The University of California Golden Bears find themselves in a very unique situation this week. They are in first place in the Pac-12 North Division. That's right, Cal. Not Oregon. Not Stanford. Not Washington. The California school that's in Berkeley.
Last year, the Bears went 1-11 under first year head coach Sonny Dykes. Colorado's Mike MacIntyre did somewhat better with a 4-8 record. Both Cal and Colorado are MUCH better teams this year than last. The difference so far this year is in the records. Cal is 4-1 while Colorado is just 2-4.
Colorado fans need to realize how little things can make a big difference in winning and losing. Is Cal atop the Pac-12 North because of their stifling defense? Certainly not. In fact, Cal is the only team in the history of college football (and probably pro and high school) to give up a combined 115 points in two games and actually win both those games. Colorado scored 56 on the Bears, and Washington State scored 59 last Saturday, but Cal walked away with three and one point victories.
Does that mean that California is much better than Colorado? Absolutely not. If you JUST look at the records, Cal is a very good team and CU is pretty mediocre. If you look at the reality of what is happening on the field, Colorado is every bit as good as Cal. The difference right now is that Cal has turned the corner and learned to finish games on top.
Colorado is very close to doing the same thing. It's a process. The Buffs have lots of young players and a young offensive coordinator who is still honing his chops at the Pac-12 level. Brian Lindgren has turned the Buffs offense into a group that can puts lots and lots of yards on the opposition. That is good. But he and his unit still go through times of miscommunication, poor play calling, and avoidable turnovers. Unfortunately, those mistakes are often just enough to have the Buffs on the losing end when the game ends.
It will get better. In fact, it is already so much better. Two years ago the Buffs were losing by an average of 32 points a game in conference play. Last year, the number was down to 25 points a game. Although the Buffs actually won one conference game each of the last two years, the overall pattern was the Buffs being smoked early and often when they took the field against Pac-12 opponents.
That is not the case this year. Colorado put up big yards against Arizona State, but a few mistakes kept putting them in the hole and they ended up losing a game by 14 they easily could have won. Against Cal, five breakdowns on defense led to losing a game by three points the Buffs should have won by 20.
Against Oregon State, the Buffs put themselves in a 14 point hole to begin the game. The came back to take the lead, but then had one of those quarters in which the offense could not do anything right. They came back yet again but could not overcome the double digit lead at the end.
Many fans are frustrated that the Buffs are coming up just short this season. They really need to remember how much fun it is to be still in the game when it ends. The Buffs are playing conference foes tough week in and week out for the first time since they joined the Pac-12. After three conference games, the Buffs have twice fallen by 5 points or less. Better yet, the 22 points in deficit in three games is three points less than the average conference score last year.
Look at those numbers again:
- 2012 -- outscored in Pac-12 play by an average of 32.
- 2013 -- outscored by 25 on average.
- 2014 -- outscored by 7.3 after three games.
Buff fans should enjoy and appreciate how far these Buffs have come from just two short years ago. The Coors Events Center has quickly become the best place to watch college basketball in the Pac-12 over the last three years because of the raucous fans. Wouldn't it be great if CU students and football fans could do the same for Folsom Field?
Large and vocal crowds would do a great deal to push the Buffs around the corner toward becoming a winning program once again. And fans who have been staying away from Folsom should get out there to see the games in person. Pac-12 games are a blast to see from the stands. Many of the best players in the country play in the conference. Get out to see them and support your Buffaloes.
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