Plati-'tudes
December 1, 2000
A bi-weekly notes column penned by David Plati, who is in his 17th year as Colorado's Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations.
Anyone else feeling like this year's presidential election is another "Fifth Down" scenario. Okay, I left "The Catch" off my list of my top 10 CU moments (actually, it was 11). That would rank somewhere between 1 and 1A, but if I had to do the list over, I'd probably come up with five different ones anyway!
TRIVIA QUESTIONS: CU -- Cortlen Johnson has rushed for 290 yards against Nebraska in the last two games; name the only player in the NCAA to have more yards against the Huskers in back-to-back games over the last 20 seasons (hint: it's not Barry Sanders-he had 259 in 1987-88). Godfather/The Simpsons (what?) -- What is the name of the Godfather-like character who occasionally appears on "The Simpsons" and who voices the role? (By the way, thanks to all who write in to mention how popular the trivia segment of Plati-'Tudes is, especially the off-beat Godfather ones!)
Speaking of questions, it's time for another Q&A session, so if any of you have any questions regarding CU Athletics, please E-mail me and I'll do my best to answer (or find someone who can provide me one!), get me at david.plati@colorado.edu.
FIFTH DOWN REVISITED: Senator Kit Bond (R-Missouri) recently cited the 1990 CU-Missouri "Fifth Down" game when referring to what the Democrats apparently did to keep the polls open late in certain areas of St. Louis. He said something to the effect that Colorado cheated in having an unfair advantage in using a fifth down to win the game, and that the Democrats were guilty of the same. Well, that's a stretch as far as analogies go. It doesn't seem to matter how many times you tell them that we wouldn't have spiked the ball had the players and coaches on the field known it was fourth down, which anyone from any other state usually replies, "Yeah, that makes sense." Sheesh. And speaking of that game, some Missouri fans were circulating a rather sophomoric sheet around the stadium entitled, "Terms and Conditions for the 10th anniversary of the 5th down game between Mizzou and ColoROBo." It listed 14 items that, I guess, the author or authors found clever and/or funny. But after reading the list, don't look for it to appear on Comedy Central anytime soon. Here's a sampling, word-for-word including grammar:
3. ColoROBo must gain a minimum of 10 yards on 4 downs before they get a 5th down. (Colorado, er, ColoROBo as "they" and numbers under nine not spelled out; basic journalism will tell you Colorado is an "it" and 4 should be four; not cool from a school that trumps it's Journalism School so highly.)
6. At no time can a ColoROBo cheerleader offer to date a game official. (I don't know where to begin making fun of this statement.)
10. ColoROBo agrees to stop teaching the sequence 1, 2, 3, 3, 4 as "new math" to their math majors. (This from the state where the polls closed at 7:00; no wait, 8:00; no, let's go with 10:00; no, make that 7:00.)
13. ColoROBo fans agree no 7-11's between Columbia and the Kansas border will be ColoROBBED on the way home. (Well that's only fair since about 50 pounds of medicinal marijuana headed for Colorado wound up in a Missouri dormitory room.)
And the closer:
14. In order to insure (sic) the ColoROBo team, coaches and fans comply with these terms and conditions, Mizzou reserves the right to kick the snot outa y'all at a time and place of our choosing. ("Outa?" Guess they didn't choose Nov. 4, 2000, since CU won, 28-18.)
Seems to me Missouri has made up for it twice. Remember the ridiculous foul called on CU at the buzzer in the Big Eight Tournament? Mizzou nailed two free throws and won 64-62. Then, of course, in 1997 the 12-men on the field call when Colorado actually had 11 and it negated a Marcus Washington interception return for a touchdown, quite the swing in the 41-31 Mizzou win (it was well documented that conference office called CU and apologized for the error). Think it's time to take the fifth and give it a rest, everyone!
SPEAKING OF SPELLING: The Nebraska Bookstore took out an ad the day before the game predicting the final score as: Huskers 30, Buffalos 3. I think ya needed an "E" in there, guys.
THIS WEEK'S NUMBER: 4-0. That's the record of the CU women's basketball team as Ceal Barry's Buffaloes are 4-0 for the first time since the 1996-97 season. The Buffs get to take it up another notch with their next two games against UCLA (Dec. 2) and the long-anticipated rivalry game with Colorado State (Dec. 6). Come out and support the Buffs as CU tries to avenge last year's 73-67 loss to the Rams. CU leads the all-time series by a 24-7 count, as the two used to be members of the Intermountain Conference prior to the Big Eight beginning sponsorship of the sport in the 1982-83 season.
GAME WINNER: This bit of info from Luis Franc?s, the marketing manager for Estudiantes S.A.D.: former Buff Shaun Vandiver score the game winning bucket as time expired to give Adecco Estudiantes an 88-87 win over Proaguas Alicante a couple of weeks ago in Spain. Way to go, Shaun!
GRADUATION RATES: The NCAA released its 2000 Graduation Rates Report last month, centering on the incoming freshman class of 1993-94 along with four-year averages (1991-92-93-94). The following chart shows the results of the Big 12 schools; A-graduation rate for all students, 93-94 incoming freshmen; B-four-year (1991-94) rate for all students; C-student-athlete rate, 1993-94 incoming freshmen; D-four-year (1991-94) student-athlete rate; E-football rate, 1993-94 incoming freshmen; F-four-year (1991-94) football rate:
School A B C D E F Baylor 67 68 74 66 82 71 Colorado 64 64 57 54 43 49 Iowa State 60 60 66 62 44 53 Kansas 53 54 54 53 46 38 Kansas State 52 50 56 48 47 44 Missouri 60 59 57 61 21 45 Nebraska 47 47 60 57 50 57 Oklahoma 47 45 46 47 17 35 Oklahoma State 47 49 43 39 45 45 Texas 65 65 51 55 42 56 Texas A&M 71 70 63 55 38 30 Texas Tech 46 45 48 47 46 39 Division I-A 60 59 59 58 48 50 I-A Public 53 52 53 53 44 45
Texas A&M, Texas, Baylor and Colorado are the top four schools in graduating most of its incoming freshmen in the Big 12, all 64 percent or higher. CU's student-athlete and football numbers hover at or above, for the most part, the overall Division I-A and Division I-A public averages, with both generally in the top half in the conference. As to CU's 43 percent graduation rate for the 1993-94 incoming football freshman class, it should be noted that six of the 21 players transferred from or left CU before their junior year, with the graduation rate of the 15 who played out their eligibility at 60 percent (9 of 15), with two others still in school and two others who pursued NFL careers following their senior years and could yet return to earn their diplomas.
ABC FUN: I don't think they ever made the air, but the ABC announcing team for the CU-Nebraska game tried their hand at some karaoke the night before the game. ABC treated its staff (and a few guests, like some of us CU-ers waiting on the team plane to arrive) to a Thanksgiving buffet and surprised all with karaoke after dinner. Everyone in the room had their name in a hat and was called at random; Bob Griese was the first announcer called, and after a resounding version of "Ol' Purdue" (his alma mater), he sang Listen to the Rhythm of the Falling Rain. Lynn Swann was next, and did a VH-1 Storyteller version of Sitting on the Dock of the Bay (and someone remind me to call him to give him some grief over hosting the show where the magician didn't feel so good after spending 61 hours as a human ice cube). Brad Nessler belted out several songs, warming up with Hello Dolly before a pretty decent version of My Way. As for me, I had to leave to meet the team at the airport before I was called; otherwise I would have attempted Tom Petty's The Waiting and showed all that my brother has all the musical talent in my family.
OCHS-TO-OCHS: We've been asked if we could reprint the letter from Jason Ochs to the Boulder Camera about his younger brother and CU freshman quarterback Craig, after he made his first college start at Texas A&M back on Oct. 7. Great suggestion; it ran in the Camera on Oct. 8. Here it is, in its entirety:
"My heart pumped with anxiety, my leg wouldn't stop twitching. I was nervous and any moment it was time for Craig to step on that field and on the No. 1 defense in the country. What would happen? What if the coach didn't call any pass plays? What if the line didn't block? Thoughts swirled around in my head. Then there was the kickoff. I knew the time had come. I knew it was time to see what Craig was made out of.
The coach called out, I held my breath, and without hesitation, my brother jogged out on to the field as if he had done it many times before. I was relieved; he would finally get his chance. He would finally live out his dream. I felt a tremendous amount of gratitude when I watched my brother step out on to the field. He had been on that field so many times before. Like the times he played seven-0n-seven in high school, like the times we'd sneak in to watch Koy Detmer and Kordell Stewart throw around in the summer.
All those times at CU summer football camp. All those nights he had dreamed of stepping out on to the field, not as a camper, not as a high school player, but as the quarterback for the Colorado Buffaloes. The same thing he would pretend when he was a kid. 'I'm Darian Hagan,' he'd say as the two of us walked out the front door to toss the ball. He could tell you any statistic of any player. He had his favorite players and he would be upset for days after a Colorado loss. Some things never change.
My brother has watched and cheered the Buffaloes on since he was five years old. He would go with my Dad when the rest of us preferred to stay home. The way he walked in after the game gave away all the invitations of how the Buffaloes fared that day.
"The same kid who hasn't worn red since he was 10. The same kid who was offered a full-ride scholarship before his junior year by Rick Neuheisel. The same kid that couldn't eat before the 1990 Orange Bowl because he was so nervous; did I mention he was just nine? The same kid that drew offensive formations and plays in fourth grade is now standing behind center for the Colorado Buffaloes.
Not only does Colorado have their most loyal fan since 1986 holding the offensive reins, they have a young man who knows Colorado football better than himself. Who feels the same way as Eric Bieniemy did after a loss, and who was more concerned about their 0-4 record than how he played on Saturday.
But most important, and more of a weapon than his quick release, his cannon-like arm or deceptive speed, he bleeds gold and black and will without a doubt leave any and everything he's got at every game because of his 14-year old passion for the Colorado Buffaloes. My brother, Craig Ochs, will lead this team to a national championship, or die trying. Good luck, Craig."
RUMOR: Dave Krieger of the Rocky Mountain News had a column about CSU last month, and within it he wrote, based on what he thought was fairly reliable info, "CSU has a football budget of about $2.8 million, (CU) spends more than three times as much on football."
TRUTH: I'm sure Gary Barnett would love an $8.4-plus million budget, but the truth is CU spends $6.18 million on football, and within that cost is about $1.4 million for game day operations that football doesn't have access to (game day includes travel to road games, as well as costs to put on games at Folsom, including any payout to a non-conference opponent, in this year's case, $350,000 to Washington). If CSU's figure of $2.8 million includes game day operations, then they really are doing things with mirrors; either way, to have said CU spends over three times as much just wasn't accurate, and Dave apologized for the mistake.
This does bring up an interesting point in the coverage and perception of CU and CSU athletics. Often quotes are attributed from CSU staff and supporters that CU supposedly looks at CSU like the "little brother" in the state. Except you can't find anyone from CU who has said that, or at least in the last 25 years to my recollection. Do you think this feeling is perpetuated in other states? Maybe it is, I don't know. The truth is that a 25-year dormancy in football helped kill the rivalry, as has the now 26-year dormancy in football and 21-year hiatus in basketball with Air Force. Only recently has the CU-CSU rivalry really started to take on some steam. Another factor is that the two don't compete in the same conference; the only other prominent in-state rivalries between major state schools that join CU-CSU in this regard are Florida-Florida State, Georgia-Georgia Tech, South Carolina-Clemson, Iowa-Iowa State, New Mexico-New Mexico State and Utah/BYU-Utah State (though I guess you could throw in Penn State-Pittsburgh, Tennessee-Memphis, OU/OSU-Tulsa). But in almost every other instance, the two major state schools are in the same conference.
And on the Air Force issue-a recent letter to the editor in the Rocky Mountain News implied that there was some reason CU hasn't wanted to play Air Force. Not true. Several attempts have been made from time to time on our end, but the higher-ups at the AFA weren't very receptive (I'm sure Fisher would play us, he's never dodged anyone). It goes back to 1974 and the last CU-AFA football game, when there were problems between the, let's say cultures, between Boulder and the military. But a good relationship does exist between the schools, and most non-revenue sports play each other. The issue in football has been once Air Force played its seven conference games, along with Army, Navy and occasionally Notre Dame, there really wasn't room for CU.
TRIVIA ANSWERS: CU -- The answer just happens to be another Buffalo. Rashaan Salaam rushed for 165 yards in 1993 and added 134 in 1994 when he won the Heisman for a two-game total of 299. Godfather -- Fat Tony, voiced by Joe Mantegna, who of course, played Joey Zaza in Godfather III.
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"Plati-'Tudes" features notes and stories that may not get much play from the mainstream media; offers CU's take on issues raised by those who have an interest in the program; answers questions and concerns; and provides CU's point of view if we should disagree with what may have been written or broadcast.
Have a question or want to know CU's take on something? E-mail Dave at david.plati@colorado.edu, and the subject may appear in the next Plati-'Tudes.