2013 Season Review

If you had asked most anyone associated with CU football before Mike MacIntyre’s first season, I think most would have been quietly satisfied with a four win season.  This Buff team won as many games than as last two seasons combined, beat the teams they were supposed to beat including csu, improved on the field and in many statistical categories, and brought some life and hope back to the program.  As much as I was a supporter of Embree and his coaches, they were so obviously not ready to be at this level.   In general, I am quite pleased with the trajectory of the team now under this new staff, which appears will stay intact.  There is quite a lot to look forward to next year and beyond.  However, there were still quite a few head-shaking plays and decisions that leave me with some serious concerns, and there still exists a huge talent gap with the upper echelon of the Pac12. Here’s a look at some of the biggest positives, and negatives, to take away from this season, looking ahead to next.  I’ll take a closer look at next season’s squad as well as recruiting in upcoming posts.  In the meantime, Go Buffs! On the hardwood and anywhere else!

Biggest Revelations: P-Rich is so very good and we have been quite privileged to watch him.  It makes you wonder what Embree’s team might have done with him in the lineup, but makes you shudder trying to envision this year’s team without him, and makes you dream that he will decide to stay.

+Nelson Spruce developed into one hell of a receiver this year, showing excellent route-running and hands, and adding a ton of after the catch yards, mostly off a spin move the entire group has learned from Troy Walters.  Double Deuce was a great complement to P-Rich and will be Sefo’s main target next year.

+Sefo has been a pleasure to watch, showing incredible poise for a true freshman, even with his slight setback against Utah.  He can stick in the pocket, go through his progressions and take a hit, or run a little if needed.  He has developed a good chemistry with his receiving corps that will only get better.  He has been very good at holding on to the football, only making a few turnovers, and has a good knack to throw the ball low and/or outside where only his guy can get it.  He is only going to get better at his reads and accuracy. Coaches had talked about his maturity and leadership from the outset of camp.  I wonder how seriously they considered starting him right away.  If he had come in the spring, he might have won it outright.  He makes Buff fans excited for the future.

+Michael Adkins got a lot of hype in camp and we didn’t really find out why until they broke him out vs. Oregon St. He and Powell provided a very nice one-two (three with Jones) punch. This group will continue next year, but I expect Adkins to separate himself as he gets more experienced and comfortable.

+Addison Gillam literally came out of nowhere; having played at a small school up in the hills and far enough away that San Jose St. was the only school that really recruited him.  Luckily for us, he greyshirted and was so attached to the coaching staff that he came right along with them.  The coaches talked about him in early spring, but the assumption was that Brady Daigh would inherit the other inside LB slot next to Derrick Webb.  When the first depth chart came out, Gillam was at the top and never came close to giving it up.  He set all kinds of records and received a lot of national recognition.

+Chidobe Awuzie leap-frogged a lot of guys to become the nickel back, starting seven games and logging a ton of freshman minutes.  If you have read this blog at all, you know he is one of my favorite players and I expect him to have a huge sophomore campaign and take the starting job from friggin’ Crawley.

+The team was infinitely better than last in terms of committing penalties, which has plagued them for years.  MacIntyre said they had the least amount of penalties since the previous Mac era.  However, they did seem to commit them at the worst times and were most often committed by seniors; the latter point actually bodes well for the future.  They also had the fewest number of fumbles in the history of the program.

+This team was actually able to hang with many teams early, including being the first team this season to hold a lead on Oregon. If they can get over the hump up giving up big plays toward the end of the second quarter, they can be competitive in the second half and maybe steal a game or two next year.  Even when they did get behind big, this team never tanked and always kept fighting to the final gun.

Biggest disappointments: Although they were more competitive in general and later in most games, there were still too many blow outs to stomach, and enough awful  mistakes or gaping holes in the roster, game-planning and execution.  The biggest weakness is the gap between the Buffs and the rest of the Pac12 in speed.  Most of the positions highlighted here are listed because of a visible speed deficiency.

-The way the Buffs ended the first half in pretty much all their games was pathetic and this is where they most often lost games they were in early.  Ryan K from BuffStampede pondered on Twitter at some point what their score differential in the last five minutes of the first half was, so I did a little research.  They “lost” the last five minute of the second quarter 77-30, but that increases to 105-33 if you include the last 6:39.  They only “won” that segment twice, against csu and Cal (the only game where CU made the statement before halftime off a fluky “onsides” squib kick). Just for kicks, I also looked at the first five minutes or so of the second half and the Buffs were outscored there 48-20.  So, over that less than a full quarter of time, the Buff lost 153-33.  In their 8 losses they lost that segment 102-20.  Even in their four wins they only outscored opponents in that crucial time period 34-30, letting a couple of those teams stick around longer than they should have.

-Both lines were overmatched in most conference games.  This was never more apparent than against the Utes. Sefo was manhandled as the offensive line stood by and watched, while the defensive line was pushed backwards more often than not. The progress these two groups make will determine how far this team can go.

-Not sure if the tight end counts since it almost didn’t even exist.  This team needs weapons and this is a definite hole in the lineup that limits what Lindgren and Sefo can do.  There are only two scholarship players coming back and so far only one verbally committed.

-Even with two dedicated coaches, and although they improved mightily as a unit, the Colorado secondary was still an obvious weakness and had opponents’ QBs and WRs licking their chops.   There were certainly more effective than in the past, but there were still quite a few long passes over the heads of DBs.  When they were in coverage, no one ever looked back for the ball, resulting in countless catches and pass interference calls…even when they defensive player was actually in position, plaguing the defense all season long. The last game saw S Jered Bell and CB Kenneth Crawley both get benched after yet again (not?) doing just that.

This group, while generally strong tacklers when in position (probably from having gotten so much practice the last few years), does not seem to be able to make any type of physical play in the air for the ball with opposing receivers; which furthers the question of who the hell wins the jump balls in practice since the Buff receivers tend to have the same problem outside of Spruce?!

Special Teams: This unit gets its own special sub-heading under disappointments, especially since the Buffs have a full-time assistant dedicated to coaching this group.  While the poor play in this area did not lose them any particular game, it certainly didn’t do a ton (on purpose anyway) to help either, and the unit let a couple teams stick around way too long.

-How big are the blowouts without giving up the early kickoff returns?  If they are able to tackle, the csu and UCA games are never really in doubt at all.  This improved as the season wore on but remained a concern throughout the season as they still gave up some big returns.  This might not be a problem if they can kick the ball out of the endzone more consistently (see last note).

-Tackling in general was still shoddy down the stretch and worse for some reason on punt returns, which forced Darragh O’Neiil to have to resort to the rugby style he hates and that his blockers still managed to let get blocked by USC anyway.

-Therefore, Darragh must work on his hang time on straight traditional punts so he doesn’t outkick coverage,  doesn’t have to go rugby, and the team can get back to taking advantage of his huge leg and using it as a field position weapon. 

-While I also always thought they should take advantage of Darragh’s athleticism, I have since changed my mind based on his poor decision making instincts for fakes, and the cutesy Oregon-esque 2-point PAT formations are really not that beneficial.  This team should concentrate on the basics.

-Is Ryan Severson really the answer for kickoff return? He is not that fast, quick or explosive, and worst of all, hesitant after catching the ball.  Although he has a decent average, it’s because he usually takes it a few yards deep in the endzone and gets 22 yards out to the 18.  He rarely gets out past 25 so why bother.  On top of all that, he started fumbling toward the end of the year.  There has got to be a better option somewhere on the roster.

-Before you get all excited about their “success” with onside kicks, realize that two of their big plays--Oliver bouncing the ball off a Cal player for an inadvertent recovery and then Spruce’s return against same awful Cal team--were both flukes and usually when they tried one because they needed one, they did not recover.

Waiting in the wings: Besides the obvious true freshmen listed above (Sefo, Adkins, Gillam, Awuzie), there are a few other young gems on the roster that barely got to show their stuff this year, if at all. 

*DE Jimmie Gilbert was a little overshadowed with the standout play of Gillam and Awuzie on defense, but he made a ton of plays down the stretch and is the frontrunner right now to take Chidera’s spot on the d-line.

*S Tedric Thompson showed the ability to play with Pac12 players and was not any worse than Bell or Orms when he subbed for them-in fact, I can’t remember ever watching him ever chase a receiver from behind into the endzone as the other two have done frequently.  I think Marques Mosley might finally be ready to focus and get on the field as well, meaning seniors-to-be Bell and injured Terrel Smith have their work cut out for them to play in the final year as a Buff.

*Yuri Wright was one of the most talented and highly ranked prospects to join the Buffs recently, but so far has been a non-factor, playing sparingly as a freshman, and redshirting this last season to gain weight and get on track academically.  He could add a boost to the secondary if he can challenge for playing time.

*There is also a trio of young DEs who have all gotten high praise at some point and will certainly influence the rotation next season in Derek McCartmey, Markeis Reed and Tim Coleman.

*LB Kenneth Olugbode played some on special teams all year and admirably subbing for Webb the last game.  He will be competing with fellow sophomores Ryan Severson and Clay Norgard to crack the lineup behind Gillam, Greer and Daigh.

*The receiving corps just might be able to survive the loss of P-Rich with a stable of young speedsters waiting their turn. Devin Ross was the one frosh to break into the lineup this year and only had a few catches, but showed that he’s got wheels (P-Rich says as fast as he is) and got got valuable experience; he might even be called upon to start next year.

*Additionally, there are three more talented wide receivers that redshirted and have a lot of potential.  Jeff Thomas has all the physical size, speed and talent if he can stay healthy and get the mental side of it figured out.  Bryce Bobo received some praise as one of the young guys that has stood out most to MacIntyre.  Don’t count out Elijah Dunston either.  All increase team speed and could also factor into the return game.

*They also have a bunch of younger offensive linemen and the one with the biggest chance to crack the lineup next year is probably tackle Jonathon Huckins.

*I would really like to see George Frazier once he learns to play fullback.  He is huge and loves to hit as a former LB.  If he can learn to carry and catch the ball just a little he could be a quiet force on offense.

*Let’s hope one of the redshirts (Philip Lindsay or one of the receivers maybe?) or one of the incoming recruits can grab the kickoff and/or punt return (Spruce is fine, sure-handed but not necessarily an explosive game breaker) jobs.

*I can’t wait to see redshirt transfer Diego Gonzalez from Mexico boom the crap out of the ball on kickoffs and long FGs next year.