Let’s think about 2007 for a minute. Six years ago, the American housing bubble was just starting to burst, JaMarcus Russell was the top pick of the NFL draft and Colorado was going crazy over Rocktober with the Rockies in the World Series.

Since then, the economy has finally started to bounce back, Russell’s football career is essentially over and the Rockies have only a small fraction of that dream team on the current roster. Seems like ages ago, right? Heck, I wasn’t even thinking about college yet.

Unfortunately, another reason 2007 is notable is because that was the last time the University of Colorado was in a bowl game. But the Buffs, sitting at 3-3 at the midway point of the season, may be in the process of changing that stat.

For first time in the last who knows how many seasons, Colorado players, coaches and fans are starting to mumble and whisper about a potential bowl game for the football team.

Even head coach Mike MacIntyre addressed the possibility at Tuesday’s press conference.

Wide reciever Paul Richardson dodges CSU defender Aaron Davis at the Rocky Mountain Showdown 2013. (James Bradbury/CU Independent File)

“We don’t really talk about bowls, but (the Buffs are) at the first time where maybe we could utter it,” MacIntyre said. “We’re three (wins) away.”

The idea of even being allowed to “maybe … utter it” is definitely exciting considering where the Buffs were at this point last year (0-6). Still, we must remain level-headed and realistic when we assess the Buff’s bowl chances.

Looking at the remaining schedule, the six games left essentially breakdown into two potential wins (University of Arizona and University California), two toss-ups (University of Utah and University of Southern California) and two probable losses (University of California, Los Angeles and University of Washington).

Arizona (4-2) comes to Boulder this Saturday for a “black out” night game, giving the Buffs a great opportunity to get their first conference win.

Next, Colorado will face No. 12 UCLA on the road, and the week after that, the Buffs visit Washington, which was ranked as high as No. 15 this year. Considering Colorado’s history of struggling on the road and against ranked teams, Colorado will most likely lose both of those games, putting them at an overall record of 4-5, two wins away from bowl eligibility.

Finding win number five comes in week 12 when the Buffs host California, who currently sits at 1-6 overall and 0-4 within the Pac-12 Conference. Cal lost some talent from last year but has also faced a pretty brutal schedule so I give the Buffs the win here because the game is in Boulder.

That leaves USC in Boulder and Utah in Salt Lake City as the two remaining games for the Buffs to find that sixth win. Both Utah and USC are at 4-3 overall, and both have struggled in conference play. Utah has shown glimpses of being great, most notably with their win against then No. 5 Stanford. But Colorado has played Utah tough every year since joining the conference, and as a rivalry game, it automatically becomes 50-50. USC lost to a 4-4 Washington State University team and just recently fired their head coach, so they are facing a bit of adversity now, and it will be interesting to see how they respond to that in the coming weeks.

As fun and easy as it is to look ahead and project wins and losses, let’s hope the Buffs are instead taking it one game at a time. The opportunity is there, the schedule is possible and the players believe and want it.

“It’s very important,” freshman quarterback Sefo Liufau said. “We all want to go to a bowl. We know how possible it is if we stay consistent and we take the coaching that we learn and put it out on the field. We think it’s very possible.”

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Grayson O’Roark at Grayson.oroark@colorado.edu.

Though Halloween is still 29 days away, the true scares and terrors of the holiday may be arriving early as the University of Colorado Buffalos take on the second-ranked Oregon Ducks this Saturday, Oct. 5.

Oregon comes into the game with a nation-best 16-game road winning streak, a nation-best rushing attack, the second-most points scored per game, and the fourth-least points allowed rankings. Sounds terrifying, but CU has caught a break after news that Oregon’s Heisman candidate running back De’Anthony Thomas has officially been ruled out for this weekend’s matchup.

One person that is not scared of Oregon is CU head coach Mike MacIntyre. In order to compete with Oregon, MacIntyre knows the Buffs must do a number of things right.

“Basically, you have to line up right and be able to tackle in open space,” MacIntyre said during a press conference Tuesday.

Easier said than done, when your opponent runs one of the fastest-paced offenses and consistently changes formations to find gaps and holes.

Not turning the ball over will be another key aspect for the Buffs, who have eight turnovers in the last two games. CU lost the ball three times inside their own 20-yard line during last week’s loss to Oregon State, leading to three touchdowns for the Beavers. Repeating that performance this weekend would spell absolute disaster for the Buffs.

Another key for CU will be finding a way to rekindle one of the nation’s top wide receivers, Paul Richardson. After being held to only five catches last week, CU must find ways to bring out Richardson’s deep threat potential and playmaking capabilities. But this will be another challenge, as the Ducks’ secondary is only allowing about 186 passing yards a game.

A bright spot for CU is freshman running back Michael Adkins II, who had a breakout game last week against the Beavers. Adkins’ 98 yards on 14 attempts was a huge spark for the Buffs and marked the first touches of the season for Adkins.

When asked about Adkins on Tuesday, MacIntyre said he runs hard for them.

“He’s fast, he gets to sidelines, he runs hard,” MacIntyre said. “I don’t know if he’s the starter but he’s going to play.”

It’s said a good judge of a team’s character and fight is how well they respond after a tough loss. CU has this very opportunity this week, albeit against the nation’s second ranked team, but winning may not even be necessary. Simply showing up, playing competitively for 60 minutes and keeping it relatively close would most likely be enough for many fans.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Grayson O’Roark at Grayson.oroark@colorado.edu.

CU football beat Central Arkansas 38-24 in a game riddled with turnovers Saturday night under the lights at Folsom Field. The win snaps a six-game losing streak at home and doubles the amount of wins Colorado had all of last season.

Junior Paul Richardson and sophomore Nelson Spruce celebrate a fourth-quarter touchdown that gave the Buffs the lead. (Amy Leder/CU Independent)

Junior wide receiver Paul Richardson is reminding Buff fans just how big a difference one player can make for a team. He caught 11 balls for 209 yards and two scores Saturday.

Richardson alone accounted for nearly half of Colorado’s total 425 offensive yards. His performance came just six days after his 10 catches and 208-yard game against CSU and marks the first time in CU history that a Buff wide receiver has had back-to-back 200-yard games.

Head Coach Mike MacIntyre said after the game he believes the team is turning a corner.

“The kids are believing we can win now, and that’s a huge step,” he said.

Richardson and CU’s starting quarterback, junior Connor Wood, both agreed with MacIntyre.

“The confidence stems from our great new coaching staff, they’re doing a great job of getting us prepared,” Richardson said.

Wood didn’t have a spectacular game. He committed four turnovers, tipped a pass for an interception, threw another interception and fumbled twice. However, both Wood and MacIntyre were happy with how the team held together through adversity.

“Last year’s team would have crumbled under the stuff we faced tonight,” Wood said. “This year’s team stuck together and kept fighting.”

The key play in the game came early in the fourth quarter, when the Buffs were trailing 17-24. Junior safety Jered Bell intercepted a pass from Central Arkansas quarterback Wynrick Smothers and returned it 79 yards for a touchdown. The pick-six tied up the game, brought the crowd of 35,168 back to life and gave Colorado a huge momentum boost.

Less than two minutes later, a stripped ball from Bell deep in Central Arkansas territory led to Wood hooking up with a wide-open Richardson for a 20-yard touchdown. That goal gave the Buffs a 31-24 lead that they would never look back from.

Turnovers turned into points all night as 42 of the games’ 62 points came following a turnover. Both Colorado and Central Arkansas had 4 turnovers each.

Capitalizing off of these turnovers was huge for Colorado and showed that the Buffs have a defense capable of making big time plays now.

MacIntyre believes the win originated from preparation and referred to the team’s motto–“knowledge equals confidence equals playing fast”–when asked what the difference was between this and last year’s defense.

“It wasn’t pretty, but I’ll take the win any day of the week,” MacIntyre said after the game.

Next Saturday, the Buffs take on Fresno State, a team that beat them 69-14 last year. The game is at noon at home.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Grayson O’Roark at Grayson.oroark@colorado.edu.

Football is finally back and is here to save the day for fans looking to break free from the summer doldrums of minimal sporting activity. For Buffs fans that means one thing: The Rocky Mountain Showdown on September 1.

Entering the 85th game of the rivalry, there is much to be excited about, including head coach Mike MacIntyre’s debut, Junior WR Paul Richardson’s return and a clean slate after the 2012-13 season.

Runningback Tony Jones stiff-arms a Colorado State defender during the Rocky Mountain Showdown on Sept. 1, 2012. (Kai Casey/CU Independent File)

But if the Buffs want to start this year’s campaign on a higher note than last year’s, a number of things need to be done.

Colorado must stop, or at least contain, CSU’s run game. Unfortunately, this is far easier said than done, as CSU brings a potential all-American center anchoring a veteran offensive line, two potential future NFL tight ends and several strong running backs. MacIntyre is aware of all of this, as well as the fact that CU allowed over 200 rushing yards a game last year, but he believes changes in mentality and preparation will make a difference.

“We have to stop the run,” senior defensive end Chidera Uzo-Diribe said. “That’s one thing our coaches have been preaching to us. I feel like we’ve been doing a good job out here.”

Another concern is that CSU has yet to name a starting quarterback. Rams coach Jim McElwain’s choices are sophomore Conner Smith, junior Garrett Grayson or true freshman Nick Stevens.

There’s also preparation, simply making sure the Buffs are ready to go. When it comes to longstanding rivalry games, throwing the stats, records and predictions out of the window and seeing who wants it more is what it’s all about.

With that said, the Buffs have to be confident about at least one thing–MacIntyre’s knowledge of CSU. While this particular rivalry may be new for the head coach, the Rams certainly are not. MacIntyre faced CSU three times during his stay with San Jose State, including last year’s 40-20 thumping of the Rams. This bodes well for a CU team that is looking for a reason to be confident going into the 2013 season.

Colorado will be showcasing its brand-new pistol offense system and has been very positive and open all offseason. The biggest thing that the Buffs will take from camp is organization and crisper practices with more progress made than has been seen for quite some time.

Hopefully a new offense, new coach and return of preseason Biletnikoff Award candidate Paul Richardson will add up to a more exciting offense and a more competitive Colorado football team.

The speed and ability to spread the ball around and make more big plays on offense for the Buffs has me believing that the Buffs will win this game in a closer-than-expected 31-27 outcome.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Grayson O’Roark at Grayson.oroark@colorado.edu.

Jordan Webb, CU’s starting quarterback for much of the 2012 football season, pleaded guilty to third-degree assault Tuesday. He was charged and arrested in May following an incident that also led to the arrest of former offensive lineman Alex Lewis on different charges.

Webb, a senior at CU, tore a ligament in his knee during an April 9 football practice and is rehabilitating following surgery on April 18. CU’s official athletic website notes, “There is now the chance that he could return early in the season, but that is also dependent on a legal situation resolving itself.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story indicated that Webb pleaded guilty to the same charges Lewis faces. In fact, Webb pleaded guilty to third-degree assault while Lewis still faces charges of second-degree assault and two misdemeanor charges.

Information sourced from Boulder Daily Camera.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Grayson O’Roark at Grayson.oroark@colorado.edu.

Opinions herein do not represent the staff of CU Independent or any of its sponsors.

The Buffs’ first spring football drills, practices and scrimmages were surrounded by headlines when Mike MacIntyre was announced as Colorado’s new head coach. He and the rest of the football team entered spring training with the idea of having three or four quarterbacks compete for the starting spot. Since then, however, an injury and an unexpected departure have made the quarterback battle drastically less interesting.

Sophomore quarterback Connor Wood throws a pass during the homecoming game against Stanford on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012. (Kai Casey/CU Independent)

Consider evaluating a battle between Jordan Webb, a fifth-year senior who was the starting QB last season; Nick Hirschman, a junior QB who was a solid and competitive backup last season; and Connor Wood, a junior QB who was a highly touted high school recruit and transferred to CU from the University of Texas. Sounds promising, right?

That matchup of solid QBs promised to allow MacIntyre to fully evaluate each quarterback while they faced the pressure of each other’s tough competition. Instead, because of recent events, MacIntyre has been robbed of that experience and is left with a default quarterback.

Here’s a brief timeline of how MacIntyre was left with his quarterback. On April 10, Webb suffered a season-ending ACL injury while partaking in non-contact spring drills. On April 13, Wood and Hirschman battled each other during the annual spring game and Wood put together a strong performance. On April 19th, Hirschman opted to graduate early and transfer elsewhere for his final two years of eligibility.

While these events did indeed rob both MacIntyre and Buff fans from a watching a QB battle, Connor Wood could be a quarterback that the Buffs can compete with.

Just three years ago, Wood was one of the most coveted quarterback recruits in the nation. His arrival incited a craze in some CU fans who thought Wood would be the future of CU. However, Wood struggled to command the huddle and didn’t have the strongest grasp of the offense last year. He found himself back on the bench.

This year appears to be different, though. In four scrimmages this spring, Wood has completed 36 of 56 passes for 601 yards and five touchdowns. He also demonstrated mobility when he ran for a 33-yard score.

Additionally, Wood has enjoyed his coaches and time at CU.

That being said, Wood must continue to work hard in scrimmages and practices and he cannot take his probable starting spot for granted. He’ll be facing a lot of pressure from Buff fans excited to finally see their star transfer play.

Wood already went through this experience last year when he lost the starting job to Webb early in the fall, which may prove to be an experience that Wood can build on in order to solidify himself as the top quarterback for the upcoming season.

It has been a true journey for Wood. He has seen the highs of being a top high school recruit and the lows of sitting on the bench. Now, he has the chance to prove his perseverance. All things considered, the Buffs are lucky to emerge from the spring with a competitive quarterback who appears to be getting in sync with star wide receiver Paul Richardson.

Wood still needs to officially lock up the starting job and prove to the coaches, fans and himself that he can live up to the hype he received coming out of high school. If Wood can manage that, then Colorado football could see a couple more wins next year. More importantly, CU could see more confidence and competitiveness on both sides of the ball.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Grayson O’Roark at Grayson.oroark@colorado.edu.

Spring’s arrival signifies warmer weather, excitement for the end of classes and for CU Buff football fans, the first look at next year’s Football squad with the 2013 Spring Football game.

With quarterback Jordan Webb tearing a ligament in his right knee earlier this year, the battle for the starting spot became all the more open.  Saturday’s Spring game illuminated that the battle is essentially down to two, junior Nick Hirschman and junior Connor Wood.  Hirschman completed 16-of-27 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns Saturday, while Wood was 11-of-16 for 205 yards and one TD.

Another key takeaway from the game was the importance of junior wide receiver Paul Richardson’s return.  Richardson played a key role in giving the Buffs a deep threat during the 2011-2012 football season and a torn ACL during last year’s spring drills sidelined him all of last season.  Richardson caught five balls for 129 yards and a touchdown during the Spring game and immediately reminded fans how much they had missed him all last season.

“I was just happy to be out here,” Richardson said after the game. “Connor’s (Wood) not afraid to make those passes now, but it wouldn’t happen if the line wasn’t blocking.”

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If the line continues to block successfully and Wood and Richardson can stay in sync they will be a dangerous duo.

The ability to spread the field with Richardson’s deep threat presence is something Head Coach McIntyre is looking forward to.

“If (the secondary) is playing deep coverage, we have to be able to run the ball and dink it,” McIntyre said. “If they some and try to stop our short game, which we hope they have to do at times, we have to go over the top.”

The overall offensive scheme was a fast-paced no huddle type of format that relied heavily on the passing game.  Both squads (Black and Gold) combined to throw the ball 57 times out of the 84 total offensive plays, meaning that nearly 70 percent of offensive plays were passes.  This is a change in mentality when compared to previous coach’s Jon Embree’s run first philosophy.

When the Buffs did run, sophomore Christian Powell, senior Josh Ford and junior Tony Jones looked like top backs as they combined to run 15 of the 21 designed run plays.

On the defensive side of the ball, things looked solid as defense only gave up a combined four touchdowns and had one interception, a safety and a fumble recovery.

However, coordinator Kent Baer says about only 25 percent of the defensive scheme was seen today and the remaining 75 percent likely won’t be installed by the time the Buffs open on Sept. 1 against Colorado State.

This is partially because schemes take time to learn and put in place and because this year’s Spring game was televised on the Pac-12 network and thus many things weren’t revealed.

Areas that need to be improved in come August include “tackling, learning to play harder still and learning how to leverage the football,” Baer said.

In sum McIntyre was pleased with the game and got a lot of information about his players.

“Overall, I thought the effort was very good,” McIntyre said. “We saw a lot of plays, saw the DBs making some plays, saw some good runs, saw the quarterbacks do some good things.”

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Grayson O’Roark at Grayson.oroark@colorado.edu.

Winning has always been a part of freshman forward Xavier Johnson’s life, and winning is exactly what brought him to CU.

Johnson is originally from Santa Ana, Calif., where he played for high school basketball powerhouse Mater Dei High School.

The Mater Dei Monarchs held a 129-9 record with two state championships during Johnson’s four years with the school, when he averaged a near double double — 18.1 points, 9.2 rebounds.

Xavier Johnson (2) prepares to make a shot before the end of the first half during a game against Arizona State on Feb. 16, 2013 in Boulder, Colo. (Haleigh Jacobson/CU Independent)

Johnson’s role as a play-making forward was something he wanted to continue as he proceeded into college, and he said Colorado seemed like the perfect fit.

“Colorado was my second official visit, and when I came here I felt really comfortable with everything, including the coaching style and the game plan they had for me,” Johnson said.

The decision came easier for Johnson as he witnessed Colorado put on their Pac-12 tournament run and NCAA tournament run last year. The idea of winning was once again on his radar.

“Sitting on my couch last year and watching our team win in the tournament definitely influenced my decision,” he said.

Now that Johnson has nuzzled into a comfortable role on the men’s team, he said he could not be happier. Sophomore guard Askia Booker and junior forward Andre Roberson, have dubbed Johnson the “X-Factor,” which he embraces.

“Johnson really is our X-Factor, the energy he brings is definitely something we need and love,” Roberson said in a post-game conference after Johnson’s strong performance against Stanford on Jan.  24.

Johnson seems to play his best against the stiffer competition. He netted a near double double against No. 9 Arizona with 19 points and 9 rebounds.

More than his impressive season, Johnson said he has enjoyed seeing this year’s young team begin to mesh and play well together.

“The progression has been fun to watch, we’re young so freshmen like myself and Josh [Scott] have had to step up,” he said.

His win-the-next-game mindset has been partially instilled by Head Coach Tad Boyle.

“Tad brings a lot of energy and lifts me up, our team up, and our fans up,” he said. “He’s been great.”

Johnson grew tremendously throughout the season. He entered as a solid bench player and developed into an almost full-time starter.

Teammates, coaches and even fans have noticed Johnson’s transformation and look forward to seeing him continue to develop.

“Watching Xavier step up into the role he has is awesome for a freshman,” Shreyash Pradhan, a member of Colorado’s C-Unit, said. “I think he’s got a lot of talent and definitely see him moving up as star player in the future.”

The physicality Johnson brings is another factor members of the C-Unit see and love.

“Johnson’s size and aggression is huge for Colorado, especially since we’re a smaller team in general,” Pradhan said.

This theme of progression from the bottom up, age or otherwise, is something that is becoming common ground for CU basketball.

“We’re young, we got some good red-shirts and a lot of good things happening here,” Johnson said.

The Buffs’ season might be over after a loss in the second round of the NCAA tournament to Illinois, but expect to see Johnson on the court ready to go next fall.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Grayson O’Roark at Grayson.oroark@colorado.edu.

CUBuffs.com and ESPN.com contributed to this report.

The fate of the CU men’s basketball team’s March Madness bid lies with the NCAA selection committee after the Buffs lost 79-69 to the Arizona Wildcats in Las Vegas Thursday. Colorado leaves the conference tournament with an overall record of 21-11 and 10-8 in the Pac-12.

After trailing 11 at the half, the Buffs fought back and found themselves down just four in the final 3 minutes of play, though the comeback was never fulfilled.

“I thought our guys responded to some adversity very well but just didn’t have enough to get over the hump at the end of the game,” Head Coach Tad Boyle said.

Colorado was led by sophomore guard Spencer Dinwiddie’s 18 points and junior forward Andre Roberson’s 15 points and 11 rebounds. The Buffs shot 43 percent from the floor Thursday, but allowed 13 turnovers as well.

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Freshman forward Xavier Johnson helped out with 11 points and sophomore guard Askia Booker added 12 points, including two three-pointers.

The Buffs only had six assists all game, which resulted in poor ball movement and turnovers.

“When we’re at our best, we’re in double-digit assists, and that didn’t happen tonight,” Boyle said.

The Wildcat’s bench managed to score 25 points, including Brandon Ashley and Jordin Mayes who each had eight points.

“Arizona’s got the most quality depth of any team in this league, and that showed tonight,” Boyle said.

Roberson gave a strong performance in his second game back from illness that kept him from playing last week.

“I feel real good, I have fresh legs and I feel like I am all the way back,” Roberson said after the game.

Arizona advances to the Pac-12 semi-finals to face top seed UCLA Friday at 7 p.m. Colorado returns home to watch Selection Sunday to see if their efforts throughout the season have earned them a spot in the NCAA tournament.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Grayson O’Roark at Grayson.oroark@colorado.edu.

The University of Colorado men’s basketball team ended the 2012-13 season with a disappointing 64-58 loss to the Oregon State Beavers in Boulder Saturday afternoon.  The loss puts Colorado at 20-10 overall and 10-8 in the Pac-12 and seals their fifth seed for the Pac-12 Tournament.

Click above to see the GIF story of senior day. (Robert R. Denton/CU Independent)

Sophomore guard Spencer Dinwiddie kept Colorado alive with 10 points in the final two minutes of the game, but Colorado could not get a defensive stop and fell short.

The Buffs trailed the entire second half and only shot 35 percent from the floor.

Oregon State’s 2-3 zone caused problems for Colorado, who couldn’t develop an offensive flow, Head Coach Tad Boyle said.

“The zone gave us trouble all game, and it is frustrating because we practiced for it,” said Boyle.

That defense made it hard to play their game, Dinwiddie said.

“We could not get in the lane and could not hit threes, which made it a tough night against that zone,” Dinwiddie said.

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Sophomore guard Askia Booker and freshman forward Xavier Johnson shot only 6 of 20 and made a combined 14 points.  No player but Dinwiddie managed to score more than 9 points.

Oregon State out-boarded the Buffs 38-30 including 12 offensive rebounds, which was largely attributable to the fact that junior forward Andre Roberson, the nation’s leading rebounder, was unable to play for a second game in a row due to viral infection.

“We’re a better team with Andre than without him, and I do not know the answer to when he will be back, but I expect him to play Wednesday,” Boyle said after the game.

Oregon State got a big game out of sophomore forward Eric Moreland, who had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.  The Beavers stand at 14-17 overall, and 4-14 in the Pac 12 after Saturday’s game.

Boyle said this loss was on him for not preparing his team well enough, but this isn’t the last game for the team.

“It is win or go home from here out,” Boyle said. “I do not care who we play first round I just know we have to win.”

The tournament will be held in Last Vegas from Wednesday through Sunday. Colorado will likely face either Washington State or a rematch against the Beavers.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Grayson Oroak at Grayson.oroak@colorado.edu.