Colorado Buffs Football: 2013 in Review

How bad had things gotten for the University of Colorado football program? So bad that four wins this past season constituted an unqualified success for new head coach Mike MacIntyre. For those still not happy with the direction of the program, please know that two decisions out of the control of Mac's coaching staff were what kept the Buffs from winning enough games to qualify for a bowl THIS year.

Those of us who are old enough to remember when Bill McCartney came to Boulder in 1982 remember the last time that Colorado football was a laughingstock before the last half dozen years. Chuck Fairbanks came to Boulder in 1978 from the New England Patriots. Prior to that, he had been head coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1967-72. During his six year stint leading the Sooners, OU finished the season ranked in the top 15 five times, including three times ranked in the top 3. Fairbanks record at OU was 52-15-1.

The national prominence achieved at Oklahoma was not repeated in Boulder, where Fairbanks led the Buffs to only 7 wins in 33 games. He resigned as head coach in June 1982.

McCartney's first three years in Boulder were quite similar with 7 wins in 33 tries. The difference was the foundation that McCartney was laying would put the Buffs on the national map for something other than the Bottom 10. Over the next four years, the Buffs averaged a respectable 7 wins per year.

As the wins came, so came the better level of high school recruits. During McCartney's last 6 years leading the Buffs, his team won 58 games. Among those games played, two were for the National Championship, and one other team was a single loss from playing for the national title once again. The Buffs finished in the Top 20 all six of those final years under McCartney, including three in the top 4 and were the AP national champions following the 1990 season.

Like McCartney back in 1982, MacIntyre arrived following the 2012 season to a program that was in shambles due primarily to a coach with an excellent track record before coming to Boulder. Dan Hawkins had led Boise State to an amazing 53 wins in five years before being hired by the Buffs. Like Fairbanks before him, the magic was not to be repeated. In five years leading CU, Hawkins won only 19 games, which was 34 games LESS than he won in Boise over the same time frame.

Following the firing of Hawkins, Colorado turned to former Buff Jon Embree despite the fact that he had no prior head coaching or even coordinator experience. To make matters worse, Embree hired for his coordinators other coaches with no prior experience in those roles.

That inexperience showed often in almost comic incompetence as the Buffs on offense frequently got their plays relayed in to the QB with nearly no time left on the play clock, causing numerous delay and procedure penalties. Another showcase of their bad coaching came when OC Eric Bieniemy called a QB sneak on 1st down after failing to notice that the Buffs had barely picked up a first down the previous play.

On defense, things were no better under coordinator Greg Brown. The Buffs gave up 552 points in 2012, which included giving up 50 or more five times. They allowed 69 to Fresno State, and 70 points to Oregon. Their lone win in 2012 was really a fluke, as Washington State imploded after leading 31-14 halfway through the 4th quarter. The Cougars gave up 3 touchdowns in the last 7:06 to lose by one point. It was the only thing that kept the Buffs from going 0-12 for the year.

This "lucky to win only 1" team was what MacIntyre inherited when he took over following the firing of Embree and his staff. What he found when he arrived was a team that had no sense of TEAM or BROTHERHOOD. What he also found was a group of young men that was not having any fun playing a game. And he found that the level of players brought in under the previous two coaching staffs had, by and large, not been systematically developed into FBS level players.

There were individual standouts that moved on the NFL, to be sure, but consistent development of every player was as sorely missing as consistent game plans in any aspect of the game. The Buffs were routinely manhandled by their brethren in the Pac-12, especially in the trenches, and it showed in the final scores.

This is what MacIntyre had available to him, but together with his staff they put their heads and hearts into molding the young men in their program into a TEAM which had enthusiasm for the game and their teammates. After years of being in a down program, it was perhaps the biggest challenge facing the new coaching staff.

The Buffs got stronger this year under the tutelage of Dave Forman, but they also realize that it will take another year or two before they are as strong as they need to be to compete at the very high level required for their conference. They were still pushed around on the lines, and that is the benchmark that determines success at the collegiate or professional levels. Win the battles in the trenches and you will win the games in most cases.

As bad as things were following the 2012 season, the reality is that two losses to the Buff roster determined their fate for this year. Lineman David Bakhtiari left early for the NFL, and now starts for the Green Bay Packers. And fellow lineman Alex Lewis announced his plan to transfer to Nebraska before assaulting an Air Force Cadet and placing himself in legal limbo. Lewis finally accepted a plea bargain to plead guilty on lesser charges on Dec. 21st. Sentencing has yet to be handed down.

Lewis and Bakhtiari were expected to be the stalwarts of an offensive line that was supposed to be a strength of the program. Their losses were the difference between four wins and six wins this year. Indeed, if the two had not left the program, MacIntyre and staff might well be looking at coach of the year honors within the conference.

Losing two dominant linemen made protecting QB's Connor Wood and Sefo Liufau a much harder task. And the two QB's paid the price. It also made the CU rushing game much less reliable. The Colorado backs showed some good signs occasionally throughout the year, but short yardage situations where push came to shove usually found CU being pushed back by stronger lines.

As great as the year put forth by Paul Richardson was, imagine how much better it could have been if the CU offensive line was a dominant unit that allowed the QB to have that extra second or two that would have allowed Richardson and the entire receiving staff more time to break into the open more often. On top of that, a dominant line would have allowed the Buffs to hold onto the ball for much more time, and allowed the defense to be more aggressive  by playing from ahead much more often.

Judging by the talented recruits brought in and quickly developed by MacIntyre this past year, the Buffs are in good hands going forward. Another year of training under Forman and learning the programs of coordinators Brian Lindgren and Kent Baer will only improve the quality of the Buffaloes program.

Much of last year was spent rehabilitating the broken football program. Hell, they even had to spend time teaching these Buffs how to have fun. Now that they understand fun, and devotion to their brotherhood, these Buffs can now focus on getting stronger and playing faster.

When their understanding of the program is so good that they can react without thinking, the level of their play will be the equal of other top notch programs. It may not completely show in 2014, although it might, but the day is coming when the thundering herd of the Colorado Buffaloes will once again be feared. And Buff fans and players will have this coaching staff to thank for it.

Mike MacIntyre -- Head Coach
Kent Baer -- Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers
Brian Lindgren -- Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks
Klayton Adams -- Running Backs / Tight Ends
Gary Bernardi -- Offensive Line
Charles Clark -- Safeties
Jim Jeffcoat -- Defensive Line
Andy LaRussa -- Cornerbacks
Toby Neinas -- Special Teams
Troy Walters -- Wide Receivers / Recruiting Coordinator

Youth, Lack of Depth in the Trenches Biggest Obstacles for Mike MacIntyre's Colorado Buffaloes

When Mike MacIntyre accepted the Colorado job, he knew he had a big rebuilding job on his hands. After all, Colorado had not had a winning season since 2005, and had not ended up in the Top 25 to end the year since 2002. Did that scare Mac? Not at all. Rebuilding is what MacIntyre does. It's in his blood. He did it at San Jose State, just like his father George did before him at Vanderbilt.

The 2012 Buffs were arguably the worst team in Colorado history and the worst team in the FBS. They finished 1-11, and most of the losses were of the VERY ugly variety. Fresno State scored 35 points before the end of the 1st quarter. The team and its players were as down as a team could be. They did not enjoy football. They did not enjoy each other, and, as a team, they just went through the motions.

This is what faced MacIntyre when he came aboard at Colorado. He had to change the culture. He had to change the attitude. He had to instill desire and create a work ethic and a dedication to fun which had been sorely missing. To his credit, he did all that.

The results showed on the field. After six games, the Buffs had tripled their win total from the previous year. For the first time in a long time, the Buffaloes were actually winning the games they were supposed to win.

What made this amazing was that MacIntyre had done so much even though he faced something that could not easily be changed. Other than the recruiting class he brought in this year, Mac's only choices for players were the ones that were already here, brought in by other coaches.

Coaching the players here would be no problem for MacIntyre and his staff, but the one thing they could not do was coach players who were NOT in Boulder. Poor and destructive recruiting by prior coaching staffs left MacIntyre without the most important parts of any football team, the "big guys" in the trenches.

Any football coach will tell you that the games are won or lost on the backs of the linemen. The offensive line protects the quarterback, allows for a passing game, and opens holes for the running backs. The O-line allows the offense to function.

As Colorado seemingly struggles against the high and mighty competition of the Pac-12, it is important to remember what MacIntyre and offensive line coach Gary Bernardi have had to work with. The CU roster includes 17 offensive linemen. Of those 17, only TWO are seniors and only TWO are juniors. That means that 13 of the 17 offensive linemen are either freshman (8) or sophomores (5). That being said, it's pretty darn amazing how well the group has done.

Colorado lost two starting offensive linemen from last year that could have certainly helped the Buffs make it to a bowl game this year.  David Bakhtiari left school early and is now a starter for the Green Bay Packers. And Alexander Lewis announced he was transferring to Nebraska, and then was arrested for assaulting an Air Force cadet. He is currently free on bond awaiting trial.

How bad is it for the offensive line coach at CU? The November 4th depth chart shows only a total of NINE players for the 3-deep of FIVE offensive line positions. Mac and Bernardi are doing their best to give every freshman on the line a chance to redshirt this year, while also doing their best to win as many football games as they can this year.

It's a tough task. But the coaches know that the best thing for the future of the program is to let these young men adjust to college life, get stronger, and grow their bodies. Two of the young men listed on the depth chart have yet to play a down and are scheduled to redshirt if injuries to starters do not force the hand of CU coaches.

Things on the defensive line of the ball are not much better for Colorado and defensive line coach Jim Jeffcoat. Like the O-line, the defensive line has 17 players listed on the roster. Among those 17 are only TWO seniors and THREE juniors. Five more (including two starters) are sophomores, and the final seven are freshmen. Two freshmen and five sophomores from the DL are listed on the current depth chart and playing.

As Colorado gets ready to head to Washington this weekend, Buff fans should look at what the CU coaches have accomplished this year, especially in the trenches, and truly appreciate how fine a job they have done against one of the toughest conference schedules in the country.

The team is remarkably better. It is tougher. It plays hard for the entire game. And most importantly, the young men seem be be enjoying college football for the first time in years. They are having fun, and working harder each week to win. Their results on the field are telling in the eyes of coaches and students of football, even if they do not show up just yet in the final score for the casual fan. Those days are coming, however, and the magic of MacIntyre and his staff will remake the Colorado Buffaloes into the team that CU expects and deserves.

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Postscript note--

Many folks commenting on blog sites and news sites have been complaining about the status of the O and D lines at CU. Those complaints should be directed at Jon Embree and Dan Hawkins.

At least one of these folks pointed out that UCLA had three true freshman starting on the offensive line, and came to the conclusion that "youth" could not be used as an excuse by CU.

UCLA and head coach Jim Mora had the #3 recruiting class in the NCAA this past February. TWENTY of those recruits were rated as either 4-star or 5-star recruits by both main recruiting services. Those 20 highly rated recruits by UCLA also roughly equals what CU has brought into Boulder in the last 11 years combined. Colorado had ZERO 4 or 5-star recruits this past year.

The star rating of recruits is not always a predictor of how good a high school player will be in 3-4 years, but highly rated (4-5 star) recruits are usually much more ready to play as freshmen. Things tend to even out as the young men grow and mature. For example, David Bakhtiari was only a 2-star recruit, but now he's starting as a rookie in the NFL.

Opinion: MAYBE Alex Lewis Belongs in Jail

Alex Lewis Mugshot from the Boulder County Sheriff's office.

Maybe Alex Lewis, former offensive lineman for the University of Colorado, belongs in jail.

These are the FACTS and they are not under dispute:

-- Friday Day May 10th: CU offensive lineman Alexander Lewis announced to the national media that he was leaving Colorado for the Cornholers at the University of Nebraska.

-- Friday Night May 10th: Lewis went out drinking. By his own admission, he consumed 22 alcoholic beverages. That's right, 22, as in six glasses of wine, ten beers, and six shots. Even for a very large man, that amount of alcohol would make him VERY intoxicated.

-- Early Saturday Morning: While walking on The Hill shortly after 3 a.m., Lewis got into an altercation with a cadet from the Air Force Academy. The altercation left the cadet hospitalized and led to the arrest of Lewis for 2nd Degree Assault and two counts of Harassment.

-- According to the CU depth chart, Alex Lewis is 6'6" tall and weighs 285 pounds.

-- Cadet Lee Bussey is 5'11" tall and weighs 185 pounds.

-- That means that Lewis is 7 inches taller and 100 pounds heavier than the Air Force cadet.

-- Also arrested and charged with 2nd Degree Assault was Colorado QB Jordan Webb.

-- Donald Brenner is the lawyer for Alex Lewis.

-- CU and Nebraska were rivals in the same conference from 1948-2010. The are no longer in the same conference.

-- Nebraska and the Air Force Academy have never been in the same conference and are not considered rivals.

-- Once again, those are the FACTS and they are not under dispute.
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Once we get past the facts, we get to the CLAIMS, particularly from the lawyers involved. It is important to remember to make sure those claims make sense in light of the known facts. In this case, several of the claims do not seem to hold water.

Of course, many claims by lawyers have to be taken with the grain of salt that comes with "lawyer-speak" -- which is very similar to "journalist-speak." In this type of speech, the use of the words "MAY" or "MAYBE" are bandied about with great frequency because they allow the speaker to say just about anything without making an actual claim that might be identified as an outright lie. Using the words "MAY" or "MAYBE" allows those involved to throw out any unlikely scenario as a possible alibi for actions of the accused. MAYBE.

As a good journalist, let me play the game too. Media reports that quote lawyer Brenner MAY indicate he has done a poor job addressing the press about his client. And I will go out on a limb and say outright that the press HAS done a POOR job in challenging the claims of Brenner.

The first claim by Brenner about his client that should have raised objections from the press is his assertion that his client "MAY" have been accosted for wearing Nebraska gear. The purpose of this use of "MAY" is to bring to light the long rivalry between CU and Nebraska. In response to the "MAY" is the use of the word "WHY" - as in, WHY would an Air Force cadet care about the no longer existent rivalry between CU and Nebraska?

The other claim made by Brenner that should have raised questions from the press was his claim that "My client didn't do anything but shove a fellow." Really? Do folks normally end up in the hospital after being shoved? Were you there Mr. Brenner? Is it possible that your very intoxicated client MAYBE does not remember clearly what happened? Is it possible that MAYBE your client donned Nebraska gear and decided he was in enemy territory and he was looking for a fight? That MAYBE he was trying to impress his new teammates in Lincoln by kicking someone's butt in Boulder? Is it possible? MAYBE.

As an American citizen, Alex Lewis should be considered to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. If he is found guilty, however, he should go to jail and pay the price for his actions. 2nd Degree Assault is is FELONY. NO MAYBE about it.

UPDATE May 15th
Both Alex Lewis and Jordan Webb were officially charged today (Wednesday, May 15th) with Second Degree Assault, a felony. Lewis was also charged with two misdemeanor counts of Harassment.

According to an article in the Daily Camera, the attorney Donald Brenner backed off his earlier claims that his client Lewis was accosted for wearing Nebraska gear. He is quoted as saying that Lewis "wasn't dressed in Nebraska gear. I don't know where I got that from. I've been bombarded by the press with so much innuendo. I get confused." Chilling words indeed for Lewis, who faces possible prison time if convicted.

UPDATE June 6th
The preliminary hearing for Alex Lewis and Jordan Webb has been postponed until July 1st. Both men remain free on bond.