UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BUFFALOES / SPORTS INFORMATION SERVICE www.CUBuffs.com Fieldhouse Annex #50, 357 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0357 © 2008 CU Athletics Telephone 303/492-5626 (FAX: 303/492-3811; E-mail: [email protected]) David Plati (Associate AD/Sports Information), Andrew Green (Assistant SID), Troy Andre (Assistant SID/ Internet Managing Editor), COLORADO Linda Poncin (Assistant SID), Allie Musso (Assistant SID), Nick Bernal (Football Student Assistant). 2008 COLORADO BUFFALO Football Game 2 — EASTERN WASHINGTON EAGLES September 6 / 1:30 p.m. MDT / Folsom Field, Boulder, Colo. RELEASE NUMBER 2 (September 2, 2008) No Live Television | KOA-RADIO | CUBUFFS.COM (Live Stats) QUICKLY SPEAKING… The Colorado Buffaloes (1-0, 0-0 Big 12) have their home opener this Saturday, Sept. 6 at Folsom Field, entertaining the Eastern Washington Eagles (0-1, 0-0 Big Sky Conference) in a 1:30 p.m. kickoff… There is no live or delayed television of the game, and no like webcast; it’s radio’s weekend to sole source it … EWU is a member of the Football Championship Subdivision (FBS, formerly I-AA), and is just the second such opponent CU will play from the division; Montana State was the other, visiting Boulder to open the 2006 season … Colorado opened the season with a resounding 38-17 win over in-state rival Colorado State in Denver, the first comfortable win for either team in the series in seven years; the last six had been decided by a total of 25 points … The Buffs improved to 171-1 all-time when scoring 38 or more points … The Buffs are shooting for their first 2-0 start since the 2005 season and for the fourth time this decade (2003-04-05) … The next two games against EWU and West Virginia (Sept. 18) are the first-ever games against both schools; CU last played schools back-to-back it had never seen before in 2006 when it hosted Arizona State and then traveled to Georgia (losing both); that was the first time since 1972, when the Buffs hosted Cincinnati and then hit the road to Minnesota (winning both) … There are about 10,000 tickets remaining for the EWU game, and looking ahead, there are about 3,000 remaining for West Virginia and just under 1,000 for Texas. Season tickets are still available and those won’t be broken apart for single game sales until well into next week … Visit CUBuffs.com/gameday as your one stop for everything, including live stats for all games. DEPTH CHART ON PAGE 35, ROSTER ON PAGES 36-37 RALPHIE WEEK CU is celebrating Ralphie Week, recognizing the 75th year that CU athletic teams have been known as Buffaloes. There will be special web content all week on CUBuffs.com, including free access to the History of Ralphie videos as well as special Ralphie IV and V highlights. Athletics is also offering a special on- line only sale on CUBuffs.com of “4 for 40,” or four tickets for $40 to the Eastern Washington game in honor of the mascot celebration. STAT OF THE WEEK The 258 yards CU allowed CSU was the fewest by the opponent in a season opener since 1998, when the Rams had 202 in a 42-14 loss to the Buffaloes at old Mile High Stadium. It was the seventh lowest total by an opponent in the last 40 season openers, topped only by efforts against Washington State (196 in 1996), Fresno State (177 in 1988), Oregon (245 in 1978), Texas Tech (186 in 1976) and LSU (227 in 1971). And looking further inside the numbers, the Rams were never able to sustain a drive of consequence against the Colorado defense, having just one of 11 possessions last longer than 3:57 with no drive eating up more than 37 yards (which was CSU’s final one of the game when CU had second- and third-team players in the lineup). OBSCURE NOTES OF THE WEEK Quarterback Sacks. Sunday marked just the second time in the last 13 season openers that the Buffs did not allow a quarterback sack (the other occasion was in 2004). The five sacks recorded by the Buffalo defense were the most for CU since the second game of the ’06 season (22 games; CU had 6- for-41 against CSU that year). And the five sack difference in CU’s favor was the highest since an 8-2 edge over Washington State the second game of the ’04 campaign. Four of those sacks came on first down, which helped put the CSU offense behind the 8-ball; the Rams netted just 42 passing yards on 16 first down plays, or 2.7 yards per. Though just one game in, that’s a marked improvement over last year, when the opponent average was 7.6 yards. Kickoffs. Overlooked with the pair of kickoff returns for touchdowns in the CSU game was the fact that freshman PK Jameson Davis had three touchbacks in seven kicks, and other than the kick returned for a score, the other six were all inside-the-25. 2008 COLORADO SCHEDULE & RESULTS (1-0, 0-0 BIG 12) 2008 Date CU* Opponent Opp* TV Result/Time Record Series This-N-That Aug. 31 NR Colorado State (Denver) NR FSN W 38-17 1-0 59-19-2 Smith 93 KOR, Hawkins TD runs and defensive effort (CSU: 258 yds) wins it SEPT. 6 NR EASTERN WASHINGTON NR none 1:30 p.m. 0-1 0- 0-0 First-ever meeting, second I-AA/FCS opponent in CU history SEPT. 18 WEST VIRGINIA ESPN 6:30 p.m. 1-0 0- 0-0 Another first-ever encounter; battle of the John Denver “song states” Sept. 27 Florida State (at Jacksonville) TBA TBA 0-0 0- 2-0 CU’s second trip to Jax; last was 24-3 loss to Auburn in ’72 Gator Bowl OCT. 4 TEXAS (H) TBA TBA 1-0 7- 9-0 L1ast meeting was 70-3 loss in ’05 Big 12 title game CU has not forgotten Oct. 11 at Kansas TBA TBA 1-0 41-23-3 Colorado D limited potent KU offense but CU rally falls short in last minute OCT. 18 KANSAS STATE (FW) TBA TBA 1-0 43-19-1 Buffs play catch-up after falling behind early; Charles 171, 1 TD rushing Oct. 25 at Missouri TBA TBA 1-0 31-38-3 07: Tigers score last 48 pts to hand CU third-worst home loss in history Nov. 1 at Texas A & M TBA TBA 0-1 5- 2-0 Last trip to College Station was wild 29-26 OT loss to Aggies in 2004 NOV. 8 IOWA STATE TBA TBA 1-0 47-14-1 CU 17-3 vs. Iowa State in Boulder since 1967, including 11 of last 12 NOV. 15 OKLAHOMA STATE TBA TBA 1-0 26-17-1 Last meeting in ’05, a 34-0 CU win, LB Burton returns pick 99 yds for TD Nov. 28 at Nebraska ABC 1:30 p.m. 1-0 18-46-2 Teams play one of six games in ’07 where both teams scored 50-plus Dec. 6 Big 12 Championship Game ABC 6:00 p.m.. (Kansas City, Mo.) Colorado is 1-3 in Big 12 title games, winning in 2001 (All times mountain. KEY: —Big 12 Conference game; H—Homecoming; FW—Family Weekend.) 2007 Colorado Football: The Media Page 2 MEDIA SERVICES ¾ Coach Dan Hawkins holds a Tuesday press luncheon in the Dal Ward Athletic Center, starting at 11:30 a.m. with lunch, followed by Hawkins beginning the interview session promptly at Noon. This year’s dates: Sept. 2-15 (Monday)-23-30, Oct. 7-14-21-28, Nov. 4-11-24 (Monday), Dec. 2-TBA (bowl). NOTE that there is no organized press luncheon on Sept. 9 or Nov. 18 (bye weeks). The press conference portion of the luncheon is streamed live on www.CUBuffs.com (in the BuffsTV area); all press conferences on CUBuffs.com are free and thus do not require access codes. ¾ Hawkins can be heard Mondays on the Big 12 Football Teleconference Call at 10:40 a.m. MT. All coaches participate; please call 706/679-2026 for access (media only—you must register). A teleconference replay is available after 2 p.m. MT the same day by phone (706/634-1618) or on www.Big12sports.com. ¾ Video highlights of CU football games are available anytime provided by the Big 12 Conference through www.CollegePressBox.tv. Highlights will be in files in Quicktime format, with all available for viewing prior to downloading. First-time visitors will need to register on-line for access; information: contact Ted Gangi at 214/909- 9314 or [email protected]. Special requests can also be made through CU’s BuffVision (Deric Swanson or Eric Pelloni: 303-735-3637). ¾ The Colorado lockerroom (home and road) is closed after games; following the customary 10-minute cooling off period, players will be made available (a list of players will be solicited immediately following the game; no cutoff to request players). ¾ Colorado’s regular season football practices are closed to the general public (exception: Sundays) but are open to the media (exception: Thursdays). The 11th through 30th minute of practices (Sun-Tues-Wed) in-season are open for photography/video needs from the end zones and sidelines. All parameters listed in CU media policies. ¾ This year’s standard meeting/practice schedule (mountain time, pre-time change): Sunday (3:15-5:00, 5:15-6:15); Monday (off); Tuesday (2:30-3:40/4:00-6:30), Wednesday (2:30-3:40/4:00-6:30), Thursday (2:30-3:40/4:00-6:00), Friday (3:00-4:00, evening meetings).