USC, Stanford, Oregon and even Washington have been talked about as legitimate contenders in the Pac-12 heading in to the 2016 season. Is Colorado good enough to be in that conversation as well? There are some that believe the Buffaloes are good enough to compete with the top teams in the Pac-12 this season and that it won’t be a shock if they ended up contending for a conference title. Here is a look at the four reasons why Colorado might be a contender in the Pac-12 this season.
Experience
The Buffaloes will return 16 starters in total, which will mean plenty of experience on both sides of the football. Colorado lost a ton of close games in 2015 with five of their nine Pac-12 games decided by seven points or less, and the players should benefit from the experience of playing in those tight games. The numbers alone suggest the Buffaloes are bound to benefit from a regression towards the mean in terms of the number of close games that they lost and the experience on their roster should help them elevate their level of play in 2016.
An Established Defense
Colorado’s returning starters will include three linebackers and three defensive backs, which should translate well at both levels. Weakside linebacker Rick Gamboa and cornerback Chidobe Awuzie are both candidates for breakout seasons as two of the most talented players on the Buffaloes’ defense with Gamboa in particular worth watching closely after he led the team in tackles as a freshman in 2015. This will also be Colorado’s second year under defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt and additional year of experience to help understand schemes and expand the playbook should benefit a group that has some considerable talent in place.
Offense Trending Up
The Buffaloes’ offense should also be trending up with seven returning starters, including three offensive linemen and senior quarterback Sefo Liufau. The 6’4’’, 230-pound passer completed 62.2-percent of his attempts for 2,417 yards and nine touchdowns in 2015 while rushing for another 266 yards and five scores. Accuracy and limiting turnovers will be among the keys to Liufau’s continued development in 2016 and one of the better offensive lines in the Pac-12 should help him with his progression. The Colorado offense is poised to take another step forward after flashing its potential a year ago and that is one more reason to buy in to their stock in the Pac-12.
All Or Nothing For Mike MacIntyre
One final factor to consider is the fact that this will be year four for the Buffaloes under head coach Mike MacIntyre, which should lead to an all or nothing mentality. MacIntyre likely would have been fired if Colorado had convinced Chip Kelly to take their head coach position but after the latter passed it opened the door for MacIntyre to return. The result could be a situation where it’s Pac-12 championship game or bust for the Buffaloes’ staff with a focus on proving they are ready to contend now. The schedule certainly won’t make it easy with road games at Michigan, Oregon, Stanford and Arizona but Colorado should find a way to win home games against Oregon State, Arizona State, Washington State and perhaps even UCLA. It’s now or never for MacIntyre and his staff as they aim to prove they can lead a contending team and that should help drive the urgency as the Buffaloes attempt to contend for a Pac-12 title this season.
Teams In The Pac-12 South Is Vulnerable
Yes, USC is supposed to be one of the best teams in the nation but they have a very difficult schedule in front of them. They could easily lose multiple times and get deflated. They have to play No. 1 Alabama, No. 8 Stanford and visit Utah all in their first four games. As for UCLA, yes they have Josh Rosen, but they still look like they have some flaws. With Arizona and Arizona State, we’ve seen that rebuilding is taking them a while. Colorado is at the back of this back to start but this race isn’t as daunting as it looks. If they’re truly a decent team, they should be competitive for the division crown.
