RSSBot
News Junkie
—
“The Definition of Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”
—
The above quote is attributed to Albert Einstein, though there is no evidence he actually said it.
Nonetheless, the “definition” is widely known, and, like many quotable quotes, can be applied to college football.
In the context of Colorado football, it applies to the Buffs’ attempt to pick up bowl eligibility. Seven times in the past 12 months, the Buffs have run onto the field with five wins, needing a win to secure bowl eligibility.
Seven times, the Buffs have walked off the field with a loss.
Not to spend too much time belaboring the tragedy which has become the CU football program, but here is the roll call of pain from the last year of frustration:
The Arizona game, for those Buff fans willing to stay up late on a Friday night (8:45 p.m., MT, kickoff) was just the most recent in a string of frustrating games.
The game started off as well as any CU fan could have hoped. A three-and-out forced by the Buff defense, followed by a 59-yard punt return by Ronnie Blackmon. Set up at the Arizona 14-yard line just 63 seconds into the game, the Buff offense had a chance to make an early statement. Instead, the Buffs turn the ball over on a failed attempt on fourth-and-two at the Arizona eight yard line.
Undeterred, the Buff defense forced another three-and-out, with the offense then putting together in impressive 11-play, 66-yard drive, capped by an eight-yard K.D. Nixon touchdown run.
Arizona then messed up its kickoff return, opening the ensuing drive at its seven yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Rick Gamboa forced a fumble, recovered by Nate Landman at the Arizona seven yard line.
Did the Buffs punch it in, taking a 14-0 lead?
Nope. Three plays netted zero yards, resulting in a 25-yard field goal by CU’s fourth-string kicker (yes, fourth-string) Tyler Francis.
The first quarter scoreboard read Colorado 10, Arizona 0 … but it already felt like the Buffs had squandered their best chance at winning the game.
“It’s not a question of effort or of guys going hard, it’s just what’s killing us, dragging us down, is when those opportunities to make plays present themselves, we have to take advantage,” Buff quarterback Steven Montez said. “There was a fade at the very beginning of the game (to Kabion Ento, on third-and-goal on CU’s third possession) that I missed wide. That’s on me. I just missed a throw. It was there, the fade was there, the opportunity was there to score a touchdown. We just didn’t execute. We’ve got to start executing if we want to have a chance to win these close games.”
The Buff defense made Kahlil Tate a household name in 2017, allowing Tate to run for an FBS-record (for quarterbacks) 327 yards. In Tucson, Tate was held to 15 yards rushing … but posted 350 yards passing with five touchdown passes instead.
To be fair, the CU secondary is a patchwork of players, many of whom weren’t even supposed to be seeing extended playing time this fall. Against Colorado State in the opener, the Buff secondary was as follows: cornerbacks Delrick Abrams and Dante Wigley; senior safeties Nick Fisher and Evan Worthington; and Buff backer Jacob Callier, with presumed star-in-waiting Chris Miller getting healthy.
Jacob Callier and Chris Miller have been lost for the season with injuries. Evan Worthington sat out the Arizona game with a concussion. Against Arizona, the Buffs started sophomore Derrion Rakestraw at safety … who had been on the field for all of 19 plays this season before Worthington went out in the second half of the Oregon State game. Another player receiving his first start was sophomore cornerback Mehki Blackmon, who had 46 plays of experience against Pac-12 competition.
No excuses, but, if you are looking for a reason why Colorado made Kahlil Tate look like Peyton Manning … look no further than the participation chart from the CU secondary.
And now Washington State’s Gardner Minshew and Utah’s Tyler Huntley coming to Boulder … any reason to expect anything different from these Buffs?
Any reason not to expect the Buffs to play well … for awhile … but fail to take advantage of opportunities on offense?
Any reason not to expect the Buff defense to eventually wear down … with the Buffs failing – again – to pick up win No. 6?
The Buffs will spend the next two weeks saying the right things. Promises will be made to shore up the leaky secondary. Promises will be made about opening up the offense and taking more chances downfield. Statements will be made that the Buffs haven’t given up on the season, and still have much to play for.
The thing is … There is still much to play for.
On paper, the Buffs can still finish 8-4, and go to a good bowl game. If there is anything predictable about the Pac-12 South division in 2018, is that it is unpredictable. Anyone can beat anyone in the Pac-12 this season.
That being said: Does anyone still believe that an 8-4 record for Colorado a possibility?
Does anyone believe that, having failed in their past seven attempts to pick up win No. 6, that the Buffs will find a way to pick up a win over the next three games?
Two home games against ranked teams – Washington State and Utah – will likely leave the Buffs, once 5-0, with a 5-6 record.
As was the case in 2017, the Buffs will then take to the road for the regular season finale with a chance, against Cal, to salvage the season with a win and bowl eligibility.
Same song, different verse.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
Will the Buffs break their pattern? Or will the seven-game losing streak with five wins on the board become a ten game losing streak by season’s end?
Will that, in turn, lead to a change in the CU coaching staff?
Would the expectation of anything different be … insane?
–
Now, just to leave you with a little levity, I give you a GEICO ad, the “When you are in a horror movie, you make bad decisions. That’s what you do” version. Not entirely applicable to CU’s plight, but, then again …
–
—–
Stuart
Continue reading...
“The Definition of Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”
—
The above quote is attributed to Albert Einstein, though there is no evidence he actually said it.
Nonetheless, the “definition” is widely known, and, like many quotable quotes, can be applied to college football.
In the context of Colorado football, it applies to the Buffs’ attempt to pick up bowl eligibility. Seven times in the past 12 months, the Buffs have run onto the field with five wins, needing a win to secure bowl eligibility.
Seven times, the Buffs have walked off the field with a loss.
Not to spend too much time belaboring the tragedy which has become the CU football program, but here is the roll call of pain from the last year of frustration:
- November 4, 2017 – Arizona State 41, Colorado 30. The 5-4 Buffs went on the road to face the 4-4 Sun Devils. The Buffs took a 27-17 lead into the fourth quarter, but were out-scored by the Sun Devils, 24-3, in the final 15 minutes;
- November 11, 2017 – No. 15 USC 38, Colorado 24. The Buffs were never in this one. It was 20-0 at halftime, and 27-0 before the Buffs found the scoreboard. CU’s senior class limped out of Folsom Field with a 5-6 record, and one more chance at a bowl;
- November 25, 2017 – Utah 34, Colorado 13. The Buffs had a bye week to prepare for the regular season finale. Both teams were 5-6, both needed a win to earn a bowl bid. The Utes raced to a 28-0 halftime lead, picked up win No. 6, and went bowling. Th Buffs finished the 2017 season with a 5-7 (2-7) record;
- October 13, 2018 – USC 31, No. 19 Colorado 20. The Buffs carried a 5-0 record into the Coliseum, and had a 7-0 lead against the 3-2 Trojans early in the second quarter. USC then scored the next 28 points, and the Buffs were never within two scores again;
- October 20, 2018 – Washington 27, Colorado 13. The first of three straight “missed opportunity” games. Buffs settle for a field goal late in the second quarter after an interception gives the ball to the offense at the UW nine-yard line. Buffs stay within a score until final two minutes, but never make the big play which could have brought about an upset;
- October 27, 2018 – Oregon State 41, Colorado 34 – OT. No Buff fan will forget this game anytime soon. Any one of 15 plays in the second half would have clinched a victory, but the Buffs fall to a Beaver team which hadn’t beaten an FBS team in two years; and
- November 2, 2018 – Arizona 42, Colorado 34 – Buffs have a chance to take a 21-0 lead early, when again a turnover inside the opposition ten yard line fails to result in a touchdown. Buffs fall to 5-4 after a 5-0 start.
The Arizona game, for those Buff fans willing to stay up late on a Friday night (8:45 p.m., MT, kickoff) was just the most recent in a string of frustrating games.
The game started off as well as any CU fan could have hoped. A three-and-out forced by the Buff defense, followed by a 59-yard punt return by Ronnie Blackmon. Set up at the Arizona 14-yard line just 63 seconds into the game, the Buff offense had a chance to make an early statement. Instead, the Buffs turn the ball over on a failed attempt on fourth-and-two at the Arizona eight yard line.
Undeterred, the Buff defense forced another three-and-out, with the offense then putting together in impressive 11-play, 66-yard drive, capped by an eight-yard K.D. Nixon touchdown run.
Arizona then messed up its kickoff return, opening the ensuing drive at its seven yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Rick Gamboa forced a fumble, recovered by Nate Landman at the Arizona seven yard line.
Did the Buffs punch it in, taking a 14-0 lead?
Nope. Three plays netted zero yards, resulting in a 25-yard field goal by CU’s fourth-string kicker (yes, fourth-string) Tyler Francis.
The first quarter scoreboard read Colorado 10, Arizona 0 … but it already felt like the Buffs had squandered their best chance at winning the game.
“It’s not a question of effort or of guys going hard, it’s just what’s killing us, dragging us down, is when those opportunities to make plays present themselves, we have to take advantage,” Buff quarterback Steven Montez said. “There was a fade at the very beginning of the game (to Kabion Ento, on third-and-goal on CU’s third possession) that I missed wide. That’s on me. I just missed a throw. It was there, the fade was there, the opportunity was there to score a touchdown. We just didn’t execute. We’ve got to start executing if we want to have a chance to win these close games.”
The Buff defense made Kahlil Tate a household name in 2017, allowing Tate to run for an FBS-record (for quarterbacks) 327 yards. In Tucson, Tate was held to 15 yards rushing … but posted 350 yards passing with five touchdown passes instead.
To be fair, the CU secondary is a patchwork of players, many of whom weren’t even supposed to be seeing extended playing time this fall. Against Colorado State in the opener, the Buff secondary was as follows: cornerbacks Delrick Abrams and Dante Wigley; senior safeties Nick Fisher and Evan Worthington; and Buff backer Jacob Callier, with presumed star-in-waiting Chris Miller getting healthy.
Jacob Callier and Chris Miller have been lost for the season with injuries. Evan Worthington sat out the Arizona game with a concussion. Against Arizona, the Buffs started sophomore Derrion Rakestraw at safety … who had been on the field for all of 19 plays this season before Worthington went out in the second half of the Oregon State game. Another player receiving his first start was sophomore cornerback Mehki Blackmon, who had 46 plays of experience against Pac-12 competition.
No excuses, but, if you are looking for a reason why Colorado made Kahlil Tate look like Peyton Manning … look no further than the participation chart from the CU secondary.
And now Washington State’s Gardner Minshew and Utah’s Tyler Huntley coming to Boulder … any reason to expect anything different from these Buffs?
Any reason not to expect the Buffs to play well … for awhile … but fail to take advantage of opportunities on offense?
Any reason not to expect the Buff defense to eventually wear down … with the Buffs failing – again – to pick up win No. 6?
The Buffs will spend the next two weeks saying the right things. Promises will be made to shore up the leaky secondary. Promises will be made about opening up the offense and taking more chances downfield. Statements will be made that the Buffs haven’t given up on the season, and still have much to play for.
The thing is … There is still much to play for.
On paper, the Buffs can still finish 8-4, and go to a good bowl game. If there is anything predictable about the Pac-12 South division in 2018, is that it is unpredictable. Anyone can beat anyone in the Pac-12 this season.
That being said: Does anyone still believe that an 8-4 record for Colorado a possibility?
Does anyone believe that, having failed in their past seven attempts to pick up win No. 6, that the Buffs will find a way to pick up a win over the next three games?
Two home games against ranked teams – Washington State and Utah – will likely leave the Buffs, once 5-0, with a 5-6 record.
As was the case in 2017, the Buffs will then take to the road for the regular season finale with a chance, against Cal, to salvage the season with a win and bowl eligibility.
Same song, different verse.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
Will the Buffs break their pattern? Or will the seven-game losing streak with five wins on the board become a ten game losing streak by season’s end?
Will that, in turn, lead to a change in the CU coaching staff?
Would the expectation of anything different be … insane?
–
Now, just to leave you with a little levity, I give you a GEICO ad, the “When you are in a horror movie, you make bad decisions. That’s what you do” version. Not entirely applicable to CU’s plight, but, then again …
–
—–
Stuart
Continue reading...