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Colorado Daily – Wyoming Week
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September 20th – Game Day!
… CU in a few minutes …
Scouting Report: Wyoming
From the Daily Camera …
5 Cowboys to Watch
QB Kaden Anderson: Now a sophomore, he’s thrown for 535 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions this season. He took over as the starter late last year, starting three games and throwing for 955 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions.
WR Chris Durr: He’s had an exceptional start to the year, with 16 catches for 240 yards and two touchdowns so far, averaging 15.0 yards catch. Last year, he led the Cowboys with 31 receptions and finished third on the team in yards (348).
NT Ben Florentine: The only full-time starter back on defense from last year, he has 10 tackles and three sacks this season. Last year, he had 26 tackles, four tackles for loss and a sack. He’s be a leader up front for a solid defensive line.
TE John Michael Gyllenborg: One of the top tight ends in the Mountain West, he’s off to a bit of a slow start, with eight catches for 84 yards and a touchdown. Last year, he caught 30 passes for 425 yards and three touchdowns, earning second-team all-conference honors. He’s been playing with a thigh bruise, but Sawvel expects him to play.
LB Brayden Johnson: A transfer from Oklahoma Baptist, where he earned all-conference honors, he’s made his mark early with the Cowboys. He’s tied for the team lead with 20 tackles, while also posting an interception, pass breakup and QB hurry.
When Wyoming has the ball …
In the first three games, Wyoming has struggled to generate much offensively, other than putting up 31 points against FCS Northern Iowa in Week 2. Sophomore quarterback Kaden Anderson is a pocket passer who has been inconsistent during his short time with the Cowboys, but he certainly has arm talent and some good weapons in receiver Chris Durr and tight end John Michael Gyllenborg. Where Wyoming could hurt the Buffs is on the ground. They average 158.7 rushing yards per game and have three solid backs. Sam Scott is the workhorse, averaging 14.7 carries per game, but Terron Kellman and Samuel Harris are both posting at least 7.2 yards per carry. On defense, CU has some struggles against the run, but that’s mainly come from running quarterbacks and Anderson hasn’t been a runner. The Buffs’ secondary has had some issues at times, too, and Anderson could look to exploit that. Cornerback DJ McKinney said the Buffs need a strong start to set the tone. “We feel like we come alive later on in the game, but we just want to start fast,” he said. “We feel like we’re the heartbeat of this team. So the team goes as our defense goes. So we just want to start fast and play fast.”
… Continue reading story here …
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September 19th
… CU in a few minutes …
Ralphie VII to make her debut Saturday night v. Wyoming
Press release from CUBuffs.com … The illustrious line of buffalo representing the best mascot in all of sports is gaining another member with the addition of Ralphie VII, who will make her debut in front of a packed house of adoring fans when the Buffaloes take on Wyoming on September 20.
The one-year old American Bison currently weighs in at 700 pounds and is a gift from the Beauprez Family, multigenerational University of Colorado alumni and owners of Eagle’s Wing Ranch outside of Steamboat Springs, Colo.
“Ralphie’s run is iconic and our fans, students, faculty, staff, and alumni take an incredible amount of pride in this tradition which transcends sports,” said Taylor Stratton, Director of the Ralphie Live Mascot Program. “We’re excited to be adding a new Ralphie to the lineage of incredible buffalo that have represented the University of Colorado and have elevated the fans’ passion for our student-athletes.”
Ralphie VII, who is definitely not indifferent to running, will make her debut by leading the CU football team out before kickoff against the Cowboys, which is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. Fans are encouraged to get to their seats by 8 p.m. to make sure they don’t miss her inaugural gallop. The game is sold out but fans can get tickets at Seat Geek, the official secondary ticketing partner of CU Athletics. In adherence to tradition, Ralphie VII will be bestowed with her nickname by her handlers after her first run.
The Ralphie Live Mascot program, one of the most unique and special in college sports, subsists almost exclusively on donations. To give to the program, which supports food and care for Ralphie VII as well as Ralphie V and Ralphie VI, please visit the Ralphie giving page.
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September 18th
… CU in a few minutes …
Defensive lineman Alex McPherson getting playing time as a true freshman: “I don’t give a darn how old you are”
From the Daily Camera … Alex McPherson was already making a good impression on his new teammates when he got a chance to practice with them before the Alamo Bowl in December.
Now, the true freshman defensive end is making an impression on game days for the Colorado Buffaloes.
“Oh, it’s felt great personally,” McPherson said after practice on Tuesday, “but at the end of the day, it’s all about the team. It’s not great to start 1-2, but I’m confident that we’re going to bounce back this week.”
For CU (1-2) to bounce back this week against Wyoming (2-1) on Saturday at Folsom Field (8:15 p.m., ESPN), McPherson could play a key role.
After playing only on special teams in the season opener, McPherson played 12 defensive snaps on Week 2 against Delaware. He had a tackle, a quarterback hurry and a blocked punt.
During Friday’s 36-20 loss at Houston, McPherson was on the field for 25 defensive snaps. He recorded two tackles, half a sack and two QB hurries.
McPherson has taken advantage of an opportunity with Samuel Okunlola missing the past two games, but said, “What’s best for the team and being ready for your opportunity is what’s best for the team.”
At 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, McPherson, who played at IMG Academy in Florida last year, came in physically really. And CU head coach Deion Sanders said he never looks at players by their age or class.
“I don’t give a darn how old you are or what year you are,” he said. “You’re expected to do a job, and we’re going to hold you accountable for it.”
… Continue reading story here …
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CU television viewership more than double any team in the west (including Oregon and USC)
From SuperWest Sports …
Total Reported 2025 TV Viewers thru Week 3
- 9.29M—Colorado
- 4.95M—Oregon
- 3.97M—SJSU
- 2.87M—New Mexico
- 2.55M—Stanford
- 2.38M—Fresno St
- 2.24M—Nevada
- 2.18M—Boise St
- 2.11M—Ore St
- 2.06M—Arizona
- 2.00M—USC
- 1.80M—UCLA
- 1.56M—ASU
- 1.53M—Hawai’i
- 1.53M—Utah
- 1.45M—Cal
- 1.21M—BYU
- 985K—WSU
- 544K—Washington
- 541K—SDSU
- 298K—CSU
- 122K—Air Force
- 122K—Utah St
- No reported numbers: UNLV, Wyoming
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September 17th
… CU in a few minutes …
Tight end coach Brett Bartolone: “Whatever we’ve been doing hasn’t been working”
From Brian Howell at the Daily Camera …
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Report: Kaidon Salter to start for CU v. Wyoming
From CBS Sports … Colorado is expected to shift back to Kaidon Salter as its starting quarterback, sources told CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz. Salter, who began the season as the Buffaloes’ primary signal-caller, will take over again after Ryan Staub started in Week 3 against Houston. Colorado hosts Wyoming on Saturday in the final nonconference game before diving deeper into Big 12 play.
The quarterback situation in Boulder has been far from settled through the first three games of the 2025 season. Colorado has rotated three different signal-callers — Salter, Staub and true freshman Julian Lewis — without any one performer delivering consistent production. Salter, a highly regarded transfer from Liberty, opened the season with a passing touchdown and a rushing score in the Buffaloes’ loss to Georgia Tech in Week 1.
After that loss, coach Deion Sanders committed to giving Lewis playing time against Delaware, though it was limited — he completed just 2 of 4 passes for 8 yards. Salter continued to see meaningful snaps, completing 13 of 16 passes for 102 yards and adding another rushing touchdown. Staub, however, stole the spotlight in that game, throwing for 158 yards and two touchdowns, which earned him the start at Houston.
That decision ultimately backfired. Staub struggled, throwing two interceptions while completing 19 of 35 passes for 204 yards with a touchdown in the 36-20 loss. He did showcase his mobility with a 29-yard run, but with Staub’s performance falling short, Colorado is poised to return to Salter.
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September 16th
… CU in a few minutes …
Reminder: White out for Wyoming game …
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*Coach Prime’s Weekly Press Conference*
… Coach Prime starts just after the 25:00 minute mark …
… “I don’t see quit in the guys” … “They worked their butts off today. I’m proud of them” …”Why not us? Why can’t we turn it around? … Out of the quarterbacks: “I’m looking for leadership and consistency. That’s not too much to ask for” … “We’re getting there. Maybe Saturday. Maybe a couple games after that, but we’re going to get the consistency we are looking for” … “I want us to gain five yards on first down. I want our defense to prevent the other team from getting five yards on first down” … “7-109 the record of teams who have given up 200 yards rushing. You can’t have that and win” … “Wyoming is physical up front. They are coached well. They aren’t going to beat themselves. We are going to have to beat them” … “I don’t get into the ‘identity’ thing. I just want to win” … “I’m not a patient man. I’m a fixer. I’m just as upset as you are. We have the young men in this locker room to make it happen” … “We’re trying to define consistency in certain areas which will help us win. We’ve only been consistent in spurts” …
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September 15th
… CU in a few minutes …
Buffs turn their attention to Wyoming: “The season’s nowhere close to being over”
From the Daily Camera … CU (1-2, 0-1 Big 12) will look to get back on track when Wyoming visits Folsom Field on Saturday (8:15 p.m., ESPN) in the final non-conference game of the season.
“We just gotta stay pushing,” quarterback Ryan Staub said. “We gotta lean on each other and just get back to work. Gotta get a win next week and just keep pushing, lean together.”
The Buffs are 13.5-point favorites against the Cowboys (2-1), who were thumped at home by Utah, 31-6, on Saturday. The Cowboys knocked off Akron and Northern Iowa in their first two games.
Losing at Houston wasn’t as big of an issue as how the Buffs lost. As Sanders told his team, they got their “butt kicked,” as they were beaten physically by a Houston team not known for its physicality.
Houston, which has dealt with injuries on the offensive line, including on Friday night, still dominated up front to rush for 209 yards.
Defensively, the Cougars controlled the line of scrimmage to hold CU to 96 rushing yards. Simeon Price busted loose for a 38-yard run and Staub had scrambles for 29 and 19 yards. On the other 20 rushing attempts, however, CU had 10 yards.
On the first play of the game, Micah Welch was tackled for a 2-yard loss and that set the tone.
“I feel as though we have the players with the ability to be physical and run the darn football,” Sanders said. “But we started off getting a TFL, I think on the first or second play of the darn game.”
Welch had a nice start to the season, leading the Buffs with 64 yards on 11 carries in the opener against Georgia Tech. In the last two games, he’s carried the ball 12 times for 12 yards.
Including three sacks, which are counted as rushing attempts, CU had no gain or negative yards on 11 of 23 rushing attempts, and 16 of 23 went for three yards or less. Ten of CU’s 23 rushing attempts against Houston came on first down plays and five ended with zero or negative yards.
“I thought we had a couple good runs, but we just … we weren’t putting ourselves in position to run the ball,” Staub said. “Just always kind of playing behind a little bit. We never got that established.”
Three games into the season, CU doesn’t have much established.
… Continue reading story here …
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September 14th
… CU in a few minutes …
CU Defense looking for answers: “Guys are not making plays. And, we can’t continue to miss tackles”
From the Daily Camera … A strength at times in 2024 under coordinator Robert Livingston, CU’s defense has yet to find a winning formula in 2025.
Eight full-time starters from last year are gone, and the replacements to this point are yielding 430.0 yards per game, including 204.3 rushing yards.
Holding overmatched Delaware to only 84 yards on the ground was spun as a sign of improvement last week, but it may have been just an aberration (Delaware threw for 312 yards and still racked up 396 overall).
“Guys are not making plays,” Sanders said. “And, we can’t continue to miss tackles.”
According to Pro Football Focus, CU had 13 missed tackles in a 31-7 win against Delaware on Sept. 6. That number was 11 against Houston.
There were only six missed tackles in Week 1 against Georgia Tech, but King was often running untouched en route to his 156 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
Missed tackles and blown assignments have led to the opposition hitting the Buffs with big plays – explosions – consistently. CU has given up 44 plays of 10 yards or more this season, including 13 on Friday. That included a 49-yard run by Weigman to set up a touchdown and a 54-yard pass from Weigman to Stephon Johnson to set up another.
If there’s been a silver lining for the defense, it’s that the Buffs have had a decent amount of success in finishing drives. The opposition has scored just seven touchdowns this season, and CU held Houston to field goal attempts six times on Friday.
That’s not much of a consolation, however, with the way teams are piling up yards and controlling the clock.
“We’ve got to do much better on stopping the opposing team from running the football,” Sanders said, while adding, “but we got to do much better in keeping control of the ball (on offense) so the opposing team don’t have that type of time of possession.”
In trying to find answers defensively, CU has rotated a lot of players, especially at linebacker and in the secondary. Nine defensive backs saw the field on Friday, while four different inside linebackers played at least 29 snaps.
… Continue reading story here …
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New AP Poll: Clemson falls out; 0-2 Notre Dame still ranked; BYU just outside of latest poll
From CBS Sports … Dabo Swinney’s 1-2 Clemson Tigers fell out of the top 25 after Georgia Tech kicker Aidan Birr knocked through a 55-yard field goal as time expired to down the Tigers, 24-21. South Carolina also exited the AP poll after Vanderbilt blew them out, 31-7, following LaNorris Sellers’ injury.
Some of the other biggest movers are Texas A&M, up six spots to No. 10 overall after upsetting Notre Dame, 41-40. The Irish, on the other hand, dropped 16 spots down to No. 24. The top three in the AP poll remain unchanged from last week but, Miami moved up one spot to No. 4 after the Hurricanes’ convincing 49-12 victory over surging South Florida.
The game of the week was easily Georgia at Tennessee, as the Bulldogs rallied from down 14 to hand the Volunteers a 44-41 loss in overtime. It marked Kirby Smart’s fourth 14-point comeback, and third vs. an AP top 15 team. They moved up one spot from No. 6 to No. 5.
- Ohio State (55)
- Penn State (5)
- LSU (2)
- Miami (3)
- Georgia
- Oregon (1)
- Florida State
- Texas
- Illinois
- Texas A&M
- Oklahoma
- Iowa State
- Ole Miss
- Alabama
- Tennessee
- Utah
- Texas Tech
- Georgia Tech
- Indiana
- Vanderbilt
- Michigan
- Auburn
- Missouri
- Notre Dame
- USC
Others receiving votes: BYU 94, South Florida 83, South Carolina 82, Mississippi St. 69, TCU 67, Arizona St. 57, Tulane 33, Louisville 25, Nebraska 9, Baylor 6, Clemson 6, SMU 4, NC State 4, UNLV 2, Navy 1.
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8 Replies to “Colorado Daily – Wyoming Week”
I’m back, game day and end of the first. As I write this they just scored, and nice pass.
I get the PI calls were dumb, but we still look like crap.
It’s play calling and it’s communication amongst the player.
This team still looks so bad and not in sync.
With Salters TD, why are we not throwing more up like that? Safeties will start dropping and then pound it.
Again this is a horrible Wyoming team. I get it’s only the second quarter, but this team will not get more than 3 wins all season.
Well I am all in on the Buffs (-11.5) I truly do think that Houston and GT are a lot better than people realize, and the Buffs will end up somwhere in the same vicinity as the Utah – Wyoming game.
That’s awesome. Ralphie VII! And, as they say “she is not indifferent to running”. That should help.
Go Buffs
So Brett says they have to make a plan that fits the QB and WR’s skill sets. I agree but I doubt if we will really see it. It sounded more like he was putting all of his money on execution. How many times did he say execution? At the end it was “the bottom” line
Gotta have execution alright but if the opposing D knows exactly what you are going to do, and that ain’t much, it makes it a lot harder for just execution to succeed
There’s a little truth in it all, right?
I don’t think the qb situation is at all settled.
It won’t be until they see consistency and leadership. I can’t speak to the latter, but the former has been lacking by all three.
Can’t wait to see how things go Saturday night.
Go Buffs
The bottom line is when you get your turn in the spotlight, you need to shine. Staub had his chance and he couldn’t capitalize on it, fair or unfair, that was his opportunity. Some take advantage of that one chance and some don’t.
It will be interesting to see Staub’s response this Saturday. Based on previous actions, it seems likely that he will be providing any input and assistance on the sidelines “for the good of the team.” Clearly, RGIII, as analyst, pointed out occasions when Salter simply did not see open receivers deep down the field. Against Delaware, even though the quarterbacks KNEW that each of the three would have the benefit of leading two series as quarterback, Salter elected to sit on the bench during the “turns” of the other two quarterbacks. If, and I did not see this, two quarterbacks were laughing (and not offering sideline support) while Staub “struggled,” then this team may have internal issues of some kind. Not sure if it is “best” to reward Salter with the start on Saturday IF he has not been a genuine support for his teammates in the “Quarterback Room.”
We shall see,…
Who makes the transfer portal decisions for defensive players? Livingston? They are not going to get the guys who want big bucks. There would seem to be many who can tackle out there. CU’s opponents seem to find them.