PEEKE SUSPENDED: Linebacker Andy Peeke was suspended from the bowl game for violating team rules and ethics, coach Gary Barnett said. Peeke and wide receiver John Minardi were arrested Dec. 11 on suspicion of stealing a woman's bicycle on campus. According to court records, Peeke and Minardi said they thought the bicycle was a teammate's and they took it to play a joke on him. Before the bicycle arrest, Peeke was facing misdemeanor theft charges for allegedly shoplifting from a Boulder hardware store earlier this year. He had been granted a deferred prosecution until April 2000. Barnett said Peeke was suspended because he had two offenses. The arrest was Minardi's first offense and he will travel to Tucson for the bowl game against Boston College on Dec. 31.

In the Zone

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	T O P   N E W S

A season with a new coach that opened with an embarrassing 41-14 loss to in-state rival Colorado State closed with a heartbreaking 33-30 overtime defeat to bitter-rival Nebraska.

In between, the Buffaloes rode a roller coaster as they attempted to adjust to first-year coach Gary Barnett. The valiant performance against No. 3 Nebraska would seem to indicate the Buffs finally bought into what Barnett and his staff was pushing … and CU definitely was peaking in the season's final month.

That seemed to be the opinion of the Insight.com Bowl selection committee, which picked Colorado as opposed to Oklahoma (7-4) to play Boston College in the Dec. 31 game in Tucson, Ariz.

"We underachieved early on and it took us five or six weeks before we matured totally as a team and a staff together," Barnett said. "The last four games we operated at a much higher level."

Barnett said the season's low point was a 31-10 loss at Texas Tech in the season's sixth week, when the players ignored the staff's warning about the Red Raiders. A players-only meeting the next week was the start of a turnaround that resulted in three victories in the final five games.

The biggest adjustment came on defense, where Barnett insisted on a more aggressive approach than that favored by former CU coach Rick Neuheisel.

"Our defensive kids struggled a little bit with the changes," Barnett. "But, overall, I think learning how to practice and learning how to prepare to be consistent was a big change for them."

The offense wasn't without its struggles. Quarterback Mike Moschetti often was done in by his own emotions, while an inconsistent running game placed too much pressure on the passing attack.

"Until your running game becomes dominant, you're dependent upon making plays in your passing game," Barnett said. "And your quarterback comes out and he's a little wired up and doesn't play particularly well … that's who we've been.

"That's the only explanation I can give, and I think that's as close to reality as it can be."

The Personnel File

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Mike Moschetti, senior quarterback. Although he often was too hard himself and wore his heart on his shoulder pads, Moschetti was the unquestioned leader of this team. He was at his best late in the season in a comeback win over Oklahoma and in a dynamic fourth-quarter performance against Nebraska. Moschetti finished second in the Big 12 in total offense and 14th nationally, averaging 241.80 yards a game. That included 2,693 yards passing and 18 touchdowns.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Ben Kelly, junior cornerback. The 5-10, 185-pounder didn't limit his contributions to defense. While Kelly led the Buffs and finished tied for second in the Big 12 in interceptions with five, he was equally valuable returning kickoffs. Kelly finished fourth in the nation in that department, averaging 28.7 yards, taking two all the way for scores.

COACH UPDATE: Gary Barnett (6-5 in first season at Colorado; 49-51-2 in 10 years overall). A former CU assistant under Bill McCartney during the Buffs' glory years, Barnett was a popular choice when he replaced Neuheisel. Early season inconsistency had some CU fans wondering how things would have gone had CU's No. 1 choice for the job, Denver Broncos' assistant Gary Kubiak, accepted the school's offer. But Barnett appears to have Colorado headed in the right direction.

STRENGTHS: When he's on, Moschetti can produce magic. Late in the season, he teamed up with wide receiver Javon Green to give the Buffs one of the Big 12's best big-play combinations. Green's late-season surge boosted him to fourth in the league in receiving yards with 663 (16.58 per catch) and seven touchdowns.

CONCERNS: Unable to settle on a tailback, Barnett rotated three players at the position, and the inconsistency showed as the Buffs finished seventh in the Big 12, averaging 151.2 yards a game. The defense made rapid progress in the second half of the season, although the Buffs did give up 33 points in their last game (mostly forgivable considering their opponent was Nebraska).

Noteworthy

INJURY UPDATE: Tailback Dwayne Cherrington (sprained left knee) and Moschetti (bruised shoulder) were the major injuries coming out of the Nebraska game. Both players are expected to be full speed for the Insight.com Bowl.

BILL'S BACK: In an effort to recapture some of the success he enjoyed as a CU assistant, Barnett invited his old boss, ex-Buffs coach Bill McCartney, to address the team before the Nebraska game. McCartney stayed away from the program during the Neuheisel era, but Barnett made it known from the first day that he wanted McCartney back in the CU family.