Sept. 4, 1999
DENVER -- Colorado invested hundreds of thousands of dollars and much sweat equity since December finding a new coach and its old image.
By Dennis Dodd
SportsLine Senior Writer
What a waste of an offseason.
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Colorado St. shocks Colorado 41-14 T O P N E W S
After Gary Barnett's dubious debut Saturday at Mile High Stadium, the following thought probably crossed the mind of more than one stunned Buffalo fan: We could have done this with Rick Neuheisel.
Blaming Colorado State's shocking 41-14 victory over No. 14 Colorado on Slick Rick would have at least given Buff fans an excuse. The guitar-playing, pass-happy, sweater-vest wearing pretty boy never could coach could he? Let him go to Washington. Good riddance.
Well, Colorado fans, meet the new boss. He's worse than the old boss, at least on Saturday.
If you thought Neuheisel was a poser, check out Barnett. That miracle at Northwestern is officially a spike on graph after the smaller, slower Rams knocked Barnett and that faded national contender image halfway up the front face of the Flatirons.
RTD -- Return To Dominance -- was Barnett's own motivational slogan built into the marketing plan. The former Bill McCartney assistant inherited a much stronger program than the one he lifted briefly at Northwestern. There were 16 starters, a solid offensive line, great linebackers, an experienced quarterback.
It was RTD for Colorado, all right, Saturday night -- Reeling Toward Darkness. To say the Buffs were uninspired would be charitable. To say they were badly coached would be an understatement. Somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, Neuheisel is anticipating -- rather than dreading -- the game against his old team Sept. 25 in Seattle.
The Barnett career record is now 35-46-1. Take away the two Big Ten titles at Northwestern (and one Rose Bowl) and it's 16-41-1. The job was Northwestern was noble but not lasting. The Wildcats were winless in the Big Ten last season. The banquet waiting for Barnett in Boulder was a king's feast compared to the bare cupboard at Northwestern.
So where were the safeties when Colorado State's Kevin McDougal ran straight up the gut for a 59-yard touchdown run? Where was the defense when the Rams' Frank Rice took a simple swing pass and coasted past the Buffs for a 67-yard touchdown?
Barnett did have an excuse/albatross. Senior quarterback Mike Moschetti spent the game proving what was already widely known among Big 12 insiders. He can't play -- not at this level, which is the Nebraska/Texas A&M/Kansas State dominated Big 12.
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| Gary Barnett may find life more difficult at Colorado than at Northwestern.(AP) |
Moschetti rhymes with machete, which in any language means hack. When he is healthy, which is infrequent, Moschetti looks much smaller than his published 6-foot, 195-pound size. His hands barely fit around the ball. It didn't help that the game plan didn't allow him to throw downfield, which is what Colorado usually does best.
Before engineering a couple of meaningless touchdowns in the fourth quarter, Moschetti threw three interceptions and fumbled away a lateral that led to 14 points.
Moschetti's third throw went into the hands of Rams linebacker Rick Crowell, who had no trouble returning it 54 yards for a touchdown. A second quarter lateral was tipped and grabbed by Colorado State defensive end Clark Haggans. For good measure, Haggans bowled over Moschetti on his 15-yard return to the Colorado 1.
One play later it was 28-0 and Buff fans everywhere were looking for a place to hide at Mile High. Their sports utility vehicles on the way home was the first choice. Barnett didn't have that luxury. He was left to explain the lack of preparation, motivation and innovation that made it look like Northwestern had sneaked into black and gold uniforms.