Inexperience, injuries plaguing Colorado

By David Mitchell     Oct 7, 2003

AP Photo
Colorado tailback Brian Calhoun, right, is taken down by Baylor defenders Danielle McLean (8) and Maurice Lingquist (15). Baylor handed CU its third straight loss Saturday at Waco, Texas.

Colorado lost two of its first three football games in 2002 before winning eight of nine to repeat as Big 12 North champions.

After suffering their third straight loss last weekend at Baylor, the Buffaloes try to start a similar resurrection Saturday at Boulder, Colo., against Kansas University.

“There is no question in my mind, watching Colorado on tape, that they have talented players; they have good schemes,” KU coach Mark Mangino said during Monday’s Big 12 teleconference. “Things just aren’t clicking right now. … I can tell you that they may be down a little bit right now, but I don’t think that they will be down very long.”

The Buffs (2-3 overall, 0-1 Big 12 Conference) face two major obstacles — inexperience and injuries.

Of CU’s 24 starters — including punter and kicker — 15 are freshmen or sophomores.

Colorado has committed 12 turnovers in its last three games, resulting in 41 points by the Buffs’ opponents. Against Washington State, Florida State and Baylor, CU was outscored, 136-63.

“We have to find a way to bounce back,” Buffs coach Gary Barnett said. “That’s what coaching is. … Solutions are always the same. It’s the execution of solutions that are difficult. We just aren’t very good at fundamentals. We’re not blocking extremely well, and we’re not tackling very well.

“I don’t care what your scheme is or who you’re playing, if you’re not doing either of those things well then it’s going to be a struggle for you. That’s who we are right now.”

Colorado started the season with victories against Colorado State and UCLA. The losses to Washington State and Florida State weren’t surprising but a 42-30 loss at Baylor certainly was, especially considering the Buffs had two weeks to prepare for the Bears following a bye.

CU has suffered a rash of injuries to key players. Defensive end Marques Harris broke his leg in the second game of the season in a 16-14 victory against UCLA.

Quarterback Joel Klatt (shoulder) and running back Bobby Purify (ankle) were injured a week later in a 47-26 loss to Washington State.

Barnett said Purify wouldn’t play against KU and said Klatt was day-to-day.

Backup quarterback Erik Greenberg passed for 346 yards against Baylor before leaving the game because of an injured hand. He was expected to play against the Jayhawks.

In the secondary, cornerback Terrence Wheatley (sternum) and safety Medford Moorer (elbow) both were listed as questionable for Saturday’s game — bad news for a CU team that ranks 114th of 117 Division I teams in pass defense (303.8 yards per game), 105th in total defense (450.4) and 112th in scoring defense (37 points per game).

Kansas (4-1, 1-0) ranks 31st in passing (365.4), 12th in total offense (463.4) and 15th in scoring (36.8).

KU quarterback Bill Whittemore ranks 13th in the nation in total offense (297.6).

“They’re rolling,” Barnett said. “They’ve got momentum. They have a quarterback that is a really, really tough dude that makes them go. They put points on everybody.”

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Homecoming time set: Kickoff for KU’s game with Baylor will be 1 p.m. Oct. 18 at Memorial Stadium. The homecoming contest will be televised on a delayed basis at 11 p.m. on Sunflower Broadband Cable 6.

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