The year is 1893. Railroad chronometers have just been invented — I definitely googled that one; you should, too — Rudolph Diesel received a patent for a “Diesel Engine,” Grover Cleveland was president of the United States of America, and the first recorded college basketball game occurred in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, between Geneva College and New Brighton YMCA.
Another first took place that year: Colorado played Colorado State in the inaugural Rocky Mountain Showdown, with the Buffs winning the game 70-6. Since then, things have continued to favor the Buffs, with CU 63 of 87 games heading into Friday night’s matchup.
But let’s fast forward away from 1893 and to 2016, where, you know, there’s twitter, snapchat and high definition television.
The 2016 season is a big one for the Buffs and their head coach in particular. Mike MacIntrye needs to prove that he can take the next step with this team in the 2016-17 college football season. Friday night’s Rocky Mountain Showdown was certainly a good start, but let’s not jump the gun, Buffs fans. This year’s team still has a lot to prove once they get into Pac-12 play.
Friday night’s 44-7 victory over the Rams was the ideal start to the Buffs season — blowout your rival, flat out embarrass them and the icing on the cake is a cupcake waiting for you next Saturday in Idaho State!
I feel like I need to remind Buff Nation that it’s just one game, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a big game or huge win, because it was. I’m simply saying that there’s still a lot of work to be done. Sefo Liufau did his part, but was short on a couple of throws in the first half that would have been an easy six had he hit his wide receiver in stride.
The good news is that Sefo may not need to do much more than he did Friday night if Phillip Lindsay can remain healthy. Lindsay dominated the Rams from the first series on through the final horn. That will be the formula for success for Colorado as the season moves on: run the football, limit mistakes and play solid defense. If they can do that, this team will take that next step we’ve been waiting on.
As for Colorado State, well, the most obvious concern is quarterback. Head coach Mike Bobo did everything he could to not throw the ball, be it Nick Stevens or Faton Bauta behind center.
Bobo knew that passing the ball downfield wasn’t going to be in the cards. He was very critical after the game, calling himself out, saying, “The playcalling has to be better,” and get this, folks, he calls the plays!
Good news is Dalyn Dawkins will be a force to deal with for Mountain West opponents. The Rams are on the right track and have the right man at the helm in Mike Bobo. He simply needs to find his quarterback and make some adjustments on defense and the Rams will bounce back.
It was the 64th win in Rocky Mountain Showdown history for the Buffs, and it won’t be the last. But blowouts like the one we saw last night are not why we love the game, overtime thrillers like last year are why we love the game.
