The Doldrums – 2009 – “Crisis of Faith”
// Dec 1 -
2009 Season
Crisis of Faith
I needed inspiration.
I was driving up the Boulder Turnpike, heading up from DIA to Boulder. The date was November 27, 2009, the day after Thanksgiving, the day of the Colorado/Nebraska 2009 regular season finale. The Buffs were 3-8, a fourth straight losing season already guaranteed. The Colorado football program, mired in its second worst stretch in school history, was a big underdog to the 8-3 Cornhuskers.
And that wasn’t the worst of it …
The Buffs had announced the day before that Dan Hawkins, the only coach in the 120-year history of the program to post four consecutive losing seasons, would be back for a fifth year.
Speculation had been rampant the previous few weeks that Hawkins would be fired after the Nebraska game. A 16-32 overall record, little or no improvement over the course of the season, a school record road losing streak, and alienation of fans, had all seemingly doomed Hawkins to facing a Big 12 opponent for the final time. Instead, the Buff Nation was informed that Colorado would be coached by Dan Hawkins in 2010.
I was driving up the Turnpike, wondering to myself, “What am I doing here?”. I had spent hundreds of dollars on plane…
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2010 Special Teams - Returning Players / Recruits
It’s doesn’t take a word play expert to come up with the truth about Colorado special teams’ play in 2009: It was far from special.
From the kicking game, where every field goal attempt was an adventure, to the punt return team, where a fair catch without a fumble was about all that Buff fans could hope for, it was a miserable season for Colorado on special teams.
The numbers bear this out.
Junior kicker Aric Goodman went 10-for-18 (56%) on the season, connecting on just three-of-ten attempts from outside of 40 yards. Bouncing back from a horrid 2008 season, which witnessed a school record setting eight misses in a row, Goodman actually hit on three of his first four attempts in 2009, only to slide back to earlier form late in the season, missing his final four attempts of the year (including one in the 17-10 loss to Iowa State, one in the 31-28 loss to Oklahoma State, and two in the 28-20 loss to Nebraska). By contrast, opponents’ kickers in 2009 hit on 17-of-24 attempts (71%), including six-of-ten from outside of 40 yards.
The punting game, if anything, was worse than the kicking…
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2010 Secondary – Returning Players / Recruits
After the humbling 54-38 loss to Toledo, the Colorado secondary, purported to be strength of the 2009 Colorado defense, was in shambles. Rocket quarterback Aaron Opelt looked like a Heisman contender, completing 60- and 70-yard passes on Toledo’s first two possessions. On the night, Opelt needed to complete only 15 passes to rack up 319 passing yards – over 20 yards per completion. Oh yeah, and there was that one “scramble” on the first play of the fourth quarter. With the Buffs down 37-24, but trying to mount a comeback, the not so fleet of foot Opelt outran the entire Colorado secondary for 61 yards and a game-clinching touchdown.
Toledo turned out to be the nadir of the 2009 season for the Buffs’ defensive backfield. Comparatively, the Colorado secondary improved over the course of the year. In the second half of the 2009 campaign, no team passed for more than 250 yards. When all was said and done, four Colorado defensive backs received some form of post-season honors - cornerbacks Cha’pelle Brown and Jimmy Smith were named second-team All-Big 12 by several services, with safety Benjamin Burney and cornerback Jimmy Smith earning honorable mention honors.
In 2008, the Colorado…
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2010 Linebackers – Returning Players / Recruits
Where would the Buffs be without Brian Cabral?
Colorado’s associate head coach and long-time linebackers coach has been a constant in the Dal Ward center for the past twenty seasons. He has seen championships and scandals; embarassing losses and chest-thumping victories. A middle guard turned linebacker in his playing days at Colorado (1974-77), Brian Cabral enjoyed a nine season stay in the NFL, earning a Super Bowl ring with the Chicago Bears in 1985. After a brief stint at Purdue as a graduate assistant, Cabral returned to Boulder as a graduate assistant in 1989. This past season, Cabral celebrated his 300th game as a Buff. His linebacker unit has been like its coach – a constant when other units on the team were suspect.
When he left Boulder for the NFL, Brian Cabral was the Buffs’ all-time leading tackler (297). He is now tied for 16th on the list, and has notably coached eight of the players who have passed him: Matt Russell; Greg Biekert; Jordon Dizon; Ted Johnson; Chad Brown; Michael Jones; Thaddaeus Washington; and Jashon Sykes. Many of Cabral’s players have gone on to NFL careers of their own, though notably only Jordon…
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2010 Defensive Line – Returning Players / Recruits
If there was a unit on the 2009 Colorado football team which actually exceeded expectations, it would have to be the defensive line.
Not because ranking 80th in the nation in rushing defense is a spectacular feat – it’s not. Rather, the Buffs’ defensive line did better than expected because so little was thought of the group last August.
A quick trip back to fall drills reminds us that the Buffs were trying to replace three of four defensive line starters from the 2008 season – defensive tackle George Hypolite, nose tackle Brandon Nicholas, and defensive end Maurice Lucas. All three started every game in 2008, and had been fixtures at their positions for three years. The group had started 88 games in their careers, and had been in for 79% of the defensive snaps in 2008.
To make matters worse, there was little depth – and even less experience – behind these three long-time starters. Junior defensive end Marquez Herrod had the most experience of those players returning, having participated in 258 plays over two seasons (all three seniors mentioned above were in the lineup for over 640 plays apiece in 2008 alone). Sophomore defensive tackle Curtis…
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2010 Offensive Line – Returning Players / Recruits
The Colorado offensive line – the great enigma from the 2009 season.
The problems in 2007 were forgivable. After all, the offensive line depth was so depleted that the spring game was a spring scrimmage due to a lack of healthy linemen.
The problems in 2008 were readily explained. The Buffs had been infused with a multitude of talented linemen with two strong recruiting classes, mammoth young men with limitless potential. But these players were, alas, still young, and their mistakes led to frustration. Patience was the watchword of the day.
Then came fall practice, 2009. Frustration was replaced by exuberance. Two 1,000-yard rushers were not out of the question. “Running downhill” was the phrase of the month. The Colorado offensive line was so well stocked that talented players – with game experience! – were two deep at each position.
Then the 2009 season began …
Colorado, ranked 88th in the nation in rushing offense in 2008, fell to 113th in 2009. Rushing yards per game fell from 124 to 88. The “sacks allowed” statistic, the worst team stat in 2008, had the Buffs in at 113th in the nation. In 2009, though, the Buffs were even…
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2010 Tight Ends – Returning Players / Recruits
There were 18 seniors on the Colorado roster in 2009 - four of them were tight ends. As a result, the development of this unit will be one of the most watched during spring drills and into fall camp.
The senior who will be most missed by the Buffs in 2010 is Riar Geer. In his four years in Boulder, Geer amassed 87 receptions for 974 yards and 11 touchdowns. His totals rank him 16th all-time in receptions (4th amongst tight ends), and 22nd in receiving yards (5th amongst tight ends). Considering Geer never played the position until he got to Colorado (in high school Geer played quarterback, defensive line – and even punted). In 2009, Geer was third on the team in catches and yards, with 36 receptions for 402 yards and four touchdowns.
Another senior tight end who was a regular contributor was Patrick Devenny. In 2009, Devenny only had 13 receptions, but he made them count, scoring three times. Against both Texas and Texas A&M, Devenny only had one catch, but in each instance the catch went for a touchdown giving the Buffs the lead (his one grab going for…
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January 13th
Buffs lose one from roster, keep another
In a move that has been a rumor on the message boards for about a month has come to fruitition. Running back Demetrius Sumler, who would have been a senior in 2010, will not be back to play for Colorado. Normally, such a move would end a player’s career. However, the NCAA allows a player who has graduated to transfer and not sit out a year. Sumler is in line to graduate in May, allowing him to play elsewhere this fall as a senior/graduate student.
Sumler leaves the Buffs having accumulated 714 career yards (on 199 carries), with 333 receiving yards on 45 catches. His only touchdown in 2009 came on a seven yard carry against Texas A&M. The fact that Sumler’s touchdown run against the Aggies came on his only carry of the game may be telling. Even though the Buffs are not deep at running back, Sumler’s participation slid as the season wore on. In the first three games of this past season, Sumler had 20 carries. The final nine games, Sumler had only 16 total carries.
The loss leaves the Colorado backfield periously thin.
Rodney Stewart will be…
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2010 Wide Receivers – Returning Players / Recruits
Before the end of the season-opener against Colorado State next September, senior wide receiver Scotty McKnight, who has 165 career catches, should own the all-time receptions record at Colorado, passing the 167 catches by Michael Westbrook. By the end of the season, McKnight should own the all-time receiving yards record as well (McKnight finished the 2009 season in 7th place in that category). McKnight already owns the school record for consecutive games with at least one catch (36). Overall, McKnight has been one of the most consistent and successful receivers in Colorado history.
But don’t look for Scotty McKnight to be on the cover of any 2010 college football preseason magazines.
McKnight’s productivity over the past three seasons has been obscured by the Buffs’ overall lack of success. Colorado is 14-23 over the past three seasons, and the total offense numbers have languished in the bottom half of the NCAA. The passing offense in 2009, though, did improve, jumping from 81st in 2008 to 45th last season. There were times during the year – especially after Tyler Hansen became the full time quarterback - when the passing game clicked.
What is there to look forward to…
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“Uh-oh for the ’00′s”
Such was the headline for a column by Matt Hayes in a recent edition for The Sporting News. When I read the sub-title, “As the decade’s play clock ticks down, SN’s Matt Hayes ranks the five programs that did the least with the most”, I cringed.
I knew what was coming next – Colorado had made yet another list. Not quite the Bottom Ten, but bad enough nonetheless. More condemnation for the travesty which had become Colorado football.
But …
Colorado did not make Hayes’ rankings as one of the five programs who had disappointed in the 2000′s.
On the list were, in order: Texas A&M; Arkansas; Illinois; Virginia; and California. The common thread of the piece was that each of the programs had excellent facilities, fan support, and resources. Despite the scolding tone of the article, the fact is that all but Illinois had an overall winning record during the decade, and all but Illinois played in at least five bowl games during the 2000′s. Yet, they were all considered disappointments. All were flagship universities in their state, but hadn’t taken advantage of their position. All were traditional laden programs, failing to live up to expectations.…
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2010 – Running Backs – Returning Players / Recruits
Doesn’t seem like it was all that long ago …
The Buffs were loaded at running back. There was an elusive back who could get outside; a bruiser who could punish defenses between the tackles; a third down specialist who could protect the quarterback, but could also sneak out of the backfield to pick up key yards; and an elite burner who could keep defenses off balance with reverses and trick plays.
Remember when? Back in the good ol’ days? …
Last August?
Colorado fans, players and coaches were positively giddy about the prospects for the CU running game in 2009. Demetrius Sumler, a junior, was the old man of the group, a tough player who knew how to protect the quarterback on passing downs, and could make smart plays on draws and screens. Three sophomores would each bring something to the table: Rodney Stewart was the Buffs’ leading rusher in 2008, with 622 yards despite having only ten or more carries in five games, missing the final games altogether with a leg injury sustained against Texas A&M. Brian Lockridge was coming off a red-shirt season in 2008. As a true freshman in 2007,…
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2010 – Quarterbacks – Returning players / Recruits
First, the numbers.
After having his red-shirt torn off at mid-season for the second year in a row, sophomore Tyler Hansen started the final seven games of the 2009 season. Hansen ended the yeat with 1,440 passing yards, topping junior Cody Hawkins’ 1,277 yards with his 269-yard effort in the finale against Nebraska. The total team passing yards for the season – 2,717 – was just seven yards short of the best passing year of the Dan Hawkins’ era – 2,724 – in 2007.
Hansen was moderately more successful than Hawkins on the much of the stats sheet. Hansen completed 55.8% of his passes, compared to Hawkins’ 50.6% completion percentage. Hansen had a touchdown to interception ratio of eight-to-seven, while Hawkins had ten touchdowns and eleven interceptions. The more mobile Hansen does not appear so in the final numbers. Hansen was sacked 33 times in his eight appearances, while Hawkins was sacked only 11 times. In games started by Cody Hawkins, the Buffs went 1-4, while Colorado went 2-5 under Tyler Hansen.
Cody Hawkins will be back for his senior season, and, with his father being retained for a fifth year, the fear might…
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