Cu Later, Big 12 But For Now, Neuheisel’s Buffaloes Have Sights Set On Washington State
It only seems as if Colorado plays a one-game football schedule these days.
“That’s kind of the way it’s been here for the last few years, just because Nebraska, they’re from our conference and they’ve won 25 straight games,” second-year Buffaloes coach Rick Neuheisel said by telephone Friday, eight days before Washington State visits Folsom Field for each team’s opener. “So everybody wants to know, when can you beat them?”
The answer, Neuheisel hopes, is Nov. 26.
“And certainly that’s a big hurdle,” Neuheisel allowed, “but we’ve got a lot of tough games before then, Washington State included.”
Between Colorado’s opener against WSU and the regular-season finale in Lincoln, the fifth-ranked Buffaloes will negotiate one of the most formidable schedules in the nation. It includes six games against teams that won at least nine games last season.
The schedule was complicated by the transformation of the Big Eight Conference, which became the Big 12 by absorbing Southwest Conference refugees Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Baylor.
“If our kids really commit, do what they’re capable of doing, then it can be a great year,” said Neuheisel, whose idea of greatness includes winning a national title. “If they think they get it just because they wear the uniforms, then they’re in for a big surprise.”
In late 1994, Colorado surprised many by making Neuheisel, then 33, a head coach for the first time. The former UCLA quarterback and 1984 Rose Bowl MVP left his job coaching quarterbacks in Westwood to join, then later succeed Bill McCartney in Boulder - and promptly silenced doubters by leading the Buffaloes to a 10-2 record that included a Cotton Bowl rout of Oregon.
By all accounts, Neuheisel has picked up where McCartney left off. Unfortunately for Colorado fans, the McCartney Era concluded with three consecutive years of losing to Nebraska, a trend that continued in Neuheisel’s inaugural season when the Cornhuskers swaggered out of Boulder after handing out a 44-21 pounding that helped them to their second straight national championship.
Colorado quarterback Koy Detmer missed the Nebraska game, plus seven others, after tearing knee ligaments against Texas A&M. The offense didn’t suffer, however, as backup John Hessler passed for 2,136 yards and 20 touchdowns over the final eight games, bolstering Neuheisel’s reputation as a skilled developer of quarterbacks.
Detmer is back for his senior season, having regained the starting position.
“Koy has looked great all camp,” Neuheisel said. “He hasn’t missed a snap, hasn’t missed anything because the knee’s sore or there are any twinges. He’s been terrific.
“As I say this, I’m knocking on wood, because he’s important to us. And I think he deserves a chance to play a whole season.”
In four games last season, Detmer put up numbers more suited for the Arena League than the run-oriented Big 12. Detmer hit on 65 of 95 attempts - 68.4 percent - for 1,104 yards and eight touchdowns. His quarterback rating (189.4) would have set an NCAA record had Detmer made enough attempts to qualify.
Making the 6-foot-1, 185-pounder doubly dangerous is a quartet of receivers lacking only starting blocks and batons. Senior speedster Rae Carruth caught 53 passes for 1,008 yards and nine touchdowns as a junior, while teammates James Kidd, Chris Anderson and Phil Savoy can also make a secondary look foolish.
“They just have so much speed on offense,” WSU coach Mike Price marveled. “Schools like USC and UCLA have that kind of speed a lot of teams do. But Colorado has four guys that are like that at wide receiver.”
Herchell Troutman, the Cotton Bowl’s MVP on offense as a sophomore, returns as the starting tailback after gaining 826 yards on 171 carries while sharing playing time with two others last season.
Cougar notes
Ryan Leaf continued to rest his sore right arm Friday and may not play in this morning’s 9 a.m. scrimmage, but the sophomore quarterback is expected to begin throwing today. “He’s improving,” head trainer Mark Smaha said. “If we had a game today, he’d play.” … Running back Miguel Meriwether practiced for the second straight day after missing several practices with a sprained ankle. … Defensive tackle Gary Holmes returned to practice for the first time in two weeks, but was limited to non-contact drills. Holmes has a herniated disk in his back and isn’t expected to play against Colorado… . Receiver Jason Clayton, beset by chronic hamstring problems, pulled one again and is out indefinitely.
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