Buffs' Jay MacIntyre Has Become Clutch Receiver

BOULDER — In his postgame locker room speeches, Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre will often take the opportunity to mention a handful of players who had key plays or big games.

Last Saturday, however, Buffs wide receivers coach Darrin Chiaverini stepped in after MacIntyre had mentioned a couple of players who had been big contributors in the Buffs' 38-24 win over Washington State.

"I want to say something because Coach Mac can't say it," Chiaverini said. "How about Jay MacIntyre?"

Indeed, how about Jay MacIntyre? As his father grinned at the praise, the locker room erupted in a rousing cheer for the coach's son, who had just put together his best game as a Buff.

Being the coach's son is never easy. The scrutiny is intense and the head coach will seldom — if ever — openly praise the player. But Jay MacIntyre has handled the situation with aplomb, and the sophomore's performance on the field this season has been good enough to silence even the harshest of critics.

"I know my dad can't do that, and that's totally fine with me," Jay said with a smile. "I chose to come here and I know the situation. But it was cool to see my position coach stand up and say something like that and have the team react like that."

The praise was certainly deserved. Not only did MacIntyre put up career bests in catches and yards (7-for-90), five of those catches converted third downs into first downs, with four of them coming on scoring drives.

"He was kind of a safety blanket, although sometimes I knew it was going to be him," Liufau said. "He played really well. He's really progressed as the season has gone on."

MacIntyre has no doubt become a third-down weapon. He has seven third- or fourth-down catches this year. His average per catch on those receptions (12.0) is the best among CU's starters and his six first downs gained is fourth-best on the team.

He's also quite clearly gained the trust of his quarterback, something that didn't happen overnight. Rather, it's the result of countless passes thrown between the two in countless sessions over the spring and summer.

Simply, when Liufau has needed someone to throw with, MacIntyre has always been available. When Liufau was working to come back from the Lisfranc injury that sidelined him for an entire spring, MacIntyre was there to catch passes.

"He's one of the hardest workers on the team and one of the toughest guys on the team," MacIntyre said of Liufau. "It seems like every time he was there throwing in the summer, I was there. I guess we've kind of built a relationship over the last couple of years that I hoped gained his trust."

That trust certainly showed Saturday. On one play, Liufau ducked a would-be sack at the last second, scrambled to his left and found a wide-open MacIntyre for a first down throw.

"I think he just called my number a few more times because of the coverage they were in," MacIntyre said. "It was just one of those days and he kind of knew where I was going to be and it worked out that way. He's throwing the ball really well and I just did my best to get open."

Liufau said MacIntyre's improvement has been steady over the last two seasons, to the point that he's now a key part of the receiver rotation. He is fifth on the team in receptions with 27 catches for 328 yards and a touchdown.

"He's definitely earned that spot," Liufau said. "It's not as if he was given that spot just because he's the coach's son. One of the biggest things I respect is how hard he works. (But) I don't know if I could have said that he was going to be one of the guys that you can get to the ball to almost 10 times in a game, so to see his growth from last year to this year is great to see."

IN A NUTSHELL: Saturday's 5:30 p.m. regular season finale vs. Utah at Folsom Field comes down to this: a Buffs win over the Utes will give Colorado the Pac-12 South Division title (completing the rare "worst-to-first" rise in the standings); a Utah win will give Southern California the title and the berth in the Pac-12 Championship game in Santa Clara, Calif., on Dec. 2. The South winner will play the winner of Friday night's Apple Cup game between Washington and Washington State.

As a member of the Big 12, the Buffs won four North Division titles (2001-02-04- 05). CU is 9-2 for the first time since 2001, and 7-1 in league play for the first time since back-to-back in 2001-02 in the Big 12 under then-head coach Gary Barnett.

11 STARTS: With one game to go in the regular season, 11 Buffs have started every game this season. The list: CB Chidobe Awuzie, WR Bryce Bobo, DE Jordan Carrell, WR Shay Fields, LB Rick Gamboa, OLB Jimmie Gilbert, FS Afolabi Laguda, OG Tim Lynott Jr., WR Devin Ross, SS Tedric Thompson and NT Josh Tupou.

DEFENSIVE NUMBERS: While Colorado's defense has improved across the board this year, one statistic may show the improvement better than any other: the Buffs have allowed just 22 offensive touchdowns by an opponent this year, down from 43 a year ago and 67 in 2012.

THANKFUL FOR … Earlier this week, Mike MacIntyre was asked what he was thankful for this week when it came to his team. The head coach didn't hesitate. "I'm just thankful they stayed and fought with a positive attitude," MacIntyre said. "That's what turned it. They stayed, they fought and had a positive attitude. They learned an unbelievable life lesson. I'm just thankful they cared enough about each other, cared enough about me and cared enough about the university that they stuck it out.

"Now they realize that in life if you just keep sticking it out, keep pushing, keep fighting, keep hoping and keep believing, things can come true."

UTES' BARTON OUT: Utah will be without the services of second-leading tackler Cody Barto in Saturday's game. Barton suffered a broken collarbone in the Utes' 30-28 loss to Oregon last week and will likely be replaced by freshman Donovan Thompson.

ALL EYES ON WILLIAMS: One of the more intriguing stories of the year in college football has been the resurgence of Utes running back Joe Williams.

The Utah senior, who had lost his starting job in fall camp, "retired" after the Utes' second game of the season. He had just 22 carries for 75 yards in the first two games, and told reporters he wanted to concentrate on finishing his degree.

But when Utah's backfield began to be decimated by injury, the Utes' coaching staff asked him to return. He ended his retirement after four games and came back to run for 179 yards and a touchdown in his first game back, a win over Oregon State. He followed that up with a 332-yard, four-touchdown performance in a win over UCLA, and now has 1,088 yards and nine touchdowns on 158 carries (6.9 yards per carry). He has rushed for at least 149 yards in each of his five games since returning.

"I wish he would have stayed retired," CU's MacIntyre joked. "He's running lights out."

UTAH SACK ATTACK: The Utes lead the Pac-12 in quarterback sacks this season with 38, and one very big reason is defensive end Hunter Dimick. The Utah senior is the program's all-time leader in sacks with 29 — and 14 of them have come this season.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu