Friday Fast Facts
Injury Update
Fall camp was fairly kind to the University of Colorado football team, at least in terms of injuries. The Buffs emerged from fall practices with only a few players lost. Only freshman defensive back Jered Bell (torn ACL in first week of fall practice) has been lost for the season.
Other injured players:
Shawn Daniels, senior offensive lineman – out 4-6 weeks with severe strain to a calf muscle
Vince Ewing, sophomore defensive back – out for Hawai’i game – still suffering from swelling as a result of a torn ACL in 2010
Sherrard Harrington, freshman defensive back – out 6-8 weeks with hip contusion – a likely candidate to red-shirt this fall
In addition, freshman offensive tackle Alex Lewis (flu) and sophomore linebacker Liloa Nobriga (hamstring) did not make the trip to Hawai’i.
So, even though the Buffs are without three defensive backs entering the season, the injury list still has to be considered a positive for the team overall.
Can’t tell the players without a program
Even though Division 1-A teams are limited to 85 scholarship players, most teams carry over 100 on their roster. As a result, duplicates on jersey numbers is not unusual. However, with Colorado this fall, a number of high profile players are sharing the same number (which is allowed, provided the two players are not on the field at the same time):
No. 2 – senior wide receiver Logan Gray; freshman linebacker Juda Parker
No. 5 – senior running back Rodney Stewart; sophomore linebacker Derrick Webb
No. 8 – red-shirt freshman quarterback Nick Hirschman; freshman punter Darragh O’Neill
No. 9 – senior quarterback Tyler Hansen; sophomore defensive end Chidera Uzo-Diribe
No. 17 – senior wide receiver Toney Clemons; senior linebacker Josh Hartigan
No. 20 – senior running back Brian Lockridge; freshman cornerback Greg Henderson
Hawai’i Notes worth Noting
– Hawai’i shared the WAC title with Nevada and Boise State last season (each had a 7-1 league record). It was the fourth WAC title for the Warriors. Each of the three seasons following previous league titles, Hawai’i failed to produce a winning record the following year.
– Since 2003, Hawai’i has eight wins over BCS conference schools, fifth highest total nationally amongst non-BCS teams. The victims: Alabama; Northwestern; Michigan State; Purdue; Arizona State; Washington; and Washington State (twice).
– The Colorado/Hawai’i series is tied at one game apiece, with each team winning on their home turf. The Buffs’ win came last season, while the Warriors’ victory came in 1925. The January 1, 1925, game matched two powerful teams. Colorado came into the game 8-0-1, including a victory over the Hawai’i Navy All-Stars on Christmas Day. Hawai’i, meanwhile, was 7-0, and had allowed only 12 points the entire season. Hawai’i won the New Year’s Day game, 13-0, before a crowd of 10,000 (the largest known crowd in Hawai’i’s history to that date).
– Hawai’i is the longest standing member of the Mountain West Conference, at 33 years, but will be joining the Mountain West Conference in 2012.
– Hawai’i is just 19-16 in home openers in Aloha Stadium.
– Dating back to 1998, Hawai’i has lost six straight season openers to BCS conference teams.
– The Warriors are 28-51 all-time against teams from the Pac-12, and have a winning record only over Washington (2-1) and Washington State (3-2). Since 2005, Hawai’i has played at least one Pac-12 team every season, producing a 3-3 record in home games. The Warriors travel to Seattle to play Washington next weekend.
– The punctuation mark in the word Hawai’i is called an ‘okina”. In the Hawaiian language, an ‘okina literally translates to mean separator. Phoenetically, it is referred to as a glottal stop, similar to the sound that would be made in the English oh-oh. The ‘okina is actually a letter in the Hawaiian language.
– Hawai’i football teams used to be referred to as the “Rainbow Warriors”, but now prefer to just be referred to as just “Warriors”. Other Hawai’i teams, though, continue to use the nickname “Rainbow Warriors”.
– While the Buffs prepared for the four-hour time change by practicing from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. this week, the Warriors practiced from 7:00 – 9:00 a.m. all week. Kickoff is set for 4:15 p.m., local time.
– Hawai’i led the country in passing last season, averaging 394.3 yards per game. The Warriors have been ranked in the top three in passing nationally in 11 of the past 12 seasons.
Buff Stuff
– 2011 marks the first time since 1995 in which the Buffs open the season with a true road game. In 1995, Colorado opened the Rick Neuheisal era with a 43-7 victory at Wisconsin (Here is a link to that story).
– Colorado asked for an allotment of 1,100 tickets for the Hawai’i game – all were sold.
– The Buffs are 76-40-5 in season openers, with a 18-17-3 record in openers away from Boulder.
– In the last five season openers, Colorado is 15-for-15 in the red zone (ten touchdowns; five field goals).
– The Buffs have won 23 of their last 24 season openers when scoring first. The lone exception? The debacle against Montana State in 2006, when the Buffs opened with a field goal, but lost to the first 1-AA team the school had ever played, 19-10.
– Very few freshman have ever started a season opener for Colorado, but that list could grow significantly against Hawai’i. Just six true freshmen have played for the Buffs (not counting special teams): tailback Billy Waddy (1973); cornerback Victor Scott and linebacker Scott Hardison (1980); tailback Eric Bieniemy (1987); offensive guard Clint Moore (1991); and linebacker Jordon Dizon (2004).
– Colorado has five players from Hawai’i on its roster: senior offensive tackle Sione Tau; red-shirt freshman offensive guard Kaiwi Crabb; and three true freshmen: offensive lineman Paulay Asiata; linebacker Juda Parker; and linebacker K.T. Tu’umalo.
– Colorado plans to start two true freshman in the kicking positions – Will Oliver at placekicker and Darragh O’Neill at punter. It will mark the first time in school history that two true freshmen kickers have played in the same season for Colorado, much less the same game. There have been six freshmen who have attempted field goals for the Buffs, but only two, Tom Field (1979) and Mason Crosby (2003) did so in the season opener. Three freshmen have punted for the Buffs as true freshmen, but none in the season opener.
– While Colorado may be at risk in running out a freshman kicker in Will Oliver, there are at least eight other 1-A teams which will be doing the same this season, including three others – Arizona State; USC; and Oregon State – from the Pac-12.
2 Replies to “Friday Fast Facts”
Let’s get this party started! Go BUFFS! Take out the Warriors (rainbows and all)!
The Boulder, Colorado Rainbow Warriors! That is a perfect name for the Dan Hawkins era teams.