Boulder, Colo. ? The rape and recruiting scandal that enveloped the Colorado football program and nearly cost coach Gary Barnett his job is far from over.

But at least it’s settled down enough to let the players focus on football. And that’s all Barnett could ask for at this point.

“We’re now just totally into football,” said Barnett, whose team plays host to Colorado State today. “I don’t think you walk out of here going ‘Whew, I’m glad I don’t have to deal with all that other stuff’ or it’s not flying around. We’re just glad we’re on the field.”

The troubles began earlier this year with a scandal that painted Colorado as an out-of-control campus where women get raped by football players and sex and alcohol are part of the recruiting process.

Nine women since 1997 have accused players of rape — no charges have been filed — including three who sued the school in federal court. An independent commission found players arranged sex, drugs and alcohol for recruits but said there was no evidence CU officials sanctioned the activities.

At the center of the scandal was Barnett, an assistant at CU under Bill McCartney in the 1980s at a time when players were accused of crimes ranging from drunken driving to rape.

Barnett didn’t back down in the latest scandal, prompting the commission to say he was resistant to change. He didn’t help matters by expressing support for a player accused of assaulting an athletics department worker and by calling former kicker Katie Hnida a terrible player shortly after she said she was raped by a teammate in 2000.

The comments led to Barnett’s suspension in February and he wasn’t reinstated until four months later, well after spring football was done. Barnett went to work to counteract the competitive disadvantage his team suffered from not having its coach, but repairing his image won’t be as easy.

“I think the hardest part was the number of people who seemed to jump to conclusions and were quick to believe allegations about me personally,” Barnett said. “That’s the hard part.”

The one thing the players and Barnett always had to look forward to throughout the scandal was playing football again. That chance comes today.

After months of answering questions about their program, their coach and their school, the Buffaloes finally get to release all the energy that’s been pent up during the last few months. Practice was a nice diversion, but finally getting to play a game — against an in-state rival, no less — is what the players and coaches have been waiting for.

“We’ve all got short memories,” Barnett said. “We’re so much into the throes of this game and preparation of this game, we don’t even think about all that other stuff. For the most part, we’re totally into trying to find a way to beat CSU.”

At least on the field.

Because of changes being instituted by the university, Barnett still spends plenty of time away from the field dealing with issues related to the scandal. One of the biggest is recruiting.

After the commission questioned Colorado’s recruiting practices, the university issued stricter rules for luring football players. Barnett said the effects of the new rules won’t be known for some time, but he’s doing his best to make sure the Buffaloes don’t fall behind other schools.