BOULDER, COLORADO – SEPTEMBER 16: Colorado Buffaloes cornerback Travis Hunter (12) during warmups prior to the Rocky Mountain Showdown against the CSU Rams at Folsom Field on September 16, 2023. (Photo by Andy Cross/Denver Post)
A loyal companion to the Grading The Week team is a gamer, and let’s be honest, our love affair with EA Sports goes back 40 years (Tom Chambers’ “Fake Drive 2-Hand Slam” in “Bulls vs. Lakers” is the most fun and unstoppable SEGA basketball move known to man, no matter what “NBA Jam” die-hard fans may say).
However, during the social launch of EA Sports College Football 25, which launches on July 19th, our fine staff was more than a little perplexed to see that the eighth-highest rated offensive team in the popular video game, ahead of Clemson, Penn State, Ole Miss, Arizona, Notre Dame, Florida State and Oklahoma, was… the CU Buffaloes.
On the one hand, that’s somewhat understandable: Two-way Buffalo star Travis Hunter is one of EA’s cover athletes, and we’d bet our college roommate’s old Genesis that he’ll be one of the top three or four highest-rated single players in the new game. Not surprisingly, the same goes for quarterback Shedul Sanders.
Star players in EA’s games don’t just sell units, they also affect team valuations, though sometimes to unrealistic levels, and anyone who says they know for sure how CU’s dozens of new transfers, especially the newly constructed offensive line, will perform behind Shedur and Hunter, is probably already drunk on the Dion Kool-Aid.
EA Sports and Coach Prime Kool-Aid — C
Apparently the player rating wiseguys at Electronic Arts are drinking the Kool-Aid, too.
At the very least, that would explain why the Buffaloes, who have a consensus over/under of 5.5 wins from Las Vegas oddsmakers, are rated 89 out of 100 by EA Sports and boast the eighth-best offense in the country, as well as the 20th-best defense, rated 84 out of 100.
And, even better, they have the 20th highest overall rating of 84 (!!). Some background: That last number puts them in the same league as Oklahoma State and Kansas State, the top two preseason favorites to win the new Big 12, and in the same league as Texas A&M, LSU and Florida (84).
Well, no pressure, Pat Shurmur. No pressure at all.
Buffs in the NBA Draft — A
Tad Boyle didn’t end up with three first-round picks in one NBA draft, but he came pretty close: Former University of Colorado point guard KJ Simpson was selected 42nd overall by Charlotte, 12th in the second round on Thursday.
With freshman wing Cody Williams selected 10th overall by Utah and forward Tristan Da Silva taken 18th by Orlando, the Buffaloes will have three players selected in the same draft for the first time since 1981.
The trio, along with Derrick White, Alec Burks and Spencer Dinwiddie, have helped expand CU’s pro pipeline and bolster Boyle’s reputation as a scout and developer of NBA talent. But…
The Buffaloes will not advance to the Sweet 16.
… Team GTW also received several letters last week asking why such a talented CU team this winter, despite its stellar performance under Boyle, lost 11 games and missed out on a trip to the Sweet 16, the white whale of CU men’s basketball. This was not an unfair question.
We’d counter that, technically, the Buffaloes are the first team since 1955 to win two NCAA Tournament games in the same postseason stretch, and their First Four wins (one of which was against fellow 10-seed Boise State) definitely count.
It’s still not technically a ticket to the Sweet 16. That’s understandable. And even though Williams’ lone season at CU was marred by injury, it’s probably not unfair to say one of the most talented players Boyle has ever coached in Boulder didn’t live up to expectations. Boyle acknowledged before the Big Dance that not making the NCAA Tournament would have been one of the biggest disappointments of his time as CU’s coach.
Luckily, the Buffaloes won, crashed the party and thrived. Simpson’s wild running buzzer beater to beat Florida will go down as one of the greatest shots in Buffaloes history. CU took the No. 2 seed Marquette in the round of 32, so no shame. Boyle will need the help of the NBA alumni club to lure a team as CU jumps into a much tougher conference in the Big 12. more We will have draftable talent at the Events Center. Immediately.
