BOULDER — Usually an open date on a college football schedule is greeted with elation, allowing for additional time to heal bumps and bruises and get some time off.
But considering what has happened to Colorado the past two weeks, feeling the heartbreak and frustration of narrow defeats, CU players said they would prefer they were playing this weekend.
Instead, the Buffaloes (2-4, 0-3 Pac-12) must find other ways to take their minds off the sting of excruciating disappointments. The Buffs’ next game is Oct. 18 at Southern California. Colorado fell 36-31 at home Saturday to Oregon State, a week after losing 59-56 in double overtime at California.
“I get the feeling that we don’t want the bye week,” said CU senior defensive tackle Juda Parker. “We wish we could play this week, so we can get that W.”
Senior linebacker Brady Daigh said the Buffs are hungry to get back on the field.
“With the bye week, we’ll deal with it. We’ll utilize it,” Daigh said. “But we’re definitely ready to (play). As a team, we’re tired of saying, ‘Oh, we were so close.’ We want to be at the point where we’re celebrating in the locker room.”
Senior wide receiver Tyler McCulloch, asked whether he had any concern that the players might begin to lose motivation in the wake of consecutive tough-to-swallow losses, said: “I would say maybe in the past (it could have been a concern), but there is a different mind-set about this team. I trust the guys on this team that we’re going to come back with even more of a hunger to beat USC.”
Sefo Liufau, CU’s sophomore quarterback and unquestioned team leader, concurred.
“We’re going to be tough. We’re going to be a resilient team and bounce back from this,” Liufau said. “Everybody keeps saying this, but we’re going to keep fighting. We’re expecting to break down the door (for a signature victory). It doesn’t matter who we play, where we play. We’re going to take this bye week to heal some guys up, to go over game film and keep going.”
Tom Kensler: tkensler@denverpost.com or
