It was an embarrassing showing on the shore of Lake Michigan. Coach Sanders responded with disciplinary measures. They dismissed several players from the team. Coach Prime had a lot to say regarding CU’s blowout loss to Northwestern. The Buffs lost 41-7, committed four turnovers and committed nearly 100 yards worth in penalties.
Photo Cred: Yahoo Sports
To start out his press conference on Tuesday, Sept 22, Coach Sanders had sixth-year defensive back Ben Finneseth apologize for comments he made disparaging Northwestern in a viral clip before taking the field. In his apology, Finneseth explained that his comments were childish and wouldn’t happen again.
“I want to apologize to everyone who’s tied in with the university, to everyone at Northwestern, to everyone who supports us, to my teammates, to my coaches,” the senior defensive back said. “It was childish. It was a stupid thing that I said; it won’t happen again, and the way that I handled it was horrible. I promise you guys it won’t happen again.”
Later on, Coach Prime continued with the theme of corrective action by informing the media that several players had been dismissed from the team. He explained that these dismissals were due to habitual conduct that was “detrimental to the team.”
“There’s a few guys that aren’t on the team anymore,” Sanders said. “It’s never one [thing]. I’m one of the most loving and giving and forgiving men you could ever meet, but when you start [having] conduct detrimental to the team, you don’t care about the team, you care about you, I have a problem with that. A year ago, I didn’t put my foot down in it enough. It lingered a little bit. Then, it imploded.”
The removal of these players have not yet been identified. It demonstrates Coach Prime is taking a long, hard look at this team.Now, the Buffs turn their focus to Baylor. They hope to start Big 12 play on a high note on the road in Waco, TX. To win this week on the road will be no small task. Colorado opens as heavy underdogs at +9.5.
Coach Prime has high praise for the Dave Aranda-led Bears.
“Pretty darn good,” Coach Prime said. “These guys run a tempo type of offense. We gotta be on our P’s and Q’s. The defense has been very opportunistic; they’re physical, they get to the ball.”
Northwestern quarterback Aidan Chiles lit up the Buffs defense last week for five total touchdowns. The Buffs prepare for another solid quarterback in DJ Lagway. Expect more aggressive defensive play calls from Colorado this week.
“You gotta take some things from [the Northwestern game],” Sanders said. “The kid [Chiles] played a great game. He played a great game against us. Let’s look ahead. Going ahead, we got to take some things away and apply some pressure. We can’t sit back and wait for them to make mistakes, because they’re not. We got to apply the pressure and force them into making mistakes.”
This feels like a turning point in the Buffs season. Coach Prime said the Buffs will likely be without wide receiver Danny Scudero and offensive lineman Demetrius Hunter. Those are two major pieces in this Colorado offense. Despite Coach Prime saying no week is bigger than the rest and “every week is important” on Tuesday, Week Four’s matchup against Baylor very well could define the rest of the season.
Photo Cred: Boulder Daily Camera
If this team wants to make any noise in the Big 12, it will need to start conference play by knocking off a team that was predicted to be at the bottom of the conference in Baylor. We’ll find out this Saturday, at 10 a.m. MDT on ESPN 2, if Coach Prime’s decisive disciplinary actions have served as a wake-up call to his team after an embarrassing Week Three loss. Unfortunately for CU, Saturday morning in Waco will undoubtedly be a lot louder than the library in Evanston.
JOLLY’S PREDICTION: 35-21, Baylor
