Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: Cabral's Game 2 Presents New, Different Challenge
November 15, 2010 | Football, B.G. Brooks
"If you've got ideas, I'm open," he said with a laugh on Monday's Big 12 coaches' teleconference - another first for him in what has been a whirlwind seven days teeming with new experiences.
"That's very key," Cabral continued. "The way I first explained to (the team), this is a three-game season. We've got to be able to build, we've got to be able to improve on what we just did. That's a tall challenge . . . that's a million-dollar question."
In Cabral's debut, CU clocked Iowa State 34-14, snapping a five-game losing streak and winning for the first time (1-5) in its final Big 12 season. Next up in Cabral's mini-season is Kansas State (12:10 p.m., Folsom Field, no TV), followed by a trip to Nebraska on Nov. 26. At 4-6 overall, the Buffs must win both games to become bowl eligible.
Saturday marked the first of Cabral's 22-season CU coaching career that he tried to digest what was happening with the Buffs' offense. Normally concentrating on his position (linebackers) and the opponent's offense, his new role demanded a bigger picture look - and Cabral liked the view.
"I really enjoyed watching the whole game, I really enjoyed watching our team . . . that was an experience I've never had," he said. "I was very interested in seeing how I would pick up the flow of game and how I would kind of be in the flow in terms of helping making decisions. That all came pretty naturally . . . obviously when you win, it was a very pleasant first game day experience for me."
He said during the week that he would collaborate with his assistant coaches on game-day decisions. That communication, he said, "went really well," adding he was "fully in the loop" with decisions made on both sides of the ball although seeing an offensive game plan carried out was a new experience.
"Obviously, I don't know they operate, but I was impressed with the communication that was going on," he said. "I was impressed with the forethoughts of situations coming up. I was fully in the loop and it was not hard when the situations did come up, communicating with them and agreeing or suggesting. So, that all actually went better than I had anticipated."
Cabral said the players coped admirably with last week's transition from former head coach Dan Hawkins, who dismissed on Nov. 7: "I was very eager to see how they would handle that. I just felt throughout the week, they showed great signs of handling it well. We practiced well; I thought they had been into what I was saying to them.
"But I wasn't really sure; I wanted to see how we actually and how they did it on Saturday. I think, based on the way they played, they way they came together, they handled the coaching change great."
After they had disposed of the Cyclones, he told the Buffs the result had come from their togetherness. "Every phase of the game contributed to the win," he said. "That's all I was trying to get out of them.
"I think there were so many emotions going on in this game . . . my job was to help them focus on what I thought they were capable of being and capable of doing. I thought there was great energy, I thought there was something there that they haven't felt for a long time."
WHAT TO EXPECT IN BOULDER: If Cabral is wondering what to expect of the Buffs emotionally in Week 2 of his interim stint, so is K-State coach Bill Snyder.
When a team makes an in-season coaching change, Snyder said the "biggest concern is that there's an emotional turnaround that takes place that probably allows a football team to have new life, so to speak."
The other area Snyder is interested in monitoring is "what schematic changes may take place during the transition. In some cases that's going to happen, in some cases not perhaps. But that's what we pay attention to anyway."
Aside from maybe not attempting too much offensively, CU wasn't drastically different against Iowa State.
NO MEETING SCHEDULED: Cabral has professed his interest in being the Buffs' permanent coach, but that's not his immediate focus. He said no meeting has been scheduled with Athletic Director Mike Bohn to discuss his candidacy or the direction CU will take in its national search.
"My thoughts are not beyond our third game," Cabral said. "Right now I want to give our team every opportunity to finish strong and finish feeling good about themselves . . . I'm not worried about that; the only thing I'm concerned about is our team this week."
ANSWERING THE CALL: Senior quarterback Cody Hawkins passed for 266 yards and three touchdowns against ISU. On Monday, he was named the Big 12's offensive player-of-the-week.
"That's awesome . . . he deserves it," Cabral said. "He went through a lot more than anybody would ever know . . . I think everyone can kind of sense or feel what he's going through, but no one can appreciate the adversity, the emotions. No one could understand what he went through, and how he handled that was just unbelievable.
"I couldn't be prouder, I couldn't be happier for him and his family. That was befitting. He went out and led us, he went out and led us the way we needed to be led. He got the job done. That says a lot for him and his family. In the program we kind of know who he is . . . now you know you can put that kid under great adversity and you know how he's going to respond."
Snyder was just as complimentary.
"You couldn't say enough positive things about him," he said. "I think he's been that way all along, based on what I know . . . from having spent time with father. He's a class young guy; it says all the right things. He's certainly a special young guy, a very bright young man. I'm sure he's torn emotionally because of it. But once again, it's a tribute to his poise and his capacity to manage adversity and do it in a way that it doesn't disrupt his performance or his leadership with the football team."
THROWING IT AWAY: Even with 420 yards in total offense, K-State lost 38-28 at Missouri on Saturday. Four turnovers (three fumbles, one interception) cost the Wildcats 17 points and played a huge part in the defeat. The costliest fumble came at the Tigers' 1-yard line in the first half's final seconds. Trailing 21-14 at the time, the Wildcats could have scored and gone to the locker room even.
Snyder said the fumbles "have more to do with some mechanics, some with decision making. You address those things . . . rather than just say don't fumble the ball, don't throw the interception. I'm not sure I know the value of that. But being able to work on the mechanics of decision making and a few fundamental things that are beneficial, we certainly always would do that. Four turnovers - two determined the outcome of the game . . . so they're very, very critical, as all turnovers are."
Making Saturday's game more frustrating, the Wildcats haven't been a turnover-prone team this season. Through 10 games, they're fifth in the conference (plus four) in turnover margin, while the Buffs are eighth (plus two).
TWO-HEADED QB MONSTER: K-State has been using a pair of quarterbacks for the last several weeks, one being converted receiver Collin Klein, a 6-foot-5, 233-pound sophomore from Loveland.
Playing a pair isn't what Snyder prefers. After the loss at Mizzou, he told reporters, "If we have to switch them out, we will, but if we don't have to, we won't. I have said so many times that, yes, if I had my preference, it would be a single guy. But both are positive guys who can contribute to our football team. Both of them will continue to play, but to what degree remains to be seen."
The previous week against Texas - a 39-14 K-State win - Klein rushed for 127 yards and two touchdowns. However, he didn't start at Missouri, with Carson Coffman getting the nod. But when Coffman accounted for only 15 yards of offense in the first two series, Klein entered and ran on three consecutive plays, setting up the Wildcats' first score. Klein also threw his first career touchdown pass - a 35-yarder in the fourth quarter.
But running appears to be Klein's forte; he finished with 141 yards on 18 carries against the Tigers and completed four of his six passes for 65 yards and the score. He became the first KSU QB to run for 100-yards in consecutive games since Ell Roberson in 2001.
Coffman, a 6-3, 211-pound senior, reentered the game when K-State was in catch-up mode. He completed 11-of-19 passes for 170 yards and a TD, but was sacked four times and finished with 10 rushing attempts for minus-19 yards.
Snyder called Klein "a very bright young man and a great person, a wonderful young fellow. He's just continually getting better." He said the Wildcats staff had high expectations of Klein "and he's met any . . . we might have had. We felt all along he was very, very capable. I think, because he's somewhat new to the position and our environment, I think he's made constant and continued improvement. That's certainly helped his case."
BUFF BITS: At 6-4 overall (3-4 Big 12), K-State already is bowl eligible. The Wildcats finished 6-6 last season but did not play in a bowl . . . . After Saturday, the Wildcats are done with conference play. They close on Nov. 27 at North Texas - their third consecutive road game . . . . North Texas also changed coaches in-season, firing former high school school Todd Dodge and replacing him with offensive coordinator Mike Canales . . . . Klein and running back Daniel Thomas (6-2, 228) give K-State a bona fide power running game. Thomas is second in the conference in rushing (116.8 yards a game), while CU running back Rodney "Speedy" Stewart is third (103.5). Oklahoma State's Kendall Hunter is No. 1 (135.6) . . . . Thomas carried 12 times for 66 yards and two TDs at Missouri. He has rushed for 14 TDs this season. Stewart has run for eight . . . . K-State is second in the Big 12 in rushing offense (199.8), CU is second in the league in rushing defense (131.7 yards allowed).
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
