Finally, the season is here. The Colorado Buffaloes look to open the 2007 against the CSU Rams on Saturday bright and early at Mile High.
The Buffs may be focused on putting last season behind them, but the Rams are too. CSU has lost seven straight games since their second half debacle against the Air Force Academy. We’ve talked a lot of program crushing defeats on this blog. That loss may not crush their program, but certainly crushed their season. The Rams need a rebound as badly as the Buffs do.
The Buffs have three major problems to deal with when the Rams are on offense. Caleb Hanie, Kyle Bell and Kory Sperry. Hanie had three incomplete passes against the Buffs last year. Most of them were short screens, but he was still dominant. Sperry is an NFL tight end who can find the open space and break tackles. Shutting him down will be imperative for the Buffs. Kyle Bell is an excellent tail back who has every intention of putting an exclamation point on his career at CSU this year. These three alone could do the Buffs in, but combined with Sonny Lubick behind the bench, they could be a wrecking ball. Our secondary will have to be stellar, the defensive line will have to be strong and the linebackers have something to prove. Linebackers have historically not been a problem for the Buffs, but with the absence of Sipili and Joe Sanders moving to TE, the spotlight has come down on RJ Brown. We’ll see how this plays out.
On offense I feel much better. Cody Hawkins brings us leadership and accuracy. Our offensive line should be able to hold the pocket. And lo and behold Patrick Williams just may be the receiver we all thought he could be. Combined with a stellar group of tight ends, these Buffs are going to score. Let’s hope it’s early and often. It will be interesting to see the playbook Helfrich has up his sleeve. We didn’t see much of it last year. It should be interesting to watch the Buffs expand their offense and spread the field.
We are definitely not going to see the same defensive struggle from last year. Both offenses are going to move the ball. Both the Buffs and the Rams are going to score. (I hate that damn cannon) The only question is how each team is going to respond when it happens. The Rams are going to be ready, mature and poised. And we don’t know about the Buffs. We can all be proud the Buffs never gave up last year, but they never stood up and took control of a game. The turning point is going to be how the Buffs respond to adversity in this game. How do they respond after the first turnover, the first big play given up? Their reaction will determine the outcome of this game.
College football is a game of momentum. That’s why we love it. A three touchdown lead is never safe in the NCAA. If the Buffs can walk into this game and grab the momentum, this game will be theirs.
CU 31 CSU 24
Go Buffs!

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  2. Colorado Buffalo Season Preview
  3. CU @ KU Preview