Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: Buffs Seniors Eye Final 'W' As A Cornerstone
November 28, 2014 | Football, B.G. Brooks
BOULDER - A solid foundation is as vital in a football program as it is in life, yet being told they helped build one might not be what a senior class prefers to list as its best accomplishment.
But at the University of Colorado, which has become dishearteningly familiar with hard football times, that's the best it's been for the last several groups of outbound upperclassmen.
Confronted with the program's eighth consecutive losing season, CU's 20-member 2014 senior class leaves like its predecessors, wearing the "helped build a solid foundation" label. With this class, however, the tag has a good chance of sticking.
That the Buffaloes have improved beyond what their record (2-9, 0-8) indicates is obvious to anyone who's paid attention. The overall talent level, although still needing the infusion of another recruiting class or two, is trending up. The renewed fourth-quarter "want to" became evident in those games the Buffs gave themselves chances to win. The overall buy-in - a term thrown around too loosely at times - truly means something on Mike MacIntyre's second CU team.
And it began to take hold last season when the Class of 2014 was eyeing its final season, which ends Saturday at Folsom Field against Utah (11 a.m., Pac-12 Network).
In 2015, when they end the regular season in Salt Lake City against the Utes, the Buffs will be expected to be chasing more than their first Pac-12 Conference win. And, yes, a solid foundation for that pursuit has been laid by the Class of 2014.
"They (seniors) have definitely been role models to us," said sophomore quarterback Sefo Liufau, who will start against the Utes (7-4, 4-4) after sitting out last weekend's first half at No. 3 Oregon.
The modeling, continued Liufau, "started last spring when the previous seniors from last year left. Obviously, we haven't gotten the wins that we wanted but they've been the most positive guys throughout the whole experience. They've definitely been resilient in fighting each week.
"Being seniors, they could totally say, 'I'm done, I'm going to protect myself for my career after this' or 'I just don't want to go all-out.' But, these guys have played hard every week and every practice. They've given everything so we definitely look up to them and they've definitely helped to propel us into next season."
ON THE FOUNDATIONAL THEME for 2015 and beyond, MacIntyre went for this analogy with his second senior class: "I told them, 'We're not building a little house that will only take a small slab, we're building a skyscraper. So, you have to dig down deep.' There's a lot of hard work and there's a lot of setting on that with the foundation, a lot of adversity that goes into that . . . (the seniors) set a good culture with our young men. I think their attitude and their belief have helped our team to keep battling and show up and play each week."
Some members of the Class of 2014 are on their third head coach, having come to CU under Dan Hawkins, then spending two seasons under Jon Embree, then playing for MacIntyre for their final two years. MacIntyre knows about the hardships as well as the long-term benefits that accompany such instability; he played for three head coaches (George MacIntyre, Bill Curry, Bobby Ross) and four position coaches during his college career (Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech).
"I can honestly tell them that I went through the exact same thing . . . I've told them that from the first day I walked in here," he said earlier this week. His second coach at Georgia Tech - Ross - continually told MacIntyre and his fellow Yellow Jacket seniors how they raised the bar, "how we kept pushing," recalled MacIntyre. "The next year, about halfway thru the season, they won their first ACC game and they never lost another one until they won the national championship (shared in 1990 with CU).
"I've been through that and seen it. I see us building and doing that. These young men truly do leave a foundation . . . I really do feel for what these young men have gone through. I know the emotions they've gone through. I feel like they've all been able to bond with that. I've had a lot of them tell me that they wish they could come back for another year, not just for college but because they just see it happening. They feel the change."
Safety Terrel Smith, who was signed by Hawkins in 2010, can sense it. The Buffs' continued transformation is tangible for him and the other seniors. "If you look over the past years, we've lost to UCLA, all these big teams, by 40 to 50 points," he said.
"Now, us seniors and last year's seniors have built that foundation and throughout this year, we've been right with those top teams that blew past us last year. I think that foundation is on the right track and building forward for next year and the year after. I think that instead of being close, we'll be able to win those games."
Now, their careers have come down to one game for Smith and his senior mates. MacIntyre's 1-0 weekly goal hasn't yet produced a Pac-12 win, and the Buffs haven't finished winless in their new conference since joining for the 2011 season. This season, they've lost two double-overtime games (California, UCLA), stayed within five points of Oregon State and lost two more by 15 (Washington) and 18 points (Arizona) after staying with both teams for most of those games. The only landslide losses were to Southern California and Oregon.
Utah is in fifth place in the Pac-12 South Division, one rung above CU. But the difference in fifth and six is great; the Utes have won four conference games and until two weeks ago were mathematically alive for the South championship and a berth in the league championship game.
WHILE THE BUFFS WANT to close out the season with their first conference win, the Utes' goal is close it out with their first league finish above .500. MacIntyre called Utah "an excellent football team," citing Devontae Booker as the Pac-12's No. 2 rusher (114.1 yard average) and end Nate Orchard being tied for the league lead in quarterback sacks (17.5). Utah
The Utes' special teams, added MacIntyre, are "electric," and the Pac-12 team stats show how high voltage the Utes are. They are ranked no lower than fourth in every special teams statistical category, with punter Tom Hackett (46.5 yard average) tied for the lead in that area and punt returner Kaelin Clay leading in that department (17.7 average, three touchdowns) and second in kickoff returns (25.4 average, one TD).
Booker and the running game aside, Utah's offense has been sporadic under quarterback Travis Wilson and is last in the Pac-12 in total offense (368.9 yards a game). But the Utes are fourth in total defense (400.4 yards a game) and mainly through pressuring the quarterback rank third in pass defense (238.5 yards a game).
But this is a game the Buffs have believed they could win since the series was resumed when both schools joined the Pac-12. The last three games have been closer than either school has played against any other conference opponent, with CU winning the first meeting (2011) by three points and Utah winning each of the last two by a touchdown.
Being the season's final game and Senior Day, MacIntyre knows there will be "a little bit of a different vibe because you know those guys in there it's their last time being there with you - the seniors," he said.
Early in the week, Smith said the emotional impact of Saturday being his last game at Folsom would build as kickoff neared. "Folsom has been great to me, it's been great to the seniors," he said. "It's going to be bittersweet and I'm going to soak it all in on Saturday."
"Our guys are excited . . . they are ready to go," MacIntyre said. "They're very excited about playing at home on Thanksgiving weekend, and they definitely want to definitely go out with a 'W.'"
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
