025. A new Red Raiders donor group, called the Athletic Donor Circle, had already pledged roughly $35 million as of early November.

Last week, Utah became the first Power 4 athletic department to formally partner with a private equity firm. ESPN.com reports that Otro Capital out of New York is ready to pump $400 million into the Utes.

Texas Tech bought the best team on the planet, went 12-1, won the Big 12 title and earned a bye in the College Football Playoff. Utah posted a 10-2 record and beat the Buffs 53-7 in late October.

CU athletics, meanwhile, is reportedly staring at a potential $27 million deficit for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, according to multiple outlets. Thank players and Prime, primarily.

Sanders’ salary went up by nearly $5 million for 2025 after his new extension kicked in. The House vs. NCAA settlement required CU to share revenues with student-athletes starting this past July 1, with a cap of $20.5 million for this fiscal cycle. Yet it’s hard to imagine good players such as Miller and Byard taking pay cuts at their next ports of call, isn’t it?

Buffs officials saw the train coming years ago, even as the bills keep piling up. Which is why the indoor practice facility is now sponsored by Mountain States Ford Stores. And why artificial turf was installed at Folsom Field — so the stadium could be utilized more often as a host to revenue-driving events outside the athletic calendar.

Concerts and uniform sponsorships — UNLV will reportedly collect about $2.2 million annually over the next five years from Acesso Biologics, its new “Official Jersey Patch Partner” — will only cover so much. The student-athlete revenue sharing pool is expected to increase by 4% next year. Sanders is slated to make $11 million in 2027, $11 million in 2028 and $12 million in 2029.

The Buffs can’t play at the same poker tables as the Red Raiders and Utes — or retain star players — without a serious influx of cash. Utah is pointing the way now. Not CU.

College football is so broken. The system? The system — and by that, we mean greedy college presidents and the corporate suits they propped up as conference commissioners — for too long took advantage of student-athletes as a pool of indentured labor, as entertainment contractors on the cheap. A free market for talent was overdue. But the pendulum has swung so hard the other way that roster retention is the stuff of satire now.

Bowls? Bowls are nothing more than three-hour infomercials for some random chamber of commerce or provincial company you’ve never heard of; exhibitions propped up by Disney stiffs to eat up programming blocks over the holidays. When Iowa State and Kansas State would sooner eat a million bucks in league fines than join in, that ship’s sailed. (Not you, Pop-Tarts Bowl. You’re weirdly perfect. And perfectly weird.)

Fans? Fans are caught in the crossfire, casualties in the battle of dollars over sense. Ticket prices and point-of-entry fees will skyrocket. Pay-per-view will become more the norm than the exception. Universities will pass the cost to the consumer.

The Buffs vow that they won’t cut sports — and with only 13 non-football options offered, they don’t have much room on that front to cut, anyway. They’ve vowed that they won’t lop student-athlete services, although outgoing athletic director Rick George laid off two track coaches last spring.

Something’s gotta give. Of course, if Coach Prime wanted to help retain student-athletes, he could donate half of his $10 million salary to the revenue-sharing pool. That’s not happening.

In an effort to slow the chaos, FBS scholarships could require a minimum of two years of service at your initial college of choice coming out of high school. But that’s not happening, either.

As of early Friday morning, at least 11 CU players had expressed interest in transferring out. Among the Big 12 programs that didn’t change coaches (Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma State), only West Virginia had seen more defections (19) as of mid-December than the Buffs.

Take out CU, the Wildcats, Cyclones and Cowboys, the remaining 12 programs had seen an average of 5.8 guys hit the portal.

“If you get good players, (the Buffs will) be good,” FOX Sports football analyst Geoff Schwartz told me. “It’s not that complicated when it comes to college football.”

Money alone won’t solve all of the Buffs’ football problems right now. It might ease some of the roster hemorrhaging, though. To that end, the Big 12 is close to finalizing a partnership with RedBird Capital and Weatherford Capital, YahooSports.com reported, for what’s described as a league-wide credit deal. The firms would provide up to $500 million into a conference pool, from which individual members such as CU could borrow as much as $30 million.

Private investment interests and Title IX, given the degree to which Olympic sports lose money, could prove to be a volatile, and highly litigious, arrangement.

Then again, the Utes didn’t blink. In the Big 12, this is the stage. These are the stakes. And the price of the sizzle is headed in only one direction.

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

[ad_2]

Sean Keeler

Source link

December 19, 2025
Keeler: CU Buffs QB Julian Lewis brought Shedeur Sanders’ juice, deep ball back to Coach Prime’s attack

[ad_1]

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — If Saturday in Morgantown was an audition, Julian Lewis passed.

And passed.

And passed.

Ju Ju looked past open receivers. He looked ready to turtle whenever West Virginia sent the house. But he also looked like Shedeur Sanders out there at times, didn’t he?

Especially when dropping ball after ball in the bucket for CU wide receiver Omarion Miller.

The Buffs dropped their third game in a row at Milan Puskar Stadium, falling 29-22 against the Mountaineers and slipping to 3-7 on a lost season.

Yet it was the most fun the Buffs have been in what, a month? For the first time in what feels like forever, we saw snippets of last fall’s passing game. We saw the deep ball and the vertical passing game that scared the Big 12 half to death.

2024: Shedeur to Travis Hunter.

2025: Ju Ju to Omarion.

Sanders said earlier this week that his decision to start Lewis, a true freshman, at quarterback was guided by “common sense.”

Hindsight is 20/20, especially when a year goes off the rails. But what took so long?

Coach Prime should’ve listened to his common sense sooner.

While senior Kaidon Salter offered zero juice and minimal downfield threat at QB1, Lewis walked into coal country and looked the part. The Mountaineers blitzed from the left. They blitzed from the right. At one point, they even pulled out a piece of Ju Ju’s hair. Kid hung tough: 22 completions on 35 attempts for 299 yards and two touchdowns.

Lewis to Miler was the combo CU has been waiting for all year. The chemistry was undeniable. The combo was almost unguardable: Miller finished with six catches for 131 receiving yards and a score.

Ju Ju was at his strongest rolling and throwing to his left, hitting Miller for a 43-yard rainbow early, then Sincere Brown (19 yards) and Joseph Williams (13 yards) on CU’s second drive of the second quarter.

And yes, some context applies here, too. West Virginia’s defense going into the weekend ranked last in the Big 12 in opponent passer rating (160.25) and 14th in the league in passing yards allowed per game (270.8). It was not unlike debuting a rookie hitter against the 2025 Rockies at Coors Field — a soft landing, a chance to build numbers and confidence.

Still, you could see that confidence growing in real time. On the CU drive that ended the third quarter and opened the fourth, the freshman faced second-and-7 from the West Virginia 20. He scanned quickly, feeling the pocket constricting to his left and his right. It was the kind of bang-bang play that would’ve been a sure-fire sack earlier in the game, never mind earlier in the season. Lewis stepped up in the pocket and took off for a 3-yard gain, giving CU a third-and-4 at the home 17. CU eventually got a 35-yard field goal from Alejandro Mata to pull the Buffs to within 22-19 with 14:51 left to play in the tilt.

Even more impressive was the fact that Lewis found himself working from behind the ‘8’ ball from the start. Especially with two new blockers on the outside, as left tackle Jordan Seaton watched the game in sweats while wearing a walking boot on his right ankle.

It didn’t take long to show.

Lewis was sacked twice in the first quarter and four times in the opening half. The first 30 minutes had the disjointed, stop-start look of two freshmen quarterbacks facing off, struggling to find their respective rhythms early.

Yet in the end, as auditions go, Lewis passed with almost flying colors. After the Utah and Arizona debacles, CU fans have been looking for a reason to stay invested. Ju Ju was worth the wait. But only if you can figure out a way to keep him.

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

[ad_2]

Sean Keeler

Source link

November 8, 2025
Freshman Julian Lewis to get start at QB for Colorado Buffaloes

[ad_1]

Five-star freshman quarterback Julian “JuJu” Lewis has been handed the reins to the Colorado offense.

On Tuesday, CU head coach Deion Sanders confirmed that Lewis will make his first career start when the Buffs play at West Virginia on Saturday (10 a.m. MT, TNT).

Asked the reason for the change, Sanders said, “Common sense.”

Fifth-year senior Kaidon Salter has started eight of the first nine games for the Buffs (3-6, 1-5 Big 12), but has struggled in the last two weeks.

Lewis came off the bench during Saturday’s 52-17 loss to Arizona and threw his first career touchdown. Lewis also left the game early with an apparent hand injury, but Sanders said Lewis is ready to go.

“He’s good,” Sanders said. “He’s throwing the heck out of the ball.”

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

[ad_2]

Brian Howell

Source link

November 4, 2025
Renck: With his salary, CU’s Deion Sanders doesn’t have luxury of rebuilding. This mess is his to fix

[ad_1]

BOULDER — Leave it to Deion Sanders to refer to a Brazilian butt lift when trying to explain how his team got its (bleep) kicked last weekend.

He was citing society’s obsession with instant gratification — pizza with a phone call, dinner dashed to our doorstep. You know, how nobody has patience anymore.

It is fair after watching what unfolded Saturday night if that patience is starting to wear thin with Coach Prime.

He was the most celebrated hire in school history. He made CU relevant, attracting TV networks to the games, NFL Hall of Famers to the sidelines.

Three years into this experiment, the reality no longer matches the hype. The Buffs are a laughingstock again.

And let’s be honest, in the current college landscape, coaches making $10.8 million per year don’t get the luxury of rebuilding seasons or failing to qualify for a bowl — even a bad one. CU requires victories in its final three games at West Virginia, against Arizona State and on the road versus Kansas State to be eligible for the postseason.

Good luck.

Arizona mauled the Buffs, 52-17, on a chilly night before 48,223 fans at Folsom Field. The first smattering of boos cascaded down after CU’s second offensive play. Half of those in attendance never wandered back to their seats after halftime.

It is getting harder to see the whippings as an aberration. When a team gets outscored 81-7 in the first half in back-to-back weeks, it seems like what is happening on the field is a symptom of larger dysfunction. The Buffs have one conference win. Only Oklahoma State, which canned legendary coach Mike Gundy in September, is worse.

Coach Prime handpicked this coaching staff and this overhauled roster. And the Buffs have done nothing well over the past two games. They fall behind, they miss tackles, they turn the ball over, and they lack discipline, which spawns visible anger and on-field arguments.

“Don’t attack the players, come at me. Don’t attack the coordinators, come at me,” Sanders said, opening his news conference with a directive and announcing no players would be made available to talk.

OK? So what went wrong?

“I have no idea,” Sanders said, before hinting he was holding back his thoughts. “If I knew where the disconnect was, I would tell you.”

At halftime, CU trailed by 31 and had more penalties (nine) than points (seven).

A loss like this, it goes looking for people to blame, and it does not go wanting. The only hard part is where to start. A sequence in the second quarter captured problems that go far beyond the personnel to the leadership of the program.

Quarterback Kaidon Salter, who was mercifully benched, delivered a 75-yard scoring strike to Sincere Brown when CU still had hope. The touchdown, and assumed point after, would have cut the deficit to 24-14. But a scan of the field showed as much yellow as black and gold.
Omarion Miller was ruled an ineligible receiver downfield, suggesting he lined up wrong since, well, he is a receiver. How does that happen?

Worse, the Buffs were pushed back another 15 yards for offensive lineman Yahya Attia “brandishing a weapon” while taunting an Arizona player. Finger guns? Really?

Arizona wide receiver Tre Spivey runs for a touchdown after catching a pass as Colorado defensive end Arden Walker pursues in the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

The offense was terrible, collecting 117 yards in the first half while receiving a Bronx cheer when it made its initial first down.

Coordinator Pat Shurmur has been something less than competent for years, so we really should not start the finger-pointing there.

What about Salter? He has been a disappointment since the season opener and stayed true to form. As did backup Ryan Staub, whose first two passes were interceptions.

Those who stuck around in the second half witnessed five-star prospect Julian Lewis connect on a 59-yard strike to Miller for the first touchdown of his career. But, even that created questions — namely, is he going to play the final three games and burn his redshirt season? If so, why?

“Common sense,” Sanders said. “I don’t know his thought process or his parents’. I just can control what we can control. I am for the kids. If (a redshirt) is what he wants, that is what he will get.”

Defensive boss Robert Livingston must be held accountable for his unit’s shortcomings. He lacks beef up front, a trademark of all of the teams under Coach Prime, leaving CU susceptible to any team that likes to run the ball. But the poor tackling, the lack of physicality, the bad angles, the blown assignments, remain jarring.

All of the improvement Livingston fostered last season seemed like a long time ago when Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita stepped up into a pressure-free pocket and found Javin Whatley streaking wide open for a touchdown with 21 seconds left in the half. The referee on the goal line shrugged and slowly raised his arms in the air, unsure if he was inbounds. It is always best to assume the worst against this defense.

No, this loss wasn’t the fault of Shurmur, Livingston, Salter, Staub, or any forgettable defender. It is on the man who hired them, recruited them and coaches them.

Sanders talks about practice more than Allen Iverson. He promised things would change after getting walloped 53-7 by Utah. He was right. The Buffs got worse.

Sanders brought in the latest gold jacket to campus this week with Ray Lewis questioning the players — “If you guys don’t believe in each other, how do you win?” — and pleading for them to improve communication and take their preparation seriously.

Lewis was not wrong. But eventually, the message is just background noise in a lost season.

Colorado safety John Slaughter, left, upends Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita after a short gain in the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

The sobering truth is that these are not the good old days — like 2024, when Coach Prime could stack the roster with skill players, notably his son Shedeur and Heisman Trophy-winner Travis Hunter, and deliver a winning record.

Without generational talent on offense, the details become amplified. College has become the NFL with the money paid to players and coaches.

You cannot miss on evaluations, especially at quarterback, running back and the offensive line. Prime gets guys who want to work and play for him. But what is he doing for them in terms of Xs and Os?

Coaching matters. Schemes matter. Improving during the week is non-negotiable.

“I don’t doubt me,” Sanders said. “Or my confidence level in doing the job.”

The Buffs stink right now. And it is not just on the players and assistants.

Coach Prime has to own this mess, or there is no reason to believe it will get fixed.

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

[ad_2]

Troy Renck

Source link

November 1, 2025
Could big win vs. Iowa State turn tide for Deion Sanders’ CU Buffs?

[ad_1]

With their season seemingly on the line this past weekend, Colorado football players took inspiration from an old saying.

“Our pastor gave a great message (Friday) night,” CU linebacker Jeremiah Brown said after a 24-17 win against then-No. 22 Iowa State on Saturday at Folsom Field. “He talked about pressure and how you respond to it. He talked about how pressure makes diamonds.

“The team, we all rallied behind that, and boy, the unity was great last night. We all just believed, so that was a great message.”

CU (3-4, 1-3 Big 12) took the pressure that had been building through the first half of the season and put together its most complete effort in beating Iowa State.

Throughout a 2-4 start, the Buffs lost close games to three quality opponents (Georgia Tech, BYU and TCU), failing to hold late leads.

Saturday was a similar test and the Buffs passed it finally. It was the type of performance that could be a springboard into the final five games, starting with an Oct. 25 trip to No. 23 Utah.

“I hate to say it’s one win that can turn it around,” CU head coach Deion Sanders said. “We should have been winning, and we’re still upset with that. The locker room has a different vibe today, and it’s a different challenge given at the conclusion of the matter, but we’re better than what our record says.”

Colorado wide receiver Quentin Gibson, center, takes a kick return Saturday. (Cliff Grassmick/Staff Photographer)

No question the Buffs lament missed opportunities in previous games, but there was some pressure alleviated with how they finished Saturday’s game. Trailing 17-14 midway through the third quarter, the Buffs outscored the Cyclones 10-0 the rest of the way.

“We played really good as a team this week,” quarterback Kaidon Salter said. “Just the rough season we’ve been having, and we got a bye week next week. It’s way better to sit going into a bye week with a win instead of a loss, and just having that on your mind.

“I just felt like we went out there and we executed the game plan. We can always get better, but a win is a win, and I’m just excited that we got this win.”

CU is off this week and will no doubt use the down time for players to get healthy. The confidence it gained Saturday will help, however.

“That game just instilled a lot more hope into us, especially going out there and winning versus a top 25 team to show that we can,” Brown said. “We’re always close. With good teams, we’re always close with, but we never finish. Today showed that we can finish, and the team will take that into the bye week, and we’ll keep pushing forward.”

Right guard Zy Crisler agreed, feeling this could be the type of result that turns the tide for the Buffs.

“It could be. It will be,” Crisler said. “We’re gonna take this bye week, recover and try to get everybody back. And next we’re gonna try to go 1-0.”

CU, of course, has a long way to go. To reach bowl eligibility, the Buffs have to go 3-2 down the stretch, with a schedule that includes not only Utah (5-1), but Arizona (4-2), Arizona State (4-2) and a Kansas State team (3-4) that has four losses by a combined 13 points and is a last-second field goal away from a three-game win streak. The Buffs can’t count a trip to West Virginia (2-4) as an easy one, either.

Saturday’s win was much-needed and it certainly changed the mood in the locker room, but Sanders knows his team can’t rest on this one.

“We should have been doing that the last four weeks,” he said. “We shouldn’t be sitting up here with a plethora of losses. We should be sitting up here with a steering wheel in the driver’s seat talking like a boss right now. That’s how we should be.

“Unfortunately, we hadn’t been getting it together like we did today. But thank God we did, and hopefully today is the genesis of us getting things going the right direction, and truly believing that we can.”

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

Originally Published: October 12, 2025 at 4:08 PM MDT

[ad_2]

Brian Howell

Source link

October 12, 2025
Keeler: CU Buffs coach Deion Sanders hasn’t hesitated to play freshmen. So why is he hesitating to play 5-star QB Julian Lewis?

[ad_1]

BOULDER — There will be another Ju Ju.

Lots of them, actually. If we’ve learned anything about CU recruiting in the Deion Sanders Era, it’s that if Coach Prime wants someone — like, really, really, really wants them — he gets them.

Left tackle Jordan Seaton? Got him.

Cornerback Cormani McClain? Got him. (Best not look at the young man’s Florida Gators numbers right now if you’re a Buffs fan. Seriously. Don’t.)

Quarterback Julian Lewis? Got him, too.

Keeping him? Well …

At 2-4, 0-3 in Big 12 play, CU football is staring at a crisis/inflection point right now. No. 22 Iowa State (5-1) rolls into town for a Saturday matinee, and a trip to Utah (4-1), which is back to running the ball at will again, looms after that.

Meanwhile, Coach Prime’s health concerns are mounting. And the Buffs have played three QBs in six games because, as the old adage goes, they don’t really have one. Not one who can sling it consistently at a Big 12 level, at any rate.

After Kaidon Salter just tossed three interceptions at TCU, Ju Ju is the people’s choice again.

Build for the future!

The season’s already lost!

What’s the difference between 4-8 and 2-10?

If we don’t play Ju Ju this fall, we’ll lose him to the transfer portal! And that would be a tragedy!

Would it, though?

I mean, in terms of Lewis’ value in the open market, you’re absolutely right. Big Ten and SEC football programs, even bad ones, have more money right now than they know what to do with. The Buffs, as with many of their Big 12 peers, have to pick and choose their bidding wars.

Although CU also, at the moment, has 24 offers out to quarterbacks in the Class of ’26, according to the 247Sports database. They’ve got five out to signal-callers in the Class of ’27, and four in the Class of ’28.

Recruiting, at its core, is about salesmanship. Nobody sells — themselves, their school, a product, the future — the way Coach Prime sells. Charmers are charmers for life.

Ask yourself this, too: If Lewis is that hot, why hasn’t he beaten out the two guys who’ve been driving you crazy?

You’ve watched Salter for five games. You’ve watched backup Ryan Staub for two.

As Coach Prime points out, he sees what you saw.

Yet when asked about Ju Ju’s progress on Tuesday, Sanders said this, and bluntly:

“He’s coming around the mountain when he comes.”

Will he be driving six white horses?

We kid, we kid. But the hesitation, given precedent, is more than curious, isn’t it?

After all, Coach Prime has made a point of playing freshmen who earned his trust early. Seaton. Micah Welch. Omarion Miller. Dre’Lon Miller.

Lewis, though?

Not so much. Not yet, anyway.

“I mean, he’s young, and you can’t throw everything at him,” Sanders explained after playing Lewis for two rocky series vs. Delaware last month. “So you don’t want to do that. You don’t want him to feel like he failed.

“So you’ve got to proceed with — some guys want you to just throw him in there, and I’m too protective. I mean, I love the kid and I want the kid to be successful, so we’re very protective on what we do with him and what we can do with him and really how we call things with him. We want him to be in a situation to excel.”

Again, he sees what you see. He sees a young man who only turned 18 two-and-a-half weeks ago. And it doesn’t take much reading between the lines to see a QB who isn’t quite ready yet.

Although …

“I’ve never sat on the bench and said, ‘Whoa, I learned a lot today.’”

That quote also came from Sanders, when he was a guest on the Kelce Brothers’ “New Heights” podcast a fortnight ago. He’d said that while explaining why son Shedeur didn’t want to be drafted by Baltimore and become All-Pro QB Lamar Jackson’s understudy

“Who learns sitting on the bench?” Coach Prime continued. “Who does that?”

Meanwhile, in BoCo, Lewis is … sitting on the bench.

Ju Ju sure as heck didn’t come here for that. He didn’t blow off his senior year of high school to watch the Buffs fold in the second half, week after week.

“Ju Ju was in there with a lot of rookies and freshmen, so to speak,” offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said after the Delaware game. “And we believe in playing freshmen.”

Just not this one, apparently.

Still, the Buffs have a bye week coming up after the Cyclones visit. If there’s ever a time to change horses, that’s probably it.

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

Originally Published: October 7, 2025 at 7:51 PM MDT

[ad_2]

Sean Keeler

Source link

October 7, 2025
CU Buffs’ Deion Sanders battling more health issues, says he may have blood clots

[ad_1]

FORT WORTH, Texas – In addition to the pain of another defeat, Colorado head coach Deion Sanders is dealing with more pain physically.

During CU’s 35-21 loss to TCU on Saturday night at Amon G. Carter Stadium, Sanders took his left shoe off for several minutes in the second half because he said his foot was throbbing. He was also walking with a noticeable limp.

“I think I got more blood clots,” Sanders said after the game. “That’s out of the bag, right? I think I got more blood clots. It don’t make sense. I’m hurting like crazy.”

Sanders also complained of a throbbing foot when he sat down for his weekly press conference in Boulder on Tuesday.

“I’ve got a doctor appointment Monday to see what time it is,” he said Saturday night. “So that’s what’s going on. I’m not getting blood to my leg; that’s why my leg is throbbing. Sorry to get that out, but thank you for noticing.”

A Pro Football Hall of Famer now in his third season as CU’s head coach, Sanders, 58, has battled through numerous health issues in recent years, including being diagnosed with bladder cancer on April 14.

Sanders had surgery on May 9 to remove his bladder and the cancer and have a new one created with his small intestine.

Sanders’ serious health issues go back to his time as Jackson State’s head coach in 2021. He had several surgeries that fall, including having two toes amputated on his left foot.

In the summer of 2023, prior to his first season at CU, he had two surgeries to fix blood clots, which improved his mobility. He has had 14 surgeries since 2021.

CU trainer Lauren Askevold, who has been by Sanders’ side since Jackson State, said in July that Sanders has an annual “CT scan of his vascular pattern to make sure blood clots are away,” adding that a scan in the spring “turned out really great from the vascular side.”

That scan did reveal the tumor in Sanders’ bladder, however. And, now it’s possible he is dealing with more vascular issues.

After the game, however, he was more focused on the pain of a second straight loss.

“I appreciate that,” he said when a reporter wished him good health. “Right now, this game is very important to me, and I’m not happy with where we’re executing this game.”

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

Originally Published: October 4, 2025 at 11:23 PM MDT

[ad_2]

Brian Howell

Source link

October 4, 2025
Head coach Deion Sanders wants more intensity, passion from CU Buffs

[ad_1]

At a team meeting on Tuesday morning, Colorado head football coach Deion Sanders had a simple question for his players.

“Are you underachieving or overachieving?” Sanders asked his players.

“There’s only one answer or the other,” he said.

Individually, there are some players who could answer that question differently, but as a collective unit, the answer is fairly easy. At 2-3 (0-2 Big 12), CU hasn’t met the expectations it had coming into this season, but hopes to turn that around with a visit to TCU (3-1, 0-1) on Saturday (5:30 p.m., Fox).

Why the Buffs aren’t playing to their potential is an answer Sanders is still trying to solve.

“If I had that answer, man, it’d be worth a lot of money, because I think a multitude of us coaches are asking that same question,” he said. “We know what we need to do. We just gotta do it. We know exactly what we need to do. We just gotta do it. It’s not a mystery.”

CU enters this week coming off a 24-21 loss to then-No. 25 BYU (now No. 23). It was the second one-score loss this season to a top-25 opponent. In the opener, CU lost 27-20 to unranked Georgia Tech, which is now 5-0 and ranked No. 17.

“I feel like we have a pretty darn good football team, even though the record don’t display that,” Sanders said. “Two games to ranked opponents by 10 points in total makes us think, ‘Darn, a play here and play there, we get it going.’”

Offensively, particularly in the Georgia Tech and BYU games, the Buffs haven’t come up with enough key plays at key moments.

Against Georgia Tech, quarterback Kaidon Salter led the Buffs to a quick 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game. The Buffs found the end zone just one more time in the last 57 minutes and failed on two crucial drives late in the game.

Against BYU, Salter and the offense were impressive in building a 14-0 lead less than 10 minutes in. In the last 50 minutes, CU scored seven points, and managed just 19 total yards in its last three possessions – all with a chance to win or tie the game.

“I want them to play like their life is on the line, like their careers are on the line, like the payment for a car is on the line, the payment for a home is on the line, like they have children depending on them, and some do,” Sanders said of his message to the offense this week. “I just want them to play with full intensity and passion. And when you walk off that field, you look back and say, ‘I gave my all.’ That’s all any coach wants. That’s all I desire.”

That same message could apply to the defense, which has had some good moments, but not enough. BYU had its lowest point total of the season against CU, while Georgia Tech had his second-lowest against the Buffs. But both teams put together fourth quarter drives to win the game.

CU’s also been vulnerable to giving up big plays to the opposition.

Sanders said he’s pleased with the defensive line, but added, “We’ve just got to play better at the linebacker position and the secondary. We got to play better.”

While players are underachieving, Sanders pointed the finger at himself, too.

“I am as well, because I’m part of it,” he said, adding that he needs to be more demanding. “That’s what I’ve been the last two weeks, more demanding of what I want to see. I’m going to see what I want to see. We’re going to do it over and over and over until I see it.”

That goes for practice, and Sanders hopes that goes for game day, too, because he still believes the Buffs have potential to get more positive results going forward.

“No one could have told me we’d be sitting where I’m sitting right now with the record that we possess, because of the talent that we have inside that locker room,” he said. “But I’ve learned that talent just don’t win games alone. It takes heart, it takes determination, it takes that dawg, it takes the knowledge, it takes the preparation, that want-to and that desire. I will take that any day over talent.”

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

Originally Published: September 30, 2025 at 5:49 PM MDT

[ad_2]

Brian Howell

Source link

September 30, 2025
Keeler: Coach Prime shouldn’t dream of starting any other CU Buffs QB at Houston than Ryan Staub

[ad_1]

BOULDER — Julian Lewis couldn’t cross the Delaware.

Not the Delaware 35-yard line, at any rate.

Kaidon Salter couldn’t throw on the run.

Or past the sticks.

CU’s Big 12 opener is Friday night. Dink and dunk in Houston, under the lights, and the Cougars will have you for brisket.

Which means the best option head coach Deion Sanders has at QB1, right now, is the guy nobody had on their bingo cards on Saturday morning.

Welcome to the party, Ryan Staub.

Sorry.

“Martin Luther Staub,” Coach Prime called him during a postgame chat with FOX Sports after the sophomore powered CU to a 31-7 rout of Delaware at Folsom Field.

Staub is one of those O.B.s — “Original Buffs,” Karl Dorrell holdovers who stuck it out while Deion portaled in people to push them off the roster.

If Saturday afternoon was any indication, the 6-foot-1 Californian’s a tough S.O.B., too.

Thrust into a 10-7 game that saw Salter miss targets and Lewis smushed in the pocket, Staub led the Buffs to touchdowns — 21 points — on three of his four drives.

Salter, the senior transfer from Liberty making his second start, accounted for 10 points on four drives, with all of those points in the first quarter-and-a-half. Lewis, the five-star QB recruit and the people’s choice, looked good handing off and terrified on obvious passing downs. The Georgia native got three drives in that didn’t amount to a single point.

“I saw,” Sanders said, “what everybody else saw (Saturday).”

Colorado’s Kaidon Salter stretches out for a touchdown against the Delaware Blue Hens during a game in Boulder on September 6, 2025.(Photo by Cliff Grassmick/Staff Photographer)

On one hand, it’s Delaware, the softest cupcake on CU’s non-conference fight card. With their blue-winged helmets, from a distance, the Blue Hens looked like Michigan — until they snapped the ball.

On the other hand, only one of the three QBs Coach Prime tested seems truly comfortable dialing up whatever offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur is running.

Only one guy reminded you of Shedeur Sanders a year ago.

Only one guy was seriously looking downfield in the pocket. Only one guy made linebackers and safeties creep back a little when they saw him behind center — which, in turn, opens up a little more room in the box for the Buffs’ run game.

Only one guy — Staub — averaged more than six yards per pass per attempt (7 for 10, 157 yards) against the Blue Hens. Only one guy turned the Buffs’ wideouts, most notably 6-foot-5 transfer Sincere Brown (four catches, 120 yards), into legitimate home-run threats.

“Those plays, he wasn’t supposed to run a ‘Go’ (route) and I told him to run a ‘Go’ route,” Staub explained later. “If they press Sincere, it’s going up.”

If you press Coach Prime, there’s really only one guy who reminded you of 2024. Only one guy who reminded you of The Shedeur and Travis Show.

“Staub don’t trip, man,” Sanders said. “Some guys just have that thing about them that you want to help them become successful. And he’s that kid.”

He is. No. 16, lest we forget, was also the kid who gave Utah all it could handle at Salt Lake in November 2023, deputizing for an injured Shedeur Sanders in a 23-17 loss. The same fearlessness, the same confidence, the same trust in his arm and his weapons, were back after a 22-month absence.

He also just put Coach Prime in line for some awkward conversations. In a pre-portal world, you’d sprinkle in some “Ju Ju” Lewis and ultimately shut the 17-year-old down for a redshirt year. The future is not the present.

But will Lewis, one of the most ballyhooed recruits ever to land in Boulder, accept being passed over for a starting role twice?

Would you simply flip Staub and Salter on the CU depth chart — moving your Week 1 starter, who was 13-for-16 passing on Saturday, to QB3, simply to keep a teenager happy?

“I wanted (the QB competition) to tell its own story,” Sanders said.

Colorado’s Julian Lewis goes back to pass against the Delaware Blue Hens during a game in Boulder on September 6, 2025. (Photo by Cliff Grassmick/Staff Photographer)

Shurmur had a story, too. After the game, he recalled this exchange with Coach Prime as CU got the ball back coming off Delaware’s only score.

The crowd was getting squirrelly at the end of the second quarter. How was this a game?

“Let’s go,” Shumur said.

“Well, Staub’s in,” Coach Prime told him.

“Let’s go,” Shurmur replied.

He went, all right. He went 75 yards on six plays. And in just 36 seconds.

“Now these people are going to salute you,” Shurmur told Staub as the latter walked into the news conference room. Then he looked at the reporters. “Don’t let (Ryan) get a big head.”

That shouldn’t be a problem.

Staub watched the Shedeur social media love. Followed by the Julian Lewis social media love.

Like Coach Prime said, he didn’t trip. He stuck around.

“To be honest, I don’t know (why I stayed),” Staub said. “I kind of feel (that) I love the process. I really enjoyed being in this building under our coach. I didn’t really know where I was. I stuck my head down and tried to keep working. And I got rewarded for that.”

Staub didn’t trip.

And this next trip is huge.

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

Originally Published: September 6, 2025 at 7:32 PM MDT

[ad_2]

Sean Keeler

Source link

September 6, 2025
Keeler: Yo, CU Buffs! Pat Shurmur without Shedeur Sanders was painful to watch

[ad_1]

BOULDER — Is that Byron Leftwich warming up on the sideline?

Ralphie, you didn’t miss much. Take away Shedeur Sanders from a Pat Shurmur offense, and you’re left with a CU attack that, at times, looked like a pencil with no lead.

Friday night’s opener against Georgia Tech had a Baylor 2024 feel. Minus the Baylor ending. After two CU Hail Marys fell incomplete, the Yellow Jackets escaped with a 27-20 win inside a packed Folsom Field.

New Buffs starting quarterback Kaidon Salter will take some flak, but this wasn’t all his burden. No. 3 was as advertised, at least, in that he isn’t Shedeur. Down 20-13 with 9:23 left in the tilt, the Buffs’ transfer QB stepped up in the pocket to elude pressure (which was good), spotted a wide-open Simeon Price near the front right pylon (also good) … and overthrew him by a yard-and-a-half.

Yet he can do this, too. As the pocket collapsed again, forcing another step-up, Salter spotted a lane, tucked the rock, and pinballed his way 7 yards into the end zone to pull the hosts to within an extra point.

As Buffs QB debuts go, No. 3’s was fine, if rough around the edges. Salter sometimes sprinted into danger as often as he ran away from it. Stretching out a play from east to west may buy time against Conference USA defenses. The ones he’s going to see in the Big 12 close too quickly. Pick a lane and get north.

And to the social media peanut gallery calling for 5-star super freshman Julian Lewis, ask yourself this: How many times did Salter have to create an escape route all by himself?

Lewis can move, sure. Not like that. Even if “Ju Ju” has taken steps forward this month, it remains to be seen whether this offensive line’s ready to keep him upright for 60 minutes. Delaware awaits on Sept. 6. If we haven’t seen Lewis on the field by Week 3, fire up the flares.

At the moment, the Buffs have bigger problems. Unfortunately, CU’s run defense was less what was advertised and more what was feared. The elephant in the room still struggles to stop anybody between the hashmarks.

Yes, the Buffs tightened up late, and thank goodness. Yes, Tech is the Waffle House version of Iowa, a Southern sledgehammer. Yet Georgia Tech also converted on third-and-3-or-less five times in the first three quarters. They converted four of those on the ground, and the other one was a willing surrender on a spiked Haynes King pass to stop the clock.

If Tech wasn’t busy Nebrasking the heck outta that first half with three consecutive turnovers, the Buffs would’ve been hurting deep.

The Jackets were outrushing CU two minutes into the second quarter by a count of 112-33. Tech was getting 6.3 yards per pop on its first 18 carries.

And yet … the hosts somehow still led 7-3, spitting in the face of the football gods and the pop-up showers.

In hindsight, the Buffs couldn’t have scripted the first five minutes any better, could they? Tech’s Malik Rutherford got loose for a 13-yard gain on the first play of the evening. On the second, King butterfingered the ball to CU linebacker Martavious French at the Buffs’ 38. Five plays and three Micah Welch runs later, Salter found DeKalon Taylor in the end zone for an 8-yard score and a 6-0 CU lead.

Funny thing? Those two plays were pretty much a harbinger for the rest of the Jackets’ first half. The Ramblin’ Wreck alternated between gashing the Buffs on the ground or putting the ball on the turf.

Tech drove past midfield on five of its first six cracks on offense. Tries No. 2 and 3 ended on a fumble recovery by French at the Buffs’ 48 and a pick by D.J. McKinney at the CU 34, respectively. The Jackets turned their last three possessions into 13 points, with kicker Aidan Birr’s 32-yard field goal putting the visitors up 13-10 as the dying seconds of the second quarter expired.

CU got the ball back to start the second half, but the Buffs’ opening salvo fizzled out at midfield.

Two explosive Welch runs set up a second-and-4 at the Tech 47. On third-and-2, Salter kept it on a bootleg and rolled into trouble again, throwing the ball away.

gallWith left tackle Jordan Seaton gesticulating madly at his teammates, the Buffs sent the offense back out on fourth down, only to set up a better punt with a delay-of-game call.

On that one, your guess is as good as ours. Heck, at this point, it might be a lot better than Shurmur’s.

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

Originally Published: August 29, 2025 at 9:44 PM MDT

[ad_2]

Sean Keeler

Source link

August 29, 2025
CU Boulder gears up for sold-out season opener with enhanced fan experience
[ad_1]
BOULDER, Colo. — The countdown to kickoff is on at CU Boulder.

On Friday at 6 p.m., the Buffs will play Georgia Tech for the first home game of the season.

And ahead of Coach Prime’s third season, Boulder is betting on an improved experience in and around Folsom Field.

CU Athletic Director Rick George said on X that the university is “committed to providing a top-notch experience for every fan that comes to a game” and that will include some big changes for fans.

Denver7

This season, a drone show is scheduled for Sept. 27 against BYU, with the possibility of several military flyovers. So far, military flyovers are planned for Aug. 29 vs Georgia Tech and Nov. 1 vs. Arizona.

Other new features to look out for include a revamped student section called “The Charge”, enhanced team field entrances including cold sparks, and a new tailgate area at Benson Field.

Another change involves game day concessions, according to CU Athletics.
- Elimination of single-use plastic beverage bottles to enhance sustainability.
- 70% of our restaurant partners working in and around the stadium are minority or women-owned.
- New “round up” purchase options, fans can round up their food and beverage purchase to support CU student-athlete scholarships.
- Flavor of Tabasco is a new food truck that will be in the plaza.
- New chicken salad sandwich concept in the SE corner of the Field House
- Blackjack Pizza, CU’s official pizza sponsor, will be selling pizza in the Gate 8 concession stand as well as on the NW plateau (Gate 19 area).
- Frippers, a new restaurant partner that will be located at Gate 11 selling gourmet hot dogs.
- Chicken and veggie Tamales available out of the Gate 10 concession stand.
- New tater tot concept with Dill Pickle tots and buffalo chicken tots will be at Gate 7.
Denver7 visited the campus on Saturday as fans prepare to return to Folsom Field.

Denver7

Max Milano, a CU Boulder alumni & Toby Bock, a senior

“It’s loud, it’s proud, and it’s only gotten better each year,” said Toby Bock, a senior at CU Boulder.

First-year fans Jake Sommer and Max Pollack told Denver7 the “football experience” was a big reason they decided on Boulder.

“I think it’s going to be an incredible atmosphere,” said Sommer.

Denver7

Max Pollock & Jake Sommer, Freshmen at CU Boulder

“You get the best of everything here, including football now,” said Pollack.

Two games, Georgia Tech & Wyoming, are already sold out, according to CU Athletics.

Buffs fans told Denver7 they’re ready for football to be back in Boulder, especially with an enhanced game day experience.

Denver7

CU Boulder campus

“It’s hard to beat already,” said Bock. “I can’t say that’s going to dim it down. That’s only going to increase the spirit.”

CU Boulder gears up for sold-out season opener with enhanced fan experience

Denver7 | Your Voice: Get in touch with Claire Lavezzorio

Denver7’s Claire Lavezzorio covers topics that have an impact across Colorado, but specializes in reporting on stories in the military and veteran communities. If you’d like to get in touch with Claire, fill out the form below to send her an email.
[ad_2]

Claire Lavezzorio

Source link
August 24, 2025
Keeler: CU Buffs’ Travis Hunter is an NFL wideout playing cornerback, scouts say. “Receiver is where he can make the biggest impact”

[ad_1]

BOULDER — Jon Cooper figured he was out of the unicorn hunting game when Travis Hunter picked off his heart and ran it all the way back to 1981.

“Roy Green was an outstanding nickel safety for the Cardinals,” Cooper, the longtime pro scout, associate GM and senior draft analyst with Ourlads.com, told me recently. “And went both ways before they decided he was too valuable as a receiver to do anything but (play offense).”

Cooper was at a St. Louis Cardinals game 43 years ago when Green, a speedy return ace who’d recently been turned into a two-way threat at wideout and defensive back, became the first NFL player since 1957 to intercept a pass and catch another in the same game.

“(Green) wasn’t as big as (CU football coach) Deion (Sanders) or Hunter,” the scout sighed. “He only did it for a season, or a season-and-a-half.”

With an old Jim Hart and a young Neil Lomax at quarterback, then-Cards coach Jim Hanifan didn’t mess around when it came to what side of the ball mattered more. Once the coaching staff saw Green, a former track star, rack up 708 receiving yards and lead the Redbirds in touchdown catches (four) while re-learning the position on the fly in 1981, his days as an NFL defensive back were numbered.

The whole experiment worked so well, Roy moved to offense full-time starting in 1982, eventually leading the NFL in touchdown catches in ’83 and in receiving yards in ’84, notching Pro Bowl berths in both seasons.

“There are certain guys you want to throw to, guys you know will hang on to the ball,” Hart told Sports Illustrated in December 1981. “Roy’s one of those guys.”

Hart might as well be describing No. 12, whose superhuman combination of hand-eye coordination, ball skills, agility and IQ have Buffs alums already calling him the best football player to ever don CU black and gold.

“He’s got a great head on his shoulder as well. He’s tough. He’s smart,” Dave Syvertsen, Ourlads’ senior draft analyst and scout, said of Hunter, the cornerback/wide receiver whose 5-2 Buffs host 5-2 Cincinnati on Saturday night at Folsom Field. “I think he’s got great contest-catch numbers, too.

“Great possession and ball skills. He has superstar potential.”

Syvertsen grades the junior out as a first-rounder at both wideout and cornerback in the ’25 NFL draft. But like Cooper, he has a feeling front offices will look to pigeonhole Hunter into one side of the ball in order to preserve his long-term health.

And like Roy Green two generations ago, they expect that side to be offense — with a sprinkling of defensive appearances, primarily as a nickel back or a slot corner, peppered in.

“I think he could be a great corner,” Cooper said. “(But) there’s something to be said for guys playing some slot corner and also playing on offense. Deion did it himself.

“I think it’s going to depend on the team. I could see him playing in sub packages on defense, because he’s so skilled … eventually, I think, he will be one or the other. I think receiver is probably where he can make the biggest impact long-term. The jury might be out as to whether he can go two ways initially or one way all the time. Unique, unique player.”

The afternoon after CU hosts the Bearcats, the Carolina Panthers, 1-6 and going nowhere fast, visit the Broncos (4-3) at Empower Field. Tankathon.com’s 2025 NFL mock draft as of Tuesday afternoon pegged Hunter going to the Patriots with the No. 1 overall pick and Buffs quarterback Shedeur Sanders being taken by Carolina with the second selection. Longtime ESPN draftnik Mel Kiper recently ranked Hunter as the No. 1 overall pick on his big board.

For a team that needs everything, including marketable, charismatic stars, Hunter ticks every box. That said, even Buffs icons such as Michael Westbrook, the greatest wideout in CU history, would suggest to Hunter that he lean on offense primarily at the next level.

“I would use him as a wide receiver,” Westbrook told me, echoing the scouts’ sentiments. “I would sparingly put him in (with) nickel packages, dime packages. Anytime they’ve got four wideouts on the field, Travis goes in.”

Defense may win championships, but touchdowns pay the bills. Unlike in Green’s era, limitation on contact with receivers, combined with rules that discourage quarterback hits, have made the NFL more of a passing league than ever.

“(He’s) a top-5 pick,” Cooper said. “Body control, speed. And he’s a great corner. I could see where if a team wanted to use those skills, they could find a way. At least initially.”

As Hunter already knows full well, the league is about making business decisions — and the money for receivers is better than the market for cornerbacks. According to Spotrac.com, the top 6 highest-paid NFL wideouts sport an average cap hit of $25.7 million for 2024, while the top five highest-paid NFL corners average a $19.1 million cap hit.

“If he wanted to become a legit No. 1 receiver on a team, (that franchise) might not want a lot of defensive snaps,” Cooper said. “Even six or seven snaps a game (on defense) might not fit in today’s NFL.”

Some coaching staff may think Hunter is too valuable a receiver to risk on defense, or too valuable a defender to risk getting pummeled on pass routes. Either way, the fare for unicorn rides is about to go up.

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

Originally Published: October 22, 2024 at 8:21 p.m.

[ad_2]

Sean Keeler

Source link

October 22, 2024
CU Buffs-Arizona quick hits: Take a breather, Travis Hunter. Shedeur Sanders, LaJohntay Wester, CU pass rush got this

[ad_1]

Initial observations from the CU Buffs’ 34-7 win over the Arizona Wildcats in Big 12 play at Arizona Stadium.

Paging Sean Payton: An onside kick attempt to start the game? Did Arizona head coach Brent Brennan consult the Broncos’ Sean Payton earlier this week? Bold move, to say the least — if not a very bright one. It was almost as if Brennan knew exactly what was coming down the pike. There was no way the Wildcats’ leaky secondary was coming up with enough stops to win this game … unless special teams could steal an extra possession or two. A weird message to send your team before a ball is even snapped. But at least Brennan is a realist.

Weapons to spare: Who needs a run game when you have Shedeur Sanders and an endless stream of pass-catchers? Certainly not CU against a defense like Arizona’s. Can’t rush the passer? Have problems covering receivers one-on-one or tackling in space? Shedeur and the Buffs will eat you alive, whether it’s third-and-long, third-and-short, or, in the case of the QB’s 14-yard strike to Travis Hunter in the first half, fourth-and-10. So even if the Buffs average 2.3 yards on 22 attempts, as they did in the first half, it’s plenty. They still converted 8 of 11 third downs and put 28 points on the board. By the time everything was said and done, LaJohntay Wester had eight catches for 127 yards. And he’s, what, CU’s third- or fourth-best receiver? Yikes!

Livingston’s stock on rise: Stats may not be kind to the Buffs defense — CU entered Saturday 94th in FBS in yards allowed and 73rd in points allowed — but the eye test says Robert Livingston’s unit is trending up. And it’s happening at the line of scrimmage — an area that was a notable issue last season. In two of the last three games, CU has bottled up one of the nation’s top rushing attacks (UCF, 177 yards) and harassed one of its most productive passers (Arizona’s Noah Fifita) to the tune of seven sacks, CU’s most since posting eight against Iowa State in 2010. The Buffs now have 16 sacks in their last three games.

Heisman watch: This was not a day to worry about Travis Hunter’s Heisman Trophy campaign. With CU’s two-way star clearly not 100% after getting dinged in the Kansas State loss last week, Coach Prime did the smart thing, holding Hunter out over the final two quarters as “preventative measures.” CU already had a 28-7 lead, and Hunter’s mortal stat line (54 snaps, two receptions for 15 yards, one tackle) will soon be a mere footnote as long as he delivers a few more superhuman performances down the stretch. (Spoiler alert: He probably will.)

Extra point

Road warriors: The Buffs have now gone on the road twice in conference and delivered easily the two most complete performances of the Deion Sanders Era. The combined score in those wins at UCF at Arizona? 82-28. Not. Too. Shabby. This is what title contenders do against inferior opponents: They take the crowd out of the game early and never let up. Sure, there were mistakes, including a botched snap in Wildcats territory and a Shedeur Sanders pick inside Arizona’s 20. But unlike last year’s Buffs, those turnovers didn’t even come close to sinking them. A B.J. Green strip-sack erased the former, and a Wildcats three-and-out the latter. With five very winnable games left on the schedule — Cincinnati, at Texas Tech, Utah, at Kansas and Oklahoma State — there is a very real path to the College Football Playoff.

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

Originally Published: October 19, 2024 at 5:19 p.m.

[ad_2]

Matt Schubert

Source link

October 19, 2024
CU Buffs vs. Kansas State quick hits: With Travis Hunter and Jimmy Horn lost to injury, Buffs fall short vs. Wildcats

[ad_1]

Initial observations from Colorado’s 31-28 loss to the Kansas State Wildcats in a Big 12 showdown in Boulder.

Wildcats gashing: Kansas State’s primary key to victory was running the rock. In the first half alone, junior DJ Giddens trampled the Buffs for 127 yards on 12 carries, good for 10.6 yards a pop. Ex-Buff Dylan Edwards added 17 yards and a TD. Giddens was untacklable at times, and the CU linebackers and secondary had an especially hard time wrapping up in the second and third levels. KSU continued to pound the football and bleed the clock in the second half, starting with nearly an eight-minute TD drive in the third. A Colorado local, Durango graduate and starting right tackle Carver Willis, helped pave the way for an 182-yard rushing night for Giddens.

Hunter, Horn hurt: CU star wideout/cornerback and Heisman Trophy candidate Travis Hunter, who has been central in the Buffs’ 4-1 start coming into Saturday, left the game midway through the second quarter with what ESPN reported as a shoulder injury. Hunter caught a 14-yard pass, but was crunched by KSU safety Daniel Cobbs, and immediately left the game. He didn’t return, and sophomore Colton Hood came on in Hunter’s place on defense (and later picked off K-State). On offense, CU also lost wideout Jimmy Horn Jr. to injury in the first half and Horn didn’t return, either. The absence of those two playmakers, especially Hunter, took some explosiveness out of CU’s offense, even if the Buffs managed to put 28 on the board.

Hood in clutch: No Hunter to play lock-down corner in crunch time? No problem, at least for a moment. Hood came up clutch late in the fourth quarter with an interception and runback that set up CU’s go-ahead touchdown with 3:20 left. On fourth-and-6 at the CU 31-yard line, Avery Johnson’s pass was tipped by Preston Hodge and then corralled by Hood. He ran it back to the KSU 17-yard line, tripping himself up on the grass to come up just short of the pick-six. However, the next drive, Jayce Brown burned Hodge for a 50-yard TD catch.

Shedeur shines: Once again, the CU QB looked like a top draft pick, despite playing without his two top targets in Hunter and Horn. No. 2 completed 16 straight passes across the second and third quarters — a CU record streak — and willed the Buffs back in the game with his arm despite taking some big hits. His lone blemish was an interception on an overthrow, and his final stat line was videogame-esque: 34 of 40 for 338 yards, three touchdowns and a 186.2 rating.

Big sacks: Both team’s defensive lines made noise in the first half, as the Wildcats tallied four sacks for minus-49 yards, while CU’s defense had three sacks for minus-29 yards. Kansas State’s pressure also forced an intentional grounding on CU’s last possession of the half that effectively killed the drive. In the second half, the Wildcats continued to bring the heat, especially as the Buffs all but abandoned the run. KSU had two sacks for minus-25 yards over the final two quarters, finishing with six sacks overall. On a third-quarter sack, KSU defensive end Ryan Davis celebrated with Shedeur Sanders’ signature wristwatch move, holding the pose for a few seconds toward the CU crowd.

KSU QB hurt, returns: The Wildcats also had an injury of their own to dual-threat quarterback, but Johnson’s absence was brief. The sophomore suffered what looked like a side injury on KSU’s opening possession of the second half, following an impressive threaded pass that went for 33 yards to Brown. Senior Ta’Quan Roberson spelled Johnson, who returned to the field later in the drive to throw a one-yard TD pass to Brown that made it a two-score lead. That 16-play, 81-yard drive chewed up more than half the third quarter.

Who’s who: As has become the norm with Buffs games under Coach Prime, an array of stars were on the CU sidelines on Saturday night at Folsom Field. That list included current Nugget Russell Westbrook, retired former Nugget Carmelo Anthony (who rocked a Peter Forsberg Avs jersey), former Wizards star John Wall, current NBA stars Kevin Durant and John Wall, and rapper Cam’ron. Plus, former CU football stars and current NFL receivers Laviska Shenault and Juwann Winfree were also on hand.

[ad_2]

Kyle Newman

Source link

October 12, 2024
Keeler: CU Buffs QB Shedeur Sanders’ Hail Mary vs. Baylor was “better” than Kordell Stewart’s “Miracle at Michigan?” Michael Westbrook says yes. And no.

[ad_1]

Michael Westbrook has a new second-favorite miracle.

“Our Hail Mary won the game,” the iconic former CU wide receiver told me by phone Monday when I asked to compare his 1994 Miracle at Michigan catch — which turns 30 on Tuesday — to Shedeur Sanders’ Mile High Miracle, the Baylor Blessing, in the Buffs’ bonkers overtime win this past weekend.

“Theirs prevented them from losing the game. Ours won the game.”

With that, he laughed.

“You’ve got to remember who you’re talking to. I’m still Michael Westbrook. I’m still going to talk smack. Even though those are my Buffs.”

He’s loving those 3-1 Buffs, by the way. And he loves wideout LaJohntay Wester’s sliding catch in the rain, the grab that brought Folsom Field to its feet and sent fans outside scurrying back to their seats as time expired.

“Kordell (Stewart) had all the time in the world (in 1994),” Westbrook continued. “Shedeur running was the complete opposite. He’s getting tackled while he releases the ball. It was a stark contrast.

“And (Stewart) is back there waiting for a tip with my 43-inch vertical, just sitting back there waiting. Theirs was a far more difficult play. Ours was very easy. We literally practiced that play every week. Every Friday we practiced that Hail Mary. (Shedeur’s) was a more skilled play, from their perspective.”

Still: Two similar touchdowns, the last one happening three days from the 30th anniversary of the first? Who says the football gods don’t have a sense of humor?

“It’s a huge blessing to have been a part of something like that,” Westbrook continued. “And then (30 years) later, to have something similar transpire … No. 10 throwing the ball in 1994 to No. 10 (Wester) actually catching it in 2024. My last name is Westbrook, his last name is Wester … it’s almost surreal.”

It’s almost poetry. While Shedeur Sanders swung for the fences, Stewart was watching at home, clutching a pitching wedge nervously.

“It’s one of those ‘moments,’ right?” the ex-Buffs QB told me Monday. “I’m like, ‘Are you freaking kidding me?’ Mind you, the (FOX Sports) broadcast had just shown my Hail Mary pass from 1994, right before Shedeur threw that pass.

“I don’t know if you call it fate. But history has a chance to repeat itself sometimes, in the same way, in the same capacity. I didn’t jump up. I was just like, ‘Wow, are you freaking kidding me?’ … I had a moment. I just remembered how it was for us.”

It was pandemonium. It was chaos. It was glorious.

Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver LaJohntay Wester (10) and teammate Travis Hunter (12) celebrate Wester’s touchdown to force overtime against the Baylor Bears in the fourth quarter at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. Baylor Bears safety Devyn Bobby (3) walks toward the sideline. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)

On Sept. 24, 1994, the unbeaten and seventh-ranked Buffs trailed 26-14 to start the fourth quarter at fellow unbeaten and No. 4 Michigan. Staring at a 26-21 deficit with six seconds left, Stewart, the Buffs QB, had driven CU to its own 36. After a spike stopped the clock, then-Buffs coach Bill McCartney called for “Rocket Left,” in which Westbrook, Blake Anderson and Rae Carruth lined up on the left side of the formation and James Kidd lined up wide right.

The rest is college football history, still regarded as one of the wildest endings of any NCAA contest played over the last 50 years. Stewart dropped back to about his own 27 and fired a deep ball as time expired. The lob had enough juice to carry it past the Michigan 1-yard line, where a mass jump-ball situation ensued.

Anderson tipped the rock high and behind him, where the 6-foot-3 Westbrook, tracking the ball with his eyes, leaped up and cradled it as he rolled to the turf, stunning more than 100,000 Wolverines faithful in the process. Ralphie 27, Big Blue 26.

“There are no flags on the field,” the legendary Keith Jackson said on the broadcast. “Only despair for the Maize and Blue.”

Westbrook’s No. 1 Hail Mary was always going to be a beast to beat. Especially given the context. And the opponent. And the beatified building it silenced.

“The one thing I was jealous of, was when (Wester) caught the ball, the reaction was a complete, stark contrast (to mine),” Westbrook reflected. “It was complete and total, utter silence, versus the decibels being high enough (at Folsom) to pop your eardrums. And it was so awesome to see that.

“I was jealous and I was very proud of them. And very happy.”

The closest Big No. 81 ever came to that kind of maelstrom in Boulder was in September 1993. He’d tipped a Stewart Hail Mary to teammate Charles Johson for a TD against Baylor just before halftime, giving CU a 35-0 cushion at the break. The Buffs went on to maul the Bears, 45-21.

“(The Miracle at Michigan) was on the road, we overcame the adversity of 100,000 fans, we just overcame 10 penalties. We came back and won,” Westbrook continued. “(The ’24 Buffs) came back and won, too …

“It was a great play. I’m not going to take that away from them. To put that ball where (Sanders) put it and for (Wester) to catch it like he caught it, that was a better play. That play was better than our play.”

Another laugh.

“But that play, in the grand scheme of things, was not a better play.”

Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver LaJohntay Wester (10) makes a catch in the end zone for a touchdown against Baylor Bears safety Corey Gordon Jr. (24) to force overtime, after the extra point, in the fourth quarter at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. The Buffs went on to win 38-31. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)

[ad_2]

Sean Keeler

Source link

September 23, 2024
LaJohntay Wester etches name in CU Buffs football history with Hail Mary from Shedeur Sanders: “There’s nothing like it.”

[ad_1]

BOULDER — LaJohntay Wester knows college football heartbreak.

Wester had a fantastic career at Florida Atlantic, but he’s watched his Owls lose on a walk-off field goal in El Paso. He watched another team celebrate bowl eligibility on the final game of a lost season.

Now Wester knows pure, uncut college football joy.

Wester was on the receiving end of what instantly becomes one of the most famous passes in Colorado football history Saturday night. He corralled a Hail Mary from Shedeur Sanders after time expired in regulation to force overtime in a 38-31 victory against Baylor at Folsom Field.

“Me being in college for a while, I’ve always been on the other end of the stick,” Wester said. “They rush the field after they beat us and we’re just trying to hurry off the field. This time I got to enjoy it and actually connect with some of the fans, take pictures. That’s great, man. It was an amazing feeling. There’s nothing like it.”

On a wild night befitting Colorado’s return to Big 12 play, the Buffs could have tied the game on the play before. Sanders heaved the ball toward the same corner of the Baylor end zone, but it deflected off Will Sheppard’s hands on a contested play.

The clock still read :02. Colorado had a second chance, and the Buffs didn’t waste it.

Three wide receivers — Wester, Sheppard and Omarion Miller — lined up to the left of Sanders. Travis Hunter, by design, split out by himself to the right.

Hunter might be the best college football player in America. On this play, he was the best decoy.

“I told coach, ‘Let me go to the side by myself,’” Hunter said. “I knew there would be more people on me, and that would give our guys backside a one-on-one opportunity. They did exactly what we thought. They had three people on me. I just know sometimes you got to step back and let the team go ahead and play their role and let them come down with a good play. So I trusted the process.

“I just wanted us to have a chance. It’s 50-50, but with our receiver corps it’s more like 80-20. I mean, you can’t get any better than our receiver corps.”

Sanders took the shotgun snap and rolled to his left. The Baylor pass rush hounded Sanders all night, sacking him eight times and pressuring him on dozens of his nearly 60 dropbacks.

Getting him out of the pocket was also by design, but two Bears nearly converged on him at midfield as Sanders sent the ball toward the front-left corner of the end zone.

Wester found the ball in the air and reacted, hauling it in just after Baylor defensive back Caden Jenkins fell down and well before the safety help could arrive. It was the fourth catch of the game on seven targets for Wester.

He wasn’t happy with at least one of the non-catches earlier in the game. Then he atoned.

“You’re not going to be perfect,” Wester said. “You’re going to have mistakes out there, but it’s just next play man and making up for it. As long as you make up for it, everybody is going to forget about those drops.”

The improbability of the play was amplified by everything that led up to it. Sanders was sacked on four out of Colorado’s first six plays after Baylor took a 31-24 lead. At one point, it was second-and-24 with 54 seconds to play and 69 yards to the end zone.

Then there was the near-miracle to Sheppard. In the end, Baylor called its defense for the final play. Bears coach Dave Aranda said its name was Victory Cigar.

Then it was Sanders and Wester who lit up Folsom Field.

“I always have confidence in Shedeur. He’s the reason I came here,” Wester said. “He came and got me and I told him, ‘I’m not going to let you down.’ I came here for a reason. He brought me here for a reason. He didn’t bring me here to drop balls and miss assignments. He brought me here to do what I do, and tonight I did what I did.”

And now Wester is going to spend the rest of his life learning about college football immortality in Boulder.

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

[ad_2]

Corey Masisak

Source link

September 22, 2024
Keeler: CSU players, including QB Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, need to stop writing checks Rams football can’t cash

[ad_1]

FORT COLLINS — Surely, Kansas State wasn’t allegedly offering CSU quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi $600,000 in NIL money just to hand off and get the heck out of the way.

“I have slowed the game down on offense a little bit,” Rams football coach Jay Norvell explained Monday at Canvas Stadium, “because we were playing some really talented people these first three weeks and I felt like, to give our defense a chance, I needed to slow down the game a little bit and run it a little bit more.”

The problem isn’t that the Rams are fighting Shedeur Sanders. The problem is that they look as if they’re fighting themselves.

Air Raid? Smash-mouth? None of the above? Hey, it’s good to be multiple. But over the last 11 months or so, the Rams offense has often looked downright schizophrenic.

Consider: In the first four series of a bonkers 2023 Rocky Mountain Showdown last September, CSU threw it 11 times. In the first four series of a boring first half this past weekend in the ’24 Showdown, a 28-9 CU victory, the Rams aired it out just five times, officially.

At home. Against one of the two schools your alums want desperately to beat most. In front of a rocking, ravenous and rare sellout at Canvas Stadium.

And yeah, we know — personnel played a factor. Last year’s Rams took on CU and the Sanders family with Dallin Holker at tight end, wideout Louis Brown IV and a healthy Tory Horton. CSU this past weekend had no Holker, no Brown and Horton (groin) toughing it out on basically one good leg.

But when you’ve been touting your QB1 as a Power 4-level signal-caller, and then can’t trust him to air it out against a Power 4 defense, red flags start popping up everywhere. Everybody’s credibility suffers.

“(We) need to get our playmakers involved, we need to get it going offensively,” Norvell continued. “And we’ve got talent. We can score. And we need to respond to that.”

“Are you saying you’re going to take a more aggressive approach from here on out with how you attack teams?” the coach was asked.

“No, I’m telling you that I think we had hard matchups, and I don’t think we matched up very well,” Norvell replied. “And I was trying to minimize that — and that’s what head coaches do.”

Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) and CU cornerback DJ McKinney (8) bring down Colorado State Rams running back Justin Marshall (29) in the first quarter at Canvas Stadium in Ft. Collins, Colorado Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)

Fortunately, there’s all kinds of time left, nine games, with which to hammer out a new narrative. The Mountain West looks top-heavy, and CSU won’t play two of the three programs — UNLV and Boise State, Fresno State being the other — expected to vie for the league crown.

More hope: The Rams have already faced the two most talented two rosters they’ll see all year in No. 1 Texas and CU. Although if the point was to save some arrows in the quiver for league play, after last Saturday, it might be good for Norvell to start firing off a few.

“We’ve got a lot of season left,” the coach said, “and we’ve got all of our goals in front of us that we want to accomplish in our conference and in the remaining nine games.”

All true. But assuming this weekend’s visit from 0-3 UTEP gets the Rams (1-2) back to .500, it’s also not crazy to wonder if a visit to future league rival Oregon State (Oct. 5) and a home test with San Jose State (Oct. 12) leaves CSU at 2-4 heading into a tussle at rebuilding Air Force (1-2). It’s not unreasonable to wonder whether the CSU administration, after that CU stinker, will have everybody’s back if — if — the Rams are somehow 2-5 with three winnable home games (New Mexico, Wyoming, Utah State) left on the docket.

Norvell knows the score. He’s got a president and athletic director who didn’t hire him, and the former isn’t messing around.

The Pac-12, or what’s left of it, awaits.

“I’ve felt pressure since the day I started being a coach,” Norvell said. “I mean, that’s just part of it.”

He’s also his own offensive coordinator, his own play-caller, so everybody knows where the buck stops. Norvell’s never shied away from blame after tough losses. He’s rarely pointed fingers. But CSU fans I’ve talked to would prefer to lose more news conferences and win more football games, thanks all the same.

“You don’t want to get me on a soapbox about all that,” Norvell said. “We hadn’t talked about (CU) for months, OK? And so all that stuff that was brought up (as trash talk) was a long time ago.

“So I don’t really have any issue with Brayden or any of our guys. Our guys are focused on what can we improve to get better. And that’s about all I’ve got to say about that.”

If the Rams have an offensive identity right now, it’s that their players, including BFN, keep writing checks their program can’t cash. Nobody cheering on the green and gold right now knows what they’re going to get on game day. Besides heartbreak.

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

[ad_2]

Sean Keeler

Source link

September 16, 2024
CU Buffs vs. CSU Rams quick hits: Has quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi taken a step back in Year 2?

[ad_1]

Initial observations from the CU Buffs’ 28-9 win over the CSU Rams in the Rocky Mountain Showdown’s return to Fort Collins and Canvas Stadium.

Changes up front: Coach Prime indicated the Buffs planned on making changes up front to solve their problems on the offensive line. The big moves? Phillip Houston at right tackle, old RT Tyler Brown to left guard and freshman Micah Welch in the backfield. The results? Quite positive. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders was sacked just once (on a slide), while Welch (nine carries, 65 yards) found room to roam off the left side (when the Buffs actually decided to run it). Whether that has more to do with a leaky CSU defense than actual improvement remains to be seen. At the very least, CU saw the general competence it needed to on Saturday. And that’s a good start.

Total control: It took Shedeur Sanders and the Buffs roughly a quarter to get warmed up, but once they did, they controlled every facet of this game. Travis Hunter (13 catches, 100 yards, two TDs, one interception) remains one-of-one. LaJohntay Wester (five catches, 80 yards) joins CU’s growing list of offensive weapons. And the defense? Let’s just say they’ve figured some things out. Since the start of the second half in Nebraska, the Buffs have allowed just nine points over six quarters. The shallow crosses that tore apart CU in 2023 were shut off from the start. Outside of a couple of long runs, the Buffs did a solid job bottling up CSU’s run game. All in all, there was a lot to like for CU as the Big 12 schedule arrives next week vs. Baylor.

What’s happened to BFN?: A year ago, this was the game that cemented Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi as the Rams’ quarterback of the future. Twelve months later, CSU fans have to be wondering what happened to that guy. The sophomore was largely ineffective in the first half, sailing a pair of third-down throws and looking indecisive out of the pocket while completing 6 of 10 passes for just 54 yards. Then he opened the second half by throwing an all-too-familiar head-scratching interception across the middle. It didn’t get much better after that. Yes, Tory Horton’s inability to stay on the field changes what CSU can do. But it shouldn’t grind the Rams’ offense to a halt. Three weeks into his second season as a starter, it sure looks like BFN has taken a step back.

Too. Many. Mistakes: As dominant as the Buffs were for large portions of this game, CSU sure gave them plenty of opportunities to find their footing. Freshman defensive lineman Andrew Laurich was lucky he didn’t get tossed for his late hit on Shedeur Sanders in the second quarter. Instead, it was just a really bad personal foul that gifted CU a first down on an eventual touchdown drive. Graduate defensive lineman James Mitchell’s facemask on second-and-21 did the same thing one Buffs scoring march later. Toss in Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi’s pick, Keegan Holles’ first-and-goal fumble and two botched snaps in CU territory, and the errors were legion. The Rams needed to play near perfect to win this one. They were far from it.

Extra point

Five years? That has to change: Green-and-Gold vs. Black-and-Gold needs to happen every fall from now until the end of time. And yet the next one of these isn’t scheduled until 2029, when the Rams visit the Buffs in Boulder. Five years is waaaaaayyyy too long for us to have to wait for another one Showdown. With the Rams set to move to the Pac-12 in 2026, and perhaps opening up a few more days, maybe something can be done between now and ’29? If there is any opening, the Buffs and Rams need to work it out. This rivalry should be renewed as often as possible.

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

[ad_2]

Matt Schubert

Source link

September 14, 2024