BOULDER — On a day when the Colorado-Utah football game underwent some previously unheard-of midweek changes — including the day and time of game — the bottom line was still the same:
Karl Dorrell's 4-0 and 21st-ranked Buffaloes need a win to make sure they remain in contention for a Pac-12 South championship and possible title game bid. While fans and media have spent the week playing "what if," the Buffs know they must play well against the Utes Saturday at 10 a.m at Folsom Field (Fox) for any of those hypotheticals to matter.
"It's all for naught if we don't take care of business this weekend," Dorrell said Wednesday afternoon. "That's the bottom line. We have to still go back to that old statement — take control of what's in front of us and play well. Do the same things we've been doing the last four weeks. We have to do that. That's the only way it's going to work out in our favor, is if we do that … Our best choice and option right now is to play well and have a successful game against Utah."
Wednesday's announcement that the game had been moved from Friday evening to Saturday morning is actually good news for the Buffs (and Utes as well). It means one more day of preparation, as well as more national television exposure. Instead of playing a game that would have kicked off at 9:30 p.m. on the East Coast, they get Fox's "Big Noon Kickoff," a coveted time slot on Saturdays.
"It's a blessing in disguise for us," said Dorrell, who also noted that his players are involved in classroom finals this week. "We were short of practices getting ready for San Diego State, now we've got an extra practice to get ready for Utah. It's a good thing for us."
GREAT EXPECTATIONS: They are the type of conversations that happen regularly on the sidelines during a college football game: spirited, vigorous discussions between players and coaches that are spawned in a highly competitive, highly energized environment.
But when the television cameras happen to capture one of those conversations — as they did during last Saturday's Colorado-Arizona game, when Dorrell and CU quarterback Sam Noyer engaged in an animated sideline exchange — they can become a story.
Wednesday afternoon, Dorrell explained his philosophy behind those exchanges, and why there will almost certainly be more in the future.
"I have high expectations of this team and I hold them to it," Dorrell said. "That's my coaching style. That's what I've done for most of my career. It does surprise young men when I'm not that way in practice, but on game day I'm a different guy. I think they have a feel for what my expectations are."
One thing Dorrell made clear is that there are moments when he has to reinforce a player's confidence by reminding him that he knows what the player is capable of achieving.
"I'm not trying to bring people down or tear away their confidence," he said. "I want them to be more confident of my expectations, because that's what I see of them and how they should perform. I want them to raise their level of expectations of themselves. Sometimes, a coach needs to do that for the player to understand, 'Coaches believe in me. I can do a lot of things very well.' Sometimes that assurance makes them reach for that next step. That's the reason I do that."
And, as Dorrell noted, a coach's expectations of a player are born from hours and hours of expert observation. The message is simple:
"I'm expecting you to play at that level. I've looked at you for eight weeks and I know what your capabilities are. I'm expecting you to perform at that level."
UTES HAVE IMPROVED: Because Utah had its first two scheduled games canceled, Utes' opening game — a 33-17 loss to USC — had all the markers and mistakes of an opener.
But, Dorrell said Utah has steadily improved since. The Utes lost a narrow 24-21 decision at Washington a week later, then finally hit the win column last week with a 30-24 victory over Oregon State.
"I can tell the difference from watching the first game and where they are right now," Dorrell said. "They're completely a different looking team, a little more efficient team. They look like they're more ingrained with their systems on offense and defense and special teams."
BROADCAST TEAM: The move of this weekend's game from FS1 to Fox and Friday to Saturday also means a change in the broadcast team.
Saturday's Fox crew will consist of Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt and Jenny Taft. Klatt, of course, is a former Buffs quarterback who has carved out a standout career as one of Fox's top football analysts.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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