Teammates congratulate freshman fullback George Frazier following his touchdown run in the second quarter against Cal at California Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 27. The Buffs fell to 2-3 (0-2 in Pac-12 play) after the double-overtime loss. (Nigel Amstock/CU Independent)
A few days ago I talked to my younger cousin. Carley is a senior in high school and looking at many public colleges, but is unsure about the University of Colorado. As a big fan of college football, a school’s general football atmosphere weighs heavily on her decision.
When she asked me about CU football, the answer was simple: Come to Boulder next year, and by your senior year you might have a team that will compete for a Pac 12 championship. She thought I was crazy.
Like a head football coach, I laid out to Carley the same points I will lay out to you as to why the CU football program is on the rise.
On the field
Yes, Carley, if you were watching the Cal game this weekend, it was hard to swallow. No one likes losing a game on a botched fourth-and-goal play on the one yard line. But let’s look at the numbers following the loss.
Sophomore quarterback Sefo Liufau threw an unprecedented seven touchdown passes and 46 completions on 67 attempts. Fun fact: In 1989, Buffs quarterback legend Darian Hagan had 48 completions for the entire season.
Another fun fact: According to Sports Information Director Dave Plati, there were 32 school records broken during Saturday’s game.
Coming into this season, Liufau’s performances were undoubtedly going to dictate whether this team was going to win games. The sophomore started eight games as a true freshman, and the feeling around the program was that Liufau was primed for a break-out season.
Before the Cal game, Liufau’s 2014 gameplay had been characterized as mediocre, but the stats prove otherwise. Today, the Buffs stand 17th in the nation in passing yards per game, and their red zone statistics are staggering. Liufau has 16 completions on 18 passing attempts for 115 yards. He also has 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions near the goal line.
The funny thing is, beyond the statistics, this quarterback still isn’t playing his best football. For example, Liufau was able to put up great numbers on Saturday, but against Hawaii he threw an interception into triple coverage on the first play of the game. If we zoom out to look at the program as a whole, Liufau as a true sophomore is a quarterback with a high ceiling. Plus, he has future talent like Shay Fields and Bryce Bobo around him.
The Buffs in retrospect
Another thing Colorado fans and Carley need to pay attention to while grading a football program is comparing how much they have improved season to season. With a 2-3 record through this early point of the season, the Buffs have shown great strides, especially in point differential.
Fans are sick of the Buffs being the doormat of the Pac-12 and being blown out by over 20 points on a weekly basis. After only five games this season, this team has shown it won’t be a pushover in the conference anymore.
Last season, Colorado went 4-8 (two wins came over FCS opponents and one came against a similarly matched Cal team). Over eight losses, the Buffs lost by an average of 29 points. After only three losses this season, the Buffs have lost by an average of 10 points. The difference between a four-touchdown deficit and one of only two scores shows that this team has been competitive in every game played this year. Being competitive gives them a legitimate and viable chance to win every time they take the field.
Now, this could change with three ranked teams left on the Buffs schedule, but Colorado has already shown improvement against opponents like this — they lost to ranked Arizona State this season by 14, rather than 41 the year before.
Facilities and recruiting
Finally, I would tell Carley to consider the $155 million commitment that the Board of Regents has given to the CU Athletic Department. One of the main reasons why Rick George was a great candidate to be the new athletic director in the summer of 2013 was because of his reputation as a great fundraiser. On top of that, the Board of Regents approved head coach Mike MacIntyre’s contract, which included a clause that, without penalty, Coach Mac could have left after his first season in 2013 if a facilities renovation plan wasn’t submitted by December of that year.
So far the project is on time to be finished before the 2015 season. More than 1,000 construction workers were hired for it. These details make Coach MacIntyre’s recruiting pitch simple to high school recruits: Come to the number-one-rated college town in America, get immediate playing time on a Pac-12 football team with television exposure, enjoy all four or five years at school with brand new, state-of-the-art football facilities to train in and ensure your career after football by studying at a research university that keeps climbing the academic standings.
On the topic of recruiting, Coach MacIntyre hasn’t turned many heads, but has done what needs to be done. For the Buffs to improve their talent on the field, they must recruit heavily at the offensive and defensive line positions. This not only calls for gaining in-state talent, but also for using the advantage of being in the same conference as UCLA, USC, Cal and Stanford to recruit from talent-rich California.
The best example Coach Mac has to show for recruiting is freshman wide-receiver Shay Fields. Fields came out of Saint John Bosco High School in Southern California. He may not be Nelson Spruce, but the true freshman has already made an impact with an average of seven receptions per game, 213 total yards receiving, two touchdown passes and a rush for another.
As many college football coaches will say, stars and recruiting rankings typically mean nothing, but let’s look at how Coach Mac has recruited so far for 2015, given the criteria above. According to Scout.com, the Buffs have four commitments from California, and six players who have committed are listed on either the offensive or defensive line.
Carley, this team may not look glamorous right now. They probably won’t make a bowl game this season. But there’s great potential. The improvement so far this season is enough to push the Buffs toward a future Pac-12 crown, and that future is nearer than many believe.
Guest Writer Zack Rosenfeld, a junior studying broadcast news, is an associate producer of CU Sports Mag. Contact him at zackmrosenfeld@gmail.com.
