During the two big wins to open the season, the most glaring problem on Mike MacIntyre's Colorado Buffs team was the returns given up by the special teams units. When Mac came aboard to become head coach at CU, he brought with him Toby Neinas as Special Teams Coordinator.
Most Buff fans were very excited to have a coach devoted solely to special teams, since Colorado's special teams were not very special over the last several years. Two games into the season, many of the Buff faithful were loudly questioning the hire. That included this writer.
In the first game against Colorado State, the Buffs gave up an average of 38.4 yards on five kickoffs. Included in that was a touchdown return. On punt returns, Colorado allowed the Rams to average 23 yards on 4 returns. The punt return team also gave up a touchdown.
The numbers put up by the CU returners were much more pedestrian. They had 19 yards on one kickoff return (for an average less than half of CSU), and averaged only 8.5 on four punt returns (barely more than a third as many as CSU).
In game two against Central Arkansas, the kickoff return numbers continued to be bad. The Bears averaged 32 yards per on 4 returns. The Buffs, on the other hand, averaged barely more than half that at 17.3 on 3 returns. The Bears had only 1 punt return for 10 yards and CU had no punt returns.
After two games, the yards given up on returns by the Buffs were among the worst in the country. Everyone questioned whether the Buffs could return to respectability if their special teams were so bad.
Then came the floods and the extended break before Pac-12 play. After three straight lopsided defeats, the focus on what problems the Buffs were having were directed elsewhere. One of the reasons was that the CU special teams were starting to put up respectable numbers.
First came Oregon State. The Beavers had one kickoff return for 27 yards while the Buffs averaged 24.2 on 4 returns. The Buffs gave up only 8 total yards on 2 punt returns.
During the Oregon game, the Ducks only averaged 2 yards each on 2 kickoff returns, while the Buffs averaged 26.9 on 7 returns. Oregon lost 3 yards on their only punt return, while CU got 5 on their only punt return.
At Tempe, the Buffs faced an Arizona State team that was one of the best in country on returns. The Buffs stood up to the challenge. The Sun Devils only averaged 17.5 yards on 2 kickoff returns, and 10.3 yards on 3 punt returns. The Buffs averaged 19.4 on 5 kickoff returns, and had no punts returned.
Against Charleston-Southern, the Buffs averaged 26 yards on 2 kickoff returns compared to only 14.5 on two returns for the Bucs. In the punting game, CU had 2 returns for 4 yards a CS had no punt returns.
Six games into the season and the Buffs have become respectable on their special teams. After the first two games, the Buffs were giving up more than 35 yards per kickoff return, while averaging about half that for themselves.
After 6 games, however, the numbers are much more presentable. The average for CU opponents for kickoff returns is down to an average of 25.9 yards, the Buffs average has jumped up to 23 yards per return. A difference of 17.5 yards per return has now been reduced to less than 3.
Punt returns by Buff opponents has dropped from 23 in the first game to 12.5 for the season. The Buffs still only average half that at 6.2 per punt return, but it is a lot better than it was early in the season.
The CU running game finally got itself unleashed in the last game and scored 5 touchdowns and more had 218 yards rushing. If the special teams can continue to improve like they have over the last 3-4 weeks, it is only a matter of time before a Buff returner breaks a big one. As of right now, the Buffs special teams continue to become more special and Toby Neinas can hold his head high.
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