2008 Colorado Buffaloes football team

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2008 Colorado Buffaloes football
Colorado Buffaloes wordmark.svg
ConferenceBig 12 Conference
DivisionNorth
2008 record5–7 (2–6 Big 12)
Head coach
  • Dan Hawkins (3rd season)
Offensive coordinatorMark Helfrich (3rd season)
Offensive schemeMultiple
Defensive coordinatorRon Collins (3rd season)
Base defense4–3 Cover 2
Home stadiumFolsom Field
(Capacity: 53,750)
Uniform
Big12-Uniform-CU-2007-2008.png
Seasons
← 2007
2009 →
2008 Big 12 Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Northern Division
No. 19 Missouri xy   5 – 3     10 – 4  
Nebraska x   5 – 3     9 – 4  
Kansas   4 – 4     8 – 5  
Colorado   2 – 6     5 – 7  
Kansas State   2 – 6     5 – 7  
Iowa State   0 – 8     2 – 10  
Southern Division
No. 5 Oklahoma xy$   7 – 1     12 – 2  
No. 4 Texas x%   7 – 1     12 – 1  
No. 12 Texas Tech x   7 – 1     11 – 2  
No. 16 Oklahoma State   5 – 3     9 – 4  
Baylor   2 – 6     4 – 8  
Texas A&M   2 – 6     4 – 8  
Championship: Oklahoma 62, Missouri 21
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2008 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado at Boulder in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Dan Hawkins and played their home games in Folsom Field.

Pre-season[]

Riar Geer was suspended "from everything football-related" after being arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault and harassment on March 15, 2008.[1] This was less than 24 hours after Lynn Katoa was arrested March 14, 2008 on suspicion for assault at a party on February 16, 2008.[1] This now makes four football players that have had charges brought against them this year. On January 19, 2008, Kai Maiava was ticketed with underage possession and consumption of alcohol and Nate Vaiomounga was charged the same night for criminal mischief under $500.[1] Vaiomounga was also charged February 16, 2008 with underage possession and consumption of alcohol for a separate incident.[1] On April 13, 2008, Jake Duren was arrested for first-degree criminal trespass and kicked off the team 4 hours later.[2] Durin was found bloody and passed out after police followed a blood trail from a broken car window to him in the Smiley Court family residence hall where he did not live.[2]

Spring practice[]

The Spring game was April 19, 2008. On the day before, Colorado was one of twenty schools competing in a Gridiron Bash where the Counting Crows will perform.[3] The event was canceled weeks before hand due to NCAA rules on student athlete benefits.[4] Former Colorado head coach Bill McCartney issued a challenge to Buffalo fans and students to fill Folsom Field for the spring game during a luncheon about CU football recruiting.[5] Filling the stadium would make a statement of support from the community that should help with recruiting.[5] Filling the stadium with 50,000 or more fans would be a huge contrast to past season that have estimated the attendance at the spring game at 6,000 or less.[5] Actual attendance was 17,800, a record for spring game.[6]

Awards[]

Recruiting[]

National Signing Day was on February 6, 2008 and Colorado signed high school athletes from around the country.

Key recruit was five-star running back Darrell Scott of Ventura, California. Scott is the highest rated recruit heading to Colorado since Marcus Houston of Denver came to Boulder as part of the 2000 class.

Official 2008 CU Signing Day Central

Schedule[]

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 31[10]5:30 pm[10]vs. Colorado State*
FSN[10]W 38–1769,619
September 61:30 pmEastern Washington*
W 31–2446,417
September 18[11]6:30 pm[11]No. 21 West Virginia*
  • Folsom Field
  • Boulder, CO
ESPN[11]W 17–14 OT51,883
September 27[11]1:30 pmat Florida State*
  • Jacksonville Municipal Stadium
  • Jacksonville, FL (River City Showdown)
ABC/ESPNL 21–3946,716
October 45:00 pmNo. 5 Texas
  • Folsom Field
  • Boulder, CO
FSNL 14–3853,927
October 1110:30 amat No. 16 Kansas
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Lawrence, KS
ESPN2L 14–3049,566
October 185:00 pmKansas State
  • Folsom Field
  • Boulder, CO
FSNW 14–1352,099
October 255:30 pmat No. 16 Missouri
FSNL 0–5868,349
November 112:00 pmat Texas A&M
L 17–2478,121
November 812:30 pmIowa State
  • Folsom Field
  • Boulder, CO
VersusW 28–2446,440
November 156:00 pmNo. 11 Oklahoma State
  • Folsom Field
  • Boulder, CO
ABCL 17–3046,092
November 281:30 pmat Nebraska
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Lincoln, NE (rivalry)
ABCL 31–4085,319
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Mountain time

Roster[]

Kai Maiava, who was a freshman All-Big 12 offensive linemen in 2007, and switched to the fullback position in the offseason, decided to leave the team after the 2008 spring semester.[12] His reasons did not include the position switch, but for family issues.[12] He transferred to UCLA.[12]

Coaching staff[]

Dan Hawkins
Name[13] Position Years
at CU		 Alma mater (Year)
Dan Hawkins Head Coach 2 University of California, Davis (1984)
Brian Cabral Linebackers
Associate Head Coach[14]		 19 University of Colorado at Boulder (1978)
Defensive Coordinator 2 Washington State University (1987)
Mark Helfrich Offensive Coordinator
Quarterbacks		 2 Southern Oregon University (1996)
Jeff Grimes Offensive Line 1 University of Texas at El Paso (1991)
Eric Kiesau Passing Game Coordinator
Receivers		 2 Portland State University (1996)
Romeo Bandison Defensive Line 2 University of Oregon (1994)
Greg Brown Secondary 5
(1991–93)		 University of Texas at El Paso (1980)
Darian Hagan Running Backs 3 University of Colorado at Boulder (1991)
Kent Riddle Tight Ends
Special Teams		 2 Oregon State University (1991)
Mark Nolan Recruiting Coordinator 2 Willamette University (1995)
Jashon Sykes Recruiting Coordinator 2 University of Colorado at Boulder (2002)

Game summaries[]

Colorado State[]

1 2 3 4 Total
Buffaloes 0 21 10 7 38
Rams 0 14 3 0 17

The 2008 Qwest Rocky Mountain Showdown was played at Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver.

External link: https://web.archive.org/web/20070827084821/http://www.qwestrockymountainshowdown.com/

Eastern Washington[]

1 2 3 4 Total
Eagles 7 14 0 3 24
Buffaloes 0 7 7 17 31

West Virginia[]

See also: 2008 West Virginia Mountaineers football team
1 2 3 4OT Total
Mountaineers 7 0 7 00 14
Buffaloes 14 0 0 03 17

Florida State[]

See also: 2008 Florida State Seminoles football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Buffaloes 7 0 0 14 21
Seminoles 7 12 6 14 39

Texas[]

See also: 2008 Texas Longhorns football team
1 2 3 4 Total
#5 Texas 14 7 14 3 38
Colorado 0 0 7 7 14

The morning of the game, sports books favored Texas by 13 points.[15] The weather forecast called for a game-time temperature of 64 °F (18 °C) and a 30% chance of rain, with isolated thunderstorms.[16]

The Longhorns won 38–14.

Kansas[]

See also: 2008 Kansas Jayhawks football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Buffaloes 7 0 7 0 14
Jayhawks 0 9 7 14 30

Heading into the game against Colorado, Kansas was ranked #15 in the Coaches Poll. This made the 17th consecutive week that Kansas was ranked in the Top 25 (dating back to 2007), a school record. Before the start of the game Kansas Coach Mark Mangino asked the KU student section to refrain from an expletive kickoff chant that has become a student tradition. Despite Mangino's plea, the student section yelled the chant louder than ever. Colorado scored first with an 11-yard Cody Hawkins touchdown pass. Colorado got the ball back soon thereafter, but Hawkins threw an interception inside the red zone and the Kansas defense prevented another Colorado score. Kansas first got on the board with a Jake Sharp touchdown run in the 2nd Quarter. On Colorado's next possession, Hawkins was sacked for a 17-yard loss and a safety to give Kansas its first lead. Once again Kansas came out and played much better in the second half. In the second half Todd Reesing passed for his only touchdown to Dezmond Briscoe and Sharp rushed for two more touchdowns. Sharp's first start of the season was successful as he rushed for 118 yards on 31 carries and for 3 touchdowns. Sharp's performance was by far the best of any Kansas running back through the first 6 games of the season. Reesing had his most accurate game of the season, completing 27 of 34 passes for 256 yards and 1 touchdown. Wide receiver Kerry Meier had 9 receptions for 94 yards. A few hours after the Kansas win, the only other undefeated North team in Big 12 play, Missouri, lost to Oklahoma State. Kansas stood atop the Big 12 North with a record of 2–0.

Kansas State[]

See also: 2008 Kansas State Wildcats football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 6 0 7 0 13
Buffaloes 0 14 0 0 14

Going into the game, K-State had beaten Colorado two years in a row, including a win in Boulder in 2006. Colorado was favored by 3½. Colorado leads the all-time series 43-19-1.

The Colorado Buffaloes found an answer to their quarterback troubles, turning to freshman Tyler Hansen, who sparked them to a 14-13 win.

Cody Hawkins, the son of Buffs coach Dan Hawkins, was benched and switched offensive series with Tyler Hansen.

Although Hawkins mostly handed off to Rodney Stewart (29 carries for 141 yards), he also hit J.R. Smith for 22 yards on third-and-15 from his own 29 on the drive.

His fourth-and-4 pass to Smith, however, fell incomplete and Kansas State took over at its own 31 with 59 seconds remaining.

Josh Freeman's fourth-down desperation heave to Brandon Banks at the Buffs’ 20-yard line was broken up by free safety Ryan Walters on the last play of the game.

Hansen finished a modest 7-of-14 for 71 yards with one touchdown and one interception, but he also ran 19 times for 86 yards, bringing a dimension that Hawkins doesn’t have. Hawkins was 6-of-11 for 35 yards.

Trailing 6-0 and in need of a spark to break out of their monthlong slump, Hansen entered the game and promptly fumbled his first snap out of bounds. But on third-and-12 from his 28, Hansen gained 13 yards on a draw play and suddenly the Buffs, who snapped a three-game skid, had the momentum.

He drove them to the Kansas State 4, where Hawkins re-entered and handed off to Stewart, who ran into the end zone to give Colorado a 7-6 lead.

The next time Hansen drove the Buffs downfield, Hawkins stayed on the sideline and Hansen hit Scotty McKnight with a 21-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline for a 14-6 lead.

Brooks Rossman kicked field goals of 37 and 53 yards but was wide right from 47 yards and wide left from 42 in the first half.

The Wildcats pulled to 14-13 when Freeman scored untouched on 17-yard keeper early in the third quarter.

Colorado had a chance to pad its slim lead but 's 47-yard field goal try sailed wide right at the last moment. Goodman's 48-yard attempt in the first half was blocked by Ian Campbell, Kansas State's seventh block in seven games, best in the nation.[17]

Missouri[]

See also: 2008 Missouri Tigers football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Buffaloes 0 0 0 0 0
#16 Tigers 21 13 14 10 58

The Tigers won their 600th game since their inception in 1890, in an overwhelming 58-0 shutout of the Buffaloes in the Tigers' Homecoming game at Faurot Field rolling up 491 total offensive yards. Chase Daniel passed for 302 yards, and the runners ran for another 189 yards. Daniel was 31-for-37 throwing five touchdowns, intercepted once. Jeremy Maclin had 11 pass receptions for 134 yards with two touchdowns. The defense was outstanding, holding Colorado to a mere 41 net yards rushing and 158 passing for only 199 total offensive yards.[18]

Texas A&M[]

See also: 2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Buffaloes 7 3 0 7 17
Aggies 0 3 21 0 24

Coming into the game, the Aggies had held a 2–5 overall record against the Colorado Buffaloes. Of the three games that were played at Kyle Field, the Aggies had only won the 2004 contest.[19] In the preseason, the Buffaloes acquired Darrell Scott, who was ranked the best running back in the 2008 recruiting class by Rivals.com.[20] In their previous game, the Buffaloes suffered a 58–0 shutout at the hands of No. 16 Missouri. Both teams bought an even matchup to the field, with Colorado fielding an offense that had scored 19 points per game, whereas A&M's scoring defense had allowed 35 points per game. The Aggie defense had given up a total of 1,584 in their past three games against Iowa State, Texas Tech, and Kansas State.[21] A&M was favored to win by 3.5 points.[22]

Iowa State[]

1 2 3 4 Total
Cyclones 3 7 7 7 24
Buffaloes 0 0 13 15 28
See also: 2008 Iowa State Cyclones football team

Highlights: Colorado trailed 24-13 with 10 minutes left in the game. The final play the Colorado defense stopped Iowa State running back Alexander Robinson with a 2-yard loss on CU's 1-yard line. Cody Hawkins replaced QB Tyler Hansen in the second half. Hawkins threw for 226 yards. Kicker missed two field goals and had a blocked kick.[23]

Oklahoma State[]

See also: 2008 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Cowboys 6 7 14 3 30
Buffaloes 0 3 7 7 17

Nebraska[]

See also: 2008 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Buffaloes 14 10 7 0 31
Cornhuskers 14 10 3 13 40

Statistics[]

Team[]

[24] Team Opp
Scoring 242 351
  Points per Game    
First Downs 226 249
  Rushing 100 116
  Passing 112 116
  Penalty 14 17
Total Offense (yards) 3,822 4,579
  Avg per Play 4.53 5.48
  Avg per Game 318.5 381.6
Fumbles-Lost 33-10 16-8
Penalties-Yards 65-516 67-592
  Avg per Game    
Team Opp
Punts-Yards 64-2,535 58-2,433
  Avg per Punt 39.6 42.0
Time of Possession/Game 28:57 31:03
3rd Down Conversions 68-161 66-168
4th Down Conversions 18-25 6-15
Touchdowns Scored    
Field Goals-Attempts-Long    
PAT-Attempts    
Attendance 296,858 328,071
  Games/Avg per Game 6/49,476 5/64,614

Scores by quarter[]

1 2 3 4 Total
Colorado 49 58 55 77 239
Opponents 85 96 103 67 351

Offense[]

Rushing[]

Name GP-GS Att Gain Loss Net Avg TD Long Avg/G
Rodney Stewart 9 132 669 47 622 4.71 2 22 69.1
Darrell Scott 11 87 364 21 343 3.94 1 42 31.2
Tyler Hansen 5 63 322 61 261 4.14 0 24 52.2
Demetrius Sumler 12 63 266 15 251 3.98 4 36 20.9
Josh Smith 12 12 60 28 32 2.67 0 24 2.7
Kevin Moyd 12 7 34 4 30 3.33 0 21 2.5
Jason Espinoza 2 1 5 0 5 5.00 0 5 2.5
Cody Crawford 12 1 2 0 2 2.00 0 2 0.2
Scotty McKnight 12 2 5 3 2 1.00 0 5 0.2
Patrick Williams 12 2 2 0 2 1.00 0 1 0.2
Matt Ballenger 2 7 16 23 -7 -3.50 0 11 -3.5
Cody Hawkins 12 57 150 173 -23 -0.04 3 19 -1.9
TEAM - 5 0 26 -26 - - -1 -
Total                  
Opponents                  

Passing[]

Name GP-GS Effic Att-Cmp-Int Pct Yds TD Lng Avg/G
Cody Hawkins 12   320-183-10 57.2 1892 17 68  
Tyler Hansen 5   65- 34- 4 52.3 280 1 29  
Matt Ballenger 2   12- 8- 0 66.7 118 1 28  
Scotty McKnight 12   3- 1- 0 33.3 38 0 28  
TEAM -   4- 0- 0 0.0 0 - -  
Total                
Opponents                

Receiving[]

Name GP-GS No. Yds Avg TD Long Avg/G
Scotty McKnight 12 46 519 11.3 5 37 43.3
Josh Smith 12 29 387 13.3 3 44 32.3
Patrick Williams 12 30 322 10.7 2 36 26.8
Cody Crawford 12 31 269 8.7 2 19 22.4
Riar Geer 10 13 183 14.1 2 68 18.3
Demetrius Sumler 12 18 167 9.3 0 40 13.9
Patrick Devenny 12 14 116 8.3 2 14 9.7
Darrell Scott 11 9 105 11.7 0 38 9.5
Jake Behrens 12 12 75 6.3 2 13 6.3
Ryan Deehan 12 5 61 12.2 1 25 5.1
Kendrick Celestine 2 5 46 9.2 0 35 23.0
Rodney Stewart 9 7 43 6.2 0 10 4.8
Maurice Cantrell 12 4 21 5.3 0 7 1.8
Steve Melton 8 2 15 7.5 0 8 1.9
Kevin Moyd 12 1 -1 -1.0 0 -1 -0.1
Total              
Opponents              

Defense[]

Name GP Tackles Sacks Pass Defense Interceptions Fumbles Blkd
Kick
Solo Ast Total TFL-Yds No-Yds BrUp QBH No.-Yds Avg TD Long Rcv-Yds FF
Total

Special teams[]

Name Punting Kickoffs
No. Yds Avg Long TB FC I20 Blkd No. Yds Avg TB OB
Total
Name Punt Returns Kick Returns
No. Yds Avg TD Long No. Yds Avg TD Long
Total

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d Urie, Heath (March 16, 2008). "Another Buff Football Player Arrested". Daily Camera. Boulder. Archived from the original on March 20, 2008. Retrieved March 16, 2008.
  2. ^ a b "Buff Arrested, Sacked from Team". April 13, 2008. Archived from the original on May 2, 2008. Retrieved April 14, 2008.
  3. ^ Ringo, Kyle (January 25, 2008). "Buffs Hosting Gridiron Bash". Daily Camera. Boulder. Archived from the original on January 28, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2008.
  4. ^ "CU, MSL cancel Gridiron Bash". March 31, 2008. Archived from the original on April 7, 2008. Retrieved March 31, 2008.
  5. ^ a b c Ringo, Kyle (February 9, 2008). "McCartney: Fill Folsom This spring". Daily Camera. Boulder. Archived from the original on February 13, 2008. Retrieved March 16, 2008.
  6. ^ Schubert, Erich (April 19, 2008). "Buffs Enjoy Record Crowd at Spring Game". CUBuffs.com. Retrieved April 21, 2008.
  7. ^ "Hypolite Makes Preliminary Lombardi Watch List". Daily Camera. Boulder. March 11, 2008. Archived from the original on March 20, 2008. Retrieved March 11, 2008.
  8. ^ Ringo, Kyle (April 5, 2008). "Buffs Short-Handed at LB". Daily Camera. Boulder. Archived from the original on April 8, 2008. Retrieved April 7, 2008.
  9. ^ Ringo, Kyle (April 18, 2008). "More Hype for Hypolite". Daily Camera. Boulder. Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved April 21, 2008.
  10. ^ a b c "CU-CSU Moving To Sunday Aug. 31". University of Colorado–Boulder Department of Athletics. April 30, 2008. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
  11. ^ a b c d "WVU Game Moved to a Thursday". Daily Camera. Boulder. February 26, 2008. Archived from the original on February 28, 2008. Retrieved February 26, 2008.
  12. ^ a b c Brooks, B. G. (April 23, 2008). "Fullback Maiava is Leaving CU". Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved April 24, 2008.
  13. ^ 2008 Coaching Staff
  14. ^ Plati, David (February 7, 2008). "Cabral Promoted to Associate Head Coach". CUBuffs.com. Retrieved February 8, 2008.
  15. ^ "Gambling - NCAA football". Vegas.com. Vegas.com, LLC. October 4, 2008. Archived from the original on October 2, 2008. Retrieved October 4, 2008.
  16. ^ "Hour-by-Hour Forecast for Boulder, CO". Weather.com. October 4, 2008. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008. Retrieved October 4, 2008.
  17. ^ Colorado Notes[permanent dead link]
  18. ^ Missouri Tigers vs. Colorado Buffaloes, Oct. 25 Box Score
  19. ^ "All-Time Standing with 123 Foes". Texas A&M Athletics. Archived from the original on January 28, 2008. Retrieved January 29, 2008.
  20. ^ "Rivals.com running backs 2008". Archived from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
  21. ^ Zwerneman, Brent (November 1, 2008). "A&M Defense Aims to Improve vs. Colorado Today". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
  22. ^ "Colorado (4-4) At Texas A&M (3-5)". Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
  23. ^ Doyle, M. (November 10, 2008). "OSU: Know the Foe". Tulsa World. p. B6.
  24. ^ "Final 2008 University of Colorado Buffalo Football Statistics" (PDF). Boulder, Colorado: University of Colorado. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 27, 2009. Retrieved December 7, 2008.
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