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CSU Pregame Thread

There are so many ways to spin what has happened to both teams so far.

CU - Played sloppy and lost at Hawaii, played well, ran all over, and killed UMass. What do either of those things tell us? Is CU really worse than Hawaii? Is UMass any good at all? Are either of those outcomes meaningful predictors for the Showdown, which is against arguably the best team CU will have played thus far?

CSU - Killed Savannah State and lost in overtime to Minnesota without the best player on either team playing. We can immediately rule out the Savannah State game, there is no spin on that one. Minnesota lost to #3 TCU at home by 7 points. TCU may not be #3 good, but I think most people would say they are very good and would kill both CU and CSU. CSU hangs with a sloppy-looking Minnesota team, could have won, and loses in overtime. CSU's QBs look bad. Did Treyvone Boykin look good (who no one would argue is bad)? CSU puts up 3 less points, at home, than TCU did on the road. Admittedly, TCU missed on a few wide open TD passes. CSU missed on one. Did CSU hang with a very mediocre team because they played terribly or is CSU a legitimately tough out?

I've been hesitant to make more posts about this game since my initial one, simply because I have no clue what to think. My heart wants to say:
  • Minnesota is a very good team and CSU looked like they belonged on the same field, which bodes well for playing against a lesser team (CU, compared to Minnesota).
  • CSU's QBs are better than perception, simply because they won't play another defense of Minnesota's caliber.
  • CU would have been beaten worse by Minnesota.
  • The best thing CU can attest to is killing UMass, the worst thing is losing to Hawaii, and I'm claiming CSU's moral victory against Minnesota (I realize how funny that is).
All that being said, I know CSU is not a good team. They are mediocre at best, which firmly put this and every other game on the schedule into losable territory. CU is in the same boat. Let's get the damn game started so I can stop this stupid back and forth in my head.
 
ramfan said:
There are so many ways to spin what has happened to both teams so far.

CU - Played sloppy and lost at Hawaii, played well, ran all over, and killed UMass. What do either of those things tell us? Is CU really worse than Hawaii? Is UMass any good at all? Are either of those outcomes meaningful predictors for the Showdown, which is against arguably the best team CU will have played thus far?

CSU - Killed Savannah State and lost in overtime to Minnesota without the best player on either team playing. We can immediately rule out the Savannah State game, there is no spin on that one. Minnesota lost to #3 TCU at home by 7 points. TCU may not be #3 good, but I think most people would say they are very good and would kill both CU and CSU. CSU hangs with a sloppy-looking Minnesota team, could have won, and loses in overtime. CSU's QBs look bad. Did Treyvone Boykin look good (who no one would argue is bad)? CSU puts up 3 less points, at home, than TCU did on the road. Admittedly, TCU missed on a few wide open TD passes. CSU missed on one. Did CSU hang with a very mediocre team because they played terribly or is CSU a legitimately tough out?

I've been hesitant to make more posts about this game since my initial one, simply because I have no clue what to think. My heart wants to say:
  • Minnesota is a very good team and CSU looked like they belonged on the same field, which bodes well for playing against a lesser team (CU, compared to Minnesota).
  • CSU's QBs are better than perception, simply because they won't play another defense of Minnesota's caliber.
  • CU would have been beaten worse by Minnesota.
  • The best thing CU can attest to is killing UMass, the worst thing is losing to Hawaii, and I'm claiming CSU's moral victory against Minnesota (I realize how funny that is).
All that being said, I know CSU is not a good team. They are mediocre at best, which firmly put this and every other game on the schedule into losable territory. CU is in the same boat. Let's get the damn game started so I can stop this stupid back and forth in my head.
Click to expand...
Sorry, all I got from reading that is...
200_s.gif
 
In reality, CSU hanging in with Minnesota because Minnesota only lost to TCU by 7 has little to no bearing on how competitive they'll be against CU. The same goes for building up CU's loss to Hawaii by pointing to how Hawaii "hung tough" against Ohio State for 3 quarters. Different teams, playing fields, match ups, strengths and weaknesses, etc. I'm guilty of it too, but going back and forth about how good/bad Minnesota is to form an argument as to how either team will fare is pointless, IMO.

What we know:
- CSU's front 7 is pretty good (even though they are 58th in the country in run defense, they are giving up something like 2.9 YPC)
- CSU has a very good WR that didn't fare well against KC last year with a better QB, but KC has been shaky thus far in '15
- CSU has had sub par QB play so far and both have been turnover prone

- CU's defense is much better than it was last year in applying pressure, causing turnovers and stopping the run (45th in the country and giving up 3.9 YPC)
- CU's rushing offense is pretty good but will face it's toughest test
- CU's OL has been iffy in pass pro and our QB play has been sub par through 2 games

To me, it's a pretty even match up that is going to come down to turnovers. I think CU has done a better job taking care of the ball, as well as taking it away, and because of that, I think CU prevails.
 
ramfan said:
There are so many ways to spin what has happened to both teams so far.

CU - Played sloppy and lost at Hawaii, played well, ran all over, and killed UMass. What do either of those things tell us? Is CU really worse than Hawaii? Is UMass any good at all? Are either of those outcomes meaningful predictors for the Showdown, which is against arguably the best team CU will have played thus far?

CSU - Killed Savannah State and lost in overtime to Minnesota without the best player on either team playing. We can immediately rule out the Savannah State game, there is no spin on that one. Minnesota lost to #3 TCU at home by 7 points. TCU may not be #3 good, but I think most people would say they are very good and would kill both CU and CSU. CSU hangs with a sloppy-looking Minnesota team, could have won, and loses in overtime. CSU's QBs look bad. Did Treyvone Boykin look good (who no one would argue is bad)? CSU puts up 3 less points, at home, than TCU did on the road. Admittedly, TCU missed on a few wide open TD passes. CSU missed on one. Did CSU hang with a very mediocre team because they played terribly or is CSU a legitimately tough out?

I've been hesitant to make more posts about this game since my initial one, simply because I have no clue what to think. My heart wants to say:
  • Minnesota is a very good team and CSU looked like they belonged on the same field, which bodes well for playing against a lesser team (CU, compared to Minnesota).
  • CSU's QBs are better than perception, simply because they won't play another defense of Minnesota's caliber.
  • CU would have been beaten worse by Minnesota.
  • The best thing CU can attest to is killing UMass, the worst thing is losing to Hawaii, and I'm claiming CSU's moral victory against Minnesota (I realize how funny that is).
All that being said, I know CSU is not a good team. They are mediocre at best, which firmly put this and every other game on the schedule into losable territory. CU is in the same boat. Let's get the damn game started so I can stop this stupid back and forth in my head.
Click to expand...
:sleep:
 
I'm to the point of thinking it needs to be momentum, heart, and oh yes execution that can get a win for CU this Saturday. When I try to do unit comparisons, game comparisons it seems like CU doesn't fare well. It's time for coach MikeMac to create some BillMac type motivation and passion in these players. Then toss in some great execution, especially in the trenches.
Go Buffs
 
TSchekler said:
In reality, CSU hanging in with Minnesota because Minnesota only lost to TCU by 7 has little to no bearing on how competitive they'll be against CU. The same goes for building up CU's loss to Hawaii by pointing to how Hawaii "hung tough" against Ohio State for 3 quarters. Different teams, playing fields, match ups, strengths and weaknesses, etc. I'm guilty of it too, but going back and forth about how good/bad Minnesota is to form an argument as to how either team will fare is pointless, IMO.

What we know:
- CSU's front 7 is pretty good (even though they are 58th in the country in run defense, they are giving up something like 2.9 YPC)
- CSU has a very good WR that didn't fare well against KC last year with a better QB, but KC has been shaky thus far in '15
- CSU has had sub par QB play so far and both have been turnover prone

- CU's defense is much better than it was last year in applying pressure, causing turnovers and stopping the run (45th in the country and giving up 3.9 YPC)
- CU's rushing offense is pretty good but will face it's toughest test
- CU's OL has been iffy in pass pro and our QB play has been sub par through 2 games

To me, it's a pretty even match up that is going to come down to turnovers. I think CU has done a better job taking care of the ball, as well as taking it away, and because of that, I think CU prevails.
Click to expand...
Case in point, V tech beat Ohio St. last year and then turned around and lost to Eastern Carolina the next week. Imagine the assumptions that were being made at that time about the relative talent of those three teams.
 
Hkylw21 said:
Case in point, V tech beat Ohio St. last year and then turned around and lost to Eastern Carolina the next week. Imagine the assumptions that were being made at that time about the relative talent of those three teams.
Click to expand...
Exactly. When I was at CU ('06-'10), I had friends that played for Colorado School of Mines. They used to come at me with the following narrative: Mines beat Chadron St, Chadron St beat Montana St, Montana St beat CU... Therefore, Mines >>> CU.
 
ramfan said:
There are so many ways to spin what has happened to both teams so far.

CU - Played sloppy and lost at Hawaii, played well, ran all over, and killed UMass. What do either of those things tell us? Is CU really worse than Hawaii? Is UMass any good at all? Are either of those outcomes meaningful predictors for the Showdown, which is against arguably the best team CU will have played thus far?

CSU - Killed Savannah State and lost in overtime to Minnesota without the best player on either team playing. We can immediately rule out the Savannah State game, there is no spin on that one. Minnesota lost to #3 TCU at home by 7 points. TCU may not be #3 good, but I think most people would say they are very good and would kill both CU and CSU. CSU hangs with a sloppy-looking Minnesota team, could have won, and loses in overtime. CSU's QBs look bad. Did Treyvone Boykin look good (who no one would argue is bad)? CSU puts up 3 less points, at home, than TCU did on the road. Admittedly, TCU missed on a few wide open TD passes. CSU missed on one. Did CSU hang with a very mediocre team because they played terribly or is CSU a legitimately tough out?

I've been hesitant to make more posts about this game since my initial one, simply because I have no clue what to think. My heart wants to say:
  • Minnesota is a very good team and CSU looked like they belonged on the same field, which bodes well for playing against a lesser team (CU, compared to Minnesota).
  • CSU's QBs are better than perception, simply because they won't play another defense of Minnesota's caliber.
  • CU would have been beaten worse by Minnesota.
  • The best thing CU can attest to is killing UMass, the worst thing is losing to Hawaii, and I'm claiming CSU's moral victory against Minnesota (I realize how funny that is).
All that being said, I know CSU is not a good team. They are mediocre at best, which firmly put this and every other game on the schedule into losable territory. CU is in the same boat. Let's get the damn game started so I can stop this stupid back and forth in my head.
Click to expand...

I think all of this is fair, but the problem is that college teams tend to be completely different home and away, especially this early in the season. That's the reason why I can't put much stock in CU's performance in Hawaii (especially since that was a 10 hour trip across 4 time zones), nor can I put much stock in their performance against UMass (who had traveled 4.5 hours across 2 time zones to play at altitude).

It's also why trying to compare Minnesota's performance at home vs. TCU to their performance on the road vs. CSU is unfruitful as well.

In short, I don't think one can draw too much meaningful data from performances to date and apply them to predicting what will happen Saturday. We know slightly more about CU and CSU than we would if this was the first game of the season.

Amen to the last comment about getting the damn game started!
 
Yup, I want to be able to draw conclusions I can feel good about, based on what's happened so far, but I can't. Saturday can't come soon enough.
 
CSU is having a small QB controversy...can't be good. Higgins should be gimpy. CSU did a poor job against the run against MN giving up 180 yds to a pretty poor offense. On the other hand, our DBs are not playing that well, we famously shoot ourselves in the foot and the O is one dimensional. If we control the LOS like we have the first 2 games, I don't see this being particularly close...but that's a big if. Go Buffs!
 
I should amend something... CSU's defense is 55th against the run but has given up 2.9 YPC (28th). However, most of that stat boosting came against SSU. Against Minnesota, they gave up 4.4 YPC, so they are vulnerable. CU needs to run, run and run some more.
 
Run until they prove they can stop it. Its not a hard concept. Lindgren just needs to not get fancy. 4yds a carry is a demoralizing offense. The kind of drives from an offense than can run like that will absolutely destroy a defense.
 
Shldr2Shldr said:
Run until they prove they can stop it. Its not a hard concept. Lindgren just needs to not get fancy. 4yds a carry is a demoralizing offense. The kind of drives from an offense than can run like that will absolutely destroy a defense.
Click to expand...
Absolutely. If they can come out running 4 yards per play, it keeps the D rested and puts a lot of pressure on the opposing defense. Those 4 yard carries start turning into 5 or 6 yard carries and will completely open up the play action game.

However, that's a big IF. I think CSU's front 7 is at least as talented as Hawaii's and is about as big, too (UMass didn't have a single front seven member in their two deep over 280 lbs, CSU's got three), and CU will be breaking in a new LT.

I hope that CU can run the ball with authority.
 
TSchekler said:
I should amend something... CSU's defense is 55th against the run but has given up 2.9 YPC (28th). However, most of that stat boosting came against SSU. Against Minnesota, they gave up 4.4 YPC, so they are vulnerable. CU needs to run, run and run some more.
Click to expand...
This with a completely new backfield and losing an NFL level RB and TE.
 
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