Colorado Buffs Looking to Control Tempo and Limit Turnovers Against California

The Colorado Buffaloes hit the road this weekend against the California Golden Bears. To hear some folks tell it, you would think the Buffs were going against the greatest offensive machine in the Pac-12. Or the country. Balderdash!

Some coaches like their teams to throw the ball. A LOT. But throwing the ball 60 times a game does not automatically make the QB the next big thing or the team a winner on the field. Look at some of the examples right here in the conference.

• Arizona State put up 626 yards and 38 first downs against UCLA. Their QB threw for 488 yards, and completed 42 of 68 passes. Big win for the Sun Devils? NO! UCLA crushed ASU 62-27.
• Cal's QB Jared Goff set lots of passing records in Berkeley last year. The Golden Bears finished 1-11.
• Washington State throws for almost 500 yards per game this year. Their record is 1-3.
• In the Colorado game vs. Arizona State, the Buffs dominated time of possession, had 55% more first down, and outgained the Sun Devils by 120 yards. ASU won 38-24.

It's interesting that Arizona State threw only 25 passes in their win in Boulder, yet threw 68 in their beat down by UCLA.

What's the moral of this story?

The key is to control the game, not just throw lots of passes for big yardage. In fact, it could be argued that it is frequently the case that lots of yardage through the air only shows that the team was behind and trying to catch up.

Some coaches throw the ball so much that they don't know how to control the clock with the running game. Last week against Arizona, Cal gave up 36 points in the fourth quarter to lose after being ahead by 22 points at halftime.

The key to the game against Cal will be to control the tempo of the game and to limit Cal's big plays for scores.

Cal will put big yardage up against Colorado, but that does not mean they will win. The Buffs have gotten much tougher in the red zone than they have been in years. Where in years past the red zone for Buff opponents usually meant a touchdown, this year they are finding the sledding much tougher, and that a field goal is all they come away with.

Two other areas the Buffs must win are special teams play and turnovers. One of the reasons that Arizona State was crushed by UCLA was that they turned over the ball 4 times and also allowed a kickoff to be returned for a touchdown.

If the Buffs can hold onto the ball, and continue the outstanding play on special teams (for the last couple of games), along with creating several turnovers by the Bears, they have an excellent shot at leaving Cal with their third win of the season.

Fans should remember that last year's four win team had only two of those wins against FBS level school. There are no FCS teams on the schedule this year.

The turnover battle will be key for this game. In 2010, the Buffs turned the ball over 5 times and California crushed them by a score of 52-7. Last year, the Buffs and Bears each had only one turnover, and Colorado cruised by a score of 41-24.

It Was 20 Years Ago Today! The Miracle at Michigan

It was twenty years ago today

Kordell Stewart made a magic play

He threw the ball a football mile

And Westbrook caught the ball with style

Blake Anderson tipped the ball up high

Then Michigan fans began to cry

And Keith Jackson screamed out "Incredible!"

 Twenty years later and the play still lives on as one of the greatest game ending Hail-Mary passes in the history of college football. Click the video to relive how Keith Jackson called the play at Michigan's Big House in front of more than 100,000 screaming fans.

It was also one of the greatest comebacks ever for top 10 teams playing one another. Colorado had trailed 26-14 with less than three minutes to play. The Buffs scored a touchdown to pull to within six points with 2:30 remaining. They opted not to go for an onside kick but instead chose to play defense.

Michigan failed to gain a first down and had to punt the ball back to the Buffs. They began the drive at their own 15. On first down Stewart completed a 21 yard pass to Westbrook. With only six seconds left in the game, the Buffaloes had only one choice, the Hail-Mary.

Usually these kind of last ditch passes only work within 50 yards. Stewart had a big arm, for sure, but no one on the the Michigan sideline or the stands thought he could throw the ball 70 yards. In fact, he threw the ball 73 yards to the goal line, where it was tipped by Blake Anderson and pulled down by Michael Westbrook.

The play was well covered, with Michigan All-American Ty Law wrapped around Westbrook's legs. The Colorado receiver's hands were free, though, and they grabbed the ball for the touchdown and the win.

It was one of the greatest wins in Colorado history, and the play continues to hold a place of honor in the pantheons of college football.

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Apologies to John Lennon and Paul McCartney for the mangling of the lyrics to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Enjoy the video below.

Nelson Spruce on Way to Rewriting Colorado Record Book for Wide Receivers

Boulder--
Lurking just behind the brilliant light cast by Paul Richardson, wide receiver Nelson Spruce quietly moved up the Colorado record book during his first two years playing for the Buffaloes. Coming into the 2014 campaign, Spruce was 13th all-time with receptions at 99, and 20th in yards at 1,096.

Four games into his junior year, Spruce has exploded across the national stage. After four games, he leads the country with seven receiving touchdowns, and is 3rd in the country in both receptions (37) and yards (518).

The quick start to the season has moved team captain Spruce much higher in the Buff annals. His 136 catches ties him for fifth with Javon Green for career receptions.

Spruce hauled in a record 13 catches for 172 yards yesterday against Hawaii. It was two more than any CU Buff has ever caught in a football game. His total for the day also vaulted him past CU receiver legends Derek McCoy, Charles Johnson, and Rae Carruth.

Spruce has also jumped up to 9th all time in yards with 1,614. If he continues at the same pace for the rest of the season, Nelson would end the season being Colorado's all time leader for yards. The Buffs have had three wideouts who have posted more than 2,500 yards in their careers. Michael Westbrook leads the pack (2548), followed closely by Rae Carruth (2540) and Scotty McKnight (2521).

Even if Spruce's numbers fall off a bit, his senior season next year promises to obliterate every career record for receptions in the history of Colorado football. His next catch will move him into 5th all alone, but he needs 16 more before catching Phil Savoy. Only 20 catches ahead of him is Paul Richardson. Spruce needs 417 yards to catch Javon Green for 8th place at 2,031 yards.

Buff receiving coach Troy Walters and head coach Mike MacIntyre know that the meat of the Buffs schedule is still ahead of them. The final eight games of the regular season are all against very tough Pac-12 opponents. While Buff fans would like to see Spruce tear up the field, they also know that the level of competition is rising ever higher.

As the Colorado team continues to improve and come together, they look forward to the new challenges each week. From the beginning of the season, they have said that their goal is to go 1-0 each week. After four weeks, they're 2-2, but showing passion and resiliency not seen by the Buffs in years.

Led by a defense which seems to get stouter by the week, the Buffs are working to make their offense less error prone. Turnovers and untimely penalties too often put a crimp in the team's goals. But the steadiest parts of the offense week in and week out have been Nelson Spruce and freshman Shay Fields. Together they have combined for 64 catches and provide valuable and reliable targets for QB Sefo Liufau.

Coming this week is a trip to play Cal in Berkeley. Cal struggled badly last season and finished 1-11. That included a loss to Colorado. The Bears came into 2014 looking like a much better team and it showed.

This year they started 2-0 and were putting a serious beating on Arizona in Tucson before collapsing toward the end of the game. After being up 28-6 at halftime, the Bears gave up an astonishing 36 points in the fourth quarter to lose 49-45 on a last second "hail-mary" pass that Arizona caught for the winning touchdown.

Cal would like to avenge their loss to Colorado last season, and they also want to defend their home turf. Colorado will be in for a tough game on the road. Of course, nearly ALL Pac-12 games are tough to win on the road.

If Nelson Spruce has his way, Colorado could head back to Boulder next weekend with a winning record after 5 games. One thing he would really like to put in the Colorado record book is a winning record and Colorado's first appearance in a bowl game since 2007.

Colorado Buffaloes Defense Comes Up Big, Keeps Hawaii Out of Endzone for Win

BOULDER-- 
Mike MacIntyre's Colorado Buffaloes evened their record at 2-2 on Saturday when their defense allowed no touchdowns in a game for the first time in more than four years. The stout performance by the defense kept the Buffs in front for all except 17 seconds in their 21-12 win.

Even more impressive than holding the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors to four field goals was the fact that mistakes and misfires by the offense frequently gave Hawaii excellent field position.

(Photos by Mark Rubi) -- The Buffs and Rainbow Warriors meet at midfield following Colorado's 21-12 win at Folsom Field.


The Buffs' first play from scrimmage mirrored last week against Arizona State when they threw deep into triple coverage only to have the ball intercepted and returned into Colorado territory. After Hawaii drove to the Buff 21, standout cornerback Greg Henderson sacked the quarterback, stripped the ball, and recovered the fumble.

The teams punted back and forth several times before Hawaii successfully drove to the Colorado 16 for a first down. The D once again rose to the occasion and pushed Hawaii back to the 17 before they had to settle for a field goal and a 3-0 lead.

Following a nice 26 yard return by Freshman Phillip Lindsay, the Buffs once again went deep on the first play. This time, Nelson Spruce fought off the defender for the catch and ran 40 yards for the touchdown. The play went for 71 yards. The Buffs never trailed again.

The Buffs dominated the 2nd quarter and went in to halftime with a 21-6 lead. Their offense struggled throughout the rest of the game, but the defense continued to rise to the task and keep Hawaii at bay.

The Colorado Buffaloes played sterling defense and did not allow a touchdown for the first time in more than 4 years.

The Rainbow Warriors did have their chances to get back in the game. They took the kickoff for the 2nd half and promptly drove down the field. They had a 3rd and 1 at the Colorado 21, but the defense again knocked them back with a two yard loss. Hawaii had to settle for another field goal and trailed 21-9.

After trading punts, the Colorado offense once again turned the ball over on an interception. This time the ball was returned all the way down to the Colorado 7 yard line. It was the second time in the game that Hawaii was at Colorado's doorstep with a first and goal. Once again, however, the Colorado defense came up big and held Hawaii out of the endzone. The field goal by Hawaii made the score 21-12 with more than 3/4 of the second half left to play.

Although fans in the stands (and home on TV) were beginning to worry as Hawaii inched closer back into the game, the Buffs were able to keep Hawaii off the board for the rest of the game.

Nelson Spruce had a record setting day with 13 receptions for 172 yards. It broke the old record of 11 catches by numerous players.

Big Dogs Beware: Colorado Poised to Turn Corner Against Pac-12 Foes

In every conference, they have what are commonly referred to as the "Big Dogs" which dominate conference play. When you play in the Pac-12, those big dogs are a pack of six schools which do fairly well on an almost annual basis during the football season.

The Big Dogs of Pac-12 football these days are (alphabetically):

• Arizona State
• Oregon
• Stanford
• UCLA
• USC
• Washington

Those six teams combined to win 61 games last year. Before this season, the Colorado Buffaloes had played these titans a total of 17 times in conference play. Their record? 0-17. The average score for those 17 games was 49.5 - 12.5. That's right, Colorado had averaged losing to these teams by 37 points per game.

In fact, in only one of those 17 games did one of those Big Dogs fail to score at least 42 points. Washington won in 2012 by 38-3. The three points scored by the Buffs in that game were not the worst they had done. The Oregon Ducks beat CU 45-2 in 2011, and Stanford shut out the Buffs 48-0 in 2012.

What's the point? In all 17 of those games, Colorado was completely manhandled in every phase of the game. In most cases, the Buffs were going up against 2nd and 3rd stringers after halftime. The stat sheets after those games showed Colorado giving up massive amounts of yards as well as points.

That all changed this past Saturday night against the Arizona State Sun Devils. Colorado was not only "in" the game until the very end, but had completely dominated the stat sheets following the first quarter. The Buffs put an astounding 523 yards on the Sun Devils in the final three quarters, while holding ASU to 204 yards in that time. The ASU starters (not counting injuries) were on the field the entire game.

Unfortunately, the Buffs committed three turnovers which led directly to 14 points for the Sun Devils. Take those away, and you have a tie game. More importantly, one of the interceptions should have gone for a touchdown for Colorado. Nelson Spruce was WIDE open deep down the field, but the moonball toss to him was so high that the ASU safety was able to come from all the way across the defensive backfield to intercept the ball. What should have been a Colorado touchdown instead led to an Arizona State touchdown.

Later, right after Colorado had cut a 17-0 deficit into a 17-14 nail-biter, the Buffs fumbled the ball deep in their own end and gave the Sun Devils a 7-point gift to put them down by 10 again at the half. The Sun Devils took the opening kickoff and scored another touchdown and were once again up by 17. Although Colorado dominated both sides of the ball for the rest of the game, the 17 points were too many to overcome. Colorado lost 38-24.

While some fair-weather fans bemoaned yet another loss, the more astute Colorado fans noted that the Buffs had played one of the conference "Big Dogs" tough for the very first time since joining the Pac-12. They noted that Colorado was equal or superior  in most of the statistical categories against the Sun Devils. The two parts that ASU won, however, determined the outcome. The Sun Devils won the turnover battle and the final score.

The Buffs almost doubled their average score against the "Big Dogs" and also held the Sun Devils to a tie for the least amount of points scored against them by the big six. The 14 point loss was far and away the closest game against any of those teams. Remember, the Buffs average loss to the Big Dogs was by 37 points.

Head Coach Mike MacIntyre  and his players have said time and again that they are not looking for moral victories. That is good. They are pursuing real wins against conference opponents. In three years in the Pac-12, the Buffs have defeated 4 conference teams one time apiece. They have beaten Arizona, California, Utah and Washington State.

The way the Buffs played indicates that they are ready to be competitive on a regular basis against conference foes.  After a 4-24 record in three years against Pac-12 teams since they joined the conference, being competitive is a MAJOR step up.

The Buffs may not win six games this year to become bowl eligible. Buff fans have to remember that two of last year's four wins came against lower division FCS teams. There are none of those teams on this year's schedule.

Remember that UMass played Boston College tough for 30 minutes and only trailed 7-6 at the half. That is the same Boston College team that whipped USC last weekend. Colorado had to come back to beat UMass, but they did come back and win.

Hawaii only has a record of 1-2 coming into the game this weekend, but their two losses were very close games against Pac-12 opponents. Norm Chow is a great coach and the Rainbow Warriors are a much better team than people think. The Buffs will have to play hardnose and smart football to beat them.

This writer has been watching the Buffs for 30 years now, many of them as a season ticket holder. I have travelled to see them play. I have been to bowl games. I was there for some of the best times and teams in Colorado history. I have also seen some of the worst times.

For the first time in a long time, I am hopeful and proud of the way the Buffs have started to improve. I see good things ahead for these young men. College football is not as simple as it used to be. Learning from one coaching staff is difficult enough. Some of these young men are on their 3rd, but their hard work and the teaching ability of the coaching staff is finally start to pay dividends.

Look for that investment to begin paying off very soon. These Buffs CAN play in the Pac-12, and if last week was any indication, they can also put up a fight against the Big Dogs!

Colorado Looking to Improve on the Arizona State Experience

The 1970's were a very good decade for the Arizona State Sun Devils. The were coached by the legendary Frank Kush. He was 176-54-1 as a head coach. He was 6-1 in bowl games. The field at Sun Devil Stadium is named after him.

Kush's teams were so good that the Fiesta Bowl was created in response to the Sun Devils being shut out of major bowls around the country. Nobody wanted to play them. So the Fiesta Bowl was created for the winner of the Western Athletic Conference and played at Sun Devil Stadium.

In the first five Fiesta Bowls, the Sun Devils played in (and won) four of them. All this after the undefeated (11-0) ASU squad was shut out of the major bowls in 1970. The Fiesta Bowl was in place starting in 1971 and the Sun Devils were on their way.

• 1971 -- Sun Devils go 11-1 and defeat Florida State in the inaugural Fiesta Bowl.
• 1972 -- ASU goes 10-2 and defeats Missouri in the Fiesta.
• 1973 -- Devils go 11-1 and defeat Pittsburgh.
• 1975 -- Arizona State again goes undefeated (12-0) and beats Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl.
• 1977 -- ASU wins only 9 games and finally loses their first Fiesta Bowl to Penn State.

In 1978, Arizona State and Arizona joined the Pac-8, which was renamed the Pac-10. The joke in the western part of the country at that time was that the newly expanded conference should have been named the Bigger 10, a reference to the Pac tie in with the Big 10 for the Rose Bowl.

Arizona State fans were excited to have their team be a member of the biggest and baddest conference in the country. They were part of the Conference of Champions and an undefeated season would usually be considered a National Championship.

Things did not work out as they planned. Kush was fired during the 1979 season after a former player filed a lawsuit against the university and the coaching staff for mental and physical harassment. Kush would eventually be found to be not liable in the case, but by then he was no longer in collegiate coaching.

Without their head coach of 21 years, the dreams of conference and national championships in football took a severe detour. In the 35 years since joining the Pac-12, Arizona State has only TWO outright conference championships (1986 and 1996). They tied USC in 2007 for their only other claim to a conference championship. 

In that same time frame,

• USC has 10 outright titles, and six shared titles.
• UCLA has 4 outright and three shared titles.
• Washington has 4 outright and three shared titles.
• Oregon has 4 outright and one shared title.
• Stanford has 3 outright and one shared title.

The point is that the Pac-12 is a tough conference to play and win in. Few teams in the entire country have the financial support of Oregon and USC, and NO teams in the country have more D-1 high school prospects in their backyard than USC and UCLA.

Now in their 4th season in the Pac-12, Colorado has yet to qualify for a bowl game, let alone win a conference championship. Fans of the Buffaloes are excited to be a member of the Pac-12. They are excited that the program seems to be moving in the right direction under head coach Mike MacIntyre.

But the Buff faithful are hoping for a better record over the next 30 years than a paltry 2 outright conference championships. They are doing their best to upgrade the facilities and selling points of the university, but sometimes that is not enough. In the Big 8 days, Colorado was the academic powerhouse of the conference. In the Pac-12, they're lucky if they are considered to be in the upper half.

The Pac-12 is a tough place to play, but it is an honor to be in that company. Colorado fans need to remember that, and glory in the fact that nearly EVERY destination on a road trip to see the team in conference play is a major improvement on the old options of Norman, Lincoln, or any place in Kansas.

Go Buffs!

Colorado Fans Look to Past for Inspiration, Seek Upset Against Arizona State

BOULDER-- Heading into Saturday Night's Pac-12 clash at Folsom Field between the Arizona State Sun Devils and the Colorado Buffaloes, the tone that many Buff fans are taking is that the game will be a wipe-out, and that Colorado has no chance at all of making a stand and protecting their turf in the first home game and conference game of the season.

Some long-time fans, however, say "Look to the past!"

Since Colorado joined the Pac-12, the Buffs have played the Sun Devils three times and been beaten soundly at each turn.  Arizona State comes into the game ranked #16 in the AP poll. In 2011, the Sun Devils  were ranked 23rd, and were unranked  in both 2012 and 2013.

Some older fans point out that while Arizona State is a good team and deserving of their current ranking, the fact is they are not a nationally dominant team by any stretch of the imagination. They say to look a few years (okay, 28) to the past to see what the Buffs have historically overcome.

The year was 1986. It was a turning point in Colorado Buffaloes history.

Buff faithful began the year with a swell of anticipation. The year before (1985) had seen Colorado win a total of SEVEN games. That may not seem like a lot, but the six seasons prior to 1985 saw the Buffs win only 14 out of 66 games. Fans were excited! They thought that seven wins and a bowl game would be an annual thing. Then the season started...

The CU Buffs under Head Coach Bill McCartney started the season 0-4.

That's right. They lost their first four games. Colorado State, Oregon, Arizona and Ohio State all beat the Buffs to start the season. And Oregon was pretty horrible back then.

Fans immediately started to worry that the Buffs would be back to their old ways where only a couple of wins per season was all they could expect. McCartney had been named Big 8 Coach of the Year in 1985, but some fans were calling for his head after the Buffs started the season so poorly in '86.

Then, something unexpected happened. The Buffs went to Missouri in week 5 and pulled out a thrilling 17-12 victory. The next week they dominated Iowa State in Boulder by 31-3.

The next game had big, bad Nebraska coming to Boulder.

No game on any football schedule at that time gave Buff fans more to dread than the hated Huskers. In the 24 years prior to 1986, Nebraska had beaten Colorado 23 times. They had outscored the Buffs 826-268 in that time. That works out to an average score of 34-11, which was a pretty standard ass-kicking back in the day.

How dominant a team was Nebraska back then? Year in and year out, they were one of the best in the country. During that 24 year stretch, Nebraska came into their game with Colorado ranked in the TOP 10 a remarkable 16 TIMES! In eleven of those games, the Fuskers were ranked in the TOP 5!

If Colorado fans are looking at challenges, Arizona State is nowhere near the challenge of Nebraska if taken in a historical perspective.

Even though Colorado had not beaten Nebraska since 1967, those 1986 Buffs showed up all the same. While those of us sitting in the student section were a loud bunch, many of the more than 52 thousand in attendance were wearing Nebraska red. Many Colorado fans with season tickets  paid for the rest of their games by selling tickets at inflated prices to Nebraska fans with deep pockets.

Nebraska rolled into Boulder that beautiful October day undefeated at 6-0, and sporting the #3 ranking in the country. Like they had done for almost an entire quarter century, Husker fans entered the game with Colorado with delight, because it was as certain a victory as just about any conference rivalry could be.

Three hours later, the Colorado Buffs had won 20-10. 

The final score stayed emphatically on the scoreboard throughout the day and into the night and "WE DID IT!" ran as the headline of the Boulder Daily Camera Sunday edition. The win against Nebraska was the third of six wins in seven games for Colorado to end the regular season. A nearly one hour highlight video shows the Buffs from the locker room before the game until the final celebration.

The win was a turning point toward the greatest era of Colorado football. They won seven games in '87, eight games in '88, and 11 games each year in 1989 and 1990. The Buffs were named National Champions after the 1990 season and played for the title after the 1989 season.

Those Big 8 (and one NC) championship teams came just three years after the Buffaloes had started the '86 season 0-4. Two victories set the stage for a remarkable upset that catapulted the Colorado Buffaloes to the top of the collegiate football world over the next few years.


Colorado Head Coach Mike MacIntyre has the Buffs poised to make a turn for the better.

After winning four games last year (and quadrupling the win total of 2012), Buff fans entered the 2014 season hoping for a breakthrough. A bad loss to Colorado State and an unimpressive win over UMass has left CU fans champing at the bit and sharing their anger on social media and news outlets.

Those fans should look to the past for inspiration. The Buffs may not defeat Arizona State, and Las Vegas odds-makers believe they won't. But the entire country believed the same thing about their chances against Nebraska in 1986, and instead of another defeat, the Colorado Buffs turned the corner toward becoming a national power.

Looking for another more recent example? The 2007 Buffs were coming off a 2-10 record in 2006. They were 2-2 when undefeated and #3 Oklahoma came to town and lost by a score of 27-24.

How about another Pac-12 story? Also in 2007, Stanford was coming off a 1-11 record in 2006. They were 1-3 when they faced the #1 USC Trojans in the Los Angeles Coliseum.  USC was a 41 point favorite. Stanford  won the game 24-23. Point spread wise, it's one of the biggest upset in the history of college football.

There's a reason they call it an upset. Whatever happens, it will not be the biggest upset in Folsom Field or Pac-12 history if the Buffs win. It won't even be close.

It's Time to Remember Just How Young this Colorado Buffaloes Defense Really Is

It's two games into the 2014 CU Buff football season, and fans are starting to panic already. The feeling has even occurred to this writer. We have to remember to breathe.

It's only the 2nd season at the helm for Mike MacIntyre, and fans are already outraged that the team he inherited (the worst team in CU history) is not ready to go bowling. Is that really a surprise?

Buff fans need to remember that so much of the disappointment they feel is in their heads and their heart, and less so with the reality of the playing field. College football is a very interesting dynamic. It is the place where fans watch the growth of high school boys into college men, some of whom do well enough at their sport to move on the NFL.

With very few exceptions, young men fresh out of high school and even in their first few years of college are not ready to be dominant players at the collegiate level. We also have to remember that these young men are STUDENT athletes, who must attend to their scholastic responsibilities as well as their jobs as football players.

In most of the top tier football programs in the Power Five Conferences, a formula that has been in place for decades dictates the development of those high school boys into collegiate level football players. The best case scenario for those programs is as follows for the young men.

• Freshman Year -- Redshirt, grow their bodies, and acclimate to college life away from home.
• Redshirt Freshman Year -- Work with the scout team, grow their bodies, become better acquainted with "system" their coaches operate.
• Sophomore Year -- Grow their bodies and begin to learn from the upper classmen the nuances of collegiate football, and how to read opposing teams.
• Junior Year -- Learn, grow bodies and compete for playing time.
• Senior Year -- Be counted upon as a major contributor to the team on the field and in the locker room.

Of course, life does not unfold like that all the time. Sometimes an exceptional talent comes along and gets onto the field of play as a starter much sooner. Sometimes injuries force young men to miss time or force them into playing before they are ready when the guys on the depth chart in front of them go down. In some cases, attrition does the same thing.

In most cases, the key behind a championship caliber team is how they play on the defensive side of the ball. Teams can have all the offensive firepower in the conference or the country and still go down to defeat if their defense cannot keep the opposition out of the end zone.

College offenses are more complex and difficult to read by defensive players than ever before. It's one of the reasons why so many games have scores in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Many offenses these days are designed with the idea that they can score on ANY PLAY. The teams that are content on working the ball down the field are rarer every year.

That being the case, it is more important than ever to have the defense manned by young men who have been learning the collegiate game for at least three years before becoming starters. It's no longer enough to be big and fast. They also need to know how to read the opposing team. Having 4.4 speed doesn't help if you're running in the wrong direction.

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How young is the Colorado Defense compared to their Pac-12 peers? Very young indeed.

A quick look at the defensive depth charts across the Pac-12 shows how many lower classmen are listed as starters.

• Arizona (4)
• Arizona State (4)
• California (4)
• Colorado (6)
• Oregon (1)
• Oregon State (0)
• Stanford (0)
• UCLA (3)
• USC (2)
• Utah (5)
• Washington (3)
• Washington State (3)

Not only does Colorado have more lower classmen as starters on defense, their depth chart behind the starters is even more loaded with them. Of the nineteen young men listed behind the starters on defense, 14 of them are also underclassmen (that's 74%).

It's no wonder that the Buffs have a hard time, when a majority of their defensive players have never been given the opportunity to learn the collegiate game with sufficient time.

Think of it like law school. How would it be if a month into your first semester you were being counted on to pass the bar and lead a big case?

Most people would be forgiven if the quality of their case was not the same as someone who spent three years in law school and couple of years interning as law clerks.

The same mindset should be used when dealing with the young Buffs playing defense. It is a testament to the quality of young men that MacIntyre has brought in that they are able to play at the high level they already do.

Fans should remember that they are only going to get better. In fact, in two more years, when the depth chart is rightly dominated by juniors and seniors, the quality of play from Colorado defense will seem like a night and day difference.

It won't be because they are smarter or more dedicated or faster. It will be because their brains have been given the opportunity to learn the craft of playing major college football. And, on top of that, many of them will have lots of game experience to go on as well.

The biggest weakness of the Colorado Buffaloes defense is youth, inexperience, and immaturity. Opposing Pac-12 coaches will do their very best to exploit that weakness while they can, because the time is coming when Colorado will be on a level playing field when it comes to the age and experience of their starters.

That one step in the wrong direction this season that leads to a first down or touchdown for the opponent, will soon be a step toward a sack, an interception or a big tackle for no gain. Now is the time to watch them learn and get better as they go. If we want to watch professionals play, the Denver Broncos are just down the road.

Colorado Buffs Win a Rare One on the Road

All Buff fans know that the Colorado football team has been having a tough time for a good long while now. 2007 was the last time that CU managed to win half their games and qualify for a bowl game.

That Independence Bowl game following the 2007 season was a pivotal point for two programs with great histories. The Colorado Buffs and the Alabama Crimson Tide entered the game with identical 6-6 records. The Tide prevailed 30-24 in a close game that was supposed to be the start of good things for both programs.

It was the turning point for Alabama under Nick Saban, as they went on to win 3 of the next 5 National Championships, and are now considered to be the most dominant program in the country.

What about Colorado? Following a rare road win in 2007 against Texas Tech, the Buffs went on to lose 23 straight games played on the road, not counting neutral site games. They haven's been to a bowl game since the clash with Alabama.

They finally broke that string at the end of the 2011 season when they managed to take down Utah on the road in the season finale. Their next road game took the Buffs to Fresno State, where they gave up 35 points in the first quarter on their way to losing 69-14.

They were on their way to being blown out again the next week at Washington State when the Cougars pulled one of the biggest meltdowns in conference history by giving up a 20 point lead in the final 7 minutes of the game and losing to CU. If nothing else, that gave the Buffs 2 wins out of their previous three road trips. That winning percentage would not hold up, however, as the Buffs had lost every road game since then until...

Colorado 41, UMass 38

Forget the fact that Colorado was a 17 point favorite going into the game.

Forget that since the Minutemen had joined the FBS, they had a combined record of 2-23.

Forget everything about UMass, and remember that road victories for the Buffs don't happen very often. That being the case, Buff fans should savor this victory because it might be a good long time before they see another one.

In fact, it might be a good long time before the Buffs see a victory of any kind. Arizona State's potent offense, led by chief gunslinger Taylor Kelly, is champing at the bit to get on the field with the Buffs. Even Hawaii, who comes to Boulder the week after the Sun Devils, is greatly improved. Their one point loss to a top 25 Pac-12 team in the first game of the season has them thinking that the Buffs might be ripe for the taking. And after that, it's nothing but Pac-12 level offenses and defenses for the Buffs to contend with.

For one week, at least, Buff fans and players should enjoy the knowledge that the team won one on the road. Enjoy the feeling. You never know when you'll be able to feel it again.

Buffs Go East Looking for a Win -- Will it Be Bad Medicine?

Colorado is coming off a bad loss to in-state rival Colorado State. It was the 2nd time in three years that the Buffs came back to Boulder from Denver with their tails between their legs. This week, the Buffs make their longest trip ever in the continental US to Boston / Foxborough to play UMass at the home of the New England Patriots.

All the pundits and writers this week point out that this game against the Minutemen will be the easiest of the season. That might be the kiss of death, however, as most of those same pundits prognosticated a dominating win for CU over CSU last week.

History does not look kindly on the Buffs. In 2012, after falling to CSU 22-17 in a much closer game than the one this past weekend, the Buffs and coach Jon Embree hosted Sacramento State (a FCS team) in Boulder. That year, the Buffs used the opportunity to beat on a team from a lower division by...

Losing 30-28 in one of the most embarrassing losses in Colorado history to that time.

Not many folks talk about that loss to Sacramento State now, because it was just the beginning of a run of ineptitude that haunts the program to this day. Over the next 10 games, the Buffs gave up 500 points! It could have been much worse, but many of the conference foes showed some mercy and called off the dogs.

The worry right now is how the Buffs will respond to their shellacking by CSU, in which the score did not really demonstrate how badly the Buffs were dominated. Earlier this week, head coach Mike MacIntyre opined that the Buffs "dominated for 65% of the time, and that CSU dominated for 45%" of the game. His numbers don't add up, nor does his analysis. The Buffs were dominated from 3 minutes into the 2nd quarter, and outscored 31-7 in that time. CSU achieved that by running the ball down the throats of the Colorado defense.

Some Buff faithful point at that CSU lost to Colorado last year, and then turned their season around and went on to win 8  out of 14 games, including a bowl victory over a Pac-12 team. They use that tidbit as motivation that Colorado can also turn their season around and still get to a bowl game.

Is is possible? Of course, anything is possible.

Is it likely? Not likely at all. Current odds show the Buffs listed at 225-1 against them winning the Pac-12. We share that distinction with Cal and Washington State at the bottom end of the scale.

Those wishing for the Buffs to make an appearance in a poll had their wish granted this week when Colorado was ranked #21 in one poll. Unfortunately, the poll was for the Bottom 25. Fortunately, CU gets to play a fellow traveller in the Bottom 25. UMass comes in at #14. Since it a rank of ineptitude, the higher ranking Minutemen will be 17 point underdogs to the Buffaloes.

No matter how this game goes, however, it will not serve as a true defining moment for the Colorado Buffs. That will come next week against Arizona State, when the Sun Devils come to Boulder.

Buff players and coaches are hoping they have one win under their belts before ASU shows up. If not, 2014 looks to be every bit as disgraceful as the 2012 squad that it led to Embree's firing and the hiring of MacIntyre.

Let the games begin!

Colorado Head Coach Mike MacIntyre Must Take Control of the Offense

Heading into what was supposed to be "gimme" win against UMass at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough (the home of the Patriots), the Colorado Buffaloes find themselves scrambling before the season gets any more lost. The Buffs and their fans came into the season assuming that the CU team would easily dispatch their three non-conference opponents and scoured the schedule to find 3 Pac-12 foes to defeat and earn the right to their first bowl game since 2007.

After the shellacking they took at the hands of Colorado State in the Rocky Mountain Showdown, Buff fans are now scouring the schedule to find any teams that the Buffs can beat at all. The Buffs, as a Pac-12 team, are supposed to have more talent than the likes of CSU, UMass, and Hawaii.

It's not even supposed to be a level playing field.

The Buffs have better facilities to practice and train in. They are able to better feed their athletes. They spend a lot more money on their program. With all that in place, the blame for the failures of the team falls squarely on the coaching staff.

CU fans found themselves longing for the play-calling of Eric Bieniemy.

That's pretty bad. Bieniemy once called a quarterback sneak on first down because he had not noticed that his team had made a first down on the prior play.

How bad was the play-calling of offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren? It was terrible. In his 2nd year at CU (and throughout his first), Lindgren has shown absolutely no ability to get his team into an offensive rhythm for an entire game (or even a half). He has a serious propensity for following a series or two of great success with the next 2 or 3 series of insisting on not doing what has been working. Or, by driving down the field and then changing the play-calling inside the red zone.

Buff fans are also asking, "Is this a team that wants to play at a fast pace (to supposedly take advantage of how 'in-shape' they are supposed to be in) or a team that methodically takes time off the clock? With Lindgren running the offense, the identity of this team when it has the ball is schizophrenic at best, and self destructive almost always.

MacIntyre jumped in to help coach the defensive backs, and it showed.

The weakest part of a horrible defense last year was the defensive backfield. Mac jumped in this spring and fall camp and worked with the DB's. It worked, because they pretty much shut down the record setting passer from CSU. Grayson averaged around 300 yards a game last year, and the Buffs held him to 134 yards in the Rocky Mountain showdown.

In fact, 84 of those 134 yards passing by CSU came in the last 17 1/2 minutes of the game. By that time, the CSU running game was so dominating the Buffs' defensive line that the DB's had to start moving forward to help stop the run. Only then did CSU start completing passes on a consistent level.

Let Lindgren focus on the QB's, and let Mac call the plays.

Sefo Liufau has obviously made himself a little quicker this year, but nobody is ever going to confuse him with Kordell Stewart or Darian Hagan. He is not an offensive threat when running, but he can use his feet to keep the opposing defense from disregarding him.

Sefo and Lindgren need to work on his pocket work. They are doing much like they did last year in regard to spreading out the passes, which mostly means they are not spreading them around at all. Last year, Paul Richardon and Nelson Spruce got the vast majority of passes thrown their way. This year, it appears that Lindgren wants to do the same thing with Spruce and the true freshman Shay Fields. The two of them combined for 15 of the 24 completions.

Another problem with the passing game is that Sefo does not seem to know how to "look off" his receiver to confuse the defense. What that means is that he tends to look directly at his intended receiver for their entire route. Defensive backs see where Liufau is looking from the time he gets in the pocket and they KNOW where the ball will be thrown. It also makes it much easier when they know that most of the passes will be thrown to the same two guys.

Last year, 59% of the completed passes went to Richardson and Spruce. In the game against CSU, 62.5% of the completions went to Spruce and Fields. That's okay if your receivers are dominating and scoring at will. It's not okay when your team has won only 4 out of 13 games under Lindgren.

Maybe Lindgren was spoiled working with David Fales.

Watching highlights of Fales, he seems to have the tendency of watching his receiver run the route too. The difference between Liufau and Fales, however is that Fales scanned the field of play with the eyes of a hawk to determine which of his receivers was likely to be open BEFORE the play started. It was only then that the ball was snapped and Fales hit his target so often that he was considered one of the best QB's in the country.

The other difference is that when the guy Fales thought would be open wasn't, he was able to adjust down the line. In 2012, Fales had eight receivers with 10 or more catches, six with 26 or more, four with 47 or more, and two with 62 or more. Fales was able to spread the wealth to lots of different receivers and San Jose State was a much harder team to defend because of it.

Lindgren got much of the credit for that San Jose Spartan team in 2012 that won 11 games and ended up in the top 20 at the end of the season. Perhaps that credit would be better directed at David Fales. The success of Lindgren's offensive schemes has been very limited without Fales in the line-up.

In a two year span, Lindgren went from Offensive Coordinator for the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks to the same position for a Pac-12 team.

Some coaches are able to make quantum leaps up the ladder in a very successful way.

San Francisco 49er Head Coach Jim Harbaugh is often used as an example. He went from coaching a FCS program at the University of San Diego for three years to head coach at Stanford. He made the Cardinal, a perennial also ran in football, one of the most dominant teams in college football. After 4 years at Stanford, he became head coach for the NFL 49ers. He quickly turned a down team into a contender. He won NFL coach of the year in 2011 and guided the team to the Super Bowl in 2012.

Lindgren cannot be compared to Harbaugh. For one, Harbaugh spent 14 years at quarterback in the NFL. Lindgren was 7 years old when Harbaugh was playing NFL football.

This is not to say that Brian Lindgren does not have a bright future as a coach.

What is being said is that Lindgren needs more seasoning before taking over an offense that has to compete in the Pac-12. He needs to spend more time with his quarterbacks and less time trying to create an offense and calling plays.

If Lindgren ever expects Liufau to be nearly as good as David Fales, he needs much more attention than a trip to the Manning Passing Academy. Liufau needs a coach who devotes all his time to the quarterbacks at the University of Colorado. And Lindgren needs to focus on one thing (coaching the QB) before being thrust into the lion's den of Pac-12 football.