Wow.  64-7.  That Just Happened (10 days ago)! The Texas Defense had a field day at DKR on Saturday keeping UTEP's offense off the scoreboard for their 2nd defensive shutout of the season. UH's sob story will be sold in stores shortly.  Can we count BYE as our 3rd shutout? After some well needed R&R, we get to play the best team to ever come into Austin in the Buffs from Boulder. 

Colorado got some life this offseason, mainly from the Rockies-based media stating that their new offensive scheme was to set a fire under Hawkins' ass and get the team moving.  Well sadly the only heat on Dan's ass is coming from the seat he's sitting on, as his Colorado team has been downright abysmal this year, and the horizon is about as hazy as driving over the Beltway 8 bridge in Pasa-(get down)-dena. 


 I love the smell of burning sulfur in the morning

Aside from chemical plant explosions and football expectation implosions, we can all expect a great tune-up before our Dance with the Devil himself, Stoopsie and his Sooners in 2 weeks.  Reports from Austin are indicating that Sergio is asking Muschamp for a live Bison to sacrifice next Thursday; however, after watching Major League, Will decided to just grill a few Buffalo Burgers instead.  Safe move Will, Adam Sandler agrees. After the jump, we'll take a look into Dan the Man's Offense and how our starters match up against the Buffs.

  Offensive Statistical Breakdown: Rankings out of 120.

Rushing Offense: 91.67 yards/game (111th)*          UT Rush Defense: 47.25 yards/game (2nd)
Passing Offense: 251.00 yards/game (37th)*          UT Pass Defense:  212.25 yards/game (61st)**
Scoring Offense:  26.33 points/game (69th)*           UT Scoring Defense: 15.25 points/game (23rd)**
Total Offense:  342 yards/game  (84th)*                   UT Total Defense:  259.50 yards/game (17th)

* = These stats for CU are based on 3 games. The WVU game the other night isnt taken into account.
** = The Pass Defense is high because of Tech. Texas has had nearly more than 40 more attempts thrown against than any other team. Also, Scoring Defense doesn't take into account points scored by our offense, such as a pick 6.  They are reflected on our stats, however our defense did not give them up.   

On paper, it seems that this game will be a blowout very much in the form of the 2005 Big 12 Championship game.  On artificial turf, I expect the same.  Nothing against Colorado, but they are very over matched this season on all fronts.  Lets look at the player-by-player line-ups for the Buffs, barring any unfortunate injuries this week.

The Quarterback


Thanks Daddy for letting me play foosball!

JR-Cody "Daddy Sez" Hawkins--At 190 lbs, 5-11 (with his heels on) Cody is the "starter" for the Colorado Buffs. I personally, as well as many Cu fans would agree, Cody is starting because of his Daddy.  This is Little League baseball all over again.  Cody so far this year has been very poor by only completing 52% of his passes and throwing 7 TDs along with 7 INT's.  Cody seems to get worse each year, but this can mainly be atributed to a lack of a decent O-Line.

-Backup QB: Seth Lobato: FR, 6-5, 205 lbs (Can see over Center's ass).  After Tyler Hanson decided to sit out the year and get his redshirt on, the back-up QB who will never see the field thanks to a lovely dose of nepotism is now Mr. Roboto. His size is ideal and he has a great arm but is not ready for the reins of handing the ball off just yet.

Grade: Qb play this year has been somewhat abysmal for the Buffs.  Lil Hawkins seems to get worse with each season and his lack of arm strength and size makes him an easy target for most of the blame for the offenses ineptitude. D+

Running Backs:

Scott with Momma Scott looking on as he decided which instituition of higher learning he will attend. His heart says Texas but her eyes says Boulder. (h/t to NYT and Jason Thayer...thanks buddy)

Darrell Scott: SO, 6-1, 225 lbs.  Huge recruit, huge bust so far in CFB.  Scott has the power but lacks the ability to run low and get the yardage needed.  He runs high like McFadden and AD, but for some reason his stats don't really compare. Hmm...I wonder why.  He is having a worse 2nd year at CU so far, and is now buried on the depth chart.  I dont expect him to make an impact on the game, but I feel it was needed for him to be on this thread. Thanks.


Starting RB for the Buffs, he'll win your heart and take your girl before he takes it to the house

Rodney Stewart: SO, 5-6 175 lbs.  "Speedy" is the supposed starter for Hawkin's club and the kid certainly can be dangerous.  While he may lack good size, his speed and elusiveness is not something to take lightly.  His durability is somewhat of a concern; however, he is primed and ready to be carrying most of the load for Colorado this game. 

Back ups: Demetrius Sumler, JR, 5-10, 215 lbs.
Brian Lockridge, SO, 5-7, 180 lbs
Corey Nabors, JR, 5-9, 190 lbs.

Grade: Meh.  Sumler and Scott in my mind are just smokescreens for Stewart.  His size helps him out alot by hiding behind the huge O-Line until a hole opens up, and then he erupts for big yardage.  Unfortunately the effectiveness of the running game is heavily predicated on how well the O-Line blocks, which hasnt been that great this year.  The talent is there, but the scheme isnt.  C-

WR/TE:

Scotty McKnight: 5-11, 185 lbs JR.  Scotty is a poor man's Jordan Shipley.  He's not nearly as explosive, but he is very consistent and extremely hard working.  He is Cody's go-to guy, but really not much of a downfield threat.  But then again we never expected Jordy Nelson to go all Wes Welker on our ass in 2007 either.  Keep an eye on him.

Jason Espinoza: 5-8, 175 lbs SO.  Jason will be spending alot fo time returning kicks as well as another option for Cody in the Slot.  Jason has good speed but is more of a possession type receiver and will spend alot of time underneath in crossing routes.  He's a poor man's Eric Morris.

Marques Simas: 6-2, 215 lbs SO.  Simas finally had some passes thrown to him last week against WVU and he made the best of each catch.  He has great hands and uses his size to blow up DB's at the line and make a bead down the sideline. He is a poor man's Dez Bryant.  Expect him to get alot of looks by Cody, but it all depends on how well we rush the passer to determine whether Cody will have enough time to hit Simas on a fly, which are his bread and butter.

Riar Geer: 6-4, 250 SR.  5th year TE, Geer is a very consistent, but rather slow pass catching TE.  He made some great plays against WVU that kept the drive alive and he has the best hands on the team.  Unlike our EBS, Geer has the ability to get off his block and catch balls near the goalline. 

Back-ups:
Andre Simmons 6-3 210 lbs Jr.
Will Jefferson 5-11 190 lbs Fr.
Patrick Deveny 6-3 240 lbs Sr.

Grade: The strength is in TE, as Geer is as consistent as the sun rising in the East.  Deveny is someone to watch out for as well, because he has decent speed for a TE, although he lacks in his blocking ability.  Marques Simas needs to have a great game and increase Cody's trust in him to be effective for the long haul, but overall this group isn't bad, and decent at best. They just don't spread the ball around enough to be effective. D+

Offensive Line:
LT: Nate Solder, 6-9 305 lbs. JR.  This guy is pretty damn big.  Not only is he just strong, but he is an absolute beast in the weight room and has excellent speed.  He may actually be faster than both TE's, which will be great as he pulls around the line to lead block on certain plays. 

LG: Ethan Adkins, 6-4 305 lbs SO.  Adkins isn't on the diet.  He came into Boulder a skinny 260 lbs and since then has taken the Mad Dog approach in S&C.  Regardless of the fact that he is one of the smallest of the linemen for CU, he is very well adept at run blocking, but lacks pass protection skills.  Look for Houston to be in the backfield all night.

C: Mike Iltis, 6-3 280 lbs SO.  One of the guys who had a season ending injury last season, Iltis comes back with a chip on his shoulder.  He certainly has alot to prove and some big shoes to fill however.  He's replacing Daniel Sanders who was the "rock" of the line last year.  I'm not exactly sure how well he's fared this year, but from what I've read, he has a good motor and is consistent.

RG: Ryan Miller, 6-8 320 lbs.  Miller is built like a Tackle, but moved to Guard last year and has made his presence known. He is a former Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year and is expected to push the DL back like a champ, however given the abysmal start to the Running game, he's pushed more like a chump.  He needs to get lower on his blocks and drive them, instead of trying to rely on size alone.

RT: Bryce Givens, 6-6 275 lbs.  Not the biggest RT, but he has shown flashes of brilliance in his young career.  (Can Offensive Linemen show flashes)  He will be a good stable Tackle for the next 3 years as he grows and matures in his position.

Grade: This line was re-tooled in the offseason to increase the effectiveness of the running game, and so far they have not succeded, but made strides against WVU.  They are big and young and they WILL be a great unit in a couple of years, but they will not gel by Saturday.  C+


Thoughts on the Game?
Hook em!