Bit surprised that there has been no ongoing discussion on the board of some of the games. Of course, some teams are not playing with their full roster, but yesterday they essentially were. Earlier, Tennessee proved to be the much better team than Clemson, and the Vols replacement and future QB strikes quite the imposing figure and is an incredible athlete. Can’t say I minded Uncle Nick and the Tide spanking KSU, as I find their fans often insufferable.

Interesting that the two teams departing the Big XII (Horns and Sooners) both lost, and that the first Big XII university (TCU, of course) to play for the championship in the playoff era is not a public flagship university. (Washington beating Texas = good for the Pac, for now.)

Yesterday was really something. Georgia pulls it out and will try for the two-in-a-row. (Gotta have some sympathy for the Buckeyes‘ kicker.) TCU putting 51 points on big bad Meechigan was quite the feat. (Albeit two of those TDs were pick-sixes.)

Cynics may wonder if the powers-that-be were consciously or subconsciously hoping for the Big 10 rematch of the Buckeyes vs. the Wolverines in the championship. I’m guessing not too many college football fans foresaw neither Big 10 school making the finals. Incredible QB play on display all over the place the last few days.

Final note: Too bad UW’s Cowboys lost to Ohio, but they were playing without their best RBs. Utah vs Penn State in the Rose Bowl is very compelling. Hope this time the Utes win it. Think of it, the Utah Utes in the Rose Bowl two years in a row.

Sharing an article from the Pueblo Chieftain.

BZ: FB - Coaching foundation set years ago for CU Buffs’ Deion Sanders

BZ: FB - CU Buffs adding Jackson State transfer Tayvion Beasley

BZ: MBB - New Year’s blues: Colorado men’s basketball stumble to ugly loss at Cal

BZ: MBB - CU Buffs men’s basketball notes: Toughness disappears at Cal

BZ: WBB - Women’s basketball preview: Colorado Buffs at Washington State

CU AD: MBB - Buffs Rally Comes Up Short As Colorado Falls At Cal

CU AD: SOC - Sanchez Adds Co-Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Year

CUATG Blog: FB - Essay: CU in 2023 – The Dawn of a New Era

CUATG Blog: FB - Tansfer Portal Tracker - Tayvion Beasley – DB

YouTube: FB - Coach Prime Portal King

Buffs Wire: FB - Coach Prime is rebuilding Colorado the right way

Cheers!

Another solid get, kid had legit offers coming out, secondary starting to take shape, would still like to see a safety added eventually.

From Under Armour:

Just broke a long run and rambled for an 88 yard TD. Kid is electric and just a joy to watch. Great player.

Iowa's game reflected their season

21-0

TD from their TE, after a play before when another TE ran threw the defense to set it up. Then followed up with 2 pick sixes.

Their offense struggled greatly this year, but I love watching an offense with good TEs

Our guy Jeff McCulloch is in Orlando for the Under Armour Next All-America Game.

Here was the interview with Adam Hopkins:

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Buffs clinch first P12 win on the road against Stanford with a stellar performance from Simpson with support from previously absent Lovering and O’Brien. More on the game ⬇️ (apologies for the delay)

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Buffs add another defensive line transfer in the class as Fresno State graduate transfer Leonard Payne has announced his commitment to Colorado tonight. Indiana, Kansas State, UConn, Nevada, Old Dominion, Louisiana Tech and Utah State all offered him over the last couple days since he entered the portal. He battled injury in 2022 but had a solid season in 2021 when he was healthy.

He comes to CU having played in 29 games for the Bulldogs. Payne had 10 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, a pair of sacks and a forced fumble during the 2022 season. He's made 10 starts in his career with nine of those coming in 2021.

Fresno State listed him at 6-3, 308 pounds on its roster this season.

What a great athlete and ambassador for sports. Lived a good life. Fantastic write up. Arguably one of the greatest athletes and personalities worldwide ever. Still kept it humble, didn’t want to be celebrated and didn’t keep memorabilia in his home.

“Kids should never see their father as a star. At home I am just Edson”. Humility is a lost art

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Buffs have added a commitment from Jackson State sophomore transfer edge rusher Jeremiah Brown today. The 6-foot-2 Florida native has two more seasons of eligibility after playing in both 2021 and 2022. He finished the 2022 season with 46 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 6 sacks, a pair of forced fumbles and 3 quarterback hurries.

He played in seven games a freshman in 2021.

Brown had an offer from Minnesota out of high school plus offers from numerous Group of 5 schools as well.

Pretty early here since the roster will look different by Sunmer Camp, but...

I see 7-8 "winnable" games in year one:

Kneebraska (H). Sheep (H). 'Zona (H). ASU. Beavers (H). Stanford (H). Wazzu. UCLA

Utah, USC, Oregon and TCU are a bit out of reach until 2024, I'll say

Out of the winnable games, the UCLA game is the one i was hesitant to list. On the road in LA will be tough, but i believe they'll have a Freshman QB, so...

Honestly, i'll be happy if we can get to 6-6 overall and a bowl game. That will be enough to prove the staff is legit and lure a top 10 TP and Freshman class in '24

Based on what I'm seeing we should score a lot of points and in year one that will be our strong suit which gives a chanc at those winnable games.

Defense should improve, but i think year 2 is when they really have the depth to become a force. I would assume to see some more experienced TP additions to the trenches and a few more DBs in this cycle, though, so maybe I'll be wrong?

I am reserving my prediction until once i see the roster for summer camp. But i do believe a bowl game is within reach right away

Beating Kneebraska and the Sheep is a must. Win those early in the season and we are going to have some good momentum for conference play. Would love to see a couple wins on the road as well. Wazzu at minimum.

Go Buffs

BZ: MBB - Road sweep available for CU Buffs men’s basketball at struggling Cal

BZ: WBB - Women’s basketball: CU Buffs knock off Washington for first Pac-12 win

BZ: Chat replay: Pat Rooney discusses CU Buffs athletics (Dec. 30, 2022)

CU AD: FB - Coach Prime’s Legendary Work Ethic Will Establish Baseline For Buffs

CU AD: WBB - Buffs Hold on in Washington

Ralphie Report: MBB - K.J. Simpson plays hero in Colorado win over Stanford

Trojans Wire: MBB - Bay Area bloodbath: chances of Stanford and Cal firing basketball coaches are soaring

Cheers!

Colorado made the cut for Capers. Update on Rivals:

BZ: MBB - KJ Simpson rallies CU Buffs men’s basketball past Stanford

BZ: MBB - Colorado men’s basketball notes: Big production in return from injury for Luke O’Brien, Lawson Lovering

BZ: FB - Recruiting: CU Buffs add two more transfers to defensive line

BZ: WBB - Women’s basketball: Quay Miller, Aaronette Vonleh forming dynamic duo in paint for CU Buffs

CU AD: WBB - Buffs Rally To Get Road Win At Stanford (Links toVideo Highlights, Stats, Notes)

CU AD: WBB - Buffs Back on the Road

CU AD: Buffaloes Primetime Radio Show Debuts Monday

CUATG Blog: FB - Transfer Portal Tracker - Leonard Payne – DL, Jeremiah Brown – LB

CUATG Blog: FB - NIL News and Notes - Buffs4Life NIL Collective raises over $100,000 in first month

CUATG Blog: FB - “Coach Prime” Docuseries on Amazon is now available to stream

The Athletic: FB - Assessing Coach Prime’s Colorado roster: What Pac-12 assistants said about his task ahead

Buffs Wire: FB - Colorado football recruiting: 2024 commitment tracker

Buffs Wire: FB - Post-early signing period Pac-12 recruiting class rankings: Colorado sits middle of the road

Buffs Wire: FB - Pac-12 Switch Tracker: taking notes on specific transfers from one Pac-12 school to another

Cheers!

Lots of great football games this evening, I'm currently watching the Alamo Bowl with Washington and Texas before tonight's basketball game.

More on the basketball game, Lovering and O'Brien are back in tonight's rotation from experiencing some brief injuries. Even though Stanford is 5-7, they should present an interesting test for Buffs' consistency. The Cardinal has had a pretty tough schedule so far, 16th toughest in the college basketball according to Boyle. Hoping to see Hammond have another productive game. I've enjoyed watching his progression this season.

Defensively, the Cardinal has been allowing 63.8 points on 42.6 shooting. The Buffs had high scoring games in their four-game win streak, 87.8 points per game.

What's been your favorite bowl game so far? Oregon vs UNC yesterday was awesome. Also, the Kansas comeback 👏 👏

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Future Buffaloes running back Dylan Edwards meets with the media at the Under Armour All-America Game in Orlando.

Lawson Lovering and Luke O'Brien will be back in tonight's rotation to begin Pac-12 play against Stanford. The Cardinal sits at 5-7, but despite their record, tonight's game “is not going to be easy," Boyle said.

Sources: Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren has emerged as a top candidate to be the next President/CEO of the Chicago Bears. He’s interviewed in person for the job and is considered among the final candidates. The process is expected to wrap up in the upcoming weeks.

Tweet per Pete Thamel

What do you think? Shadeur obviously next year and possibly one more. Back ups next year either Staub, Wiseman, or Shrout if he stays. I don’t suspect getting a big time QB transfer right now because of Shadeur, but do we go after one next year? Or a big time HS recruit to take over the reigns to throw to all the WR talent looks like we’ll have? Do Staub and/or Weisman have enough talent to take over in 1-2 yrs? Will we ever land a huge QB commit (meaning one of the top 5 out of HS or portal)?