Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Turn Attention To Hawai'i
August 21, 2015 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Thoughts of Hawai'i are now firmly at the forefront of the Colorado Buffaloes' agenda.
One day after finishing up their last two-a-day session of fall camp, the Buffs on Friday began working on their game plan for the Sept. 3 season opener, when they kick it off against the Rainbow Warriors in an 11 p.m. (Mountain time) game at Aloha Stadium.
“We're just working on a little bit of Hawaii, making sure we've got all of our concepts down defensively, offensively and special teams,” said head coach Mike MacIntyre. “(But) you don't know what exactly what anybody is going to do the first game. You don't know that all your concepts and theories and rules will match up to anything that happens.”
That's especially true for the Rainbow Warriors this year. While Norm Chow is still the head coach, Hawai'i's offensive and defensive coordinators won't be the same coaches who manned those positions a year ago, when Colorado took a 21-12 win in Boulder. Don Bailey is the new offensive coordinator; Tom Mason now heads the defense.
“I would assume they'll be different,” MacIntyre said. “We'll find out when we get out there.”
Still, the Buffs are now at the point of fall camp where they will begin focusing more and more on the opener. Most of their top two units have been decided, or will be very soon. Players are anxious to play a game; coaches know they have just 10 practices remaining — including two in Hawaii — to fine tune a game plan and prepare for the opener
“I think a sense of urgency should always be there,” MacIntyre said. “But as you get closer to game time, players get excited and coaches probably get a little more nervous, making sure you've covered everything.”
Friday morning's practice was the last workout of fall camp to be open to the public. The Buffs did get some 11-on-11 work in, and both No. 1 units looked sharp. Quarterback Sefo Liufau completed some nice deep balls; wide receiver Donovan Lee and running back Phillip Lindsay made nice catches; and safeties Tedric Thompson and Ryan Moeller both had interceptions.
BARNETT ON BROADCAST TEAM: Attendees at Friday's Kickoff Luncheon at Balch Fieldhouse provided a rousing round of applause when it was announced that former CU coach Gary Barnett would be joining the KOA Buffs broadcast team in 2016.
Barnett will actually provide analysis for two CU games this season — Oct. 31 at UCLA and Nov. 13 at home vs. USC — but will join the KOA crew on a full-time basis in 2016.
This will be the final season for legendary KOA voice Larry Zimmer, who is returning for a final year after a serious illness sidelined him for the last half of the 2014 season.
WARRIORS UPDATE: Hawai'i conducted a 48-play scrimmage on a rain-soaked Aloha Stadium turf Thursday. According to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, quarterback Max Wittek (a transfer from Southern California) was 4-for-6 for 28 yards and a touchdown; Diocemy Saint Juste ran 46 yards for a touchdown; and slotback Dylan Collie and wideouts Keelan Ewaliko and Devan Stubblefield each scored on pass plays.
After the practice, Wittek told the newspaper, “You kind of look around and you imagine people filling up this place, and it's a good feeling. We're excited. We can't wait to play in front of a great Hawaii crowd. I think we're all itching for that moment."
PEARL HARBOR VISIT: MacIntyre will take the team to visit the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor when the Buffs are in Hawai'i.
The Buffs are scheduled to arrive the afternoon of Sept. 1, and will practice after they arrive. They'll visit Pearl Harbor the next day and practice again, then play the night of Sept. 3.
The last time the Buffs visited Hawaii, in 2011, they did not engage in any extracurricular activities.
But MacIntyre said after talking to CU basketball coach Tad Boyle, who has taken his team to Hawaii for tournaments, and Air Force football coach Troy Calhoun, whose Falcons regularly play in Honolulu, he decided a trip to Pearl Harbor would be beneficial. Also, MacIntyre said, he drew upon a similar experience, when he took his San Jose State team to play Navy and his team took the time to visit the several of the monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C.
“I saw how much they learned from it, how much they learned about our country,” MacIntyre said. “A lot of these kids have never been to Pearl Harbor or seen that, and understand the history of our country. I think that's big.”
