Another frustrating close loss for Mike MacIntyre and the Colorado Buffs. AP Photo
That was ugly.
The Colorado Buffs talked a lot about how much more confidence they had going into this season than they did a year ago. It’s easy to have confidence when your record is 0-0, but there were reasons to give them the benefit of the doubt.
They were young last year and lost a lot of close games. They are still young, but more mature and experienced. They are bigger and stronger.
They went into the season opener believing they could win seven games and secure a bowl bid. But after Thursday’s 28-20 loss at Hawaii, the better question now is whether they can avoid their 11th consecutive losing season.
There was an abundance of mistakes: Two fumbles, a red-zone interception by quarterback Sefo Liufau, a blocked punt deep in their own territory that Hawaii turned into the first touchdown of the game. The passing game that was so prolific last season sputtered much of the night. Cornerback Ken Crawley, one of two senior starters on defense, got beat on the first Hawaii touchdown and looked hapless on another, leaving receiver Marcus Kemp wide open and then missing a tackle as Kemp went 79 yards for the score.
And while the referee might have cost them a chance to tie the score in the game’s waning moments by bobbling the ball before setting it for one final play as the clock ran out, Colorado burned two timeouts in the third quarter and didn’t have one to spend at the end.
Not an encouraging evening for CU fans.
