For the first time in 14 years the Buffs are ranked in the Top Ten Nationally. That’s probably worth repeating. For the first time in 14 years the Buffs are ranked in the Top Ten Nationally. No one, and I mean no one, saw this coming before this season started. Yet it is here, and it is ours.
On Saturday, CU will put it all on the line against the #22 Washington State Cougars (WSU). WSU boasts a high power offense ranked 10th in the country (CU is #30), yet WSU’s defense is a relatively pedestrian 51st (CU’s is #13). CU will either have to figure out a way to slow down WSU or get in a shoot-out with them to win. Either way, I like our chances. There is a lot riding on the outcome of this game.
CU’s magic number is three. The Buffs are three wins away from either playing in the Rose Bowl or playing in the playoffs. A win on Saturday, a win the following week against Utah at Folsom, and then a win in the Pac-12 Championship will guarantee one of those scenarios. Right now everything is right with the world. We are riding a wave, yet we don’t want to get caught looking.
Heading into Saturday’s game I feel like the pre-game speech Gene Hackman gives to his team in the 1986 movie Hoosiers is appropriate. Swap out “State Finals” for “Pac-12 Championship/Rose Bowl/Playoffs” and I think you have the perfect pre-game speech for Buff Nation. Win or lose on Saturday, nothing can be taken from these Buffs and the season we are witnessing; yet, no way do we want to pull up short. By the way, you have to love the slow clap at the end of this scene. Cheesy, but best in cinematic history.
In the spirit of living out this season for all it’s worth, here is a quick recap of how we got here.
Pre-Season – CU projected to finish last in the Pac-12 by virtually every major sports pundit in America. CU is 5-49 against Pac-12 teams since joining the league in 2011. CU is an embarrassment to the State of Colorado and the Pac-12. CU is 35-78 in past ten years. They are 14-38 overall since joining the Pac-12 and 5-40 in league play during that time. While they should be improved, no one sees them getting to 6 wins and a bowl game.
September 2 – CU destroys in-state rival CSU 44-7. CSU is young and rebuilding, but still, 44-7? Hope is in the air. There is also a sense of relief. Playing CSU at Invesco Field sucks. It’s a no-win situation for the Buffs. A win is expected. A loss is disaster. I hate going to the CU v CSU game at Mile High. It’s a can’t win situation for CU. Yet, I go anyway. I can’t help myself. On this night though it’s a lot of fun. A good group of friends and kids sitting together. We are going to ride this season for all its worth. CU actually receives a single vote for the Top 25. I’m in disbelief. Our Buffs? Consideration? How thoughtful. CU 1-0. CU receives 1 vote for top 25 consideration in AP and Coaches Poll.
September 10 – CU beats Idaho State at Folsom in convincing fashion 56-7. That was cool. CU is 2-0 and neither game was even close. How good is this team? The weather was perfect. Fall is underway. Life is good. CU 2-0. CU receives 2 votes for top 25 consideration.
September 17 – CU loses a heartbreaking game to MI 45-28. Yet, ironically, this loss does more to boost the hopes and dreams of Buff Nation than either of the prior two wins. Hope blooms in Boulder. CU looks good. Unfortunately, that may have been their chance to shock the world. Now, their QB is hurt and we have to travel to Oregon next week and will probably have to start our #2 QB. What’s his name? Such a bummer. CU 2-1. CU receives 0 votes.
September 24 – Bam! The worm turns. CU beats OR, and all of a sudden we have something. We just beat OR! Are you kidding me? OR used to CRUSH us, and we just beat them on the road with our back-up QB? What’s his name again? Oh yeah, it’s Steven Montez. Steven freakin Montez. We are no longer the laughing stock of the Pac-12. We are contenders. Let’s do this thing. Life, right now, could not get any better. This is it. We are going to blow this thing out of the water. CU 3-1. CU receives 33 votes.
October 1 – CU’s Pac-12 home opener pairs us against the Oregon State Beavers. The perfect match-up for CU to maintain its momentum. CU is better than OSU and they prove it quickly. Start Fast. Attack. No Mercy. Steven Montez plays lights out. CU destroys the OSU 47-6. Fans leave early. Is this the new normal? Are we that good that we don’t have to stay to the end. I stay, but I love the fact that at least now I have that option. CU 4-1. CU receives 276 votes. Ranked #21 in AP Poll. First time ranked in eleven years.
October 8 – We got this. We are good. USC is on the downswing. We are ending streaks left and right. This is our year. We are going to take down the Trojans. We very well could be the best team in the nation. CU travels to California and gets their butt kicked in the LA Coliseum by a better Trojans team. The 21-17 score is deceiving. We never had a chance. Steven Montez looks like the back-up QB he is. Back to reality. What were we thinking? Is Sefo healthy yet? The Buffs are good, but not good enough just to show up and expect to win. In the Pac-12 you have to earn it any given Saturday. CU 4-2. CU receives 22 votes and drops out of the AP Rankings.
October 15 – Arizona State is in town. They are 5-1 and sit atop the Pac-12 South. I hate those guys. Similar to OR they have pounded on the Buffs for years. Sefo is back in the saddle and quickly establishes his leadership presence. His teammates love him. They fight hard for him because they know he fights for them. His leadership presence is undeniable. CU comes out strong and rushes the ball down ASU’s throat ALL DAY LONG. What? Did that just happen? That wasn’t even that good of a game? Is CU that good, or is ASU really that bad? Maybe a little bit of both? Either way, CU casts out yet another Pac-12 demon. The Pac-12 is taking notice. These aren’t your father’s Buffaloes. CU 5-2. CU receives 110 votes. Just missed being ranked by a mere 13 votes. Bummer.
October 22 – CU travels to Stanford. It’s beginning to sound like a broken record, but Stanford has dominated CU for many years. Somehow though, it just feels like this is CU’s year. Stanford’s crown jewel is the State of Colorado’s own Christian McCaffrey out of Valor Christian HS. Well, CU seems to have their own Colorado jewel in RB Phillip Lindsay out of Denver South HS. Two Colorado State products go head to head making us all proud. CU wins 10-5. A hard game to watch, but a win is a win is a win. There are no ugly wins. Not if you are CU and you just became Bowl Eligible. What? Yup, we are going bowling. CU 6-2. CU receives 207 votes, and back in the top 25 at #23.
November 3 – The games they remember are played in November. Well, at least we would like to think so. It’s been a decade since CU has had a meaningful game in November. Our season is usually well overcome this time. NOT THIS YEAR. THIS YEAR IS DIFFERENT. CU plays UCLA under the lights of Folsom on a Thursday night. The atmosphere is electric. Most of the fans are in Black. Looking good for the national tv audience. For the second week in a row the game is ugly. UCLA gets under CU’s skin and CU loses its composure. Turnovers and penalties plague CU all night, but CU STILL wins the game thanks in large part to a stingy defense and a 68-yard TD punt return by Isaiah Oliver. Final score CU 20, UCLA 10. The Rise is Real. CU 7-2.CU receives 550 votes and ranked #16 in AP and #12 in Playoff Rankings. Highest ranking in 14 years.
November 12 – CU goes on the road to play the Arizona Wildcats. CU is focused. It is all in front of them. They just need to take care of business on the road against a team that is not as good as they are. CU does exactly that, winning 49-24. Another day at the office. CU seems bound and determined to take each game one at a time, and not get too far ahead of themselves. CU 8-2. CU receives 797 votes and ranked #12 in AP and #10 in Playoff Rankings.
So there you have it. The next chapter to be written is this Saturday at 1:30pm. There is no place you would rather be than at Folsom Field. Win or lose, Buff games are now the best show in town. Be there. Do your part. Be a part of history. Tailgate starts at 10AM. Usual spot. All are welcome. Ping me if you plan to attend and need directions.
Back in August we speculated how good CU could be. Tomorrow night we take another step toward that answer. CU is now ranked #15 in the nation. That alone has to be one of the seasons top football stories. Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes of the PAC-12, CU is primed to become THE story of the 2016 NCAA Football season.
November ushers in the season of Polls and Bowls. This is where it gets fun. What CU does in their four games this month will go a long way in determining where they will be ranked and what bowl they will be playing in for the post season.
Tomorrow night CU takes on UCLA in a nationally televised game under the lights of Folsom. The student body and majority of fan base will be wearing black. CU will be in their traditional Gold helmets, black jersey and gold pants. What is old is new again. It will be a sight to be seen.
Kick off is 7pm. Tailgate starts at 4pm. St. Aidan’s church (2425 Colorado Ave). All are welcome.
These are the days we longed for season after miserable season. These are the days we wanted when CU tickets were a dime a dozen and going to a CU game was a waste of time. We lived in a world of “what ifs.” No longer. It’s all in front of us now. Football is back in Boulder and the nation is taking notice. We are now those guys.
CU is primed to dismantle UCLA. CU’s offensive line will move UCLA against their will. Lindsey, who’s been playing out of his mind, will rush for over 100 yards. UCLA will not be able to keep up with CU’s four receiver spread. On defense, CU will shut down the run game and force UCLA to pass and will have at least one pick. CU will be victorious and the magical season will continue.
For the 2016 Colorado Buffaloes there is no such thing as an “Ugly Win.” While CU may not have looked impressive against a down trodden Stanford Cardinal team last Saturday, at the end of the day the scoreboard had CU at 10 and Stanford at 5, giving CU its first win over Stanford since 1990. And making the Buffs bowl eligible for the first time since 2007.
Bowl eligibility is not just about playing in a bowl. It’s about exposure and recruiting. Players want to play for winners. After the regular season ends, those teams playing in the bowl game get noticed by highly recruited high school athletes. Top recruits are going to now want to come to CU. And as coach Mac is fond of saying “Player make plays and players win games.” There are eight bowls in which CU will wind up playing. The most prestigious is the Rose Bowl on January 2nd.
In order to get there, CU will have to either win the Pac-12 or come in 2nd in the Pac-12 to a playoff bound University of Washington. For this reason, Buff Nation will want to root for the Washington Huskies as they take on Utah tomorrow. Not only does CU want to win the rest of their games this season, they also want WA to win the rest of their games and be ranked in the top 4 in the nation when they face Colorado in the Pac-12 Championship. In this perfect scenario, CU would be assured a Rose Bowl invitation with a win or loss against WA. A win by WA over Utah tomorrow also provides a bit of cushion for CU in the event they stumble against UCLA, AZ or WA St before playing Utah in the final game of the regular season.
CU Bowl prospects:
CU’s bye week comes at the perfect time. An opportunity to get healed up and begin to focus on the November games. This has been a magical season for CU. CU controls their own destiny to win the Pac-12 and play in the Rose Bowl. CU is the only team in the Pac-12 South to be ranked in the top four in Total Offense and Total Defense, and they are one of the most balanced teams in the nation. And they are also playing with a chip on their shoulder. Ever since joining the Pac-12 in 2011 they have been the laughing stock of the league, because they couldn’t win. No one is laughing anymore. No one wants to play these guys. CU is disciplined, hungry, and dangerous. They are also peaking at the optimal time. Buckle your seats belts. This is going to be a heck of a finish.
With over five minutes remaining in last Saturday’s CU football game, ASU failed to convert on a fourth down pass. CU took over possession and proceeded to run the ball on eight consecutive plays culminating in a touchdown and a 40-16 final score. It was a fitting end to the game. Throughout the night CU had imposed their will on ASU. They had accumulated nearly 600 yards total offense (compared to ASU’s 199). Not only did CU impose their will, they also dictated the tempo of the game the entire night. ASU was constantly out of sync on both offense and defense. This is the new era for CU football. That final touchdown with 40 seconds remaining in the game was a message to the rest of the Pac-12 that CU was back. In 2014 CU improved from being a terrible team to being a decent team. In 2015 CU improved from being a decent team to being a competitive team. In 2016 the question was can CU improve from being a competitive team to a team that knows how to win. Clearly we have our answer. CU can and does impose their will on their opponents, especially those who come into Folsom Field. It’s suddenly a tough place for visitors.
We are over half-way through the season and CU finds itself tied with Utah for the lead in the Pac-12 South. While the first seven games (CU is now 5-2) have been a joy to be a part of, it’s the remaining five games of the season which will really determine the magnitude of how special the 2016 season will be viewed. Right now, no one wants to play the Buffs. They are one of the deepest and most balanced football teams in the Pac-12. They are playing with a chip on their shoulder, and their opponents (e.g. ASU, OR) have not truly come to terms with the new normal of CU Football.
For the remainder of the season, CU will find itself in a dog-fight with USC and Utah for the Pac-12 South title. CU has the more favorable schedule (three of last four games at home), USC probably has the most talented team and hold the tie-breaker with CU, and Utah is the highest ranked of the three. CU controls its own destiny, but fans we will want to root for USC and Utah to lose a few games along the way to create some cushion. CU is ranked #26 in the nation. A win at Stanford will propel them into the top twenty. In college football it is often said “the games to remember are played in November.” That is certainly true for CU this year. The Buffs have put themselves in the enviable situation where are their remaining games are meaningful. Rankings aside, what CU wants will be won or lost on Folsom Field in November. See below for a preview.
Remaining schedule
October 22 @ Stanford. Stanford just beat Notre Dame this past weekend. This game will be a battle of two outstanding football teams. This is a Pac-12 Network dream come true. If CU can get out of this one with a win, they will run the table on the rest of the schedule finishing the season at 10-2 and looking at a new year’s day bowl game (the Holy Grail of college football).
November 3 (Thursday night) vs UCLA under the lights at Folsom Field. This game will be on national TV. The game will be a black out (fans wearing black) and it will be CU’s true national coming out party where they will soundly beat UCLA. The win will make CU bowl eligible for the first time since 2007. The fans will rush the field (similar to what transpired after the ASU game), but more importantly, the nationally televised win will be seen by high school recruits around the country (especially in CA) and it will dawn on them that CU is the place they want to play.
November 12 @ Arizona. CU should be bowl eligible by now and will be playing loose and with a reckless abandon. They will have the Pac-12 South title squarely in view and AZ will be the next team standing in its way. Expect a double digit win by CU on the road against this Pac-12 opponent. AZ has been ravaged by injuries and is the surprise bottom dweller of the conference this eyear.
November 19 vs. Washington State at Folsom Field. Both teams will be ranked in the top 25 and this is possible a preview of the Pac-12 championship match-up. The game will be sold out. CU will win in a hard fought slug-fest.
November 26 vs. Utah at Folsom Field. This one will be for the Pac-12 South Championship. Everyone will be in a thanksgiving state of mind for the wonder of the 2016 season. The game will be sold out for the second week in a row. Both teams will be ranked in the top 25 for the second game in a row at Folsom. CU will win in convincing fashion.
These coming weeks are going to be special. The Rise is real and it is happening in front of our eyes. Years from now it will be nice to say we were there. We were there when CU imposed their will on any team that stepped foot on Folsom Field grass. We were there when CU become bowl eligible for the first time in over a decade. We were there when CU won the Pac-12 South shocking the college world. These are the days. Winter is coming and ski season will soon be upon us. This special CU season will soon be a fond but distant memory. We’ll be pleased with the behavior we displayed as fans. We will be pleased that we knew that the Fall of 2016 was was special and we fully leaned into it. Let’s enjoy these days for all they are worth. Who has it better than us? No one.
We are a nearly half-way through the season, and thanks to CU’s dominate play, they sit atop the Pac-12 South Standings at 4-1 and ranked #21 nationally. This is more than anyone outside of the CU locker room expected. Yet, there are still skeptics. While ranked, CU has yet to play the main contenders of the Pac-12. CU will have that shot over the next four weeks when they play USC (today at 2PM), ASU at Folsom, on the road at Stanford and then home again vs. UCLA. As a CU fan you have to be excited for the rest of the season. Here are three scenarios as we head into USC:
1) Best case: CU destroys USC. CU is that good, and NOW everyone really does know it. CU continues to run the table and beats Washington in the Pac-12 championship. Due to strength of schedule and key losses by higher ranked teams, CU makes the NCCA playoffs. They play Alabama for the national championship and somehow, someway, CU wins and we are national champs. From basement dweller to national champions. An overnight sensation (which took tens years). One of the greatest turnaround stories of all time in any sport. Just saying.
2) Worst case: CU loses to USC. They proceed to lose to ASU, Stanford, UCLA and AZ. They split wins against Wa St and Utah and finish the season at 5-7. They fail to earn a bowl bid and Coach MacIntyre winds up getting fire.
3) Most probable case: CU plays it’s remainder of the season tough – just like they have all season. They win 6 or 7 games, make it to a bowl game and all is seemingly right with the world.
We’ll let scenario one bake for a few more weeks before going public.
We don’t want scenario 2. That would be the end of the world as we know it. CU can squash scenario 2 today by going into USC and beating the Trojans and this is where it gets interesting. Similar to CU, no one knows how good USC really is. They sit at 2-3 but all three losses come at the hands of ranked opponents (Alabama #1, Stanford #15 and Utah #24). and last week they dismantled ASU (who CU would love to beat next week). It was just a few years ago that USC barely missed winning the national championship for the third year in a row. So while USC has stumbled a bit this year, they are a storied team steeped in winning football tradition. They are also backed into a corner and desperate to salvage their season. There is no way they are interested in lowly Colorado (no matter how much the world seems to think they have improved) ending their season prematurely by handing them their fourth loss for the season.
My predication is a CU win. I love the way CU plays. They have amazing Cornerback and Recievers. They can stop the run they have speed and intelligence at linebacker and they have proven leadership at QB. On Offense opponents (including #4 Michigan) have had trouble stopping the Buffs. All the pressure for this game is on the Trojans. The Buffs are playing with House money. The pressure is going to be too much and the Buffs are too good. CU wins in a close hard fought battle.
