Posts tagged wind
CSU fell to in-state rival CU, 41-27 on Sunday
Sep 2nd
By Katie O’Keefe
CSU Collegian
CSU fell to in-state rival CU, 41-27 on Sunday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, giving first-year CU head coach Mike MacIntyre his first win as a Buffalo.
In the opening game of the season, CU equaled their entire number of wins from last year (1-11). The Buffs were able to beat the Rams with explosive plays from receiver Paul Richardson and their ability to capitalize on the Rams’ mistakes.
CU was lead by quarterback Connor Wood in his second start for the Buffaloes. He finished the game with 400 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions.
“He played like a grown man,” said Richardson. “I couldn’t even tell you how proud I am of him.”
Richardson, who was forced to sit out all of last season because of a torn ACL, was a weapon CSU could not contain. He finished the game with ten catches for 208 yards including an 82-yard touchdown run on CU’s first possession of the game to put the Buffs ahead of the Rams, 7-0.
After a quarterback battle that lasted until game day, CSU quarterback Garrett Grayson was picked to lead the Rams. Grayson finished the game with 201 yards and zero touchdowns.
McElwain said his decision to play Grayson over junior Connor Smith and freshman Nick Stevens was based on Grayson’s preparation for the game.
“I think he was ready,” McElwain said after the game. “I’m not putting this loss on Garrett by any stretch of the imagination.”
The score was 10-0 at the end of the first quarter after the Rams defense held CU to a field goal.
A 49-yard field goal by kicker Jared Roberts put the Rams on the board with 14:17 left in the half.
The Rams receivers struggled to catch the ball throughout the game. The offense finished the game 2-of-14 on third down conversions.
“Offensively we didn’t do a very good job of keeping our defense off the field (by) sustaining drives,” McElwain said.
CU added to their lead after a 17-yard touchdown pass from Wood to receiver D.D. Goodson, making the score 17-3 Buffs with 3:56 left in the first half.
The Rams completed their first third-down conversion on their final drive of the half after previously going 0-for-6. With less than two minutes to go in the half, CSU running back Kapri Bibbs ran the ball for 7 yards and the score to give the Rams their first touchdown of the game and Bibbs’ first touchdown of his career as a Ram.
After a CU field goal, the Buffs were up 20-10 at the half.
Coming out of the half, CSU seemed to have found a second wind. Big plays by the special teams kept CSU in the game during the third quarter.
After going three and out on their first possession to start the second half, CU punted the ball to CSU punt returner Joe Hansley who returned the ball 74 yards for the touchdown.
After CU was forced to settle for a field goal, CSU punt returner Thomas Coffman got in on the action and returned the punt 84 yards . Moments later, Bibbs scored his second touchdown of the game giving CSU its first lead, 24-23. Bibbs was given more carries after running back Donnell Alexander went down in the first half with an upper body injury, said to be a hand injury after the game.
In the fourth quarter, though, Bibbs made a costly mistake when he fumbled the ball which was recovered by CU and returned for the touchdown, giving CU a 31-26 lead and momentum back in favor of the Buffs.
The Rams would not lead again in the game.
A 75-yard pitch and catch from Wood to Richardson gave CU a 41-27 lead over the Rams after the successful extra point and the icing on the cake.
CU will take the Centennial Cup and year-long bragging rights back to Boulder after the Rams earned both in a win over the Buffs a year ago. CSU hasn’t had back-to-back wins over CU since the 1999 and 2000 seasons, a stat that will remain at least until 2015.
Football Beat Reporter Katie O’Keefe can be reached at sports@collegian.com
[includeme src=”http://c1n.tv/boulder/media/bouldersponsors.html” frameborder=”0″ width=”670″ height=”300″]
Buff golfers rise to the top of the heap
Apr 10th
The University of Colorado men’s golf team had quite the final tune-up for the Pac-12 Championship later this month, as the Buffaloes used near-record improvement from one round to the next to jump from seventh into a second place finish in the Wyoming Cowboy Classic here Tuesday.
Colorado turned in the low round of the wind-shortened tournament, a 6-under 274 for a two round total of 580, second only to Gonzaga, which turned a 275 in the second round for a 574 overall score. CU had opened with a 306 score in extremely windy conditions Monday, which forced the cancellation of the second round after a nearly six hour first round, in which only two of the 24 teams in the field broke 300; on Tuesday in much calmer weather, all but one shot better than 300. No. 22 St. Mary’s (Calif.) and No. 40 Tulsa tied for third at 582, with Pac-12 rival Arizona fifth at 584. First round leader Wichita State fell to sixth with a 587 count. The Buffs, ranked No. 64 by GolfStat and No. 74 by Golfweek, defeated five teams ranked ahead of them and improved their record against Division I competition this season to 96-53.
It’s the third time that Colorado has finished either first or second in a tournament five times in a season: in 1980-81, the Buffs won two and had three runner-up efforts as they have done this year, and in 2008-09, CU had one win and four seconds. The team’s 32-stroke improvement from one round to the next was the second best in school annals; in the 1985 Air Force Falcon Invitational, the Buffs shot a first round 414 and then a second round 381 for a 33-shot improvement. That was a six player-five scorer tournament; the previous best in the more common five-for-four was 29-strokes in the 2005 PING-Arizona Intercollegiate (312 to 283 between the first and second rounds). “A great job by the team today, and any time you shoot the low round of the day in a tournament you are excited,” head coach Roy Edwards said.
“To do it in a field of 24 teams and in the final round is particularly satisfying. We didn’t play very well yesterday, but the team really battled in very challenging conditions and was in position to shoot a low score.” All five CU designated scorers improved their scores Tuesday, led by junior Johnny Hayes, who rallied to fire a 1-under 69 after an 85 on Monday – the 16-stroke improvement tied for the fourth largest in CU history, trailing the top best of 18 (John Nyuli in the 1990 Miami-Doral Invitational, when he shot a second round 90 and a final round 72), and two 17 shot make ups (Rick Cramer at the 1989 New Mexico Tucker Invitational and Edward McGlasson in the 2002 Prestige at PGA West). Hayes vaulted from 116th place in the standings into a tie for 80th on the 7,133-yard, par-70 Talking Stick North Course layout with his 154, or 14-over par score. Senior Jason Burstyn lopped off nine strokes between rounds, with his 76-67—143 (3-over) effort tying him for 10th, as he moved up from 27th. He was among the leaders in par-3 (sixth) and par-4 (14th) scoring. Freshman Philip Juel-Berg did the same, as he fashioned a 79-70—149 scorecard here to tie for 40th, jumping 30 spots; his 25 pars were a team high and tied for the 14th most in the field. CU’s top finisher was senior Derek Fribbs, who tied for seventh. He had posted CU’s best first round score with a 4-over 74, and he managed to shave six strokes off that effort with a 2-under 68 for a 36-hole total of 142. He tied for the third most birdies in the field here with seven, played the two par-5 holes here at 3-under, tied for the best overall, and the 12 par-4 holes here at 4.08 per, sixth best. “Jason and Derek played really solid and Johnny did an awesome job of coming back from a poor first round,” Edwards said. “The team should be proud, but we need to continue to work and improve every day leading up to the Pac-12 Championship. We are fortunate to have a great group of guys who I know are very excited to keep getting better.” Sophomore David Oraee rounded out the CU scorers, finishing with a 77-76—153 (13-over) score, which tied him for 72nd. Redshirt freshman Drew Trujillo played as an individual here, and he tied for 95th (77-79—156). UC-Santa Barbara junior Glen Scher captured medalist honors with a 70-68—138, the only player under par in the tournament; there was a four-way tie for second with those players at an even par 140. The average score for 250 rounds here was almost six over par at 75.88, though it dropped from 78.64 to 73.06 between the two rounds. The Pac-12 Championships are in three weeks, set for April 29-May 1 at Los Angeles Country Club. Colorado appears to be peaking at the right time: the Buffs are 11-29 this year against Pac-12 opposition, but the bulk of that damage came in three tournaments, including the first two out of the chute this spring where the Buffs were 0-24; CU is 6-1 against league brethren in the last month.
by David Plati Associate AD/Sports Information University of Colorado Buffaloes 357 UCB / Fieldhouse Annex #50 Boulder, CO 80309-0357 303/492-5626 (office)
CU women looking forward to playing an old opponent in NCAA tourney
Mar 19th
CU is matched against former Big Eight/12 Conference foe Kansas in its first game on Saturday, approximately 4:40 p.m., at the Coors Events Center. The Buffs (25-6) are a fifth seed, the Jayhawks (18-13) a 12th seed. A win would send CU against the winner of Saturday’s No. 4 South Carolina vs. No. 13 South Dakota on Monday night, at 7:30 p.m., at the CEC. South Carolina and South Dakota State will tip at 2:10 p.m. on Saturday at Coors.
“I’m excited to play a Big 12 opponent; we spent a lot of years in the Big 12 and the Big Eight,” said coach Linda Lappe, who in her third season guided the Buffs to their first NCAA Tournament appearance 2004 and the 13th in school history.
Lappe initially believed another former Big 8/12 conference foe – Nebraska – might wind up matched against her team. She said she was “excited for that opportunity (but) Kansas is going to be a tough opponent; I think anybody who makes it into the NCAA is going to be high level competition.”
During their final years in the Big 12, the Jayhawks had the Buffs’ number – a 7-1 record against them in their last eight meetings. In Lappe’s first season (2010-11) at CU, KU won all three games (two regular season, one postseason tournament).
CU senior guard Chucky Jeffery can recall KU’s domination before the Buffs said goodbye and headed for the Pac-12.
“Oh yeah, we remember,” Jeffery said at a Selection Show gathering Monday afternoon. “As soon as our name and Kansas came up on the screen, we all looked at each other like, ‘This is our time right here’. So we’re excited to have them come and play on our home floor, it’s definitely going to be a good game.
“I think, like coach Lappe said, we are a better team on our home floor so they (Kansas) can bring as many fans as they need, but I think we are going to have a pretty good turnout and play well.”
The Buffs were one of four Pac-12 teams to make the NCAA Tournament, joining Stanford, California and UCLA. Those teams were responsible for CU’s five conference losses, with the Cardinal ousting the Buffs from the league’s postseason tournament. Stanford is a No. 1 seed, Cal a No. 2 and UCLA a No. 3.
Lappe said her team’s seeding in the 64-team field was near what she anticipated: “We were expecting a five or six, right in that area, so we’re happy with that. The committee took a look at what we did all season long and I felt like that was a great seed with the wins we were able to get and having no bad losses.
“I know the committee takes a lot of things into consideration so you never quite know where you are going to be, but we are happy with that seed. It shows the committee gives us a lot of respect.”
The Buffs’ 25 wins are the women’s program’s most since the 1995-96 team finished 26-9. CU’s all-time NCAA Tournament record is 17-12, which includes an 8-2 mark in first-round games (9-3 in opening games, reflecting two first-round byes).
When Boulder was chosen for a first-round site, CU’s goal was to be included in the four-team field. Lappe called playing at the CEC, where her team was 15-0 this season, “a huge advantage; it’s a place we’ve had success all year, we’ve had great fan support. Being able to have our fans come out and support us, I think it is going to be one of the best first and second round games in terms of attendance that you are going to find out there.
“I think having that support always helps you, but you can’t take that for granted, you still have to come out and you still have to play well. But to be able to sleep in our own beds and to be in our comfort zones and not have to travel will be something that really helps us out, and obviously I like the altitude as well.”
By the time they tip off in Saturday’s first game, the Buffs will be on the last day of a 14-day break. They haven’t played since March 9, when they lost 61-47 to Stanford in the semifinals of the Pac-12 tournament in Seattle.
Lappe said the layoff can be viewed in “a few different ways. We’ve used it as some time to get some rest, and get some time away, so I think that is going to be very beneficial for us. I think we feel good, our legs are going to feel great. Obviously there’s that period of time if you have a long layoff where you haven’t competed, but we have practiced hard, we have a great group of practice guys that come in everyday and help us out.
“The most important part is what we do this week. This week will be like any normal week, we have four days to practice and then we will be getting ready to play on Saturday, so it’s a pretty typical week in terms of what were used to in the Pac-12.”
Jeffery, the team’s leading scorer (13.9 ppg) and rebounder (8.3 rpg), will close out her home career with an NCAA appearance she’s dreamed of.
“It means a lot,” she said. “It just shows how far we have come as a program, and how great the coaches have been at turning it around. And it’s all a tribute to my team, we have good players and we play together and we’ve had a great season. It’s just really satisfying to go out as a senior like this, and I just want to thank my teammates and my coaches for that.”
In the days preceding Monday’s Selection Show, Jeffery and the Buffs engaged in their own “bracketology” and tried to determine who they might play and the other two teams that would land at the CEC.
“We’ve been trying to figure that out for a long time, looking at the brackets and stuff like that, but you can’t really know,” she said. “We were way off (on their projections), we thought we were going to be up with Notre Dame, but we were off. We’re excited though.”
If the Buffs win their two home games, the Irish still could be in their future. Notre Dame is the No. 1 seed in the Norfolk bracket but plays its opening games in Iowa City. CU and Notre Dame would play in a Sweet 16 game on March 30.
The Buffs reaching the NCAA Tournament has caused a quandary for the family of CU redshirt freshman forward Arielle Roberson. Her brother, Andre, is a junior forward on the CU men’s team, which plays Illinois Friday in Austin, Texas, in the men’s tournament.
In high school in San Antonio, Arielle said she and Andre competed in the playoffs at the same time, creating a similar dilemma in the Roberson family. She called this week’s NCAA play at different sites “a great opportunity for both (of us), but it’s another competition in the family – who’s coming to who’s game.”
Maybe this is what they can hope for: Arielle and the CU women win two in Boulder and advance to Norfolk, Va.; Andre and the CU men win two in Austin and advance to Washington, D.C. That’s close enough for a close family to commute.
[includeme src=”http://c1n.tv/boulder/media/bouldersponsors.html” frameborder=”0″ width=”670″ height=”300″]