Tuesday Buffs Bits: Players Vow To Stay 'Hungry,' Landman honored
September 04, 2018 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — If Tuesday morning's practice was any indication, the Colorado Buffaloes aren't letting their season-opening 45-13 win over Colorado State go to their heads.
The Buffs had a sharp, attentive workout, approaching each session with a business-like attitude.
Then, when asked at their Tuesday press conference about the possibility of getting a little too caught up in the win over their in-state rival, CU players and head coach Mike MacIntyre quickly dismissed the thought.
"That was one game and we have a lot left to do," MacIntyre said. "Practice has not shown that (complacency) the last two days. Meetings, the way they've showed up to work, their attitude, their focus, hasn't showed any of those signs that you'd notice. I feel like they're locked in and want to go play really well in Lincoln."
While it is just one game into the season, the Buffs appear to be ready to adapt the mantra of two years ago, when each week's game was tabbed the most important game of the year. Asked how to avoid a big win "hangover," junior quarterback Steven Montez said the solution was simple.
"It happens in practice," Montez said. "You have to come to practice every day with a clean slate, kind of like your 0-0 again, like you haven't even played a game. We definitely don't want to get complacent.  … I think we'll stay hungry. We still have a whole lot to prove. One game doesn't prove very much. One game isn't going to win you the season, one game isn't going to get you to a bowl game, one game is not going to get you to a playoff or anything like that. We just need to stay the course and keep working and keep our heads down and focus on what we have to do for the task at hand."
LANDMAN HONORED: First career collegiate start — check.
First double-digit tackle total — check.
First career interception — check.
First Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week award — check.
That's the way the last few days have gone for Colorado sophomore linebacker Nate Landman. Four days after making his CU starting debut with an outstanding effort in Colorado's 45-13 win over Colorado State, he earned his first Pac-12 honor when the conference media voted him the league's top defensive player for Week 1 of the season.
It all led to another first for Landman, an appearance at Tuesday's weekly CU press conference.
"It (the award) has been one of my goals ever since I started getting recruited," said Landman, who grew up in Danville, Calif. "I love the Pac-12. I've been growing up watching the Pac-12. It's definitely one of my goals. I can't take all the credit. We had great play from our defense and I obviously can't do what I do without my D-line or without my secondary there to help me."
Landman was originally credited with 16 tackles from press box totals. CU coaches film officials had him with 14 tackles (four solo), two third-down stops, one tackle for zero, a pass broken up and his first career interception. He also tied the school record for the most tackles in a first career start, a number shared by Addison Gillam, Ryan Moeller and Grant Watanabe.
"I just went out there and played my game," he said. "We had a great scheme that whole game. I have great coaches behind me helping me out there. Some mistakes were made, but if I made a mistake, I was doing it 100 percent and just playing my game."
Landman the eye of CU fans late last season when put together two solid games in a reserve role to end the year. He followed that up with an excellent spring, then "took it to another level" early in fall camp, according to head coach Mike MacIntyre.
That, in turn, allowed CU to move Drew Lewis to the outside, where the Buffs can utilize his speed on the edge rushing the quarterback as well as in pass coverage.
"It opens up our defense having Drew play outside linebacker," MacIntyre said. "We can do a couple more things coverage-wise with him because he can run and he's so athletic. Then bringing him off the edge, he brings speed."
Saturday, Landman will get his first taste of another CU rival when the Buffs travel to Lincoln for a 1:30 p.m. meeting with Nebraska at Memorial Stadium (ABC). A sold-out crowd in excess of 90,000 is expected.
"It's going to be intense," Landman said. "I'm excited. Honestly, I think we will thrive in that atmosphere. Having that pressure on us will help bring out our best game."
PREPARING WITHOUT FILM: While the Cornhuskers are spending their week studying film of CU's win over Colorado State, the Buffs have no such luxury.
Because Nebraska's scheduled opener against Akron was canceled last week, and because this is the first year for head coach Scott Frost and his staff in Lincoln, MacIntyre and his coaches are studying film from Frost's last stop, Central Florida.
"We've been watching UCF film and watching spring game film, trying to figure out what they want to do," MacIntyre said. "It's a little bit of an unknown. They'll always have a few new wrinkles and things that they do. ... It's really tough without any game tape. We are going off the assumptions that it's going to be similar to Central Florida but we prepare for everything. They have to put 11 guys out there and we have to put 11 guys out. All of your offensive and defensive schemes should handle everything. There's some things that might surprise you a little bit but our kids ought to be able to adjust to it. Now we just have to go play."
Landman said that while the Buffs don't have any film of Nebraska under Frost, the Buffs also have a bit of an advantage because they have had the chance to work out the first-game kinks.
"It's a great challenge. They have that film on us, but we also have that one game and they haven't played yet," Landman said. "It is definitely tough when preparing. We have to see where their coaching staff came from and watch that film, watch their spring game. They are a great opponent and I'm excited to play them this week."
HISTORY LESSONS: While long-time Colorado fans have no problem remembering the Buffs' rivalry with Nebraska, CU's current players have had to learn about the history by word-of-mouth.
Most current Buffs were in elementary school when the two teams last met, in 2010.
But there is one member of CU's coaching staff, running backs coach Darian Hagan, who has a very personal relationship with the memory. Hagan made three starts as CU's quarterback against NU in 1989-90-91, and emerged with a 2-0-1 record.
He has made sure to share his thoughts with players this week.
"Coach Hagan has told me all about the rivalry and things like that," said running back Travon McMillian, who joined the team this year as a grad transfer from Virginia Tech. "I have heard from everybody around the Champions Center that it is a crazy rivalry. We don't know much about it because it has been so long since Colorado and Nebraska have played, but we are taking this game really seriously. We are preparing as hard as we can in practice so when we go out there we can execute to the best of our ability."
The fact that this will be the Buffs' second "rivalry" game to start a season is also a rarity in college ball, as most rivalry games are played much later in the season.
"The rivalry game is one that sticks with the coach 365 days a year," MacIntyre said. "You get asked more questions about your rivalry games than you do the others. Growing up watching the Colorado-Nebraska game on Thanksgiving (weekend), we always used to play the day after on Saturday. ... These young men here understand the Nebraska rivalry. I think when kids get with us, one of the first questions they get is, 'Do you still play Nebraska? When do you play Nebraska?' I still get that question, too. No we are, so we're excited about that. There is a little added energy for sure, a little added intensity."
 Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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