Gary Barnett knows he must toughen up the Buffaloes if they're to return to glory

Moschetti doesn't shy away from contact but vows to stay intact in '99.   Hal Stoelzle/Rocky Mountain News

Upon arriving in Boulder in January, new Colorado coach Gary Barnett at first did more listening than selling. The former Northwestern coach, who had been a Buffaloes assistant from 1984 to '91, talked to players, flew all over the country to meet with their parents, spoke extensively with his former boss Bill McCartney and tried to restore his old ties with Colorado high school coaches. When he looked at the team itself, Barnett found several areas in dire need of improvement: The inconsistent running attack averaged just 123.2 yards a game in '98. Colorado also lost 101 man-games to injury last year, and 12 players on the two-deep roster missed spring practice. Worst of all, the once-nasty Buffaloes had lost their fire -- a product, some say, of a lax approach to practice under Rick Neuheisel, now the coach at Washington. Clearly Barnett had work to do.

The weak rushing attack allowed opponents to tee off on Colorado's passing game. The Buffaloes gave up 49 sacks last season and averaged just 222.6 passing yards, their lowest total in 12 years. "We have to run the ball better. I didn't say more, but we need to be more efficient," says Barnett. He's looking for a featured back to emerge from the trio of Dwayne Cherrington, Damion Barton and Cortlen Johnson.

Quarterback Mike Moschetti threw for 2,104 yards and 15 touchdowns last year despite playing with cracked ribs for the last half of the season. He's a scrambler in the Kordell Stewart mold, but when he was knocked out of three games, critics labeled him soft, a tag he doesn't like. "With every sprint I run, every ball I throw, every weight I lift," says Moschetti, "I think about what people said. One goal I have is not to come out of a game unless they drag me out."

On defense Barnett plans to employ an aggressive, pressing attack with a strong unit that has seven starters back. The secondary, led by airtight corners Ben Kelly and Damen Wheeler, allowed just four touchdowns in '98 and should be even better with the return of safeties Rashidi Barnes and Albus Brooks, who each missed four games with knee injuries.

Moschetti says he and his teammates are ecstatic with the new staff, something Barnett sensed this spring. "I knew we had to drastically change in a lot of areas, but I didn't want to ram it down their throats," says Barnett. "There's an old saying that when the pupil is ready, the teacher will appear. It happened at Northwestern, and I sense it could happen here."

-- B.J. Schecter

Fast Facts

1998 record: 8-4 (4-4, 4th in Big 12 North)
Final ranking: unranked

1998 Averages Offense Defense Scoring 22.8 19.1 Rushing Yards 123.2 147.5 Passing Yards 202.4 148.5 Total Yards 325.6 296.0

Key Games
Schedule strength: 55th of 114

Sept. 25 at Washington
Every calender in Colorado has had this date circled since Rick Neuheisel left for Seattle last January.

Nov. 26 vs. Nebraska
Contenders or pretenders? The Buffaloes' season should hinge on this showdown with the Cornhuskers in Boulder.

Bottom Line

Moschetti and a swarming defense will put Colorado in contention in the Big 12, but unless the Buffaloes somehow discover a running game, they will go no further.