Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: Buffs Say Focus Where It Should Be
November 19, 2009 | Football, B.G. Brooks
OSU coach Mike Gundy expects Robinson, the recipient of an "oh-my-gosh" helmet-to-helmet hit last weekend against Texas Tech, to play Thursday night against Colorado (5:30 p.m. MST, ESPN).
For the record, the Buffaloes expect to see the gifted Robinson, too, although his condition isn't quite the torrid topic in Boulder that it is Stillwater.
Other "conditions" have greatly overshadowed injury lists on CU's campus and, one would expect, might make it difficult for a beleaguered Buffs team to focus on the final two games of a season that began with high expectations but since has gone awry (3-7).
Dan Hawkins continues to say he has enough administrative support to return as head coach in 2010. His players continue to say they back him.
"I'm with him," sophomore receiver Markques Simas said. "He and coach (Eric) Kiesau are the reasons I came to Colorado."
Some sentiment on the outside, though, hasn't been so affirming, with critics targeting Hawkins' overall record (16-31), his road mark (2-18, not counting a 2007 Independence Bowl loss) and what they perceive as slight to indiscernible progress through nearly four seasons of rebuilding.
Not so soothing to anyone in 2009 have been a deluge of penalties (93 for 793 yards, second-worst nationally), turnovers (27 for a minus-7 margin, last in the Big 12 Conference) and disastrously slow starts (the Buffs have been outscored 78-27 in 10 first quarters).
Nonetheless, Hawkins contends those knowledgeable about rebuilding processes and inexperienced teams remain in his corner: "I think the people in this department who know all the specifics have an appreciation for that . . . that's really what you try to stick to, man, you try to live by virtue and virtue alone and you stick to that and keep plugging along."
Recruiting, he said, hasn't suffered greatly from the mounting unrest, "But it doesn't help, that's for sure. It's interesting, because I think most people are a little more savvy than we all give them credit for. I think they understand where we're at and what's going on."
Players, at least the scattering of veterans on a roster brimming with underclassmen (27 freshmen and sophomores are on this trip's 70-man traveling squad), claim what's happening outside the team's perimeter won't have an effect at the core.
"I would suspect for the younger players it would be difficult (to focus), but not for me," said Marcus Burton, a senior tri-captain and starting inside linebacker. "For me, in my freshman year, everything was being speculated on with (Gary) Barnett and all those things.
"It was pretty hard to stay focused on the Big 12 championship or any game. But for the older guys now, we're just enjoying the process and trying to get everybody else to do that. We got nothing to lose, everything to gain (in the last two games)."
With two weeks of his junior season remaining, defensive end Marquez Herrod said he has successfully blotted out all but football: "I personally don't pay it any mind at all. I'm not thinking about that. When I come to practice, I'm thinking about football, thinking about how I can get better.
"Really, whatever goes on up there (in the Dal Ward Athletics Center's administrative offices ) is none of my business. I don't interact that much with Coach 'Hawk' anyway; I interact with Romeo (Bandison, defensive line coach).
"Whatever else is going on, that's not going to worry me. I've got to worry about these next two games. That's the only thing I'm focused on."
Asked if he believed that was a consensus feeling among his teammates, Herrod answered, "I think we're all kind of in agreement that it's out of our control, you know? We're not those people up there that make those decisions. We're players; we come out and play football.
"That's the only thing we're here to do, the only thing we're paid to do. We got a scholarship to come here to do that."
Added redshirt freshman safety Ray Polk: "It's not really difficult (to concentrate). Playing football is the only thing that's in our hands. You really don't have any control over any of it, so why would you pay attention to it?"
The issue they can't ignore, however, is what they could have controlled - their season. With the prospect of finishing 5-7 at best - that would require winning Thursday night against No. 12 OSU and on Nov. 27 against archrival Nebraska -the Buffs are bowl-less for the third time in Hawkins' four seasons.
Burton never dreamed of going out this way.
"It's tremendously shocking - and that's putting it like with ice cream and sugar sprinkles on top," he said. "I definitely didn't expect this outcome; I don't think anyone did.
"But I think everything happens for a reason. Hopefully, we're in a learning process here, a lot of good will come of it and the program will turn around next year."
BUFF BITS: Watching Polk Thursday night will be his father (Raymond Jr.) and grandfather (Raymond Sr.). Polk's father is a former OSU defensive back . . . . Polk, who suffered a broken toe before the Texas A&M game and did not make the Iowa State trip, is expected to play Thursday night in certain defensive situations and on special teams . . . . Simas has back-to-back 100-yard receiving games. If he's able to get a third Thursday night, it will mark the first time for CU since Michael Westbrook compiled three straight during the 1993 season . . . . Robinson accounted for 278 yards (217 passing, 61 rushing) in total offense and two touchdowns (one passing, one rushing) last season in the Cowboys' 30-17 win in Boulder. Said Burton: "He's one of the primary reasons they won last year. Dez Bryant wasn't electric, neither was Kendall Hunter. But Zac Robinson was." Bryant, OSU's top receiver, is suspended, and Hunter, the team's top tailback, has been injured most of this season . . . . OSU's O-line has allowed only seven sacks through 10 games (third nationally) . . . . Robinson, a Chatfield High School product, and his fellow seniors are the eighth in school history to string together four consecutive winning seasons and the first to appear in four straight bowls. The 22 seniors have helped the Cowboys win 31 games - the third-highest total in school history - during their careers.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
