Colorado University Athletics
Woelk: Top 10 Takeaways From 2018 Buffs (And A Sneak Peek Ahead)
November 25, 2018 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — For Colorado, the 2019 football season began Sunday.
Yes, 2018 is still fresh in everyone's mind. A year that began with a bang ended with a thud Saturday night, a 33-21 loss at Cal the culmination of a painful stretch that left players, coaches and fans in various states of disbelief.
But now, CU officials are in the process of finding a new head coach, a duty CU has undertaken four times in the last 20 years and three times since 2005.
This time around, CU Athletic Director Rick George will have the responsibility of trying to find the right man for the job.
The just-completed 2018 season was no doubt a memorable one, albeit not for all the right reasons. The Buffs began the year with five straight wins, starting with back-to-back victories over rivals Colorado State and Nebraska. Then came a win over New Hampshire, then Pac-12 victories over UCLA and Arizona State and a top-20 ranking.
Colorado hopes were sky high — and then the sky fell in.
Piece by piece, week by week, the Buffs' season began to crumble as the losses mounted, and they came in all varieties. Close losses, blowout losses and second-half collapses were all part of a seven-game losing streak. Each week held the promise of bowl eligibility, and each week the promise went unfulfilled, as the Buffs once again ended up in the Pac-12 South basement. There were casualties along the way, including the dismissal of head coach Mike MacIntyre with one week to go in the season.
But the 2019 season has started, and George — a man who once worked for legendary CU coach Bill McCartney — will hire his first football coach at Colorado. With that in mind, we present our weekly 10 Takeaways, modified to look back at the 2018 season, as well as what is ahead for the Buffaloes in 2019:
1. The Pac-12 is getting better from top to bottom. We start here because there is no doubt Colorado's 26th full-time head coach will have already taken a close look at the conference landscape when he accepts the job.
What he will see is a balanced league. Nine Pac-12 teams won at least four conference games this year, seven earned bowl bids — and every team except Oregon State beat at least one bowl-bound team this season. It is a conference loaded with outstanding coaches and blessed with competitive balance.
But, CU's new coach will also see this …
2. There are no Goliaths in the Pac-12 — at least not at the moment. Yes, the conference is balanced and talented, but this year will be the third in the last four seasons that the Pac-12 will be shut out of the College Football Playoffs.
In other words, it is not a league dominated by one or two behemoths every season.
Of course, no CFP team is not a good thing when it comes to conference income (those extra dollars are nice) or national prominence. Every time the league misses out, it takes a national publicity hit.
But it also means CU's next coach can look at the top and not see an insurmountable climb. Rather, he will see a conference in which the Buffs played for the league title just two years ago — and know that such a season is not just a dusty memory in the history books.
3. The Buffs return plenty of talent on offense. While consistency was by no means an offensive trademark of the Buffs this season, there was no doubt talent — and much of that talent returns next year. The group includes a host of gifted wide receivers, led by Laviska Shenault Jr., as well as quarterback Steven Montez, some promising young linemen and a blossoming tight end in Brady Russell, an excellent blocker and receiver.
This is not an offense that will start from scratch. Whoever takes the reins next fall will have some proven horses in place.
4. Ditto for the defense. Honestly, if there was a pleasant surprise for the Buffs this year, it was the defense's relative consistency — and many of the players who helped CU's defense keep the Buffs in games well into the third and fourth quarter this year will be back for another go-round in 2019.
The returnees include a host talented linebackers, beginning with starters Nate Landman, Carson Wells, Davion Taylor and Jacob Callier. Also returning will be defensive linemen Mustafa Johnson, Israel Antwine and Terrance Lang, as well as some talented defensive backs, including Chris Miller and Aaron Maddox.
It is by no means a bare cupboard. Rather, it is the foundation for a unit that should be competitive against just about anyone in the Pac-12 next season.
5. This will be a make-or-break offseason for Montez. Quarterbacks coach Kurt Roper did an outstanding job with Montez last offseason, working with him in the film room, on his mechanics and helping him improve his overall understanding of the position. The result — through the first five games, at least — was a Montez who looked to be light years ahead of his sophomore season.
But when the losses began to pile up and the pass protection became spotty, the offense struggled. Roper saw Montez begin to revert to his old instincts — dicey throws, unable to trust the pocket — and the result was an uneven finishing stretch.
NFL scouts who watch Montez are no doubt impressed with his physical tools. Now, he will have one more year to hone his mental game to complete the package. (For what it's worth, Montez threw in an unqualified endorsement for Roper returning to CU in his postgame interview Saturday.)
Speaking of the offseason …
6. The 2019 Buffs would be well-served to listen to Colorado's Ol' Ball Coach. Just before Mark Johnson concluded his Saturday post-game interview with Montez, former CU coach Gary Barnett — the last Colorado coach to win a league title and finish in the nation's top 10 — offered these words of advice to Colorado's quarterback:
"The life of your football team lasts 365 days," Barnett said. "This was the 365th, which means the new life of your new team starts tomorrow. There's only 365 days. One of them ticks off tomorrow. Don't waste one of them. Don't waste one single day not trying to get better and thinking about getting better."
'Nuff said.
7. CU defensive line coach Kwahn Drake deserves a shoutout. In his first year on the job, Drake did an outstanding job with a unit that many thought would be a weakness. An enthusiastic, energetic dynamo on the practice field, Drake helped turn nose tackle Javier Edwards into a legitimate NFL prospect, helped make Mustafa Johnson a quality Pac-12 defender, and took youngsters Israel Antwine and Terrance Lang to the next level.
No idea here whether Drake will be part of the next regime. But wherever he is next year, he will make someone's defensive line better.
8. Depth is a huge difference in college ball. There is no doubt that MacIntyre and his staff built the depth on CU's roster. Colorado's recruiting improved steadily under MacIntyre and recruiting coordinator Darrin Chiaverini, which is why there will be a foundation of talent in place for the next head coach.
But in a year when injuries took a huge toll on Colorado, you only need look to next week's Pac-12 title game to see what the next level of depth can mean. Utah lost its starting quarterback and running back in week nine of the season — and won its last three games to win the South.
Teams that deal with injuries the best are the teams that win.
9. Colorado is still an appealing, "destination" job. For many of the reasons listed above — and more — CU is a place where a coach can build a program, have success and stay as long as he likes. Colorado fans have proven they will support a winner.
As we mentioned, there is talent on the current roster. Meanwhile, CU's facilities take a back seat to none, CU's athletic department leadership is nationally recognized and respected, the academic support is outstanding, and the commitment to overall student-athlete success is a matter of practice, not just empty words.
And, there is the fact that Boulder is one of the nation's most attractive places to live — something that coaches may not care so much about, but their wives and children certainly do.
But the question many folks are waiting to have answered?
10. What will Colorado's "identity" be under the new head coach? In talking with coaches and media from around the nation over the last few weeks, the question of a Colorado "identity" repeatedly surfaced. Are the Buffs a passing team? A running team? A defensive-minded team? A team known for its down-in-the-dirt toughness?
Truth is, CU has had trouble answering that question over the last decade with any degree of consistency.
But today, there exists a window of opportunity. This is a chance for a new coach to come in, take what is already in place and quickly become competitive in a Pac-12 that has room for another contender or two.
That is an enticing proposition — and exactly what that identity will be under CU's 26th head coach should no doubt be interesting to watch develop over the coming weeks and months.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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