Woelk: Buffs Are Improved, But There's Plenty Of Work To Be Done

BOULDER — As openers go, it was one of the better Colorado performances in recent memory.

As games in the Mike MacIntyre era go, it was simply the best — and most important — victory of the CU head coach's tenure in Boulder.

Now the question is whether they'll take this effort and build from here.

No doubt, Friday night's 44-7 CU win over Colorado State was as dominant of a performance against a respected opponent as the Buffs have had in years.

Colorado State is by no means a bad team. Yes, the Rams are inexperienced in plenty of areas, especially on defense. But they still have enough veterans on their squad, particularly on offense, to make some noise this year in the Mountain West. They'll be a team that continues to improve as the year goes along, and it will by no means be a surprise if they end up earning a bowl berth.

Buffs fans should be hoping their team follows a similar path: a group that will improve as the year progresses and a team that should be in strong contention for a bowl berth headed down the home stretch of the season.

Still, what we do know today is that the optimism headed into the season was not misguided. Rather, Friday night only served as confirmation of what we thought we were seeing throughout fall camp:

CU's defense should be a force. The Buffs thoroughly dominated an experienced CSU offensive line — virtually the same offensive line that roughed Colorado up for 500 yards of offense a year ago. Colorado's defensive line, maybe the most-improved position group on the team, stifled the Rams all night; CU's linebackers were roaming free and making plays from one sideline to the other; and CU's secondary showed why some folks think it might be among the best group of defensive backs in the Pac-12.

The Buffs' promise of an up-tempo offense wasn't an empty one. Early last week, CSU coach Mike Bobo said he wasn't worried about Colorado's rumored rapid pace. But after the game, Bobo admitted, "They were going extremely fast and we weren't getting lined up. Guys were looking to the sidelines. You have to give them credit, they were doing a great job of changing their formation and we weren't getting adjusted. They had a great plan."

Indeed, while plenty of credit goes to new offensive co-coordinator Darrin Chiaverini, who brought with him from Texas Tech the up-tempo pace, don't forget the man in the booth calling the plays, co-coordinator Brian Lindgren. CU was one step ahead of the Rams all night long — CU's four-wide receiver set was a staple the Rams never saw coming — and Lindgren played a big role in that. The Lindgren-Chiaverini combination has been effective since day one, and only shows signs of improving.

CU has difference makers in a lot of places. Again, what we saw in fall camp doesn't appear to be an illusion. We knew cornerback Chidobe Awuzie would be an outstanding player, but Awuzie was even better than advertised against the Rams. When all is said and done, Awuzie could find himself among the pantheon of all-time great Colorado defensive backs, an incredibly impressive list. (By the way, when asked who CU's all-time best cornerback might be, Colorado sports information director Dave Plati dropped the name Mark Haynes. For those of you who think CU history started in 1989, Google the name.) When Awuzie is paired with safety Tedric Thompson — an all-Pac-12 caliber player — it gives the Buffs a fearsome secondary.

But Awuzie is by no means the only difference maker. What became apparent Friday night is that every position group on the team has improved significantly from a year ago.

CU's wide receivers are experienced, deep and talented, and Chiaverini has done a terrific job in developing them. Three different wideouts — Shay Fields, Bryce Bobo and Devin Ross — delivered big plays, the kind that can break a defense's back. It is also very evident that they are taking pride in their blocking, something that makes a huge difference in a receiving corps.

Running back Phillip Lindsay, meanwhile, is a young man with a purpose. Lindsay ran hard, found holes and did his best to punish defenders. While he did put the ball on the ground twice (one was overruled by replay), it's nothing we see as a developing trend. Rather, it's an aberration that we don't anticipate being repeated. CU also showed some depth at the position, with Donovan Lee showing a nice burst — he had the Buffs' longest run from scrimmage of the evening, a 21-yard gallop — and Kyle Evans displaying some solid inside and outside abilities.

But the one group that might have been overlooked the most in Friday night's initial analyses is the group that might challenge the defensive line as the most-improved bunch. Colorado's offensive line was outstanding all night long. The big fellas up front allowed just one sack, gave Sefo Liufau plenty of protection all night long, and when CU needed to grind out a long drive to put the final nail in the coffin, they did it in style: 11 consecutive running plays for an 11-play, 50-yard touchdown drive that consumed 6:20 off the clock.

It was the type of drive that makes an O-line coach smile and the kind of drive that crushes a defense's heart (and, yes, CU offensive line coach Klayton Adams was wearing an ear-to-ear grin).

It was also the kind of drive that makes linemen salivate, prompting starting right tackle Sam Kronshage to call it "the best drive of the night."

Simply, it's impossible to find a place where the Buffs haven't improved from a year ago. Quarterback Sefo Liufau — still showing a little rust from his 10-month injury layoff — nevertheless had a standout evening. CU's linebackers are more experienced, deeper and better than a year ago. OLB Jimmie Gilbert's pass rush skills have taken another step forward, and defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt's game plan that brings blitzes off the edge, up the middle and from everywhere else imaginable, is something that should keep opposing offensive coordinators up at nights.

But, maybe the most important takeaway from Friday night was what MacIntyre had to say after the game.

In years past, MacIntyre would have been giddy over the win. He would have overlooked the mistakes his team made (yes, there were still plenty of those) and spent the majority of his time talking about the great plays his team made.

That wasn't MacIntyre on Friday night.

Instead, while he did praise what his team had accomplished, he very quickly turned the tone to what's next — and what the Buffs needed to do to improve.

"It's just one game and we had too many turnovers," MacIntyre said. "We haven't fumbled the ball like that in the past. We have to go out and fix that, which is something we'll do this week, I promise you. I thought we did some good things, but when we watch film there will be a lot to correct."

Indeed, while Buff nation is busy luxuriating in the win this weekend, CU's coaches will be buried in the film room.

MacIntyre's overriding message — to the media and to the players in the locker room after the game — was simple yet strong: one game, no matter how sweet, does not a season make. This is a team that has set a turnaround season as its goal, meaning there are 11 more regular season games ahead that are every bit as important as the opener — and maybe more so. MacIntyre knows it is by far his best team since arriving in Boulder, and he knows this is an opportunity of which the Buffs must take every advantage possible.

It starts with taking care of business in Saturday's home opener against Idaho State (3:30 p.m).

"Our young men know where we're heading and what we're doing," MacIntyre said. "They know that's just one of a lot that we have left. They'll come back ready to listen on Monday, because we've got a lot of things that we've got to correct."

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu