Colorado University Athletics
What They're Saying About Buffs At Pac-12 Media Days
July 27, 2017 | Football, Neill Woelk
LOS ANGELES — One year after the Colorado Buffaloes were little more than an afterthought at the 2016 Pac-12 Media Days — which was just before Mike MacIntyre's Buffs made a stunning run to the Pac-12 South title — the Buffs are now at least on people's radar.
Still, the question remains as to whether the Buffs can maintain their newfound status as an upper-division Pac-12 program. Here's what some members of the national media had to say at this week's Pac-12 Media Days about where the Buffs stand heading into the 2017 season:
Joel Klatt, Fox Sports lead college football analyst — "I don't want to lower expectations — however, this is born out of the way Gary (Barnett, former CU coach) started every meeting for us. 'Who are we, where are we going and how are we going to get there?' That's how he started every year for us.
"You can boil that down to you have to know who you are. That's very important to know who you are. As a fan base, I think we have in general in college football over-inflated views of our program. That's a general statement, not specific to any program. Generally, we all expect more than our program can produce.
"For example, (Alabama coach) Nick Saban is having dinner after losing the national semifinal game to Ohio State. He's a guy who has already won several national championships. A nice elderly lady comes up and taps him on the shoulder and says, 'Well, maybe we'll do better next year.' It strikes him as, 'Wow, it's really hard to make everyone happy.'
"That's the landscape everywhere.
"Now, some CU people might be frustrated by this, but this is through my eyes, growing up there, playing there, covering college football. I feel like I've been there my whole life. I think Colorado is somewhere between, on a general every-year basis, No. 18 and 30 in the country. I think that's where they should sit in the pantheon of college football. That's where they are historically in the sport; a lot of the data supports what I'm saying.
"When they have good years, they sit between 10 and 18. And great years is when they make a run. You can't expect to have great seasons every season. You can try to have good years more than you have average years, and you certainly want to be average more than when you're struggling — and to me, struggling is anything outside of the top 30 in the country.
"I believe Colorado this year is where Colorado should be always. I think they're somewhere between 18 and 30 in the country and probably be somewhere between second and third in the division. Offensively they are certainly in that spot. Defensively if they get the right young pieces to play up what the level is I think they can, that's about what they are.
"I think Colorado is an eight-, maybe nine-win team, particularly with the schedule they have. I think Colorado fans should be happy with that. That's why I prefaced it with what I said at the beginning. While it might not be the 10 wins they got last year, it's really good. That's what I think they are and that's what I think they can do. I think they're going to be a really attractive partner for a bowl game. That's a good year for Colorado."
Bruce Feldman, Fox Sports senior college football columnist — "I think it would help them if they can still be a bowl team and people don't look at them and say, 'OK, this was a one-year wonder. Mike had a team that was full of upperclassmen and they rode it.' Also, the question is how they replace (former defensive coordinator) Jim Leavitt? I thought he did a fantastic job. There's that part of it.
"As long as they win six games — and I'm sure Mike is expecting more than that — I think that's a respectable show that CU's not going anywhere. They're not a one-year wonder. Last year was a great story. Anyone who saw Mike at San Jose State knows he's a good coach — but there's a lot of good coaches out there. It's a staying-power thing, but I don't believe he needs to go win another South title right away to prove that. But you don't want them to slip back to 4-8."
Chad Brown, network analyst — "Obviously last year there were internal expectations and they had a little chip on their shoulder to prove everyone outside of those rooms wrong. This year, I see them being ranked fourth in the South, so I'm sure the coaching staff is going to use that as motivation again. They're going to be saying, 'Last year everyone doubted us, and they had reason to doubt us. We had to show people.' Now, it's a case of, 'You guys are doubting us and we've already showed you. Do we have to show you again?' I can see (team captain) Phillip Lindsay and those guys, that senior leadership group, using that to propel the guys into this season."
Still, Brown said the questions surrounding the Buffs are legitimate.
"There's question marks, I don't think there's any doubt about that. Last year they won so many games with the secondary. Now you're replacing that. Now the wide receivers seem to be the group on your team, so how does the coaching staff shift the way you win ballgames? Every coach has a preferred way he likes to win games; he would prefer that not to change every single year. But this is the way it works, and when a position group is stronger you have to figure out a way to highlight that group and make them the way you win games. It will be interesting to see how (head coach Mike) MacIntyre gets that done while replacing his quarterback. There's definitely question marks."
Glenn Parker, network analyst — "They have to continue to understand their identity. One of the things that impressed me right away with Coach MacIntyre was the team had a direction. In years past, it seemed like they would do things just to do them. Under Coach Mac everything has a purpose and a reason. That's why we saw what we saw last year.
"Losing some talent they're going to have to replace that, but it's a continuation of who they are and where they're going. That means buy-in from the players and continuing to foster that. If they can do that, they can continue to do really good things."
Jon Wilner, San Jose Mercury News college football columnist — "If there is a backslide, the degree of backslide is going to be telling. If they can win eight games, that will show this can be sustained. If you figure eight, that means 5-4 or better in the league. If you're going to be a quality program year in and year out, 5-4 is kind of the benchmark.
"They have a little bit of target on them, but it's good for them that there's so much hype around USC. The way the Rose Bowl ended, (quarterback Sam) Darnold is a Heisman favorite, USC is back — all that stuff is kind of good for Colorado. That's taking the focus off Colorado. USC is the overwhelming favorite and Colorado is nestled in there in that second level. You don't want people think they're going to finish last, but if you gave Mike MacIntyre some truth serum, he's probably happy they're not picked to win the division. It helps you stay hungry, stay focused. It's going to be a good show of the depth of their recruiting."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
