Tag: colorado buffaloes football

Colorado Buffaloes: CFN College Football Preview 2021

College Football News Preview 2021: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Colorado season with what you need to know.

College Football News Preview 2021: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Colorado season with what you need to know.

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Colorado Buffaloes Schedule Analysis
– Colorado Buffaloes Previews
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015

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2020 Record: 4-2 overall, 4-1 in Pac-12
Head Coach: Karl Dorrell, 2nd year, 4-2 (39-29 overall)
2020 CFN Final Ranking: 30
2020 CFN Preview Ranking: 59
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 81

Colorado Buffaloes College Football Preview 2021: Offense

– Karl Dorrell’s offense is supposed to be good. A strong assistant in the NFL and the former head coach at UCLA – and a specialist at coaching up wide receivers – knows how to make the thing move. Former Colorado wide receiver and current offensive coordinator Darrin Chiaverini also knows how to teach things about an offense. So …

The Colorado passing game can’t be among the least efficient in the Pac-12 and shouldn’t finish 87th in the nation again.

But it was a new coaching staff – at least Dorrell was new – dealing with the players in place. Those players weren’t bad, but they were part of a build-up from the previous staff. Now there’s a ton of depth, talent, and upside to do a whole lot more. However …

– It all starts with the running game. The passing attack might have been mediocre in the short six-game run, but the ground game was terrific with the emergence of Jarek Broussard and his 895-yard, five-score season working behind a good line that had a terrific season.

Now the line is supposed to get four starters back – and more options are about to play roles. The star of the show – William Sherman – is gone at left tackle, but 6-7, 295-pound sophomore Frank Fillip appears ready to take over the job, and the transfer portal is bringing in more good possibilities with OT Max Wray coming in from Ohio State and guard Noah Fenske moving on from Iowa.

And it’s not just Broussard at running back. 2019 leading rusher Alex Fontenot got hurt before last year, but now he’s back from his hip injury and ready to roll. Those two are great, and freshman Ashaad Clayton has the upside to be a big part of the puzzle, too.

– Sam Noyer was a Second Team All-Pac-12 quarterback, but he only hit 55% of his passes with six touchdowns and seven picks. He’s got the experience, the running ability, and the 6-4, 220-pound size, but he’s going to have to battle Tennessee transfer JT Shrout and dynamic second-year freshman Brendon Lewis for the gig in fall camp.

The receiving corps is full of veterans, too. Sophomore Dimitri Stanley led the team with 20 grabs – averaging 17 yards per catch – La’Vontae Shenault was great in his limited time, and there’s more than enough depth for the wide receiver coaching experts to make shine.

– What You Need To Know: Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Colorado Buffaloes Schedule Analysis

NEXT: Colorado Buffaloes College Football Preview 2021: Defense

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

Colorado Football Schedule 2021, Analysis

Colorado Buffaloes 2021 football schedule, analysis, and what Pac-12 teams they miss.

Colorado Buffaloes 2021 football schedule, analysis, and what Pac-12 teams they miss.

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Colorado Buffaloes Football Schedule 2021

– 2021 Pac-12 Football Schedule

Sept. 3 Northern Colorado

Sept. 11 Texas A&M (in Denver)

Sept. 18 Minnesota

Sept. 25 at Arizona State

Oct. 2 USC

Oct. 9 OPEN DATE

Oct. 16 Arizona

Oct. 23 at Cal

Oct. 30 at Oregon

Nov. 6 Oregon State

Nov. 13 at UCLA

Nov. 20 Washington

Nov. 26 at Utah

Colorado Football Schedule Analysis: The Buffs need that tune-up against Northern Colorado with the power showdowns against Texas A&M and Minnesota to follow.

There’s no time to take a breath early on in the Pac-12 run, starting at Arizona State and following it up with USC to close out a four-game run of games that might break the Buffs’ back.

There’s no real break interdivisional play with Oregon and Washington on the slate, and there’s a sneaky-nasty trip to Cal in the mix, too. Making matters worse is a run of three road games in four weeks in the second half of the season, and closing out against Washington and at Utah is final kick in the gut.

Pac-12 Conference Teams Missed: Stanford, Washington State

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College Football News Preview 2020: Colorado Buffaloes

College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Colorado Buffaloes season with what you need to know.

College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Colorado Buffaloes season with what you need to know.

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– Colorado Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015

2019 Record: 5-7 overall, 3-5 in Pac-12
Head Coach: Karl Dorrell, 1st year
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 56
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 81
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 44

No one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.

5. College Football News Preview 2020: Colorado Buffaloes Offense 3 Things To Know

– New head coach Karl Dorrell is keeping around Darrin Chiaverini to be the offensive coordinator – after sharing the duties since 2016 – but he’s going to have a little work to do for an offense that finished ninth in the Pac-12, tenth in scoring, and was maddeningly inconsistent.

And it has to replace a whole lot of key parts, starting at quarterback with Steven Montez gone after throwing for over 2,800 yards and 17 touchdowns with ten picks in a relatively disappointing run. Now it’s going to be a fight with a whole slew of options.

6-5, 220-pound Tyler Lytle has the size, the arm, and the time around the team to step in right away, but freshman Brendon Lewis is the 6-3, 210-pound dual-threat recruit to build the program around for the next few years. Also in the mix is senior Sam Noyer, who entered the transfer portal and chose to return to Colorado – for now.

CFN in 60 Video: Colorado Buffaloes Preview
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– The running game needs to be stronger and more effective, coming up with 1,804 yards and 14 scores, averaging just 4.1 yards per carry. It was a slight improvement from 2018, but it still wasn’t good enough.

Slashing junior Alex Fontenot is back after leading the team with 874 yards and five scores, and 6-2, 215-pound sophomore Jaren Mangham brings a little thump after running for 441 yards and three scores. It’s a deep group that should be fine with more of a commitment to the ground attack – expect more of a rotation.

In the receiving corps, KD Nixon … let’s go. He’s a potential volume-catcher target who should be fine with Laviska Shenault and Tony Brown gone. Dimitri Stanley is back after making 29 grabs – he’s a big-time athlete who could blow up as a sophomore – and 6-3, 255-pound Brady Russell is a good-sized tight end who can catch. The overall developed depth, though, isn’t there.

– The offensive line was a relative plus last season, and it should be again. Three starters are expected to be back, but there’s going to be a whole lot of shuffling around to get the right starting five. It’s not a huge or deep line, but it should be effective again.

NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Colorado Buffaloes Defense 3 Things To Know

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2020 NFL draft: Steven Montez scouting report

Everything NFL draft fans need to know about Colorado quarterback prospect Steven Montez

Steven Montez | QB | Colorado

Elevator Pitch

Montez has a bit of a NFL pedigree, his father Alfred played one season for the Oakland Raiders. Has the build of the prototypical quarterback. Montez is looking to become the next El Paso product to make it to the NFL, much like Aaron Jones did.

Vitals

Height | 6-4

Weight | 231

Class | Senior

College Stats

College Bio

Combine Profile

Strengths

Teams will love the mental acumen of Montez. His father having played college quarterback and one year in the pros helped him be ready to play the position at division one. He was named team captain in 2019. Coaches have raved about his leadership on and off the field with his team.

Prototypical size for the position. Has a big arm to make all the throws. Not just a guy who will stand in the pocket and sling it all over the field. Montez can throw for accuracy when on the move in the scramble drill. Has a little Mahomes to his game with how he can sling it down the field with a flick of his wrist.

Despite being a bigger framed quarterback, Montez can evade the pass rush. Does well to sense pressure and can avoid it. Although he does have a habit of bailing on a pocket too soon and will run into trouble. Still shows adequate pocket presence.

Weaknesses

The problem with quarterbacks that have big arms is that they don’t know how to dial it down in certain situations. Montez is not immune to that either. Needs to learn to throw the change up even when he always throws the fastball at his receivers. He also needs to learn to trust his protection, will drop eyes looking for the pass rusher.

Questions will arise with his 15-21 record over his three years in Colorado. He has a tendency to lock onto a target rather than move through his progressions. Slow to go through progressions. Will need to speed up his release at the NFL level.

Projection: Day 3

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2020 NFL draft: Laviska Shenault, Jr. scouting report

Everything NFL draft fans need to know about Colorado wide receiver prospect Laviska Shenault, Jr.

Laviska Shenault, Jr. | WR | Colorado

Elevator Pitch

Shenault is a big-play wide receiver from the state of Texas. Played his high school ball at the football factory in DeSoto, Texas. While there are concerns with his durability, Shenault is a bully running down the field and can make a house call at a moment’s notice.

Vitals

Height | 6-1

Weight | 227

Class | Junior

College Stats

College Bio

Combine Profile

Strengths

Laviska Shenault Jr possesses good hands and can snag the ball away from his frame. He is no stranger to climbing the latter to high point the ball. What separates him from other wide receivers is his ability to have good body control when off the ground.

His balance with the ball in his hands is very reminiscent to a running back. He can maintain that balance through contact with good a strong core. In high school he played some H-back and it shows up in his film, the way he can bully defensive backs down the field. Will lower his shoulder to deliver the boom.

If you gear up for the big hit from Shenault he can throw a change up and run right by you. He has speed to challenge you deep with great ball tracking skills. Shows great burst coming out of his breaks and can get away from coverage in a hurry.

Weaknesses

The biggest worry for teams will be his durability. Prior to the season, Shenault underwent surgery on his labrum prior to the 2019 season. This offseason, he will once again undergo surgery to repair a core muscle. His medicals will be a key part of his evaluation and could cause him to slide.

Despite everything that Shenault can do on the field, he needs work on his route running to be a complete receiver. He is very raw in terms of technique at running routes and dealing with physical corners in press coverage. Once he is up to speed, look for Shenault to be a big play wideout at the next level.

Projection: 1st Round

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Colorado Reportedly To Hire Karl Dorrell As Head Coach. Can The Buffs Start Winning Again?

Colorado appears to have found its man. It’s being reported that Karl Dorrell will be the next head coach. What does it mean?

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Colorado appears to have found its man. It’s being reported that Karl Dorrell will be the next head coach. What does it mean?

Karl Dorrell? Uhhhhhhh, okay.

The base desperately wanted Colorado to somehow lure away former star running back and current Kansas City Chief offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy to be the head man, but it didn’t work out. Instead …

Colorado appears to have wanted a head coach with NFL experience at some level, but unlike previous hire Mel Tucker – who bolted after one year at the gig for Michigan State – we’ve seen what Karl Dorrell could do as a head coach.

It was whatever, but now it’s clean slate time for Colorado football as well as its new head coach.

The former UCLA head man is being hired away from his job as the Miami Dolphins’ receivers coach to take over a Colorado program that has a whole lot of potential, but needs a jump-start.

Dorrell seemed like the right hire at the right time for UCLA in 2003. The former Bruin wideout was a rising coaching prospect with time logged in after various Pac-12/Pac-10 schools – including Colorado for two different stints as the receivers coach – and it’s not like he was awful.

He led UCLA to five bowl appearances in five years, finished with a 35-27 record, and he even looked like he was about to make something special happen after building things up to a big 10-2 third year. Along the way, his 2006 team shocked a loaded USC squad 13-9.

But the program wanted more, Dorrell was fired in 2007, and he bounced around the NFL as a key assistant and spent a year as the Vanderbilt offensive coordinator.

And now he gets another shot.

It really is possible to win in Boulder.

After three straight 5-7 seasons, Colorado football has been the master of teasing everyone to think something big could get started, and then … pffffffft. The air keeps coming out of the balloon.

Even when it went to the Pac-12 Championship in 2016, that was a bit of an aberration – the schedule wasn’t anything great and the South tripped over itself. But a ten-win season is a ten-win season, especially when it’s the only winning campaign since 2005.

Good luck, Coach Dorrell.

It’s been over 15 years since Colorado was a superpower – in the Big 12. But in the Pac-12, it’s had one winning season in nine years, and a whole generation of fans have no idea what happened back in 1989 and 1990 – by the way, there was a tie in 1990 along with a split national championship; that’s how long ago it’s been since the program was a killer.

Fortunately for Dorrell and the Buffs, the South is gettable right now.

It’s just not happening so far at UCLA under Chip Kelly and Arizona under Kevin Sumlin, USC is in limbo, Utah is fine to a point, and Arizona State is fine, but whatever.

Dorrell has to ramp up the offense. He has to come up with a style of football that can at least start winning again, and then hope things fall into place and the South continues to struggle.

Was this the home run hire that’s going to freak out the rest of the Pac-12? Nah, but win eight games in Boulder on a regular basis, and build the thing up over the next three years, and Dorrell can make the program his.

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Colorado reaches out to Eric Bieniemy for head coach job

Colorado Buffaloes football has reached out to Kansas City Chiefs OC and former Colorado RB Eric Bieniemy to fill head coach position, and he is interested in the job.

Colorado Buffaloes football has reached out to Kansas City Chiefs OC and former Colorado RB Eric Bieniemy to fill head coach position, and he is interested in the job.