Colorado Buffaloes 2018 Football Preview

Colorado Buffaloes 2018 Football Preview

Opening Statement: There is no doubting that the Buffaloes slid backwards last fall, and fell hard. They went from winning their first ever PAC-12 South title in 2016 to winning just 5 games in 2017, and a rebound is a must if the program wants to be taken seriously moving forward. Mike McIntyre stuck around after being rumored for some other jobs, but now he has to prove that keeping him around was worth it, because after winning a divisional title, 5 wins doesn't cut it anymore, especially after years of pain and suffering. This is a very important year for Colorado.

Breakdown Offense: Steven Montez returns at QB after passing for 2975 yards and 18 TDs to 9 INTs. The staff would love to see that TD total increase, and would love to see more accuracy, as Montez completed 60.5% of his passes. He has the talent, but can he deliver? Sam Noyer is the backup as we head into the summer, but did little to impress as a freshman last fall in limited action.

The RB position is in a bit of a reboot situation, as Phillip Lindsay has moved on after a year in which he rushed for 1474 yards and 14 scores last fall. He was the heart and soul of the offense the last two seasons, and losing him is a huge blow. Finding a replacement for him will be difficult, because few other backs showed enough of anything to get unlimited faith this fall. Beau Bisharat is the favorite early, but carried the ball just 21 times last fall for 61 yards. There is incredibly little experience even after Bisharat to get pumped about here.

The Buffs lose their top 3 receivers from last season, so you have another area of concern here. Juwann Winfree, Laviska Shenault, KD Nixon, and Jay McIntyre are all in a battle to win jobs, with McIntyre being the most experienced after catching 28 passes as a junior last fall. He, in fact, is the leading returning receiver. Winfree caught 21 passes, while Shenault caught 7. Again, this is a huge area of concern.

Chris Bounds and Eddy Lopez return at TE, but again, the two combined did very little to wow anyone last fall.

Josh Kaiser is the lone senior offensive lineman on the team, and will start at LT. Brett Tonz (LG), Justin Eggers (C), Aaron Haigler (RG), and Isaac Miller (RT) are the other projected starters on the line. Hunter Vaughan provides support at OT, while Dillon Middlemiss is the projected backup at the OG positions.

Breakdown Defense: The Buffs lost their leader on the defensive line when Leo Jackson moved on after last fall. Terriek Roberts, a sophomore, will try to take his place, and will start at DE as we head into fall camp. Chris Mulumba, a senior, will start at DE opposite Roberts. Neither did much in 2017. Senior Javier Edwards starts at NT, but recorded just 2.5 TFLs. Jase Franke provides help at DE, while Lyle Tuiloma is the backup at NT. In short, this is not a unit that will likely scare anyone, and teams rushed for 208 yards per game against the front seven last season.

Three LBs are set out of four as we head into the summer. Drew Lewis returns at ILB and led the team with 94 tackles last fall. Rick Gamboa starts at ILB next to him after recording 90 of his own tackles last fall. Nate Landman backs up Lewis, while Akil Jones provides help behind Gamboa. Terran Hasselbach and Michael Matthews could be up for the open OLB job, but that battle must be won in the fall, as nobody has claimed the job yet.

Evan Worthington recorded 87 tackles last fall, and will return at the BUFF position. He added 6 PBUs to his stats and led the team with 3 INTs. Lucas Cooper provides support there.

Ronnie Blackmon and Dante Wigley are the starters at CB. Wigley wrapped with 6 PBUs as a sophomore, while Blackmon tries to replace Isaiah Oliver, who has moved on. Derrion Rakestraw and Trey Udoffia are the reserves. Udoffia wrapped last fall with 5 PBUs.

Nick Fisher is the FS for the Buffs. He knocked away 6 passes last fall, and totaled 24 tackles. Kyle Trago, a senior, is his backup.

Breakdown Special Teams: James Stefanou is back at PK, and hit 17/22 FG attempts last season. With so many questions on offense, his points may be more important than ever.

Alex Kinney averaged a strong 43.77 yards per punt last fall, and is back as the starter there as well.

KD Nixon averaged over 23 yards per punt return, and gives the Buffs a solid option in the return game once again.

Ronnie Blackmon averaged 8 yards per punt return, and also returns to that role.

Final Analysis: Bluntly, the Buffs could be in trouble this season. There are far too many losses on offense to completely absorb, and when the team already won just 5 games a year ago, it would appear they would not be able to withstand the losses and stand tough and improve at the same time, as things rarely work that way. Look for some bumps in the run game, and the passing game may struggle as well with all of the losses in the receiving corps. Defensively, there are losses there as well, and while there is some talent in the LB unit, there is just not enough, and the secondary could be questionable as well. It would seem that the ascension in 2016 was short lived, or maybe a bit of a fluke.