Colorado University Athletics
Six Pac-12 Takeaways And What They Mean To Buffs
August 03, 2015 | Football, Neill Woelk
Optimism flowed freely at the recent Pac-12 Media Days.
That, of course, is the way it's supposed to be. Everyone is undefeated, everyone had terrific offseason training programs and everyone is looking forward to a successful season.
But sprinkled liberally among the platitudes was plenty of news. Here are six trends and tidbits that will be worth watching as the 2015 season unfolds, beginning this week when Pac-12 schools start to open their respective fall camps:
1. The Pac-12 is loaded. The overwhelming consensus is that the conference that finished last season ranked No. 1 in ESPN's Conference Power Rankings is better than last year. Six Pac-12 teams are ranked in the Top 25 in the preseason USA Today coaches' poll, second-best in the nation behind the SEC (eight), including Oregon at No. 5 and USC at No. 10.
The twist here? While the coaches liked Oregon more than USC, the Pac-12 media sees things differently, picking USC to unseat Oregon for the conference title. If that happens, it will be the first time a team from the current Pac-12 South has won the conference title since 2008, which also happens to be the last time the Trojans were conference champions.
What it means for the Buffs: The Buffs will face all six of those preseason Top 25 teams, plus Utah (which also received votes in the poll). Depending upon how you look at the situation, it's “the schedule from hell” (as one national writer called it), or it's a wonderful chance for the Buffs to pick up a couple big wins and reap the national exposure that would go with those victories.
2. AT&T, a major corporate partner of the Pac-12, has acquired DirecTV. That's big news for the conference, because the Pac-12 has so far been unable to work out a deal with DirecTV that would put the Pac-12 Networks on the satellite giant's programming schedule.
Obviously, nothing is settled yet, but all indications are that there will be renewed interest from both parties in getting a deal done. “I'm confident we'll be a priority, and there will be discussions that take place very soon,” said Commissioner Larry Scott. “I'm optimistic that we'll have positive conversations. I can't predict what may happen when because those conversations have not been able to take place heretofore. But I'm delighted for our partners, delighted for us.”
What it means for the Buffs: For starters, more money. A deal with DirecTV would mean more money for the conference, and thus, a bigger slice of that pie for Colorado.
It would also mean more exposure. There are roughly 4 million DirecTV subscribers in the Pac-12 footprint, an additional audience that would be a nice boost in spreading the word about CU Athletics.
3. The Pac-12 is still a quarterback's league. Yes, Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota is gone, but there are eight veteran starters returning, including USC's Cody Kessler and California's Jared Goff, both of whom could find their names in the Heisman conversation as the year progresses. Meanwhile, there are some interesting battles brewing for the starting spot at a couple of other schools (UCLA and Oregon), and several other programs will be turning to inexperienced starters (Oregon State will be choosing from three freshmen).
What it means for the Buffs: The Buffs are blessed with an experienced start in junior Sefo Liufau, who will have a chance to make his mark. Liufau put up some big numbers last year, and with a little improvement in some key areas — particularly interceptions — he could significantly improve his profile in the hierarchy of Pac-12 QBs. Even more importantly, that starting experience means the Buffs will hit the ground running — and there's no overstating the importance of experience when it comes to quarterback.
4. Those QBs need receivers. Three receivers who rang up at least 1,000 yards last year are returning to their respective teams this season. That group includes CU's Nelson Spruce, who grabbed a school-record 106 passes for 1,198 yards and 12 TDs. The others are Arizona's Cayleb Jones (73-1,019, 9 TDs) and Oregon's Byron Marshall (74-1,003, 6 TDs).
What it means for the Buffs: The returning combination of Liufau-to-Spruce is huge for Colorado, because defenses must every week automatically account for Spruce's presence. He's Liufau's safety valve, comfort zone and big-play threat all rolled into one. “We can move him all over the place when they start trying to key on him, because he's an excellent player,” coach Mike MacIntyre said.
5. Facility improvements are the name of the game. In the last few years, California, Washington, Washington State, USC, Utah and Oregon are among those schools who have completed facility upgrades. Meanwhile, Colorado is putting the finishing touches on its most significant facility improvement in nearly a quarter century, the Champions Center.
What it means for the Buffs: Nobody likes to call it an “arms race,” but fact of the matter is, if you're not investing in your program, you're falling behind. MacIntyre and his players had ample opportunity to talk about the new Champions Center at the Pac-12 Media Days, and the message was clear: the Buffs don't plan on falling behind. “We have commitment from our president, Chancellor, AD, all the way down,” MacIntyre said. “You can feel the surge of it.”
6. Uniforms matter. USC coach Steve Sarkisian caused a stir when he told the media, “We're not going to take the field in 13 different uniforms in 13 different games this fall. We're going to wear cardinal and gold. You know what we wear.” The remark was widely interpreted as a shot at Oregon, which boasts a seemingly endless combination of uniform possibilities, and it drew immediate backlash on Twitter from Oregon fans.
What Sarkisian couldn't have known is that while he was talking, one of his players — Su'a Cravens — was in the back of the room telling reporters he knew plenty of players who favored Oregon simply because of their uniforms. “They have so many combinations, the swag they have … it's pretty cool,” Cravens said.
What it means for the Buffs: CU earlier this year unveiled a host of new uniform combinations, all of which were met with solid reviews. They may not be Oregon — who is? — but as is the case with facilities, the Buffs aren't falling behind in an area that is important to recruits.
