Buff Nation Blog

Winning is an art form which is a byproduct of being competitive. While the latter doesn’t guarantee the former, it’s the former that is the ultimate measure of success in college football.  This past Saturday, CU was once again competitive against a ranked opponent but failed to win, losing by three in the last seconds (34-31).  The loss was the third in a row where one could argue CU should have won rather than deserved to lose. 

In 1952, the Academy Award-winning movie High Noon, starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly, made its debut. A story about the difficulty of standing one’s ground, especially when all have abandoned you, has been claimed to be the favorite movie of multiple US Presidents, including Harry S Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Bill Clinton (who reportedly showed the movie 17 times during his tenure in the white house). In a movie that plays out in real-time (think Jack Bauer -24), the clock is literally ticking while a noon train filled with a gang of gunslingers brings trouble. In a life-and-death circumstance, the cast of characters vet through their options and ultimately make their final answer.

With two-thirds of this inaugural Coach Prime football season in the bag, our Colorado Buffaloes sport a 4-4 record. Three more wins than all of last season and two games shy of bowl eligibility with four games still to be played, the 2023 Buffaloes have exceeded the expectations of the college football pundits and most of Buff Nation. Yet, losing three of the last four, including the inexcusable loss to Stanford, along with the perception that CU is getting worse rather than better, Buff Nation is on edge.

In their 37Th year of existence, the Denver Broncos were still seeking that ever elusive first Super Bowl Lombardi Trophy. The date was December 7, 1997 and the Broncos had just lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers forcing the Broncos into a Wild Card spot for the playoffs, rather than the possibility of a #1 seed. The road to the Super Bowl now ran through the Jaguars, Chiefs and Steelers, all teams the Broncos had recently lost to. Within minutes after the loss to the Steelers, all-pro linebacker Bill Romanowski was quoted as saying to then Coach Mike Shanahan, “We’re just going to have to do it (get to the super bowl) the hard way.”

It’s been five years since the Buffs have been favored by double digits over a power 5 school.  Buff Nation will recall it was that game, on October 27, 2018, where CU gave up a second half 28-point lead and lost to the (then) lowly Oregon State Beavers 41-34 in overtime.  It was one of the biggest chokes in college football history, a black eye to a storied Colorado football program, and led to the firing of Coach Mike MacIntyre 22 days later.  Ironically that loss set off a chain of events which led to the hiring of Coach Prime five years later.

On a perfect fall weather day at Folsom field, no one was leaving because everyone was believing. With multiple chances to lay down (down 21-0 in first quarter, 34-14 at half and 41-14 deep into the third quarter), the CU Buffs stood their ground as did the 54,000 white-clad, sold-out Buff Nation crowd. When the clock stuck double zeros and the Buffs were on the short end of a 48-41 shoot out against #8 USC, the sense of what was to come was stronger than what could have been. The time for watching the game sitting down, let alone leaving early is over (except for my brother who never really followed anyone’s rules). These Buffs are now standing room only, staying till the end entertainment.

The assassination of the Archduke of Austria on June 28, 1914, not only served as the catalyst for the start of WWI, but also indirectly served as the catalyst for the United States’s rise as a global superpower.  Pre-existing political and social tensions, along with a complex web of alliances, served as the necessary fodder for WWI, which then led to the WWII (Treaty of Versailles), which in turn led to the rebuilding of Europe (Marshall Plan), which ushered in the golden age of the United State as the world’s first modern day superpower.  The USA continues to be a global leader over 100 years later, all because some low-level dignitary in a far-off land took a bullet to the head. Right?

As I stood on the CU business field waiting for ESPN College Gameday to start its live broadcast, I couldn’t help but recall doing the same thing 28 years ago when College GameDay was here to broadcast the #3 Texas A&M vs #7 CU game.  I was working my first real job out of college, and Koy Detmer was the QB.  College GameDay was in town twice that year, and CU was ranked the entire season.  For me, those were the good old days.  Almost as if to interrupt my thinking, Coach Prime took the stage, and then The Rock made a cameo, and then I noticed how the crowd had swelled behind me. It dawned on me that these too are the good old days which I will reflect upon sometime in the future.  Three weeks into the 2023 season, CU continues to be the darling of the college football world, and we are living out the good old days real time.  This won’t always be the case, but it is now. We got this!

This past Saturday, in front of a sell-out crowd at Folsom Field, our Golden Buffaloes came through with dominate 36-14 beatdown of Nebraska (the largest margin of victory since the 62-36 win at Folsom on 11/23/01 – the greatest CU game ever played on home turf). The victory afforded those Buff Nation faithful willing to rush the field a chance to capture that coveted 50-yard line selfie for their Shutterfly album (always good, always memorable).

“Nebraska”. Has there ever been a word that Buff Nation says with such disdain? It’s a word that is nearly spit out of one’s mouth. There is nothing better than a storied college rivalry to bring out the best in us. It’s good to hate. It’s a healthy habit many adopt come the Fall season in support of their alma mater. To hate for no reason is for the uneducated. That is not what we are talking about here. To hate for rivalry reasons in college football is a privilege and an honor.

“We ain’t got tomorrow.  We got now.  We ain’t got next.  We got now.” Coach Prime.  Pre-game Speech TCU.
Every Thursday, the 3-2-1 newsletter from James Clear, my favorite writer (second only to Stephen King), comes out providing words of wisdom and motivational messages.  In a tribute to him, here is my 3-2-1 for the wrap-up of the Colorado Buffaloes first week of the season.

One of the most prolific bank robbers in American history is William Sutton (1860-1901). When asked why he robs banks, he is famously quoted as saying, “Because that is where the money is.” While a bank robber by trade, Sutton would have made a good NCAA Athletic Director. Sutton had a clear vision (get rich), a sound plan (rob banks), and a man of action (he is known to have robbed banks for over forty years and cleared over $2M (not adjusted for inflation in this blog)).

This coming Saturday, April 22, at 1PM MT (ESPN), CU will hold its annual Black & Gold Spring football game. The Spring game serves as the conclusion of Spring practice and an opportunity for coaches to determine the level and depth of talent on the team before players are dismissed until August. While serving as a capstone of sorts, the Spring Game really is a glorified practice and are open to the public and, typically free of charge. For the past decade, Buff Nation paid no attention to this game (practice). It really wasn’t worth anyone’s time.

In his best Bud Fox (Wall Street) impersonation, CU Athletic Director Rick George indeed bagged the elephant with the hiring of Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders as our next Colorado Football head coach. In a literal split second, the CU Football program, which was the laughingstock of the NCAA and left for dead, went from an afterthought as a desired destination to top of mind for nearly every football recruit.

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.”
-Robert Frost – The Road Not Taken

Like the traveler in Robert Frost’s poem, CU stands at a crossroads.  Soon after this email hits your inbox, the University of Colorado will be announcing the hiring of its next football head coach.  It is an understatement to say CU has struggled over the past two decades (rounding up), and that this past season has been the worst in the program’s 133-year storied history.

In a Colorado High School football game, if a team is winning by 40 or more points at any point in the game, the “mercy rule” goes into effect, and the “continuous game clock” begins to run, and it doesn’t stop until there is no time left.  This expedites the end of the game for the safety and mental health of all involved.  In college football there isn’t a mercy rule for a game or for a season.  There are nine days left for Buff Nation to endure what has been the hardest season in decades. Nine days.  This season was over the day CU came out without a clue against TCU seventy-eight days ago.

Buff Nation – One doesn’t have to be a theologian to be familiar with the Ten Commandments,  and unless you are a sociopath, most of the commandments are quite reasonable.  “Thou shall not kill” (Duh).  “Thou shall honor thy parents “(For sure).  “Thou shall not...

Buff Nation – Two thirds of the way through this 2022 CU Football season, all our questions have been answered. Perhaps not the answers we want, but we indeed know who we are and who we are not.  A poor coaching hire and the loss of over twenty players to the...

Buff Nation - “There was once a dream that was Rome, you could only whisper it. Anything more than a whisper and it would vanish.”  Marcus Aurelius, ‘The Gladiator.’ As thousands of white clad CU fans poured onto Folsom this past Saturday to...

September 23, 2022 | CU (0-3) vs UCLA (3-0) I do not think about CU Football too much these days.  It’s not worth it.  The program has successfully sucked out any enthusiasm I may harbor for the success of the 2022 Buff season.  It’s not their...

Buff Nation -  September 17, 2022 | CU (0-2) vs Minnesota (2-0) In his 2005 best-selling book, The World is Flat, author Thomas Friedman put forth the idea that the convergence of technology has allowed the explosion of wealth in the...

Buff Nation -  CU (0-1) vs Air Force (1-0) Sir Isaac Newton’s third law of motion states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Perhaps Newton should have written a fourth law of motion stating that the refusal to act will often...

Buff Nation -  CU (0-0) vs Texas Christian University (0-0) Winning is the currency of football. CU has had its fair share of success, but as we know, the last several years have been a disaster. When the transfer portal, NIL (Name Image Likeness) and invitations...

Buff Nation - The Buffs finish out their 2021 season tomorrow, in a rare Friday appearance.  While many will be taking advantage of Black Friday shopping sales, the Buffs will be facing a strong, consistent, and proud Utah team that...

Buff Nation – In a span of three hours last Saturday night, Buff Nation lived through a Charles Dickens novel. Playing on the road against a heavily favored UCLA Bruins squad, the Buff came out guns blazing and took a commanding 20-7 lead just before half-time. CU was...

Buff Nation – In the late 19th Century, the political philosopher Fredrick Nietzsche came upon the scene promoting the idea, that life is what we make of it, and our reality is shaped by our actions, and a failure to act will lead us to the “abyss” and become a...

Buff Nation - There is a saying in football that you are who your record says you are.  For the Buffs sitting at 2-6, that’s not good news.  Yet, it is also a program’s history both good and bad which makes up the fabric of a team. For...

Buff Nation – With over two billion copies sold, no author has sold more books than Agatha Christie. In my favorite novel of hers, And Then There Were None, the seemingly impossible happens when ten dinner guests methodically die one by one, yet there does not...

Buff Nation -  Every year, immediately following the NCAA Men’s Basketball championship game, just as the credits begin to roll, a montage of tournament highlights are played to the snappy tune of One Shining Moment. Instantly the viewer can see why college...

Buff Nation -  Week Seven Preview CU vs Arizona - Saturday - Folsom Field, 1:30 PM In the Winter of 1776, things weren’t looking so good for our burgeoning nation.  The British had George Washington and his band of volunteers on the ropes, NYC laid in...

Buff Nation –  Week Four Review CU 13, Arizona State 35 Ok, let’s make this week’s update as painless as possible.  No need to pile on while the Buffs are down.  The Buffs have  fallen and can't get up.  The Buffs offense is offensive, the Buff defense is...

Buff Nation –  Week Three Review CU 0, Minnesota 30 Well, that wasn’t good.  One of the most embarrassing losses in school history.  One could argue Oregon St in 2018 was worse (it was) or losing to the multitude of other games we should have won but beat...

Buff Nation –  Week Two Review CU 7, #5 Texas A&M 10 It felt like an away game in our home state.  Texas A&M fans vastly outnumbered buff fans last Saturday at Mile High.  Given it was #5 vs #53, the odds were stacked against us.  I...

Buff Nation -  Week One Review CU 35, Northern Colorado 7 Not bad.  Not great, but not bad.  Yes, the Buffs effectively dismantled the UNC…Bears, but they were supposed to.  The glass half-full guy would say a win is a win,...

Buff Nation Finally.  The Buffs are back!  Let’s get on with life as we’ve known it, and as we want it. For some reason I feel like Sinead O'Connor  whining about how long it’s been since we were last at Folsom field (21 months,...

Buff Nation -  Happy Holidays! Week Six Review CU 21, Utah 38 (12/12) In 2001 Boulder resident (and cul-de-sac neighbor (is that a thing?)) Jim Collins published the best-selling book Good to Great, essentially stating good companies fail to become great...

Buff Nation -  Week Five Review  CU 24, Arizona 13 As expected, the winless Wildcats came out swinging last Saturday vs the Buffs.  A victory over the upstart, undefeated Buffaloes would have been the perfect cure to an otherwise ailing Arizona...

Buff Nation – Week Four Review CU 20, SDSU 10  When the University of Spoiled Children canceled their game against the Buffs due to covid, Colorado suddenly found itself preparing instead for San Diego St.  With only one practice to prepare, the Buffs...

Buff Nation – Week Two Review CU 35, Stanford 32 When CU beat a 5-point favored UCLA team in week one, it was safe to consider that an anomaly.  When CU beat a 9-point favored Stanford team in week 2, one is forced to consider this a possible trend. ...

Buff Nation – Week Three Review Last week’s game against Arizona State was canceled due to Covid-19.  Pac-12 had not yet instituted its new policy of allowing non-conference games to be played.  CU remains at 2-0 Week Four Preview Perhaps it wasn’t covid that caused...

Buff Nation -  Week One Review: Our Buffs are 1-0 and Pfizer is close to getting a Covid-19 vaccine.  Coincidence?  Probably, but still, the Buffs are 1-0!  The Buffs coming out and punching the Bruins in the mouth help put to bed bitter memories...

Buff Nation – Week One Preview Are you ready for some football?  Despite it all (cool coach, no coach, new coach, football, no football, ok, yes football), it is happening.  In a few hours, our Colorado Buffaloes kickoff their 130th football...

“(You) want to believe…but you don’t wanna be bamboozled.  You don’t wanna be led down the primrose path.  You don’t wanna be conned or duped, have the wool pulled over your eyes.  Hoodwinked.  You don’t wanna be taken for a ride, railroaded. ...

Buff Nation -  Happy Holidays! Season Wrap-Up The hardest part of real estate investing is securing that first asset which improves the status quo. The second hardest part of real estate investing is managing that asset through TLC to the point where it becomes...

Buff Nation - Happy Friday!  I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving. Week Thirteen Review CU 20, Washington 14 Boom! Don’t change your socks, don’t change your shirt, don’t shave.  Whatever winning streak superstition you hold on to out of belief or...

Buff Nation - Happy Friday! Week Twelve Review CU had its second and final bye of the season. It was hopefully a chance for Laviska Shenault and others to heal up for the final two games of the season. Week Thirteen Preview CU (4-6) vs Washington (6-4) - Saturday...

Buff Nation -  Week Eleven Review CU 16, Stanford 13 On another epic Saturday at Folsom (no place better), the faithful Buff Nation turned out in masses (CU leads the Pac-12 in attendance with an 101% capacity average), to watch the Buffs continue to exercise the...

Buff Nation - Week Ten Review CU 14, UCLA 31 Hope.  It doesn’t make for a good business strategy, but it does serve as one of life’s basic tenants.  A prominent theme in our world’s three major religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam), hope is also...

Buff Nation - Week Nine Review CU 31, USC 35 It was not to be.  CU had their chances this past Friday evening in front of a packed "Blackout" Folsom Field crowd. Yet an inability to get critical stops at the end of the game (CU had a ten point lead...

Buff Nation - Week Eight Review CU 10, WSU 41 Well the cat is out of the bag, and everyone in the Pac-12 wants a part of it.  CU is not very good, and all schools want their W against the buffs before Tucker rights the ship (it’s going to take a couple...

Buff Nation - Week Seven Review CU 3, Oregon 45 (CU 3-3) There really isn’t anything good to say about last week’s blowout loss to Oregon (OR).  CU didn’t compete for 60 minutes (they stopped at the 28-minute mark), Montez didn’t come to play (he almost...

Buff Nation - Week Six Review CU 30, Arizona 35 (CU 3-2) With the loss to AZ last Saturday at Folsom Field, comes good news (there always has to be good news right?) and bad news.  The good news is we still have over half the football season...

Buff Nation - Week Five Review CU bye week Ok, so I hope all of you used the bye week to cool the engines a bit and get mentally ready for the deep dive into the rest of this season.  Some of you probably just rolled your eyes wondering why in the world...

Buff Nation - Week Four Review CU 34, Arizona State 31 (Buff 3-1) To put CU’s road victory over (then) #24 Arizona State last Saturday night into perspective, one must go all the way back to 2002.  If a program is bad for long enough (like CU), ugly...

Buff Nation - Week Three Review CU 23, Air Force 30 (OT) (Buff 2-1) For the first time in CU history, the Buffs found themselves playing in back to back overtime games.  Unlike the sheer joy of beating NE in OT last week, Buff Nation came crashing back to...

Buff Nation - Week Two Review CU 34, Nebraska 31 (OT) (Buff 2-0)  In a game right out of a Charlie Dickens novel, it was the best of times and it was the worst of times for Buff nation.  In a game of two halves, the Buffs fortunately saved the best...

Buff Nation - Week One Review CU 52, CSU 31 (Buff 1-0) – As predicted CU thrashed CSU by three touchdowns (see below if you didn't read last weeks Buff Nation season predictions). Perhaps thrash is too dramatic a word, but CSU was never going to win. ...

Buff Nation – It is with tremendous joy and celebration that I welcome you back to another season of CU Football.  This is the 4th annual Buff Nation Football preview and analysis.  If you are receiving this email, you were either on the...

Buff Nation – Events over the last three days calls for a Saturday night special Buff Nation Football update.  Below are three top 5 lists which may be of interest. I.        Five reasons why hiring Mel Tucker as CU’s next...

Buff Nation -  2018 Season Review Buff Nation – for better or for worse, the 2018 Buff Season is officially over.  After a fantastic 5-0 start which saw the Buffs destroy their in-state rival CSU Rams and an amazing come from behind victory at Lincoln (NEVER...

Buff Nation -  Week Twelve Review – This past Saturday, CU laid an egg as it’s final tribute to Coach MacIntyre.  With the coach’s job hanging in the balance, CU came out energized against the #19 Utah Utes, but were in effective in generating any offense...

Buff Nation -  Week Eleven Review The sudden demise of the 2018 CU Football season seems to have happened in a blink of an eye.    Against the Washington State Cougars this past Saturday, the Buffs showed heart on defense holding the...

Buff Nation - Week Ten Review  I liked the way CU played last week.  While a victory would have been nice and would have effectively put to rest all the heartburn that is running through Buff Nation, CU played with a lot of heart.  I liked the aggressive play calling...

Buff Nation -  Week Eight Review – For the second week in a row, the Buffs were on the doorstep of beating one of the elite teams in the Pac-12, only to come up short once again.  One could argue that with a couple healthy CU players, CU would of beat the...

Buff Nation – One-Third Season Summary Numbers.  One-third of the way through this 2018 football season, all is well with ours Colorado Buffaloes.  College football is all about the numbers.  4-0, #21, and 19.7 are a few...

Buff Nation - Week Two Review – CU 33, NE 28.  Yup, that's a correct score.  Victory in Lincoln.  It doesn’t happen very often (the last time was 2004).  Amidst a sea of 90,000 Nebraska fans dressed in Red, a prodigal son type atmosphere for...

Buff Nation, Welcome back to another season of Colorado Buffaloes football.  When CU kicks off its 2018 season tonight against CSU, last year’s miserable 5-7, underachieving season will be behind us.  Nobody is high on CU being any good this year.  A...

Buff Nation -  When CU and Utah joined the Pac-12 in 2011, there was a bit of apprehension on the part of the CU fan base (and probably Utah), about the forced relationship.  The rest of the Pac-12 schools already had someone they could point to as their...

Buff Nation -  Last week, in CU's hour of need, no one was home.  CU was up 10 on ASU in the fourth quarter. One could argue CU should have been up 17 if not 24.  Still, up by two scores with the ball in the final quarter of the game with bowl...

Buff Nation –  What a day!  What a game!  Every once in awhile it all comes together for those who are in attendance.  This past Saturday the CU Offense, the CU Defense and the Colorado weather all combined to create the most...

Buff Nation – Clearly, this is not the season we were looking for.  Coming on the heels of a not-soon–to-be-forgotten breakout (Cinderella?) season, this season has fallen far short of expectations.  Unlike last year in which every game was a display of...

Buff Nation, On a cold, rainy, windy night in Pullman, Washington, the CU Buffs salvaged their season, found their identity and reestablished themselves as contenders in the Pac-12.  At least, that is one possible outcome for tonight’s 8:45 PM ESPN game...

Buff Nation – What a mess.  On a perfect Fall evening at Folsom field, Buff Nation turned out in force (family weekend), the Buffs offense (finally) found their groove back, yet it was all for not as the CU defense didn’t have a clue how to stop...

Buff Nation, On Saturday night, under the lights of Folsom (no rain this time), CU has one more chance to get it right before being forced to throttle down expectations on this season.  In years past, a bowl game would have been...

Buff Nation –  In a game which was supposed to be won by air, last Friday night at Mile High, CU scratched out a victory by land 17-3.  It was their running game (thanks, Lindsay!) and not necessarily the, still to appear, prolific air attack...

Buff Nation, In 2016 "The Rise" of the Colorado football program was one of the nation’s feel good stories.  From worst to first in the Pac-12 South, Coach of the year, top ten ranking, and a bowl berth for the first time in a decade. There was a lot to...

Buff Nation, Were you there?  Man, I hope you were there.  That was AWESOME!   For the first time in twenty (TWENTY) years, CU was ranked in the top ten heading into a November game.  This is nuts.  CU is back and dominating.  ...

Buff Nation - For the first time in 14 years the Buffs are ranked in the Top Ten Nationally.  That’s probably worth repeating.  For the first time in 14 years the Buffs are ranked in the Top Ten Nationally.  No one, and I mean no one, saw this coming...

Buff Nation -  Back in August we speculated how good CU could be. Tomorrow night we take another step toward that answer. CU is now ranked #15 in the nation.  That alone has to be one of the seasons top football stories. Like a Phoenix rising from...

Buff Nation –  For the 2016 Colorado Buffaloes there is no such thing as an “Ugly Win.”  While CU may not have looked impressive against a down trodden Stanford Cardinal team last Saturday, at the end of the day the scoreboard had CU at 10 and Stanford at 5,...

Buff Nation -  With over five minutes remaining in last Saturday’s CU football game, ASU failed to convert on a fourth down pass.  CU took over possession and proceeded to run the ball on eight consecutive plays culminating in a touchdown and a 40-16...

Buff Nation -  We are a nearly half-way through the season, and thanks to CU's dominate play, they sit atop the Pac-12 South Standings at 4-1 and ranked #21 nationally. This is more than anyone outside of the CU locker room expected.  Yet, there are still...

Buff Nation -  When CU played Iowa State in 2005, my oldest brother was visiting me in Monterey, CA.  It was Saturday, November 12, and we were excited to catch the CU Buffaloes vs. Iowa State game on TV.  My brother was a walk-on...

CU's Coach is fond of saying, "No conflict, No story."  It's our conflicts that make our stories.  This morning the Buffs have a story.  A signature program win that will mark, for years to come, when the CU Football program made it's turn.  It is a sweet moment. ...