Comment on Renck: Sean Payton or Jim Harbaugh? Payton was not Broncos’ first choice, but was the right choice

A week after its RMAC win streak came to an end, the Colorado School of Mines football program is ready to start a new one. Riding the arm of redshirt senior quarterback Evan Foster, the 12th-ranked Orediggers got back on track with a 45-20 thrashing of South Dakota Mines on Saturday afternoon at Marv Kay Stadium in Golden. Foster put up 319 yards and four touchdowns on 19-of-26 passing, connecting with senior Max McLeod and junior Flynn Schiele on two scoring passes apiece as Mines (5-1 overall, 3-1 RMAC) jumped ahead 42-6 with 3:20 left in the third quarter and cruised from there. McLeod finished the game with eight receptions for 172 yards, while Schiele hauled in six passes for 126. Sophomore defensive back Will Ramsey got things started with an interception return for a touchdown on South Dakota Mines’ first offensive possession of the game.

There were no Tears for a Clown when Broncos owner Greg Penner fired Nathaniel Hackett in 2022. After an odious 15-game performance, stained by players lacking discipline and fighting on the sideline, Penner identified the qualities most important for removing the floppy shoes and red nose from the organization’s coaching office. “We need a strong leader that’s focused on winning.

FORT COLLINS — The chip Jack Howell carried around on his shoulder for the past week didn’t weigh him down. In fact, it inspired him and his Colorado State teammates. “No one hung their head,” the senior linebacker said after Colorado State’s impressive 31-24 win over San Jose State on Saturday afternoon at Canvas Stadium. “We see everything that everyone writes about us, right?” Howell continued, referring to the feedback after the Rams’ gut-wrenching, double-overtime loss at Oregon State.

When a player logs nearly 1,200 games in the NHL, there aren’t going to be many scenarios he hasn’t faced. Still, Jack Johnson will encounter a scenario Saturday night that most players in league history won’t see twice. For the second time in three years, Johnson will play against his former Avalanche teammates … in the home opener at Ball Arena. “It’s always weird,” Johnson said in the Columbus Blue Jackets’ locker room.

BOULDER — George Solich doesn’t hate the players. But he’s starting to hate the game. “I think college football is in an odd situation,” the CU grad and longtime Buffs booster told me recently. “It’s a very odd, difficult state right now, with the NILs being the wild, wild West. It’s kind of like ‘farm club’ football.

The Broncos made a flurry of roster moves Saturday, including putting a pair of starters on injured reserve. Wide receiver Josh Reynolds (hand) and center Luke Wattenberg (ankle) were put on injured reserve. Neither is a major surprise, but both will test Denver’s depth. The Post reported Friday that Reynolds needed minor surgery on his finger after an injury late in Sunday’s win against Las Vegas. Reynolds hauled in a fourth-quarter touchdown from Bo Nix and then slid to the ground and hit the padded wall behind the corner of the end zone.