Needs Improvement
filed in Opinion on Nov.06, 2007
People will say the 70-3 drubbing against Texas in 2005 was worse. I disagree, we had that coming. I think the 40-3 loss to USC in 02 was the closet thing I can relate to this Missouri game. The Buffs just did not play solid football. We rolled over and got our asses handed to us. On offense, defense, special teams and coaching. We were outmatched in every area.
The thing is I think this was a mental loss. We got up early and then gave up 3 big plays and fumble/incompletion. After that the kids hung their heads and their was very little fire left. That is what frustrates me the most.
Last season was tough, losing ten games. But we were in every one of those games. Even the 24-3 loss to Oklahoma was closer than that score suggests. That team never game up, they fought for every yard and every stop. I believed that was going to be the defining character of Hawkins coached teams.
But now I am seeing a trend that I do not like. In Arizona, the team was done playing mid way through the second quarter. I explained that away due to the heat. Being there, it was hard for me to make it to the second half and I wasn’t even playing football. Somehow in Manhattan we let that game get out of hand against a mediocre team at best, but we were still basking in the glory of the OU win. With Kansas at home the defense kept us in, but the offense couldn’t make the plays they needed when the game was on the line. At Texas Tech some commenters lamented the fact that the offense slowed down in the fourth and defense allowed Tech back in the game. But they won, it was hard to be too upset.
This game ties all of those previous games together all too well.
So what is it exactly that causes Coach Hawk to write “Ouch… again! To all the Buff faithful, I am sorry for the outcome”
I am not sure what the cause is, but here are some ideas.
– Poor offensive play calling
– Lack of a leadership on offense
– Poor discipline leading to too many penalties
– Blown coverages/missed assignments
– Lack of mental toughness
– Too much youth and inexperience on the field
Take your pick a strong case can be made for any one of those. But the real answer problem lies in a mix of all of the above. It results in an average team who is still hoping to make a bowl. These were the expectations we had going into the season and that is exactly what we got.
Go Buffs!
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November 6th, 2007 on 9:00 am
Well about time someone pulled the sunshine pump out of their rear. Thanks for the honest and candid viewpoint. Wish more Buff Fans could take your cue. I think alot of what you defined could be attributed to a lack of “determined spirit”. Playing with purpose, not wanting to be called a loser and laughed at. Maybe they should pick up a comic book, flip to the back page, and see the skinny kid overcome his size, pump some weights, and throw sand at the bully. Just like they did vs.Oklahoma. Good coached teams rebound (ie:OK) lousy teams believe they have won the war with just one battle. I hope I am wrong, but we could lose out, especially with ISU starting to click and Nebraska with half of our old coaching staff.
November 6th, 2007 on 9:41 am
I would add poor defensive playcalling as well. 3 down linemen… YECH.
These young guys just don’t have it in them to be up every week yet. Combine that with a poor gameplan and you get last weeks game.
I really doubt this team will fold and lose both of these games. I could see us going 1 and 1 and ending up 6 and 6 (which is what I thought we would do after the kansas game). This team will get up for Nebraska, the seniors won’t let them slack. and the team has never had two “let down” games in a row this year.
The coaching staff will not let them forget this week for a long time. If Hawk is a good one, he will use THIS game as a turning point.
November 6th, 2007 on 9:48 am
I agree we had a horrible game and there were multiple root causes. Don’t sell the stock just because it drops in value for a few weeks if you know it has a solid future. This team has a solid future; I guarantee next year we’ll be more than ready for Mizzou.
Kid Buff; you keep promising that you’re “done with the Buffs” yet you continue to prove that you truly are an idiot with each subsequent post. Take a break. Please.
November 6th, 2007 on 11:36 am
2 and 10 one year to a Bowl game sounds pretty good to me. If we go to 6 and 6, I will be dissapointed and bored come bowl season. If we go 5 and 7… Well, I will lose some faith in Hawk and demand a lot more improvement before I am happy for the next year.
Mac took 6 or 7 years to get the team up to speed. Hawk looks like he will do it in 3 or 4.
I say we go 6 and 6, miss out on the bowl game.
Next year its 8 wins, the year after that, 10 and a trip to the Big XII champs:)
November 6th, 2007 on 11:44 am
The point is that nobody truly believes the cupboard was bare myth. The cupboard maybe was not full at WR, QB and OL, but the rest of the team was and is still very talented. Mason, Hugh, Terrence, George and Jordan take great offense to this myth.
As Buffs we need to expect to excel. And never have anyone rub our noses in it in our own house. And that just happened. It’s OK to be fired up about it.
November 6th, 2007 on 1:05 pm
I don’t think it’s fair (to Mac) to compare Hawk and Mac in terms of initial success. It took McCartney 6 or 7 years to turn a terrible team with no national presence into a top-tier program. Like Marc said, the cupboard wasn’t bare for Hawk. The Buffs were weak in a few key areas (QB, WR) combined with a new coach and system, leading to a terrible season. I think the improvement this year can be attributed to the players understanding the system (mostly on defense). To improve going forward, they will have to rely on the young players getting better and recruiting.
That’s all well and good if you think the struggles this year are attributable to any (or all) of the reasons on Marc’s list except the first one. The first reason sticks out and is the one that has me concerned about the future. I think that the OC has had his moments, but on the whole I don’t think he adapts to the game very well. Helfrich is new at this, so maybe he needs some time like our young players, but you’d think he’d have come up with a better plan to attack a Mizzou defense that hasn’t been very good. I read a quote from him stating that the offense was confused by all of the different looks that the Tigers gave them on defense. By the 10th game of the season, that shouldn’t be the case.
All in all, I’m not too down about the game. We knew going in that this was a young team and that we’d be happy with a 6-6 or 7-5 season. That’s still attainable, but I won’t be as forgiving of these kind of mistakes and lackluster performances next season.
November 6th, 2007 on 4:12 pm
Dear “Buff in Iowa”
Go cry in your cornfield. Like Nicholson said “you cannot handle the truth”. How could any fool from Iowa talk Buff football? Come up with some analysis, versus “stay the course” crap. What part of 2-10 was the “course”
Hey, I understand you are against POSITIVE change, we all know about farm subsisdies, and how real football states pay for your welfare. But this is about football. Buff Football, and if you don’t have the “Cahones” to see reality, I pity you. What guarantees are you giving? Lets hear your pathetic analysis.. “everything is going to be OK because ethanol is rising”. Please, suck it up and prove me wrong about the reality of CU Football. BUILD A CASE. Or pass me the halcyon you’ve been gulping!
November 6th, 2007 on 4:17 pm
Ok. you both got your shots in. Now play nice.
November 6th, 2007 on 4:25 pm
The SC game was worse. USC opening drive, 4th and a million, Donald Strickland gets whiffed by Fargas….and the rout is on.
November 7th, 2007 on 2:16 am
Kiddie Buff. Thanks for proving my point.
November 7th, 2007 on 2:34 am
Kid Buff, let’s call a truce to this parlay…
My frustration with your “points” is that in my years of watching football rarely to you see a program do a 180-degree turn in under three years. I grow frustrated with people throwing the Buffs, Hawkins, etc. under the bus when things don’t go well. These are the same people who jump right back on the band wagon when things improve and claim they were huge fans all along. Kid Buff, you were just the lightning rod for that frustration. I am a BIG supporter of the current coaching staff for the following reasons (in order):
1) For the first time since Mac I am PROUD of the program! Hawkins isn’t shady and does the right things. He brings a level of honesty that hasn’t been with the program in nearly a decade.
2) His team is improving. We are much better than one year ago. We play as a team and you can see growth. We have a ton of freshman and sophomores playing; which speaks to how thin our ranks were.
3) Recruiting. Hawk is a great recruiter who is able to bring in solid players. Last year he had a good class, and this one is shaping up to be even better.
Peace.
November 7th, 2007 on 8:12 am
Kid, the “reality” you crave is that CU has never been a tier one football school, and it won’t be easy to become one with all the pro and college sports in Colorado. Your nostalgia about years past is just that – you sound like a fusker.
November 7th, 2007 on 8:47 am
Buff in Iowa
Truce accepted. And your points are valid, and I can see your logic. Maybe my expectations are “for them to run, versus, first they need to learn to crawl”. Baby steps. But I still have a nagging point to counter. We have seen other schools make decent turnarounds, look at ASU this year. Terry Bowden said it best when he thought Hawkins did a disservice to the team, by gutting the offense and starting from scratch. A good O-coordinater would recognize this and parcel in the new stuff, in between the old stuff. Ween ‘em off gradually. Instead we went cold turkey into it. If you got a Hyundai, it ain’t gonna be a Porsche overnight, but the Hyundai, driven right will get you there.
Duffman
Tier one program? How about the ’94 squad where every starting player went to the NFL? Or at one point, the Buffs were in the top 10 of schools who had active NFL players in the league. And what about K-State, Rutgers, USF, CAL? You wanna call them Tier One schools, of course not, but their progams are much better than CU. How many championships have they won? How many Orange Bowls? Why would it be so hard to dominate in Colorado? Look at the Donkeys, Lambs and Pigeons, none of them are any good. So, there is an opportunity to get the State to rally behind ‘em
And whats wrong with Nostalgia?
November 7th, 2007 on 11:26 am
I truly hope that this week in practice the coaches are pointing down the field and telling the running backs and Cody that the middle of the field is an option, no just a place for the Nebraska cheerleaders to graze.
November 8th, 2007 on 6:30 am
Sure, the early 90′s were great. (I didn’t know it turn out that way at the time, but it seems like half the people in my dorm ended up in the NFL). But go look at OU, Michigan, USC, even (shudder) Nebraska, and those years would seem unremarkable by comparison. Can CU get to that level? Maybe by the time I’m an old man. Can they win a national title before then? Sure! But you have to work in the realm of reality. They won’t win just by having more heart or trying harder. They need to get better recruits who are brought in for specific purposes, and they need to practice and learn the game. Then, they might have a good year and make a run at it, IF Hawkins is all he’s cracked up to be (I believe he is, but time will tell). This stuff doesn’t happen overnight. College is four years (ok, 5 for most). That’s how long it will take Hawkins to flush the system, and that’s when he will be in firm control of his destiny at CU.