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 national most prolific quarterback to a modest day, but the offense didn’t follow suit. Unfortunate penalties kept CU on the ropes and they simply didn’t have the talent to rebound. A suspect call by Coach Mac (punting from the Cougars 36-yard line) was head scratching and stole the heart and fire from Buff Nation and the Buff football team. Final score CU 7, WSU 31. If this season does crash, it is this call pundits will point to regarding why Coach Mac wasn’t the right guy to lead the Buffs to the next level.
Sadly, it wasn’t too long ago that everything was going CU’s way. Just a few weeks ago CU was #19 in the country, the only remaining Pac-12 undefeated team sitting at 5-0 and making a powerful statement against the USC trojans on the road. CU had the USC freshman QB rattled and led 7-0. The stars were aligned. Puzzle pieces were in place. Buff Nation stood at the ready. This was the team we had been waiting on for nearly a decade. We were ready to take the next step. Yet, we all know how the story ended. Less than two quarters later, a pick-six by Montez put the Buffs behind 28-7, and the Buffs have never been the same since. Injuries yes. Tough opponents yes. Suspect coaching yes. Still, all these factors happened to all big-time football teams and the great ones find a way to respond. The CU Buffs are still trying to make that happen.
Week Twelve Preview
Lost among the rumors of coach firings and general chaos coming from CU Football operations, the pride and tradition of CU football has been temporarily lost. CU has (yet) another shot at redemption when they take on the #19 (ah, remember when we were #19) Utah Utes. Amid the chaos (or perhaps in spite of it) this game has the potential to be the game of the season for the Buffs. With more story lines than the upcoming season of Game of Thrones, both teams have a lot to play for.
For starters, tomorrow marks the 500th game at Folsom Field (see link below Folsom Field highlights). A win by Utah gives the Utes their first Pac-12 South championship (the only Pac-12 school not to win the title). A win by CU makes them bowl eligible and saves Coach Mac’s job and washes all the fowl from this season. A win by CU stops a 0-28 nine-year skid against ranked team (when CU is not ranked), an 0-8 record in games where bowl eligibility is on the line, and the recent 0-5 losing streak. A win on Saturday would go a long way to curing CU’s woes and ugly streaks.
Saturday is also the last home game for 20 CU seniors including long-time household name – Jay McIntyre, Rick Gambo (it seems like this this guy has been leading the CU defense forever) and Drew Lewis. This senior class deserves to go out with a win. It is expected to snow, and in the 500 games played at Folsom, this has only happened 7 times. CU is 6-1 in those games (fun fact).
All in all, the cards are staked against CU. CU two best defensive backs are already declared out for this game due to injury. CU is confidence is shattered. QB Montez played with no heart last week, almost as if the season was already over. Yet, all of that said, these are our CU Buffaloes and I’m excited to watch CU put it all together and get it right. There is so much parity in the Pac-12, and CU has been on the outside looking in. This Saturday, in the snow, for the Seniors, for the honor and tradition of playing in the 500th game at Folsom, and for their coach, CU will play its best game of the season and beat Utah in a close, hard fought and highly emotional game.
Go Buffs!
Doug