Colorado Buffaloes Football 2015: What to Expect

BOULDER-- The Colorado Buffaloes left early this morning on a flight to O'ahu for their opening game against the Rainbow Warriors of the University of Hawai'i this Thursday.

Head Coach Mike MacIntyre is starting his third season at the helm in Boulder. His first two seasons produced four wins, and two wins, respectively. Entering his third season, the head coach knows the expectations for his Buffs is much higher than in the first two.

Mac took over a program that was arguably one of the very worst in the country at the Division 1 level, and absolutely the worst team from one of the Power Five Conferences. He knew he had his work cut out for him at Colorado, but he was fresh off an amazing job turning San Jose State from a perennial cellar dweller to a 10 win bowl team in three years.

Nobody expects the Buffs to reel off 10 wins this year, but seven wins and a bowl game are what most Buff fans have in mind. They need to remember that the Buffs won only two games last year. On the other hand, the Buffs were a few lucky bounces from being a six game winner last year. The goal this year is to win those close games, particularly against Pac-12 foes. The Buffs lost in DOUBLE overtime not once, but twice last year (UCLA and CAL).

Facing the Buffs is the reality that they play in the Pac-12 South, the toughest (bar none) conference division in college football. How do the other teams of that division rank in the opening AP poll?

• USC is ranked #8
• UCLA is ranked #13
• Arizona State is ranked #15
• Arizona is ranked #22 
• And Utah is ranked #30

Add to that tough division schedule is the fact the Buffs also have to play conference foes Oregon (#7) and Stanford (#21) from the Pac-12 North. That means the Buffs will be playing SEVEN teams in the Top 30 in the country, which are also all within the Pac-12. For the Buffs to win seven games this season, they need to beat every other team on the schedule besides those listed above, AND they need to beat one of those teams as well to be bowl eligible.

Even for an experienced rebuilder like MacIntyre, it will still be a tough row to hoe. But if anyone can achieve it, it is Mac and his staff. Mac is known for his organizational prowess. When he got into Boulder following the disastrous 2012 season, he started putting the foundational blocks down to build the Colorado football program back to respectability.

He brought in Brian Lindgren as his offensive coordinator. Lindgren's first year as OC at San Jose State saw the Spartans win 10 games. Lindgren took the raw and young Colorado offense which was one of the worst in the country and made the passing attack #34 in the country last year. The Buffs also rushed for more than 4 yards a carry and more than 150 yards a game for the first time in a decade.

Mac also brought Dave Forman, one of the best young Sports Performance Directors in the country. Forman came in and transformed the old "strength and conditioning" routine into a modern machine capable of increasing strength, speed, and stamina for athletes across many collegiate sports. The Buffs were routinely out-muscled back when Mac and Company arrived, but the Buffs are now able to compete in the Conference of Champions knowing they are just as strong or stronger than their opponents.

The results on the field on the defensive side of the ball have been slower to arrive to the casual fan. At the end of the day (or season), many look only at the wins and losses. But it is important to remember how the wins and losses occurred. In 2012, the Buffs were losing by an average for more than FOUR touchdowns a game (28.17 pts.). In 2013, that dropped to less than 13 points a game, and in 2014 it dropped to 10.5 points per game.

The response of the defense, which still ranked in the bottom fifth in the country last year, was not fast enough for Mac. He responded by bringing in two "Home Run" type hires for his defensive staff. The legendary Jim Leavitt was coaxed away from the San Francisco 49ers and joined the staff as defensive coordinator, and brought in Joe Tumpkin from Central Michigan University, where he had served as defensive coordinator. At Colorado, Tumpkin will coach the Safeties, which now have the added responsibility of calling the on-field defensive plays.

Leavitt is known as one of the finest defensive minds in all of football. His style of defense is known for its aggressive and attacking style. Tumpkin is known for creating hard hitting defenses which cause a lot of turnovers. That experience and prowess can only help the Buffs, which was one of the worst teams in the country last year in creating turnovers. In fact, the Buffs only had three interceptions the entire year, despite the fact that they play in one of the most pass-happy conferences in the country.

Expect much to change this year. The Buffs offense should be even better this year, perhaps a top 30 in the country if the rushing game can jump to the next level. The defense should be a great surprise to fans and opponents alike. Expect to see waves of defensive players going into and out of games to keep the players fresh. Expect more turnovers created by the defense and fewer committed by the offense.

Expect Nelson Spruce to again be one of the best receivers in the country and expect to hear his name called in the next NFL draft. Expect Sefo Liufau to cut his number of interceptions by more than half, while continuing to be a very efficient passer.

Expect Colorado to win at least seven games this year and go bowling. Expect one or more of those rated teams coming into Folsom Field this year to leave with a loss. Expect Colorado to have turned the corner after a decade of futility.

Expect the Colorado Buffaloes to be a winning football team.

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

Colorado Faces Utah, Richardson Faces Decision About Future

The Buffaloes of head coach Mike MacIntyre play their last game of the year today when they take on the University of Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. For the first time under Coach Mac2, Buff fans will get to see how the guys play when their pride is the only thing on the line.

Following the loss to USC last week, Colorado is now officially out of the bowl picture with a record of 4-7. The situation is the same for Utah, which is also 4-7. The game features a fight to determine which is the 2nd and 3rd worst team in the Pac-12 behind Cal.

Although Utah has been dubbed as Colorado's conference rivalry game by the poobahs at Pac-12 headquarters, the fact of the matter is that only time and games that matter over the next decade or so will decide whether the game ever becomes a rivalry. Having bowls or conference championships on the line in the last game of the season is the one way to create a rivalry in short order. Unfortunately, that will have to wait for years to come.

The biggest question for Buff fans is whether this will be the last time we see Paul Richardson wearing a CU uniform. He obviously is very talented and is perhaps one of the best wide receivers ever to grace Folsom Field for Colorado.
But being a great college player at any position does not automatically make one a sure-fire bet to make it big in the NFL.

Richardson is very generously listed as 6'1" tall and 170 pounds by the official CU website, but most estimates put him at around 160 pounds soaking wet. There are very few players in the NFL which play at such a light weight. Indeed, over the last 30 years, there have only been about 21 guys who played at under 165 pounds. The latest was Brandon Banks, who played at around 150. His time in the NFL was short, however, and he now plays in the Canadian Football League.

The advice here is that Richardson should take some time to talk to CU basketball player Josh Scott. Last year as a freshman, Scott had lots of talent but was frequently manhandled by stronger players. An off-season dedicated to building body mass has turned Scott into a force on the boards.

The guy behind the the increase in strength and muscle for Scott was Colorado's Director of Sports Performance Dave Forman, who is starting to be recognized as one of the best in the country. He was at Stanford for the turnaround that made the Cardinal one of the strongest teams in the FBS, and he also helped turn San Jose State into a bowl team that was ranked in the top 25 at the end of last season.

Now Forman's job is to do the same at Colorado, and Josh Scott is living proof that it can be done in fairly short order. Richardson should really evaluate whether he is strong enough for the pounding of professional football right now.

It says here that if Paul Richardson puts on 20 pounds before next season AND keeps his speed, All-American status and having his name called on the first day of the draft are highly likely, as well as a bowl trip for the Buffaloes. If he decides to declare for the draft this year, he should be ready to go undrafted or be a late round pick. The difference in money is huge between those options. Indeed, Canada might well be where he ends up.

I've heard people say that they think Richardson will be a 1st or 2nd rounder this year, but frankly, those people are living in a fantasy world. The NFL is BIG business and they do not waste draft picks. Of the 21 guys under 165 in the last 30 years, ten were undrafted free agents and only THREE were drafted in the first 100 of their draft. The highest was Stacey Bailey, who was drafted 63rd way back in 1982. Check out the list, and another thing these guys all have in common  is that they do not ring any bells as stars of the NFL game. They are mostly answers to the trivia question, "who are the smallest guys in the NFL?"

I wish Paul Richardson all the luck and success in the world no matter what he decides to do. It has been a pleasure to watch him play and help make Colorado an exciting team to watch again. As for his future, does he want to be a star player in the NFL? Or does he want to be part of the answer to the trivia question above?

Colorado Football 2013: Camp Opens on the Mike MacIntyre Era

The University of Colorado officially opened camp for the upcoming 2013 season, and Buff fans and players alike are looking for a vast improvement over the darkest days in the history of the program. And the man everyone is looking at to lead the Buffs back to brighter days is Head Coach Mike MacIntyre.

Of course, one of the main reasons why so many people are confident that Mac2 is the right man for the job is his ability to build a great team of coaches to work with him and each other and the players under their command. Mac knows teamwork and the team of coaches he has assembled know it as well. And together, their job is to bring that knowledge and enthusiasm to the players.

It appears that the effect since beginning Spring practices has been rather profound. Early on, it was evident to all who watched that the new coaches were VERY organized and efficient. They realized just how precious actual NCAA approved practice time is, and the used every minute at their disposal to teach their young men. The coaches knew what they wanted to achieve before practice started and got every player involved in as many reps as possible in the time allotted. 

The Summer months are a "hands off" time for the coaches, but a very important time for the Buffs to work hard in player led workouts. The coaches made sure the team knew this and trained them during the Spring on how to practice and work out. They stressed conditioning and proper weight and gave guidelines to those who needed to gain or lose some pounds. Their planning is paying dividends now that Fall camp has begun.

Due to guidance from coaches and proper physical training, the 2013 Buff squad entered camp in the best physical shape the team has seen in years. And it is not just returning Buffs who took their jobs seriously this summer. The incoming freshmen also did their duty to be in shape before camp began.

The main benefit of being physically prepared when camp opened, of course, is that MacIntyre and his coaches can now focus on TEACHING instead of just whipping them into shape. And being in the good shape that they are will allow them to get lots and lots of reps in during each practice. The days of standing around watching are over, and that is a great thing for the future of Colorado Buffaloes football.

Right now, those of us who follow and write about the Buffs have been asked to refrain from discussing specifics about plays and players. In this day and age when so few schools even allow the press or fans to attend practice, this is a completely reasonable request.

Right now, the only 11 men that fans should focus on are the ones who will truly allow the Buffs to succeed this season and into the future. Those men are:

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 

Dave Forman -- Director of Sports Performance

These fine men will make the Colorado Buffs a better football team, and they will do it because they know the value of commitment, dedication, sacrifice and teamwork. They will help the young men they work with become better people and leaders in all aspects of their lives, and by doing so will build a TEAM that can accomplish on and off the field.

Colorado Buffs Should Look to Stanford for Football Inspiration

Some of the darkest days for fans of the University of Colorado football program have been concentrated in the last several years. Paradoxically, those looking for a new dawn in Boulder might focus their attention West to Palo Alto in California's Bay Area. It is there on the Stanford campus where one might find how quickly a new coach can turn around a moribund program.

The mastermind behind what is now the Stanford juggernaut was current San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh. Following a three year stint at the University of San Diego, Harbaugh was named the head coach at Stanford. The situation in Palo Alto in 2006 was every bit as dire as it was in Boulder in 2012.

The Cardinal finished the 2006 season with a record of 1-11, lowlighted by an offense which scored a grand total of 127 points for the season. How bad is that? By comparison, the CU Buffs scored 214 points in 2012. Two days after the 2006 season ended, head coach Walt Harris was fired, and the Harbaugh revolution was begun.

Following the 1-11 season in 2006, Harbaugh began the arduous task of rebuilding the football culture for the Stanford Cardinal. In 2007, Stanford won four games, in 2008 they won five games, and in 2009 they won eight games to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2001.

 By 2010, the rebirth of the Stanford Cardinal football program was complete. Harbaugh led the team to an astonishing record of 12-1 and were ranked #4 in the country following the bowls. It was the first time that Stanford had been ranked in the top five at the end of the season in 70 years.

When Jim Harbaugh was hired at Stanford, one of the more important things he did was to bring along Mike Shaw, the current Cardinal head coach. When Harbaugh moved on to become head coach of the NFL San Francisco 49ers following the 2010 season, Shaw stayed at his alma mater as head coach and has kept the Cardinal rolling with 23 wins out of his 27 games. Stanford has ended the year in the Top 10 both of those seasons.

Like the Cardinal in 2006, the 2012 version of the CU Buffs was arguably the worst in the long and storied history of the program. They not only lost a lot (11 times, versus only victory), but they also lost so ugly that opponents scored more than 40 points 8 times during the season. Four opponents scored at least 50 points, and two rocked the Buffs for 69 and 70, respectively. Following the end of the season, head coach Jon Embree was fired.

Mike MacIntyre was hired  in December 2012 as the new head football coach at the University of Colorado. MacIntyre was previously the head coach at San Jose State, where he pulled a very Harbaugh- like reconstruction of the football program. In his three years at SJS, the Spartans went from a single win in 2010 (1-12), to 5-7 in 2011, and then to a stellar 11-2 record in 2012.

Like Harbaugh did at Stanford, MacIntyre took the San Jose State program and changed the culture. He did this by building an excellent staff that was dedicated to working as a team to molding young men into student athletes first and foremost. The excellence they demanded of their players off the field helped turn them into very good football players on the field.

The terms "strength" and "conditioning" are a mantra for all football programs, of course, but MacIntyre took it to a new level by hiring a young man named Dave Forman to be his director of Sports Performance. While at San Jose State, Mac hired Forman away from Stanford, where he had been working as a strength and conditioning coach for three years.

In his time at Stanford and his two years at SJS, Forman turned programs which were routinely pushed around into teams known for their strength, conditioning and performance. There is no reason whatsoever to believe that he will not achieve the same thing in Boulder. Indeed, the altitude at CU will only help CU to become one of the best conditioned programs in the conference and the country.

In the horror of the 2012 football season, it seemed to many Buff fans that the football world had been turned upside down. That being the case, the sun coming up to better times has risen from the West. Stanford and San Jose State are both bastions of the Bay Area's Silicon Vally, and together they helped create the new football technology which will return Colorado to football prominence once again.

Let the MacIntyre revolution at CU begin!

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Check out "A New Dawn for Colorado Buff Football"