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 Earns Respect as Buffs Prove They Can Score Big Points in Pac-12 Play

In the first three years that Colorado was playing in Pac-12 games, their opponents scored 40 or more points 22 times. In fact, their Pac-12 opponents scored 50 or more 8 times during from 2011-13.

During that same time span, Colorado only scored more than 40 points twice in Pac-12 play. That 22-2 difference pretty much sums up that the first three years in the league were extraordinarily tough. Mike MacIntyre was the head coach in only one of those first three years, but his Buffs have made steady improvement and are now poised to shoot it out with their conference foes.

The Pac-12 is an offensive league. Points are scored at a high rate and no team can ever be counted out. Arizona scored 36 points in the 4th quarter to come back and beat California.  Utah gave up a 21 point lead to Washington State to lose by one. Colorado was twice up by 14 points against Cal only to lose the game by three points in double overtime. The "Berkeley Shootout" saw 115 points scored and 14 touchdown passes.

Colorado showed against Arizona State that they could move the ball up and down the field against a very good Pac-12 team. Turnovers and mistakes led them to lose after dominating the last three quarters against the Sun Devils. Against California, the Buffs again put massive yards up, but this time put up a score to match with 56 points. Unfortunately, Cal scored 59, but the game confirmed that the Buffs finally possessed the offensive firepower to put big points on the board in conference play.

The next step for Colorado is continuing improvement toward eliminating big plays by the competition. Take away five defensive breakdowns for Colorado against Cal and the Buffs win by 20 or more.

California scored 35 points on plays of 25, 26, 40, 75, and 92 yards. Those 258 yards in five plays represented 44% of the Golden Bears' yardage on the day. They also led to almost 60% of the Bears' points.

By comparison, Colorado's ball control offense moved the ball in much smaller chunks. The yardage on their longest 5 touchdowns combined was only 96 yards total. Those scores covered 30, 25, 22, 12 and 7 yards. The yardage on those 5 touchdowns represented only 15% of their total offense of 630 yards.

What the Buffs have going for them is that their offensive style allows them to control the ball and the clock. If opposing defenses play deep to take away the long ball, the Buffs are adept at chipping their way down the field. If opponents play too close to the line, the Buffs can go over the top to score. Going forward, that style of ball control gives the Buffs their best chance to win. As they continue to improve and their running game becomes more reliable, the Buffs will be harder and harder to stop.

The Buff defense is still giving up a lot of points, but other league teams are working much harder to score them. In years past, the Buffs were usually going against 2nd and 3rd stringers (or 4th!) in the second half. This year, Cal and ASU had their starters in the entire game. The Buff D has also developed a swagger that has not been seen in Boulder for a long time. It's good to see and a sign of better things to come.

If fans only look at the final scores, it might seem hard to see the great improvements made by the Buffs in 2014. It is necessary to watch the games to see how improved they are. They are hitting harder as a group and scoring more points as well. They are scratching and clawing to become relevant in the best conference in the country. Before our very eyes, they are learning to compete to the final whistle. And before long, they will be learning to win in the Pac-12 on a consistent basis.

--------------------------

Seeing the Buffs play this year, especially in person at Folsom Field, will also give Buff fans a chance to see Nelson Spruce obliterate the record book for receivers at Colorado. Just as casual fans turned out to watch Chauncey Billups play hoops at CU, they should also do the same for Spruce. They should also cross their fingers that Spruce blesses Colorado with one more year before going off to the NFL.

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.