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Colorado has opportunity for best season start since 2005

Colorado has a chance for their best start since believe it our not, the year 2005. Think about where you were in 2005. George Bush was president of the United States of America, Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana, Lance Armstrong had just won his 7th straight Tours de France, and get this: The website youtube was launched.

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Starting Out Since 1997

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1997 - Started out 2-3, finished the season 5-6

1998 - Started out 5-0, finished 8-4, won Aloha Bowl

1999 - Started out 3-2, finished 7-5, won Insight.com Bowl

2000 - Started out 1-4, finished 3-8

2001 - Started out 4-1, finished 10-3, lost Fiesta Bowl

2002 - Started out 3-2, finished 9-5, lost Alamo Bowl

2003 - Started out 2-3, finished 5-7

2004 - Started out 3-2, finished 8-5, won Houston Bowl

2005 - Started out 4-1, finished 7-6, lost Champs Sports Bowl

2006 - Started out 0-5, finished 2-10

2007 - Started out 3-2, finished 6-7, lost Independence Bowl

2008 - Started out 3-2, finished 5-7

2009 - Started out 1-4, finished 3-9

2010 - Started out 3-2, finished 5-7

2011 - Started out 1-4, finished 3-10

2012 - Started out 1-4, finished 1-11

2013 - Started out 2-3, finished 4-8

2014 - Started out 2-3, finished 2-10

2015 - Started out 3-2, finished 4-9

Very Similar To 2005 Start

In 2004 under Head Coach Gary Barnett and the Buffs would finish the season 8-5 and win the Houston Bowl defeating the UTEP Miners 33-28, that was the game where Colorado Field Goal Kicker Mason Crosby hit four clutch field goals to give Colorado their first bowl victory since 1999.

The following year in 2005, still under Barnett Colorado returned 50 letterman and 17 starters (sound familiar) and were ranked in the top 25 rankings in 4 preseason polls. Led by Joel Klatt at quarterback and Lawrence Vickers at running back, Colorado defeated Colorado State in the opener at Folsom Field 31-28 in front of nearly 55,000 fans.

The following week again at home in Boulder, the Buffs blew out New Mexico State 39-0, the following week they would lose to Miami who was ranked No. 12 in the country 23-3. Colorado would then beat Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Oklahoma 34-0, thus giving them a 3-1 start heading into their next Big 12 matchup against Texas A&M, where they would beat the Aggies 41-20.

If Colorado was to beat Oregon State this Saturday they would have won two games in Colorado in weeks one and two, lost on the road to a top-ranked team, won on the road in week four, and then come back home to Boulder to win their fourth game of the season. That is exactly what happened in 2005.

Open As A 16.5 Favorite 

The Buffs open as a 16.5 favorite against Oregon State, the Beavers are 1-2 on the year after losing to Boise State last weekend 38-24. While Colorado is expected on paper at least to put Oregon State away, last year in Corvallis, Oregon it was a 17-13 nail biter. The year before that in Boulder, it was 36-31 Oregon State.

Why The Success This Year?

You cannot really pin down Colorado’s early season success to just one facet of the game, rather it’s been a collective effort from both sides of the football. While it’s incredible that both Sefo Liufau and Steven Montez have earned the PAC 12 Offensive Player of the Week Awards, the offensive line has got to block (just 4 1/2 sacks), the running backs have to be consistent (Phillip Lindsay and Kyle Evans have an average of 4.59 and 4.62), and the receivers have to make plays. Devin Ross has hauled in 25 receptions for 355-yards and 5 touchdowns, Shay Fields has 14 receptions for 291-yards and 2 touchdowns, and Bryce Bobo, well he’s a human highlight reel.

And as mentioned it’s just not the offense, the defense has shown their strength in all areas. Up front Jordan Carrell has 17 tackles and 2 1/2 sacks, the linebacking corps is leading the team in tackles as Kenneth Olugbode has 37 and Rick Gamboa with 32. The secondary continues their dominate play. Against Oregon last Saturday Dakota Prukop one of the best in the PAC 12 had a quarterback rating of just 64.6 and the secondary closed the game after an Ahkello Witherspoon interception. In total, Colorado’s defense has allowed just 63 first downs per game 15.7 per game, has allowed just 574-yards rushing which is just 143.5 yards per game and this stat is incredible: opponents have attempted 134 passes for just 652-yards which translates 163.0-yards allowed through the air.

MacIntyre Has Never Won 2 Games In The PAC 12

Going into this game against Oregon State is another opportunity for this team to prove to themselves that they have arrived. Good teams do not look at last week or next week, they look at today. Something that we’ve been seen in Mike MacIntyre’s group. Colorado has never won two games in PAC 12 play under MacIntyre. They did it once under Jon Embrue in 2011 when the team beat Arizona and Utah.

Read: Week 5 Depth Chart | Wednesday Press Conference | Video: Montez talks

What Premium Subscribers Are Saying


By Dtownbuff

This is the best start since 1997 to me. You could argue 2001 but this team feels more convincing than that team did at this point regardless of record or score. We look like a team that could hang with anyone. I still think 8 is our ceiling but our start is impressive.The changes are numerous from funding, admin support, community interest, recruiting image, organizational control and proper management of the pieces on the staff , etc. All of this though stems from having a patient and positive CEO at the helm. Teams do not grow and change because of their coordinators or AD etc.

Those pieces come to be and excel because of great and consistent leadership and we have had that for 4 years. Mac 1 and to an extent GB are the only coaches in 35 years that have run this team as CEOs who are measured and patient and understand leadership like HCMM has.My answer above and talent are the difference over the 2011 team. We are still thin but we are much deeper than that team and have a leader who understands running a large organization.

You don't run them by being a cheerleader. You run them by being consistent and sticking by what and who you believe in. You make change only when you absolutely have too and you make it after deliberate thought with a plan already in place. Hawkins and Embree make good coordinators but don't understand or have what it takes to be a CEO.

They are very different jobs and few are equipped for the top job no matter how good they are at being a support role.The Buffs are lucky. We have a CEO as a head coach and the AD has acted well as chairman keeping the detractors at bay while applying enough pressure to get the best out of his CEO. Great athletics programs are run as small corporations and right now ours is being run very very well.

By SeasonTicketBuff

Been a season ticket holder for 24 years and have only missed a couple of home games during that entire period: Seen it all and been part of the overall experience through several regime changes

Here is my opinion - Need to know the past 25 years since this program started going down that long ago and only in the past five years with a new focus have things changed

Colorado started going downhill when Gordon Gee left Colorado for Ohio State - this one major change was the beginning of the demise of Colorado football - once he left the University took a negative approach to the value of Football and sports in general and we lost coach after coach since they did not have the support of the school - he left in 1990-

1994 when Mac left he lost control of the program and with his Christian followings was doomed at Colorado - no one there to protect him on his values and direction - he was left alone without any cover

Next coach Rick Neuheisel left for Washington stating same reasons - no support from administration

Barnett was run out of Colorado as an excuse to kill a program with radicals having more control of the school then the administration

Colorado and Tabor - One year contracts did not allow any coach outside of head coach to have long term contract

Funding after 2001 - killed the program, no one was coming and once we got a coach we could not fire him. While the rest of the country was seeing value of sports to promote and sell the school Colorado was facing huge budget crisis with a loss of funding from the state

Leaving the Big 12 - we had no identity in the PAC and tried to compete with a common look and feel of a Big 12 team (control the line of scrimmage) verse fast paced offense and no defense. We were a team without an identity....

2006 - Funding 2.0 - cost to leave the PAC, paying off coaches and general lack of direction made Colorado a terrible place to be. Our facilities were now some of the worst in D1. Hiring of TE coach to run CU was done purely for financial - we were broke and it showed

2012 -2013 commitment of program to the future - this is where things changed

Mac hired - still not saying he is going to bring us to the promised land. His success is that he has brought in a new offense and defensive coordinators with out Levitt I believe Mac would be on his way out this year

New athletic director giving cover to Mac to bring in the best coaches and pay them

facilities upgrade - a must but not why we are good

commitment from CU that sports matter - still a lot of administration fighting this but at the end of the day CU sees they must have good teams to get donations/students/recognition to compete.

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Colorado would finish the 2005 season with a 7-6 record losing in the Champs Sports Bowl to Clemson 19-10.

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