Four days ago, more than a few people cringed at the competitive state of the rivalry when Colorado State’s equalizing force, running back Kyle Bell, went down with a season-ending knee injury. That seemingly took down the Rams’ chances of beating Colorado with him.
But college football has an uncanny way of quickly changing odds, perspective, opinions and focus. And in the past two days, the odds, perspective, opinions and focus on Saturday’s CU-CSU game at Invesco Field have undergone a seismic shift.
We thought: Colorado’s offense would debut as a high-flying, hard-to- stop force.
We know: There’s a lot of work to do. The Buffs’ offense is a disjointed group looking to minimize a penchant to be mistake-prone.
We thought: Colorado State would struggle to run the football.
We know: CSU will pool efforts from at least three backs, led by Gartrell Johnson III, to get it done, but running the ball might not be as hard as previously thought.
We thought: Colorado simply might have been a little bit better.
We know: That may not be the case.
“The perspective has changed for a lot of people and that’s the way things go,” CU cornerback Terrence Wheatley said. “Obviously, everybody is looking at us differently. That’s all our fault. We can’t blame anybody that wants to say we’re not a good team.”
This week should be fun, shouldn’t it?
The effect of Week 1 on both teams remains to be seen. Ask the Rams, and they’re not so sure Colorado’s stumble out of the gate against Division I-AA Montana State was a good thing.
“It’s always great to see Boulder lose, but I almost wish they didn’t,” CSU defensive tackle Erik Sandie said. “There’s no chance now of them underestimating us.”
Said CSU coach Sonny Lubick, “This will just make them more angry.”
That’s what Colorado wants the Rams to believe. The question is: Do the Buffs believe that themselves?
Colorado players put on brave faces Saturday night, but the loss to Montana State was a stunner and a heartbreaker that they admitted mostly only to one another. Montana State coach Mike Kramer felt he correctly predicted a chink in CU’s emotional armor, betting that once the Buffs got down, memories of last season would eat at them too much to play through adversity, survive and win.
Then there is last season. In chances to bounce back from a loss, the Buffs were 2-3 in 2005, with the well-documented late-season collapse taking the spotlight.
So where is CU’s focus?
“Emotions are high for any game, but especially the CSU game,” Wheatley said. “We’ve got to focus on the game at hand and not dwell on anything that happened. You learn from it and move on. We’re playing a very good CSU team. We’ve got to focus on them.”
Colorado State coaches don’t intend to let the Buffs’ loss dull the edge the Rams normally show up with. If anything, knowing that Colorado has won three straight games and four of the past five in the series should help the Rams keep their focus.
“There’s always pressure,” CSU offensive coordinator Dan Hammerschmidt said. “We have to beat them every year, from what I hear from the 30,000 people in the stands. It’s going to be the same 30 years from now.”
Said Rams quarterback Caleb Hanie, “It’s a little added pressure, but either way CU will come out fired up for us.”
But will anything CU runs work? Colorado State showed it is capable of putting together a solid defensive effort, holding Weber State to minus-38 yards rushing and 86 yards in all. Colorado has to prove it is capable of challenging a defense of any kind.
“It’s one little thing each time,” CU coach Dan Hawkins said. “When you keep having water in the gas tank and you sputter, it affects not only your efficiency but your motivation. It was a lot of those little things that have to get ironed out, and we will.”
Staff writer Natalie Meisler contributed to this report.
Staff writer Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
EYE ON … The Buffaloes
COLORADO (0-1) VS. COLORADO STATE (1-0)
3 p.m. Saturday, Invesco Field at Mile High
(CSTV Channel 412 for Comcast subscribers)
Last game: Colorado lost to Division 1-AA Montana State 19-10 on Saturday.
Streaking: Colorado has won three straight and four of the past five in the series against CSU, and leads 57-19-2 overall.
Who’s hot: It’s a stretch to say anyone, but the CU defense was good inside the 10-yard line, yielding one touchdown in three Montana State chances.
Who’s not: The CU offense, which gained just 219 yards against Montana State.
Key stat: Colorado has averaged 33.3 points in its three consecutive wins over CSU.
FYI: Kicker Mason Crosby is second in CU career scoring with 235 points. He is the top-scoring kicker in CU history, passing Jeremy Aldrich. … Colorado has started a season 0-2 only two times including a loss to CSU in school history, in 1986 and 2000. … Dan Hawkins’ opening-game loss was the 12th time in the past 13 CU coaching debuts that the new coach lost. … Seven players made their first collegiate starts Saturday: safety Ben Burney, tight end Riar Geer, defensive tackle George Hypolite, fullback Samson Jagoras, linebacker Brad Jones, defensive tackle Brandon Nicolas and wide receiver Patrick Williams.
Injury update: Defensive tackle Alex Ligon (knee) and cornerback Gardner McKay (ankle) are day to day.
Coachspeak: CU coach Dan Hawkins: “Part of the learning process is to learn that anything can happen when you play. You have to be prepared for both ends of that.”
– Chris Dempsey
EYE ON … The Rams
COLORADO (0-1) VS. COLORADO STATE (1-0)
3 p.m. Saturday, Invesco Field at Mile High
(CSTV Channel 412 for Comcast subscribers)
Last game: Beat Weber State 30-6 on Saturday.
Streaking: Rams lost three of their past four games to end the 2005 season.
Who’s hot: QB Caleb Hanie completed 10-of-12 passes in the first quarter, with one interception.
Who’s not: Running game. Despite three rushing TDs by Gartrell Johnson III, CSU had 67 yards on the ground going into the last quarter.
Key stat: Defense posted seven sacks but forced no turnovers.
FYI: Third-from-worst in the country on rushing defense last year, CSU leads NCAA one-game numbers at an average of -1.58 yards per carry.
Injury update: There is some concern about WR Dustin Osborn’s high ankle sprain. C Tim Walter may miss a few weeks with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee.
Coachspeak: “It would have been easy to say ‘Let’s win this for Kyle (injured RB Kyle Bell),’ but that emotion would have lasted for a series.” – CSU coach Sonny Lubick
– Natalie Meisler
