Buffs Return To Practice

BOULDER - The University of Colorado football team resumed practice Wednesday after taking a five-day break for players to focus on final exams. Now that practice has started again, the team is ready to start preparing for the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas against Wisconsin (Dec. 28, 6:00 p.m. MST)

While it may be too early to tell exactly how the Buffs and the Badgers will match up, preliminary reports sound promising.

Senior tight end Beau Williams said, "Wisconsin runs a defense similar to ours so we'll get a lot of good work in practice against our own defense which will be beneficial."

The last time the Buffs were in Texas, the result was a 29-7 loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship in Houston, so a chance to grab a win in Texas means a lot to Colorado.

"We have a lot of guys on the team from Texas and last time we were there we didn't get what we were looking for," said Williams, "We're going to go out there and try to get our tenth win of the season and we're all looking forward to it."

Despite Wisconsin's 2-6 Big Ten record (7-6 overall), Colorado knows it can't let its guard down.

"Wisconsin doesn't play like a 7-6 team," said senior center Ryan Gray, "They are a lot better team than they look on paper.

Wednesday practice notes: Head Coach Gary Barnett said a number of players missed practice because of final exams.

"We went pretty light today, but tomorrow should be more spirited and physical," Barnett said, "We'll install a game plan this week and then polish it up once we get to San Antonio."

As for Colorado's injured running backs Chris Brown (bruised sternum) missed practice due to a final, but is expected to practice Thursday. Bobby Purify sat out practice once again because of a high ankle sprain. Barnett said Purify would probably be a game-time decision.