Promoted to the front page.  - Woodrow

SI's Stewart Mandel on Colorado

One of the better national writers touches on Colorado in his weekly mailbag, answering a question from another Andrew

I know you usually write about the powerhouses of the Big 12, but I thought I could sneak in a question on Colorado. I had high hopes with the hiring of Dan Hawkins, but have you seen any improvement? The father/son combo from Boise State hasn't really panned out the way I expected.
-- Andrew, Washington D.C.

I had high hopes for Hawkins, too, but I knew he would need time to rebuild. Negative publicity from a litany of alleged sexual assaults by players and subsequent recruiting restrictions in 2004 decimated that program and left a fairly empty cupboard when Hawkins arrived in December '05. But this is now Year Four, and Hawkins knows there's no more room for excuses. He went so far as to publicly predict 10 wins this season, a risky and unusual move (though one in keeping with Hawkins' personality).

On the surface, it would appear the Buffs regressed last season, slipping from an Independence Bowl berth the previous year to a 5-7 record last fall. However, there was more to it than that. Colorado showed its potential with an early-season upset of West Virginia, but a rash of injuries (10 season-enders) plagued it the rest of the way. The Buffs were relying heavily on freshmen and sophomores by the end, yet still managed to give fans a tease in the season finale at Nebraska, holding a 33-31 lead until the final two minutes, when Huskers kicker Alex Henery nailed a 57-yard field goal to steal the victory.

So it's hard to say whether Colorado has "improved" to this point, but I see no reason why the Buffs can't make a breakthrough this year and perhaps even contend for a title in the wide-open Big 12 North. Sophomore running back Darrell Scott had a big spring game and seems poised for a breakout. The biggest issue may well be the father/son combo of which you speak. Quarterback Cody had a rough sophomore season, and if he struggles out of the gate again this year, there'll be problems.

http://joinyourteam.com/Football/

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Thought this was an interesting post on SI's Truths and Rumors...

"Someone should tell University of South Florida head coach Jim Leavitt that spring football begins in less than two weeks. At some point -- and very soon -- he's going to need to find a defensive coordinator. Leavitt has been trying, without success, to fill the vacancy left by Wally Burnham, who left for the same position at Iowa State two weeks ago. But do you blame Burnham, or other assistants, for bolting from "General" Jim Leavitt's dungeon? Offensive coordinator Greg Gregory and defensive backs coach Troy Douglas have also gone elsewhere, taking the same roles at South Alabama and North Carolina, respectively. That's what happens when a head coach gets out of control. Imagine this: You're an assistant at a decent program like USF, but you get a look from a national power and interview for the job. The next day, you get demoted. That's what Leavitt did to Gregory. Just a couple days after Gregory interviewed for the tight ends job at Florida, Leavitt sent out a statement saying he had been demoted. He claimed he didn't want his assistants sniffing around for jobs at other schools."

National Football Post

I was just about to post this but Andrew beat me to it.  Nice find Andrew! - WoodrowWilson

CU Ranked as College Football's #22 Most Prestigious Program

Interesting read, I thought the ranking was fair.  ESPN made up a formula for teams from 1936-present, awarding point for things such as national championships and deducting points for things like NCAA violations.

"T-22. Colorado Buffaloes
Total points: 486
Positives: The Buffaloes were a powerhouse in the '90s, when they kicked off the decade with a national title in 1990 and later had a Heisman winner in Rashaan Salaam (1994).
Negatives: Colorado has suffered through five losing seasons this decade, with only a single bowl win (the 2004 Houston Bowl vs. UTEP). Colorado has also suffered through five penalties from the NCAA (costing it 25 points, including nine this decade).
Through the decades: Through 1958: 39th | 1968: 43rd | 1978: 36th | 1988: 44th | 1998: 22nd
Did you know? Colorado has has 30 consensus All-Americans (14th-most), more than Florida and Georgia."