Toledo – Reflections from the Glass Bowl

// Sep 11 -

Toledo 54, Colorado 38

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September 11, 2009                 Toledo 54, Colorado 38

Toledo quarterback Aaron Opelt looked like a Heisman trophy candidate in posting six touchdowns as the Toledo Rockets embarrassed the Colorado Buffaloes, 54-38, before a national ESPN television audience. Opelt connected on 15-of-23 passes for 319 yards, and rand for 109 yards and two more scores as the Rockets posted a mind-numbing 624 yards of total offense.

The game, which started at 9:00 p.m. eastern time (and didn’t finish until almost 1:00 a.m. on Saturday) began as ominously for Colorado as had the Colorado State game five days earlier. After gaining two first downs and getting the ball past mid-field in their opening drive, the Buffs were forced to punt. Taking over at their own 16, the Rockets took eight plays to score. One play in the drive encapsulated the Buffs’ first two games: On third-and-ten at the 26 yard line, Toledo quarterback Aaron Opelt dropped back to pass. With no pass rush to hinder his efforts, Opelt calmly stood in the pocket until he was able to find wide receiver Eric Page, who had gotten behind coverage. A 60-yard completion ensued, and two plays later the Rockets were in the endzone.

A…

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Reflections from the Glass Bowl – The end of the Dan Hawkins’ Era

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Reflections from the Glass Bowl

The late, great head coach John McKay once said, during his Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 0-14 season in 1976, “We didn’t tackle well today, but we made up for it by not blocking”

Okay – Just a little levity to get you started.

Let’s get to the heart of it – Colorado is one of the worst teams in Division I-A, FBS football.

Colorado will be in the “Bottom Ten” this week, and deservedly so. I am a die-hard, “with the Buffs no matter what” kind of a fan (Hell, I’m in Toledo, Ohio, for a Buff game, aren’t I?), but the reality is that the CU program has descended to depths we thought we would never see again. I’m talking about Chuck Fairbanks’ era awful; Colorado sky-blue uniforms awful; losses to Drake awful. This was a humilation of Montana State proportions, without the excuse of it being the first game for a new coaching staff.

The Buffs continue to look inept on offense and confused on defense. Lack of experience on the offensive line and lack of talent and depth on the defensive line is only half the story. The offensive play calling is unimaginative (commitment…

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Report from the Horseshoe

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September 13th

Ohio State v. USC. A classic match-up between two top ten teams. Neither team had more than a touchdown lead at any time, and the game came down to an 85-yard touchdown drive culminated in a last minute USC  touchdown to pull out an 18-15 win. The home team didn’t win, but there was no lack of energy or enthusiasm as the game clock counted down. It was loud from the opening kickoff to the final gun.

In case you are wondering – I love being part of large college football crowds, and Ohio Stadium has always been on my bucket list. This was my largest crowd to date. I have been to the Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl (for a regular season game), Fiesta Bowl, and numerous road games with the Buffs in large venues, including Lincoln, Seattle, College Station and Athens, but this was my first six figure crowd (106,033 – a new Ohio stadium record!).

Some observations from the Upper Deck of Ohio Stadium:

While I did enjoy watching a closely played, hotly contested, emotional game, one in which I really did not have a rooting interest, I was still a little saddened in noting that the atmosphere in Columbus…

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Toledo – Preview

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2009 Preview – Toledo – September 11, 2009

 If history is any guide, the score of the Colorado/Toledo game will be Colorado 42, Toledo 0.

How do we know this? Well, Colorado has played only two games in its history against teams from the Mid-American Conference, Kent State and Miami (Ohio). The Buffs played the Golden Flashes in 1977; the RedHawks in 2007. What was the score of both games? You guessed it: 42-0.

 Okay, it’s not that simple. Toledo does have a number of weapons at its disposal, the game will be played on the home turf of the Rockets, and the Buffs are playing only five days after playing Colorado State. The game has been designated by the Rockets as a “Midnight Blue Out”, with Rocket fans asked to wear Midnight Blue clothing for the ESPN audience.

Let’s see how the “T.I.P.S.” see the game playing out:

 T – Talent

 As you might expect, the Buffs win the edge in this category. The Rockets do return 20 starters for new head coach Tim Beckman, so there is experience on the other side of the ball. Senior quarterback Aaron Opelt will work behind a line with all five starters…

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Trivia – Toledo

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Toledo

 - The Toledo Rockets may not be as famous as the local minor league baseball team, the Toledo Mudhens, but there is some history in northeastern Ohio. Toledo owns the second longest winning streak in Division 1-A history, posting 35 consecutive wins from 1969-71, with the Rockets going undefeated all three years.  Toledo was invited to three consecutive Tangerine Bowls, winning over Davidson, William and Mary, and Richmond. The only Division 1-A streak longer than that of Toledo’s was Oklahoma’s 47 game winning streak from 1953-57.

 - Gary Pinkel, the Missouri Tigers head coach, was first a record-setter at Toledo. Pinkel, who coached the Rockets from1991-2000, set school records for seasons coached (10) and victories (73). In 1995, Toledo went 11-0-1, finishing 24th in the nation; while the 10-1 2000 team finished with a #25 ranking.

 - Toledo doesn’t play all that many games against BCS conference opponents, but when they have, they have been successful, beating Pittsburgh (35-31 in 2003), Kansas (37-31 in 2006), Iowa State (36-35 in 2007), and Michigan (13-10 in 2008). The win over the Wolverines represented the first loss by a Michigan team to a Mid-American Conference team – ever.

 - Toledo’s home…

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This Day in History – Sept 11th

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 While September 11th is certainly etched into our memories for other reasons, there have been other happenings on that date which bring about happier thoughts. Overall, the Buffs are 4-2 on September 11th. Included on that list is a game against Washington State played in 2004. The game was originally to be played on September 15, 2001, but was postponed after the events of September 11th.  Also on 9/11, the Buffs, in 1971, beat 9th-ranked LSU in Baton Rouge (details below), and lost to Cal in Bill McCartney’s first game as head coach at Colorado.

CU on September 11th – 4-2.  1971 – LSU W 31-21; 1976 – Texas Tech  L 24-7 ; 1982 – Cal  L 31-17; 1993 – Baylor  W 45-21; 1999 – San Jose State  W 63-35; 2004 – Washington State – W 20-12.

September 11th – Colorado – best game on this date

Colorado 20, Washington State 12 (@Seattle) – September 11, 2004

For the second time in as many weeks, the Colorado defense preserved a Buff win in the game’s waning moments.  Against Washington State, senior defensive tackle Matt McChesney recovered a fumble by Cougar quarterback Alex Brink at the CU two-yard line with just…

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