Rocky Mountain Showdown: Play it again, please

The Rocky

Published August 24, 2008 at 9:15 p.m.

Text size  

• 3 Comments
• Email
• Print

Photo by The Rocky / 20077

CSU's Jesse Nading gets his helmet knocked off while tackling Colorado tailback Demetrius Sumler in the game last year.

As for the players, it's a go.

The guys who put on the pads - not the ones in the suits with the neatly knotted ties - believe the Colorado-Colorado State football series means too much to be discarded.

Is anyone listening?

No one can say definitively that Sunday's Rocky Mountain Showdown at Invesco Field at Mile High (5:30 p.m., FSN Rocky Mountain) will be the last played in Denver. But with two games remaining under the current contract (the 2009 and 2010 sites haven't been determined), the schools haven't come to an agreement on the series' future.

CU players Scotty McKnight, a sophomore receiver, and George Hypolite, a senior defensive tackle, have a suggestion for both athletic directors and the myriad other parties involved: Work it out.

"It's a great game in Colorado, getting two great schools like that together," McKnight said. "There's so much tradition behind it. . . . Before I came out here (from Coto de Casa, Calif.), I really didn't know that much about the rivalry. Now, I can see it, and it's a great thing for both teams, both programs and the fans."

Added Hypolite: "These are two great programs that, historically, have had some great players come through. Both schools put a great product on the field . . . "I think it's a great thing; it's definitely a must for the state. It's great to be able to strap it on against those guys every year, and I think they would say the same."

McKnight prefers Denver as the game's site for "a fun change," as does CSU senior tight end Kory Sperry. "Our stadium's too small for this big of a game, and it's not fair for us to play them in Boulder all the time," Sperry has said. "At Invesco, you know it's going to be loud and you know it's going to be insane, and that's what a rivalry game like this should be like."

Eight questions for the '08 meeting

1. What can CU expect from Steve Fairchild's first CSU team? Buffs coaches admit they're not quite sure what the Rams will look like offensively. But they do expect to see heavy doses of big running backs Kyle Bell and Gartrell Johnson and bigger tight end Kory Sperry.

2. Can Sperry duplicate the game he enjoyed last season against CU? If he does, the Buffs might not win this one. All Sperry did was catch eight passes for 103 yards and three touchdowns.

3. How will CSU quarterback Billy Farris fare in his first college start? Fairchild and his offensive staff saw enough in Farris to end the quarterback competition mere days into preseason camp. Farris, a senior, appears capable of handling the pressure.

4. Will CU's new no-huddle, up-tempo offense befuddle CSU's defense? This appears to be the biggest question mark for the Rams and Fairchild, who found retooling a porous "D" among his top priorities when he arrived.

5. On the flip side, how effective will CU's new attack be in its debut? If the offense were in the hands of a first-time starter, the worries would multiply. But sophomore Cody Hawkins has a year's experience and, by all accounts, a nice feel for the new offense. Still, Sunday is the first time out of the driveway.

6. Will Darrell Scott make an impact in his college debut? Scott, CU's former Parade All-America selection, won't start, but should see short-yardage duty - and probably more. That depends on the effectiveness of starter Demetrius Sumler, who rushed for 85 yards (16 carries) and a touchdown against CSU last season in a reserve role.

7. Can CU's new cornerbacks withstand whatever Fairchild/Farris throw at them? This could be the biggest question mark for the Buffs, and based on the experienced quarterbacks lined up on CU's schedule, it's a question that needs a quick, decisive answer.

8. Is this the final game of the series to be played in Denver - or the final game in the series, period? At last check, the schools still were willing to negotiate - a good sign. CU athletic director Mike Bohn says he remains "optimistic" for a renewal, but his terms might cloud that possibility for CSU athletic director Paul Kowalczyk. Don't touch that dial.

Player smack

With bulletin board material forever inflammatory and now dispersed almost instantly in cyberspace, coaches hope to keep the vitriol confined to their locker rooms. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

In 2005, then-sophomore and now-graduated CU defensive end Alonzo Barrett, who had Denver roots but moved to Alabaster, Ala., received a post-practice rebuke from coach Gary Barnett for this game-week quote:

"I grew up here, so I knew about (CSU). But every year, freshmen get in camp, hear coaches talking about it, saying they're our little brothers and we have to keep them in line and everything . . ."

Oops.

And then there was free-spirited Rams quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt, who crowed before, during and after games. But this might have been his most memorable postgame line, uttered after the Rams defeated the seventh-ranked Buffs 19-14 in 2002: "Colorado was the worst No. 7 team ever."

Van Pelt also earned YouTube distinction for spiking the ball in the face of a CU defender as he scored the winning touchdown in that game. He's nowhere to be found among Buffs fans' "Fave Fives."

Cyber smack

It's not hard to find. Best sites: Netbuffs.com and RamNation.com.

* A sampler from Netbuffs:

"I think CU will win this game a lot easier now that Sonny's (Lubick) gone. It amazes that some CSU fans think their program is better off without the guy they named the stadium for." - BuffsIn2008

"How many of you out there will miss (Lubick) on the Sheep sidelines? Too bad Van Mullet (Van Pelt) can't come back for one more beating. I almost pity the Goats this year . . . on second thought, nah. Rocky Mountain Beatdown: CU 45, Rams 17. -cali

* A sampler from RamNation:

"(Dan) Hawkins is a perfect fit for CU. I think he can coach, and with quotes like, 'I just believe there is so much magic in the world and so much magic in people,' the crunchies/hippies/tree huggers have to love him." - Ram Lover

"Did I mention - INVESCO is the house of PAIN for the Fluffaloes? (CU athletic director Mike) Bohn must run - not walk - away before you lose anymore to CSU. Would somebody please change that gold on UCB's unis to YELLOW!!! - ramdom

• August 25, 2008

  10:08 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  benn writes:

  NETBUFFS?!!

  That site is a joke. Allbuffs is where it's at!

• August 25, 2008

  1:08 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  goldenbuff writes:

  This article is a joke! Who wrote it by the way? As a CU season ticket holder for 18 years, I believe my opinion should be stated. I pay seat taxes every year to have SIX home games in Boulder. Move the game back to Folsom Field were it belongs. My seats are great at Folsom and have been terrible each year at Invesco. I can't even take my kids to this game due to all the hate up north. The ram’s can play the Falcon’s or Cowboy’s in Denver if they desire!

• August 25, 2008

  5:12 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  halecsu writes:

  The game doesn't belong in just one place. It either needs to be played in Denver every year or switched campus to campus every other year. CSU season ticket holders sacrafice one home game at Hughes every other year by playing CU in Denver where the most people can see the game. Thats what makes playing the game at Invesco worth it. As a CSU fan i would not mind at all CSU playing in Boulder if that went CU has to come visit Foco the next year. CU will lose at Hughes! Go State!

Featured

• DNC in Denver

  

  Complete coverage of the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

• The Crevasse

  

  A five-part series that examines one tragic day on Mount Rainier.

• Deadly denial

  

  Sick nuclear workers applied for government compensation but most haven't seen a dime.

• Final Salute

  

  The Rocky followed Maj. Steve Beck as he took on the most difficult duty of his career.

• 'Colorado's burning'

  

  Coverage of the state's worst wildfires.

• Columbine shootings

  

  Coverage of the April 20, 1999, shootings at Littleton's Columbine High School.

• The Crossing

  

  Colorado's deadliest traffic accident killed 20 children on Dec. 14, 1961.

• Osveli's journey

  

  Osveli Sales left Guatemala for a better life. Two months later, he came home in a box.

• Wake for an Indian warrior

  

  Oglala Sioux bestow a tribute to the first tribal fatality in Iraq.