Woelk: Buffs Eager To Write New Chapter Against Trojans
October 09, 2018 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Yes, they know.
Nobody has to remind the 5-0 Colorado Buffaloes that they are 0-12 all-time against USC.
They know.
But just in case they had forgotten (they hadn't), they were asked about it again and again — and again — at Tuesday's weekly press conference.
They patiently responded.
The Buffs know Colorado has never beaten USC. Yes, the streak is motivation, but they have great respect for the talented Trojans, and when they line up against them Saturday in the Coliseum (8:30 p.m., FS1), they will do their best to end that streak.
But here's another thing the Buffaloes also know: nobody ever lost a game to a record book. History never scored a touchdown or made a tackle — and these aren't the Buffs who lost to USC last year, or the year before.
Different teams, different stakes, different attitudes.
Now the Buffs are aiming for a different outcome. They are doing so by going about their business and preparing for the most important game of the year — the next one on their schedule.
"We are going to go in this game just like we've gone in these past five games," said Colorado quarterback Steven Montez, who is 0-2 against the Trojans. "We come in, put in our work in the week and hopefully we play well on Saturdays. It is another game for us. It's the next team on our schedule."
From a national perspective, this is a game that is supposed to make the Buffs shiver. It is being played in one of the most storied venues in America, against a program that has set the bar for college football for decades — one that has multiple Heisman trophies, multiple national championships and more NFL Draft picks than any other program in history.
The Buffs are the nationally ranked team, but the Trojans are favored.
Reputation has its rewards.
But the Buffs aren't going to be quaking in their cleats when they walk into the Coliseum. They have, after all, played in other sizable venues — including a trip this year to Nebraska's Memorial Stadium, where they endured 90,000 Husker faithful and came away with a win.
"There's going to be a great crowd there at night," head coach Mike MacIntyre said. "I think our guys will go there and play just like they did at the other places. They'll be excited about playing there. I always say that stadiums are nice, crowds are nice, but it's about the dudes on the field in between the white lines and (USC) has always had really good dudes. How we play and how we handle it will be important and our guys are excited about going to play just like I know USC is."
This year's Trojans are a talented if relatively inexperienced bunch. After starting slowly with two losses in their first three games, they staged a huge rally to beat Washington State at home, then won at Arizona.
Next, they host the Buffs at a stadium where current head coach Clay Helton is unbeaten (yes, there's another streak involved). After taking over on an interim basis in the midst of 2015, and later being named to the permanent spot, Helton is 18-0 in the Coliseum.
It is yet another reason for the Trojans to be confident.
"I think that they do have a lot of confidence because historically, they have been good," Montez said. "They are good year in and year out. I think they should be confident because they win games and they do well. We are a confident team this year as well. It's going to be a good game between us."
Indeed, these Buffs have been playing with a quiet confidence this year. They have trailed in the third quarter in three games — and all three times, have come back to win.
This week, they are doing their best not to get caught up in the outside noise and stick to their business.
"Our main goal is that we focus on one team and the most important team is us," defensive lineman Mustafa Johnson said. "We know that if we go out there and we do what we've been training on all week, talking about all week and our game plan and execute it, we plan to be victorious. That's just kinda how our mindset is. We focus on one team, that's us, and we go game by game."
One thing the Buffs won't be this week is intimidated. Instead, MacIntyre has seen a quality in this team that signals the possibility for something special. The Buffs have fun, but they have yet to lose sight of the main goal.
"They're a locked in bunch," he said. "This group gets it. That's why they're fun to coach. The thing that I've liked about them is that they're focused but they're loose. That's hard. You coach it, you teach it, you work with them and sometimes when guys get really focused, they get tight. Then to overcome it they get loose and they can't focus. This group can focus and stay loose, which is great attribute."
No doubt, Saturday's game will be the biggest yet this season for Colorado. Hostile territory against a talented team while staring down both barrels of history.
But then, history never beat anybody — and these Buffs are anxious to write a new chapter.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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