MacIntyre appreciative of 'tremendous' contributions made by senior class
Not yet a subscriber? Click here to sign up now!
Saturday is “Senior Day” as Colorado hosts Pac-12 South leader USC at Folsom Field.
For the Buffaloes’ 21 seniors playing their final home game in Boulder, they hope the season doesn’t end Thanksgiving weekend when Colorado (5-5, 2-5) travels to Utah in what could be a make-or-break game for the Buffs’ bowl aspirations unless they find a way to upset the Trojans, No. 11 in the College Football Playoff Selection Committee Rankings released late Tuesday afternoon.
Regardless of how the season ends up, Mike MacIntyre will always hold the 2017 senior class in high regard because most of them were part of his first signing class at Colorado in February 2013, gambling on the first-year head coach who was hired away from San Jose State in December 2012.
“This group of young men has meant a tremendous amount to our program,” MacIntyre said Tuesday on the Pac-12 coaches teleconference. “They have seen us go from not being competitive at all to being competitive all the time. They have made a huge change. It’s been awesome coaching them and watching them mature and grow and seeing what they have given to the program.”
Few Colorado seniors have shined brighter throughout their careers than running back Phillip Lindsay, who is already the school’s all-time leader in All-Purpose yards and now is targeting the career rushing record of 3,940 yards held by Eric Bieniemy (1987-90).
Lindsay is also chasing the CU single season mark for most rushing attempts and needs just 35 to tie Rashaan Salaam (298 carries in 1994). Considering Lindsay is averaging 26.3 carries per game in 2017, he is undoubtedly within range to break the record by the time the Utah game ends on Nov. 25. Through 10 games this season, Lindsay has 1,334 rushing yards on 263 carries.
“He leaves so much. He’s a legacy, a legend,” MacIntyre said. “He will always be in the record books. He carry the records for the long time. They might get broken, but he’ll still be in there. But his overall attitude, heart, passion (are second to none). He just means so much to all of us. I’ll definitely remember him always and stay in close contact with him through the years.”
Colorado was just 10-27 in MacIntyre’s first three years before finally breaking through last season with a 10-4 record, Pac-12 South title and an appearance in the conference championship game opposite Washington.
“There’s a lot of emotion going around,” Lindsay said. “We haven’t had the season we wanted and it has been up-and-down. But that’s how the Pac-12 has been all season. For us, it’s about finishing. For the seniors, it’s going to be an emotional time. This is our last time at Folsom Field. It’s hard to beat us at Folsom Field. We have to use everything to our advantage and play ball.”
The group of departing seniors also includes wide receivers Shay Fields, Bobo Bryce and Devin Ross, offensive linemen Jonathan Huckins and Jeromy Irwin, linebacker Derek McCartney and defensive backs Afolabi Laguda and Ryan Moeller.
“They have done a tremendous amount for the university, our program and the guys in our program,” MacIntyre said. “I can’t really put a value on it because of all they have done. When they came here, it was a very hard time and a low point in the program. They have made us extremely competitive. Hopefully, we will win these last two games and go to a bowl. It’s been a long time since we have gone to back-to-back bowl games. That puts a very high value on what they have done. They brought the pride back.”
The Buffs seniors could leave one more piece of legacy behind on Saturday – Colorado has never beaten USC, compiling an 0-11 record against the Trojans in a series that began in 1927, but didn’t gather momentum until Colorado joined the Pac-12 in 2011. The Buffs have come close to beating USC the past two years, losing 27-24 in Boulder and 21-17 in Los Angeles.
Lindsay says the Buffs must now take the next step and beat USC.
“We want to beat them,” Lindsay said. “We feel strongly about going out there and working our butts off to get there. We want to play an all-around great game. In order to do that, we have to be firing on all cylinders during practice all the week. We need to put a whole game together. In the Pac-12, you can’t play three quarters and think you’re going to win a game. You have to play all four quarters.
“It will really hit me after the game (that this is the last time at Folsom Field). That’s when I will really feel it. Right now, I’m just focused on winning this game. All the other seniors deserve it. I’m going to out there and put everything I have on the line like I do every week.”
PAC-12 WEEK 11 SCHEDULE (Nov. 10-11)
Washington at Stanford, 8:30 p.m. (Fri.) (FS1)
USC at Colorado, 2 p.m. (Fox)
Washington State at Utah, 3:30 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
Arizona State at UCLA, 7:30 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
Oregon State at Arizona, 8:15 p.m. (ESPN2)
(All Times Mountain)
PAC-12 SOUTH STANDINGS:
USC 6-1 (8-2)
Arizona 4-2 (6-3)
Arizona State 4-2 (5-4)
UCLA 2-4 (4-5)
Utah 2-4 (5-4)
Colorado 2-5 (5-5)
