Rankings and Ratings

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Rankings and Ratings

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January 11th

Mike MacIntyre honored by AFCA as both Coach of the Year and Comeback Coach of the Year

… For those keeping score at home … MacIntyre has won eight of the 10 national coach of the year awards, all but one at this point, having been afforded honors from Walter Camp, the Associated Press, American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), ESPN/Home Depot, SB Nation and Scout.com, in addition to winning the Eddie Robinson and Bobby Dodd trophies.  He is a finalist for the last one, the Bear Bryant Award, which will be presented Wednesday night in Houston … Alabama’s Nick Saban was honored with the other one presented to date, the Maxwell Club Award.

From CUBuffs.com … Colorado’s Mike MacIntyre was voted 2016 AFCA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) National Coach of the Year, announced Tuesday night by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) during the inaugural American Football Coaches Awards show televised live on CBS Sports Network.

MacIntyre was selected by a vote of the Active I AFCA FBS members. The AFCA has named a Coach of the Year since 1935. The AFCA Coach of the Year award is the oldest and most prestigious of all the Coach of the Year awards and is the only one chosen exclusively by coaches.

Additionally, MacIntyre was presented with the AFCA Comeback Coach of the Year award during the telecast. The AFCA Comeback Coach of the Year award is presented to a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) head coach who faced significant obstacles or adversity during the past season, but led his team to great success despite that adversity – for example, losing a key player or players to injury, but still having a successful season; a head coach coming back from illness; dealing with a difficult situation at his university; or bouncing back from a bad season.

This year’s finalists for Comeback Coach of the Year, who were voted on by FBS head coaches, were Chris Creighton from Eastern Michigan, Mike MacIntyre from Colorado and Paul Petrino from Idaho.

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January 10th

Final Associated Press poll has CU as the No. 17 team in the nation; Buffs No. 15 in coaches poll

… CU’s four losses: to the No. 3, No. 4, No. 10, and No.11 teams in the nation … with wins over teams which finished No. 12 and No. 23 … first final poll ranking for the Buffs since 2002, when the Buffs finished 20th … 

Others Receiving Votes: Kansas State (9-4) 83; Georgia Tech (9-4) 47; Nebraska (9-4) 38; Western Kentucky (11-3) 32; Air Force (10-3) 30; Pittsburgh (8-5) 21; Boise State (10-3) 19; Iowa (8-5) 14; Minnesota (9-4) 12; Tulsa (10-3) 10; Brigham Young (9-4) 9; North Carolina (8-5) 8; Temple (10-4) 8; Houston (9-4) 8; Washington State (8-5) 1; Navy (9-5) 1

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USA Today coaches poll:

Others Receiving Votes: Nebraska (9-4) 46; Kansas State (9-4) 44; Georgia Tech (9-4) 24; Western Kentucky (11-3) 23; Boise State (10-3) 20; Air Force (10-3) 18; Iowa (8-5) 17; Temple (10-4) 16; Tulsa (10-3) 11; Minnesota (9-4) 7; Georgia (8-5) 5; Wake Forest (7-6) 3; Navy (9-5) 3; Washington State (8-5) 2; Arkansas (7-6) 2; Troy (10-3) 2; Brigham Young (9-4) 1

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January 5th

Tedric Thompson named Best Coverage Defender in the nation

From Pro Football Focus … Best coverage defender

Tedric Thompson, S, Colorado
PFF grade: 83.8; Pos. rank: 11

The Colorado Buffaloes’ performance and them getting to the Pac-12 Championship Game was one of the surprises of the season. A big part of Colorado’s success was the play of their secondary and how they could shut wide receivers down for entire games. While there were three elite performances from cornerbacks on that team, the award goes to Thompson, who lined up occasionally as a cornerback, but played the majority of his snaps as a free safety. His position, combined with his playmaking ability, made quarterbacks think twice about targeting the middle of the field and his range forced opposing signal callers to be more precise on sideline passes as well.

Thompson, who edged out Nebraska’s Nate Gerry for this award, recorded seven interceptions this season, tied for third-most in the nation and tied for most for safeties in college football. Furthermore, the Colorado safety had seven pass breakups as well, tied for third among safeties. Thompson’s best outing came against the Utah Utes as he allowed only two receptions for one yard on 11 targets while also recording two interceptions and two pass breakups in that game. Also, unlike some other players, Thompson not only made big defensive plays, but also did not allow a lot of offensive plays. As a result, he allowed only one touchdown in coverage, which led to an opposing passer rating of 22.3 on the season, the second-lowest among safeties in the nation.

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January 4th

Joe Tumpkin and Charles Clark share Football Scoop Defensive Backs Coaches of the Year

From FootballScoop … FootballScoop is proud to announce that Charles Clark and Joe Tumpkin are the 2016 FootballScoop Defensive Backs Coaches of the Year presented by ProGrass as selected by prior winners.

Colorado’s stunning worst-to-first success was spearheaded by a balanced offense and a defense that was flat out dangerous to throw the ball against.

In short, opposing passers posted the third-worst rating in college football. Their 49.8 percent completion rate was No. 4 in the country, their 5.7 yards per attempt average was tied for third their 18 touchdowns on 472 attempts was among the best ratios in college football, and their 15 interceptions was tied for 22nd nationally.

The Buffs produced gems such as Oregon State’s 13-of-32 performance in which the Beavers threw for only 100 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions (a 54.38 quarterback rating) or Stanford’s 16-of-29 for 170 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions, a gargantuan performance in a 10-5 Buffaloes win.

In a win-or-stay home regular season finale against Utah, Colorado limited the Utes to 13 completions on 40 attempts for 160 yards with a touchdown and two picks in a 27-22 Buffs victory, sending them to the Pac-12 Championship. Even in the Pac-12 title game, a Colorado loss, the Buffs secondary held Heisman candidate Jake Browning to 9-of-24 passing for 118 yards, the second-worst rating of Browning’s season.

Colorado’s secondary actively made life difficult for opposing passers and wide receivers by disrupting as many passes as any group in college football. The Buffaloes ranked second nationally with 89 passes defended and 74 pass breakups, each the most in the country on a per game basis.

As a group, Colorado placed 16th in FBS with 4.87 yards per play allowed and placed 20th with 21.7 points per game allowed.

Colorado placed three of its defensive backfield starters on the All-Pac-12 team, with Chidobe Awuzie, Tedric Thompson and Ahkello Witherspoon all netting second-team nods.

Clark, who coaches cornerbacks for the Buffs, has completed four years on staff in Boulder. A former Ole Miss player, Clark followed his former coach David Cutcliffe into coaching as a graduate assistant at Duke before joining Mike MacIntyre’s staff at San Jose State and later following him to Colorado.

A Michigan Tech graduate, Tumpkin jumped into coaching as a graduate assistant at Lakeland College and Northern Michigan before landing his first full-time job at Defiance College in 1996. He made stops at Southern Illinois, Sam Houston State, SMU, Pittsburgh and a 5-year stint as defensive coordinator at Central Michigan before joining Colorado’s staff as safeties coach in 2015.

“Number one, they’ve done a great job the last couple of years working with their players to get them to this points; these were the fruits of a lot of investment by both Joe and Charles and the players,” MacIntyre said. “Of course this year, they did a phenomenal job of having their guys play really tight coverage. We were very consistent on the back end, just very, very sound. There were only a few busted coverages, and that shows good coaching. They complement each other very well and do a great job working together.”

The FootballScoop Coaches of the Year awards presented by ProGrass are the only set of awards that recognize the most outstanding position coaches in college football. The finalists (Torrian Gray [Florida], Jim Leonhard [Wisconsin], Greg Schiano/Kerry Coombs [Ohio State], Scot Sloan/Bryan Brown [Appalachian State], Brian Smith/Michael Zordich [Michigan] and Clark and Tumpkin) were selected based off of nominations by coaches, athletic directors, and athletic department personnel. The prior winners selected this year’s winner.

Clark and Tumpkin will receive their award and be recognized at an event at the AFCA Convention in January.

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December 30th

Mike MacIntyre awarded the Bobby Dodd Trophy

… Following in his father’s footsteps … Coach MacIntyre will now have two coins to carry in his pocket … 

From the Bobby Dodd Foundation … Officials from the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl announced Friday that Colorado Head Coach Mike MacIntyre has been named the winner of the 2016 Dodd Trophy.

Presented annually by the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, The Dodd Trophy, college football’s most coveted coaching award, honors the head football coach whose program embodies the award’s three pillars of scholarship, leadership and integrity, while also having success on the playing field throughout the season. MacIntyre now joins an elite list of former recipients of the award, which includes his father, the late George MacIntyre, who won the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award in 1982.

“I’m honored to receive this award on behalf of the University of Colorado,” MacIntyre said. “Our football team and our coaching staff has done a phenomenal job this year. This award is very personal to me, my dad won this award and I also got to know coach Dodd when I was playing at Georgia Tech, so I am honored and blessed to kind of follow in my dad’s footsteps. It is a very special award for me personally since my dad won it.”

MacIntyre has crafted an approach to coaching college football that incorporates “The Four F’s” – Foundation, Family, Future and Football. He believes that if Colorado’s student-athletes focus on the Four F’s, it will lead to success. Under MacIntyre, OLB Derek McCartney was named to the 2016 Allstate AFCA Good Works team, the most coveted off-the-field honor in the sport, as it recognizes and celebrates those who dedicate their time to bettering the community and lives of others.

“We are honored to have a second MacIntyre join the prestigious list of Dodd Trophy winners,” said Jim Terry, chairman of the Dodd Foundation. “Colorado’s unparalleled turnaround under Coach MacIntyre’s guidance was one of the more remarkable storylines of this season, but it’s his leadership and commitment to both his players and community off the field, that truly embodies the spirit and legacy of Coach Dodd.”

The Colorado team has seen success in the classroom as well under Coach MacIntyre’s leadership, boasting a notable Academic Progress Rate score of 968 last year. In 2016, five Buffaloes were honored on the Pac-12 Conference Football All-Academic teams, which brought the two-year total for the program to 13 honorees.

In the community, Coach MacIntyre initiated his staff and players to take part in the Be The Match Organization. The group matches patients suffering from life-threatening blood disorders with healthy donors as part of the National Marrow Donor program. He and his wife, Trisha, help raise awareness of ovarian cancer. In honor of National Ovarian Cancer Month this past September, they hosted the first Hike For Her Event, which was inspired after Trisha lost her mother to ovarian cancer in November 2015. The event helped fund research that is on the cusp of major breakthroughs in battling the disease.

“We’re proud to present college football’s most prestigious coaching award and strongly believe in the foundation of what it represents,” added Gary Stokan, president and CEO of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. “Coach MacIntyre has learned well from his father, George, and he has long exhibited the ideals that are representative of Coach Dodd – scholarship, leadership and integrity – so we are honored to recognize him and the impact he has had on his student-athletes and in the Boulder community.”

On the field, Coach MacIntyre has orchestrated one of the greatest turnarounds in college football history. In the past three years, the Buffaloes went a combined 2-25 in conference play, finishing last in the Pac-12 South each of those seasons. Under Coach MacIntyre’s leadership this year, Colorado clinched its first winning season since 2005 and its 10 wins are the most since 2001. The Buffaloes won the Pac-12 South and earned a berth in the Pac-12 Championship Game for the first time since joining the conference in 2011. Colorado was ranked No. 10 in the final College Football Playoff rankings.

Five of the nation’s top head coaches (Paul Chryst, P.J. Fleck, Mike MacIntyre, Ken Niumatalolo and Chris Petersen) were named finalists for this year’s award by a panel consisting of all previous winners, national media, a member of the Dodd family and a College Football Hall of Fame member. Coach MacIntyre was selected as this year’s recipient by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation.

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December 22nd

Mike MacIntyre a finalist for inaugural AFCA Comeback Coach of the Year

From CUBuffs.com …  University of Colorado head coach Mike MacIntyre was named Wednesday a finalist for the inaugural AFCA Comeback Coach of the Year Award.

MacIntyre, in his fourth season at Colorado, is also a finalist for the AFCA National Coach of the Year Award. Both that award and the Comeback Coach of the Year Award will be presented live on CBS Sports Network on Jan. 10, at 7 p.m. MT. The awards show is taking place at the Grand Ole Opry House during the 2017 AFCA Convention in Nashville, Tenn.

The finalists for Comeback Coach of the Year, who were voted on by Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches, include Chris Creighton from Eastern Michigan and Paul Petrino from Idaho along with MacIntyre.

The winner of this award is a head coach who faced significant obstacles or adversity in the past or current season, but led his team to a great season despite the adversity. Examples might be losing a key player or players to injury, but still having a successful season; a head coach coming back from illness; dealing with a difficult situation at his university; or bouncing back from a bad season.

MacIntyre and the Buffaloes fashioned one of the best turnarounds in major college football history, improving off of the 4-9 2015 season to a 10-3 record this year while winning the Pac-12 South Division championship and ranking No. 10 in the final College Football Playoff rankings. CU this year became only the ninth Power-5 team since 1972 to jump from four or fewer wins one year up to 10 or more wins the next.

… Continue reading story here …

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December 15th

Mike MacIntyre named Associated Press national Coach-of-the-Year

From the Associated Press … Mike MacIntyre has a reputation as a turnaround artist. Give him a program, any program, and he will transform it.

Colorado, though, had the looks of being the sort of program that not even MacIntyre could fix.

After three years that resulted in a grand total of 10 victories, MacIntyre led the 10th-ranked Buffaloes (No. 11 AP) to a 10-win season and a spot in the Pac-12 championship game, and even the fringes of the national title conversation for a week or two. Colorado also will make its first bowl appearance since 2007.

For that, MacIntyre is The Associated Press college football Coach of the Year. He received 109 points and 25 first-place votes from the AP college football poll panel. Penn State’s James Franklin was second with 98 and 16, and Alabama’s Nick Saban was third with 57 and 13.

“We played a lot of young guys, and they worked hard and got better,” said MacIntyre, who became the first Colorado coach to win the award since it began in 1998. “They grew into their talent and kept right on going.”

To comprehend just how far Colorado has come, it’s important to know where the Buffaloes were before MacIntyre arrived. In 2012, they led the nation in games started by true freshmen, were outscored by 552-214 and lost a school-high 11 games that ultimately cost coach Jon Embree his job.

MacIntyre realized he was inheriting a program that had fallen on hard times. But the depths of that decline caught him off guard.

“Overall, to be able to compete, to be in the Pac-12 championship game, we weren’t very close,” MacIntyre said.

MacIntyre gradually revamped the program — just like he did at San Jose State when he inherited a 2-10 squad and in three seasons turned the Spartans into a double-digit win team.

All he needed was time and a chance to develop his talent. After going 2-25 in conference games over his first three seasons at Colorado, some publications listed him on the hot seat heading into the season.

Now he is one of the hottest coaches in the business.

“It’s been remarkable, what’s occurred this season,” said former Colorado coach Gary Barnett, who is now a radio analyst for Buffs football games. “They’ve acted like they’ve been there before, acted like a mature team that’s used to winning. They have this resiliency to find a way to win, every single game they’ve been in.”

“The Rise” — as Colorado has labeled it — has been no surprise to MacIntyre’s players. They bought in from the beginning. Take junior running back Phillip Lindsay. He was recruited by the previous regime and didn’t know if his scholarship would still be honored after suffering a serious knee injury in high school.

MacIntyre visited him and assured Lindsay that one day he would play a role in leading this team back to prominence. Lindsay rushed for 1,189 yards and 16 scores this season. He won’t forget that trust from MacIntyre.

He believed. His teammates believed — even as the Buffaloes struggled.

“Rome wasn’t built in one day. He just needed time to build a program,” Lindsay said. “He’s a big reason we are where we are today.”

And that’s a program trending in the right direction — with big crowds showing up again at Folsom Field. The Buffaloes appeared in their first conference title game, losing 41-10 to No. 4 Washington, since 2005, when they were in the Big 12. They are also heading to the Valero Alamo Bowl against Oklahoma State with a chance to become just the fourth team in school history to win 11 games.

“We’ve been making steps. Some of them were baby steps, but we were moving forward,” said MacIntyre, whose late father, George MacIntyre, was the coach at Vanderbilt from 1979 to 1985. “We weren’t going backward at all.”

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December 14th

CBS names Mike MacIntyre national Coach-of-the-Year

From CBS Sports … When a coach is rebuilding a program, like MacIntyre has done at Colorado, he’s got to sell a vision to his players. That requires a steadfastness and patience, and even after losing 27 of 37 games in his first three seasons with the Buffs, there was nothing to shake MacIntyre. After leading Colorado back into the top 10 of the polls in November and showing up in the Pac-12 title game with a group of upperclassmen that bought into MacIntyre’s vision, now he can sell results.

Colorado’s first 10-win season since 2001 was followed by several Coach of the Year honors, including this one from CBS Sports. It’s going to be tough to replicate the success of 2016 after saying goodbye to at least 11 starters from the Pac-12 title game, including quarterback Sefo Liufau and defensive stars like Chidobe Awuize, Tedric Thompson and Jimmie Gilbert. But you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who is betting on Colorado to descend back to the cellar of the Pac-12 South. Coach Mac is for real, and the Buffs are going to be here to stay for a while.

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Mike MacIntyre a Finalist for the Bobby Dodd Award

… Related … Vote for Coach MacIntyre for the Bobby Dodd Award … Vote here …

From theDoddTrophy.com … Officials from the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl have announced the finalists for the 2016 Dodd Trophy. Finalists include five of the nation’s top coaches in college football.

“The head coaches named as finalists represent their programs with the highest ideals of scholarship,  leadership, and integrity on and off the field – the three pillars of legendary coach Bobby Dodd’s coaching philosophy,” said Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Chairman Percy Vaughn. “In addition to enjoying successful football seasons for each of their programs, these finalists have also been able to secure noteworthy APR scores and graduation rates, as well as a strong commitment to community service.”

“Dodd Trophy winners tell us each year it’s the most coveted coach of the year award in college football, and we’re thrilled to have such a diverse group from across the country who have distinguished themselves as finalists for it. These head coaches’ teams have enjoyed successful football seasons, while also succeeding in the classroom and in the community,” said Jim Terry, Chairman of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation. “All of these finalists truly embody the type of leadership that Bobby Dodd valued.”

This year’s finalists represent four conferences and have combined for a 2016 record of 54-10. Overall, the five coaches have a combined 36 years of head coaching experience and 300 wins among them.

The 2016 Dodd Trophy Finalists:

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December 13th

Tedric Thompson – CBS 2nd team All-American

From CBS Sports … A panel of college football writers, analysts and experts across CBS Sports convened following the end of the regular season and now presents the CBS Sports 2016 College Football All-America team. Below are the first and second teams along with notes and breakdowns by conference.

Be sure to tune in to “Inside College Football: 2016 All-America Team” at 9 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network [channel finder] for a complete breakdown of the team by a panel including analysts Brian Jones, Aaron Taylor, Randy Cross and Houston Nutt, and CBS Sports senior college football writer Dennis Dodd, with host Adam Zucker.

Second Team

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Athlon ranks top ten games of the Pac-12 season – three CU games make the list

From Athlon … The Pac-12 at the end of the year was not exactly what we thought it was at the beginning of the season. Washington surged into the national spotlight and ended up making the College Football Playoff, USC battled back from a 1-3 start to become the hottest team in the country and Colorado was the turnaround of the decade with a worst to first run in the Pac-12 South Division.

All of that likely made for a happy commissioner in Larry Scott as the league proved to be worth tuning in for each and every week. Among all those upsets, wild endings and hugely important shakeups though, which ones were the best games? It’s hard to narrow things down of course, but here are the best 10 Pac-12 games of the 2016 regular season:

9. Colorado 38, Washington State 24 — Nov. 19 – College Football Playoff implications in the Pac-12 were on the line and one of the biggest games down the stretch ended up pitting a pair of top 25 teams in … Washington State and Colorado? Wait, what? Yes it was true and Buffaloes quarterback Sefo Liufau delivered one of the most impressive performances all season when he returned from injury to throw for 345 yards and run for another 108 during a rare big game in Boulder. Luke Falk threw for three bills against one of the best secondaries in the country and helped the Cougars have their chances in the fourth quarter but it wasn’t to be as CU pulled away late.

8. Colorado 41, Oregon 38 — Sept. 24  – This was our first inclination that things were not right in Eugene for the Ducks and that Colorado was going to cook up something special this season as the Buffs secured one of their biggest wins since joining the Pac-12 behind the heroics of backup signal-caller Steven Montez. The QB helped the team re-take the lead late in the fourth thanks to an amazing strike to Bryce Bobo, who narrowly completed a wild catch in the back of the end zone. A huge defensive stand that ended in an interception capped a fun game that saw Colorado take a big lead before allowing Oregon back into things at Autzen.

6. Colorado 27, Utah 22 — Nov. 26 – Colorado secured the Pac-12 South title thanks to a stingy defense (three sacks, four turnovers, a pair of fourth-down stops) in a game with far more drama than stellar play until the final quarter. After not getting much going through the thin air, Utah mounted a touchdown drive that closed the score to within five after missing the two-point conversion. The Buffs recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock to help the first sellout crowd in over a decade in Boulder storm the field after the game and celebrate an improbable division title.

… Continue reading story here …

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December 12th

Associated Press All-American team includes Jimmie Gilbert

The Associated Press All-American teams have been announced, and a Buff made the list.

Gilbert becomes the first CU player to earn All-American status since guard Ryan Miller in 2011. The last Buff defensive player to earn All-American mention was linebacker Jordon Dizon in 2007.

From CUBuffs.com … University of Colorado standout outside linebacker Jimmie Gilbert was named Monday to the prestigious Associated Press All-America team.

Gilbert, who was a third-team selection, becomes the first Buffalo to be named an AP All-American since 2011 when offensive guard Ryan Miller was also a third-team selection.

He is also the first Buffalo to draw All-America honors this season from one of the five official All-America teams (those five are: The Sporting News, Walter Camp, AP, Football Writers Association of America and American Football Coaches Association). The AFCA team is the only one yet to be announced; it will be released on Wednesday morning.

Gilbert was named last week to SB Nation’s All-America team and was on College Sports Madness’ second-team.

Gilbert, a senior from College Station, Texas, posted 10.5 sacks on the season, 51 tackles and forced six fumbles. He ranked in a tie for second among all FBS players for the most forced fumbles this season and his 10.5 sacks (by CU’s count; he had 9.5 using press box stats that the NCAA recognizes) would put him in a tie for the 13th-most nationally.

The 2016 first-team All-Pac-12 selection by both the coaches and AP recorded 20 sacks in his four seasons as a Buff and is one of only nine players in school history to record 20 or more sacks in a career.

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THIRD TEAM

OFFENSE

Quarterback — Baker Mayfield, junior, Oklahoma

Running backs — Saquon Barkley, sophomore, Penn State; Aaron Jones, junior, UTEP

Tackles — Mike McGlinchey, senior, Notre Dame; Forrest Lamp, senior, Western Kentucky

Guards — Nico Siragusa, senior, San Diego State; Quenton Nelson, junior, Notre Dame

Center — Ethan Pocic, senior, LSU

Tight end — O.J. Howard, senior, Alabama

Wide receivers — Amba Etta-Tawo, senior, Syracuse; Austin Carr, senior, Northwestern

All-purpose player — Christian Kirk, sophomore, Texas A&M

Kicker — Gary Wunderlich, junior, Mississippi

DEFENSE

Ends — Hunter Dimick, senior, Utah; Jordan Willis, senior, Kansas State

Tackles — Christian Wilkins, sophomore, Clemson; Solomon Thomas, junior, Stanford

Linebackers — Kendell Beckwith, senior, LSU; Jimmie Gilbert, senior, Colorado; Ben Boulware, senior, Clemson

Cornerbacks — Teez Tabor, junior, Florida; Cordrea Tankersley, senior, Clemson

Safeties — Nathan Gerry, senior, Nebraska; Weston Steelhammer, senior, Air Force

Punter — Michael Dickson, sophomore, Texas

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Offensive lineman Tim Lynott named to USA Today freshman All-American team

From USA Today … They are only freshmen. But across the country, first-year contributors have grasped major roles for some of the nation’s best teams – including at undefeated and No. 1 Alabama, which starts true freshmen at quarterback and offensive tackle.

The Crimson Tide’s Jalen Hurts and Jonah Williams have starring roles on the USA TODAY Sports Freshman All-America team, which includes at least one representative from each of the 10 conferences in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

► QB Jalen Hurts, Alabama

► RB Mike Weber, Ohio State

► RB Justice Hill, Oklahoma State

► WR Demetris Robertson, California

► WR Ahmmon Richards, Miami (Fla.)

► TE Isaac Nauta, Georgia

► OL Jonah Williams, Alabama

► OL Ethan Reed, Louisiana Tech

► OL Erik McCoy, Texas A&M

► OL Tim Lynott, Colorado

► OL Ryan Bates, Penn State

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December 9th

Associated Press All-Pac-12 team announced – three Buffs on first team

From USA Today … Washington receiver John Ross is the player of the year on The Associated Press All-Pac-12 team announced on Friday and two players shared defensive honors.

Utah defensive end Hunter Dimick and multi-dimensional USC cornerback Adoree’ Jackson shared defensive player of the year.

Colorado’s Mike MacIntyre was the coach of the year after leading a massive turnaround in Boulder and Southern California quarterback Sam Darnold was a unanimous choice as newcomer of the year.

Washington led the first team with six players, including Budda Baker, a unanimous choice at safety. The No. 4 Huskies won the Pac-12 championship and earned a spot in the College Football Playoff, facing top-ranked Alabama in the Peach Bowl.

FIRST TEAM

Offense

Quarterback — Jake Browning, Washington, 6-2, 209, So., Folsom, California.

Running backs — Christian McCaffrey, Stanford, 6-0, 200, Jr., Castle Rock, Colorado.; Joe Williams, Utah, 5-11, 205, Sr., Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Tackles — Garett Bolles, Utah, 6-5, 300, Jr., Lehi, Utah; Zach Banner, USC, 6-6, 310, Sr., Tacoma, Washington.

Guards — u-Cody O’Connell, Washington State, 6-8, 354, Jr., Wenatchee, Washington.; Jake Eldrenkamp, Washington, 6-5, 297, Sr., Medina, Washington.

Center — Scott Quessenberry, UCLA, 6-4, 315, Jr., La Costa, California.

Wide receivers— u-John Ross, Washington, 5-11, 190, Jr., Long Beach, California.; Chad Hansen, California, 6-2, 205, Jr., Fillmore, California.

Tight end — u-Pharaoh Brown, Oregon, 606, 250, Sr. Lyndhurst, Ohio

All-purpose — Adoree’ Jackson, USC, 5-11, 185, Jr., Belleville, Illinois.

Kicker — u-Zane Gonzalez, Arizona State, 6-1, 195, Sr., Deer Park, Texas

Defense

Defensive ends — u-Takkarist McKinley, UCLA, 6-2, 265, Sr., Richmond, California.; u-Hunter Dimick, Utah, 6-3, 272, Sr., Syracuse, Utah

Tackles — Solomon Thomas, Stanford, 6-3, 273, Jr., Coppell, Texas; Elijah Qualls, Washington, 6-1, 321, Jr., Petaluma, California.

Linebackers — u-Jayon Brown, UCLA, 6-0, 320, Sr., Long Beach, California.; Jimmie Gilbert, Colorado, 6-5, 230, Sr., College Station, Texas; Azeem Victor, Washington, 6-3, 230, Jr., Upland, California.

Cornerbacks — Chidobe Awuzie, Colorado, 6-0, 205, Sr., San Jose, California.; Adoree’ Jackson, USC, 5-11, 185, Jr., Belleville, Illinois.

Safeties — u-Budda Baker, Washington, 5-10, 192, Jr., Bellevue, Washington.; Tedric Thompson, Colorado, 6-1, 205, Sr., Valencia, California.

Punter — Mitch Wishnowsky, Utah, 6-2, 220, So., Australia

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SECOND TEAM

Offense

Quarterback — Sam Darnold, USC, 6-4, 225, Fr., Capistrano Beach, California.

Running backs —Myles Gaskin, Washington, 5-10, 195, So., Lynnwood, Washington.; Ronald Jones, USC, 6-1, 195, So., McKinney, Texas

Tackles — Chad Wheeler, USC, 6-6, 310, Sr., Santa Monica, California.; Stevie Tu’ikolovato, USC, 6-1, 320, Sr., Salt Lake City

Guards — Isaac Asiata, Utah, 6-3, 323, Sr., Spanish Fork, Utah; Damien Mama, USC, 6-4, 325, Jr., Moreno Valley, California.

Center — Coleman Shelton, Washington, 6-4, 293, Jr., Pasadena, California.

Wide receivers— JuJu Smith-Schuster, USC, 6-2, 220, Jr., Long Beach, California.; Gabe Marks, Washington State, 6-0, 190, Sr., Venice, California.

Tight end — Nate Iese, UCLA, 6-3, 242, Sr., Elk Grove, California.

All-purpose — Christian McCaffrey, Stanford, 6-0, 200, Jr., Castle Rock, Colorado.

Kicker— Andy Phillips, Utah, 5-10, 210, Sr., Draper, Utah

Defense

Defensive ends— Hercules Mata’afa, Washington State, 6-2, 255, So., Lahaina, Hawaii; JoJo Wicker, Arizona State, 6-3, 263, So., Long Beach, California.

Tackles — Vita Vea, Washington, 6-5, 332, So., Milpitas, California.; Lowell Lotulelei, Utah, 6-2, 310, Jr., South Jordan, Utah

Linebackers — Koron Crump, Arizona State, 6-3, 218, Jr., St. Louis; Keishawn Bierria, Washington, 6-1, 221, Jr., Carson, California.; Cameron Smith, USC, 6-5, 245, So., Roseville, California.

Cornerbacks — Sidney Jones, Washington, 6-0, 181, Jr., Diamond Bar, California.; Ahkello Witherspoon, Colorado, 603, 195, Sr., Sacramento, California.

Safeties — Shalom Luani, Washington State, 6-0, 205, Sr., American Samoa; Marcus Williams, Utah, 6-1, 195, Jr., Corona, California.

Punter — Matt Haack, Arizona State, 6-1, 201, Sr., West Des Moines, Iowa

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Offensive Player of the Year — John Ross, Washington.

Defensive Player of the Year — Hunter Dimick, Utah and Adoree’ Jackson, USC

Newcomer of the Year — u-Sam Darnold, USC

Coach of the Year — Mike MacIntyre, Colorado

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All-Pac-12 voting panel:

Aaron Fentress, CSN Northwest; Dale Grummert, Lewiston Morning Tribune; Anthony Gimino, Lindy’s Football Annuals; Doug Haller, Arizona Republic; Brian Howell, Boulder Daily Camera; Gina Mizell, Oregonian; Tony Parks, KZNS; Jacob Thorpe, Spokesman-Review; Jon Wilner, San Jose Mercury News;

December 7th

Sefo Liufau named Polynesian College Football Player-of-the-Year

From the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame … University of Colorado Quarterback Sefo Liufau has been selected as the 2016 recipient of the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award.

The Award is presented annually to the most outstanding college football player of Polynesian ancestry that epitomizes great ability and integrity.  University of Oregon and Tennessee Titans Quarterback (1st Round – 2nd Overall Pick in 2015 NFL Draft) Marcus Mariota was selected as the inaugural recipient of the Award in 2014, and Notre Dame and Baltimore Ravens Offensive Lineman (1st Round – 6th Overall Pick in 2016 NFL Draft) Ronnie Stanley was selected as the recipient in 2015.

The 6-foot-4, 240-pound Tacoma, Washington native was born to Joe and Heather Liufau and is of Samoan ancestry.  He is also the nephew of Inaugural Polynesian Football Hall of Fame (Class of 2014) inductee Jack “The Throwin’ Samoan” Thompson.

Liufau helped lead the University of Colorado to the biggest turnaround in Pac-12 history, from a 4-9 record last season to a 10-2 regular season record this year.  The Buffaloes earned their first Pac-12 South Division Title, first berth in the Pac-12 Championship Game, their first 10-win season since 2001, and a #10 final overall national playoff ranking.

Sefo finished the season with a 134.0 Passer Rating, was responsible for 18 touchdowns (11 passing, 7 rushing), and had 2,667 all-purpose yards.  Throughout the season, he broke several school records including becoming the school’s all-time leading passer in both completions and passing yards, completing the most consecutive passes without an interception (152), setting the career record for the most offensive plays, and the career record for most passing attempts.

“Sefo has led the University of Colorado to one of their greatest seasons in school history,” said Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Chairman Jesse Sapolu.  “His leadership on and off the field has been instrumental in their success.”

The formal presentation of the Award will be held at the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Celebration Dinner (January 20, 2017) along with being recognized during the Inaugural Polynesian Bowl (January 21, 2017).

The Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award was voted on by the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee members composed of past head football coaches Dick Tomey (Chairman), LaVell Edwards, Ron McBride and Dick Vermeil, ESPN SportsCenter anchor Neil Everett, NFL player personnel expert Gil Brandt, past NFLPA president Kevin Mawae(Polynesian Football HOF Inaugural Inductee) and Hawai’i sportscaster Robert Kekaula.

“On behalf of the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Board of Directors, we congratulate Sefo on this historic accomplishment,” said Vice-Chairman Ma`a Tanuvasa.  “He truly represents the very best of our Polynesian culture.”

Other Finalists included TE Cole Hikutini (University of Louisville), DT Lowell Lotulelei (University of Utah), DB Kai Nacua (Brigham Young University), and WR Juju Smith-Schuster (University of Southern California).

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Mike MacIntyre picks up another national award – the Home Depot Coach of the Year

From CUBuffs.com …  Mike MacIntyre has received another national coach of the year award. Colorado’s head coach was named the Home Depot Coach of the Year Wednesday, the high honor coming for the man who led the Buffaloes to their first 10-win season in 15 years.

The awards are starting to stack up for MacIntyre after the Buffaloes completed the single-greatest turnaround in Pac-12 Conference history, going from 1-8 in league play a season ago to 8-1 this year and Pac-12 South Division champions.

MacIntyre has already been named the Pac-12 Conference Coach of the Year, was named the 2016 Walter Camp Coach of the Year on Dec. 1 and most recently on Tuesday of this week was named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year and AFCA Coach of the Year awards.

MacIntyre will be honored by Home Depot Vice President Dave Abbott at The Home Depot College Football Awards show, which is live Thursday from the College Football Hall of Fame and Chick-fil-A Fan Experience in Atlanta. ESPN is televising the college football awards show live, starting at 5 p.m. MT.

In addition to helping construct CU’s turnaround that is the greatest in Pac-12 Conference history, MacIntyre’s Buffaloes this year became only the ninth Power-5 team since 1972 to jump from four or fewer wins one year up to 10 or more wins the next. CU was 4-9 overall in 2015, but currently stands 10-3 heading into the Dec. 29 Valero Alamo Bowl in San Antonio where the Buffs will face No. 13 Oklahoma State.

… Continue reading story here …

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December 6th

Vote for Mike MacIntyre as Coach-of-the-Year

From ESPN … Before the postseason kicks off with six games on Dec. 17, let’s take a look back at the best and worst from the 2016 season.

Once again, there were plenty of surprises and disappointments:

Coach of the year

Schlabach says … Mike MacIntyre

After winning only two Pac-12 games combined in his first three seasons at Colorado, MacIntyre guided the Buffaloes to a dramatic turnaround in 2016. Colorado finished 10-3, won the Pac-12 South and will play in a bowl game for the first time since 2007. The Buffaloes beat Oregon for the first time since joining the Pac-12 and defeated Stanford for the first time since 1990.

There are five candidates listed. Currently, Mike MacIntyre has 38% of the vote; James Franklin at Penn State has 32%; Chris Petersen at Washington has 16%; Urban Meyer at Ohio State has 11%; and Paul Chryst at Wisconsin has 4%

VOTE HERE for Mike MacIntyre for Coach-of-the-Year (you can also scroll down to vote for Colorado as the “Surprise Team of the Year” … Currently, Colorado leads, with 50% of the vote, with Penn State in second at 39%).

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Jon Wilner: CU No. 3 in Pac-12 … not surprised by Heisman trophy snub of west coast teams

From the San Jose Mercury News … Important point: Never be surprised by western snubbing from the Heisman electorate, which is decidedly eastern in its makeup.

For proof, I give you the voting regions:

* Five of the six are east of, or touch, the Mississippi River.

* The Far West region stretches from the Dakotas to Hawaii. (That’s right: One region, from the Dakotas to Hawaii.)

* The Far West makes up 16.67 percent of the Heisman electorate but approximately 23 percent of the U.S. population.

That helps explain why only one non-USC player from the Pac-12 has won the Heisman in 45 years (Marcus Mariota) … and why it’s close to impossible for a Pac-12 player to start the season as a dark-horse candidate and actually win the thing.

To the end-of-regular-season power ratings …

1. Washington
Comment: Best team by a significant margin from start to finish, with dominating performances throughout and a single loss (to a hot, talented team.). There’s a reason nobody has gone undefeated in the division era.

2. USC
Comment: Bumped the Trojans ahead of CU despite the Buffs’ division title. The head-to-head win and the comparative results against Washington — remember, USC won in Seattle — are too great to overlook.

3. Colorado
Comment: Might it have been different Friday night if Sefo Liufau hadn’t gotten hurt? Or if Steven Montez hadn’t gotten pulled? Tough to find fault with the decision on the latter. If your leader can play in the biggest game, your leader should play.

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December 5th

Colorado a three-point favorite over Oklahoma State

From VegasInsider.com … Bowl odds:

— Colorado – a 3.0-point favorite over Oklahoma State in Alamo Bowl

— Utah – an 8.0-point favorite over Indiana in Foster Farms Bowl

— Washington State – a 6.5-point favorite over Minnesota in Holiday Bowl

— Stanford – a 3.0-point favorite over North Carolina in the Sun Bowl

— USC – a 7.0-point favorite over Penn State in the Rose Bowl

— Washington – a 16.5-point underdog to Alabama in the College Football Playoffs (Peach Bowl)

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Alamo Bowl swag rated No. 3 out of the 41 bowls

From CBS Sports … Bowl season is wonderful. Some complain about there being too many games and most of them being meaningless, but they offer 41 more chances to watch college football, so please stop complaining.

Also, many times bowl games offer up a nice trip for the players to end their year — especially for those that land in a destination bowl like the Bahamas or Hawaii. So, no, the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl is not super meaningful in the grand scheme of things, but you better believe those kids are excited for a December trip to the Bahamas.

Along with the possibility of playing in a cool place, the players are allowed to take home gifts from their bowl experience. That can be a big perk for the players, but not all bowl gift packages are created equal. Sports Business Daily released its annual look at the gifts players will receive for each bowl game, which you can see in its entirety here, but we’re ranking the five best and five worst bowl game gift packages of the 41 bowl games.

3. Valero Alamo Bowl: Apple Watch Nike+; $110 Best Buy gift card; myCharge HubPlus portable charger; team panoramic photo; mini-helmet

The Apple Watch Nike+ retails for $399 and tacking on the Best Buy gift card is pretty sweet. That’s the best single item gift out there that’s not from a gift suite, so shoutout to the Alamo Bowl.

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ESPN takes Colorado over Oklahoma State in the Alamo Bowl

From ESPN … The bowl matchups are set, and it’s time to break down each one. Forty-one games. Forty-two predictions. Here’s hoping for a better record than last year (don’t ask).

Ready, set, bowl!

Valero Alamo Bowl: No. 12 Oklahoma State vs. No. 11 Colorado
(9 p.m., ESPN, Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas)
San Antonio will host another entertaining and competitive game between two league runners-up, but Colorado’s experience and balance will make the difference. Mason Rudolph and James Washington strike early, but Colorado rallies behind running back Phillip Lindsey to cap an improbable season under coach Mike MacIntyre. Colorado 38, Oklahoma State 35.

The rest of the Pac-12:

Holiday Bowl: Washington State 37, Minnesota 24

Foster Farms Bowl: No. 19 Utah 37, Indiana 28

Sun Bowl: No. 18 Stanford 45, North Carolina 34

Rose Bowl: No. 9 USC 38, No. 5 Penn State 38

Peach Bowl (Playoffs): No. 1 Alabama 31, No. 4 Washington 20

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CU No. 3 in pre-bowl Pac-12 Power Rankings

From ESPN … Welcome to the post-championship game power rankings. You can see last week’s rankings here. If you don’t like where you’re ranked, hopefully you’re going to a bowl game. If not, better luck next season.

3. Colorado 10-3, 8-1 (No. 1 last week)

The Buffs must now pick up the pieces after getting throttled by Washington in the Pac-12 title game. It was their worst loss of the season. And history hasn’t been kind to the league’s runners-up. Every loser in the Pac-12 title game has lost their bowl game. Colorado will try to snap that streak against Oklahoma State in the Valero Alamo Bowl.

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December 4th

Colorado drops to No. 11 in both AP and USA Today coaches polls

Colorado dropped three spots in the final regular season polls, to No. 11 in each. Washington, is in at No. 4, with USC jumping the Buffs to No. 9 in both polls.

In the College Football Playoff rankings, Colorado finished the regular season at No. 10 … the only top ten team without a New Year’s bowl opportunity.

CU’s three losses? To teams ranked No. 4, No. 6, and No. 9 in the College Football Playoff rankings?

Washington earned a spot in the College Football Playoffs, earning the No. 4 seed. The Rose Bowl, with its choice of teams, picked USC over Colorado … leaving the Buffs to a likely Alamo Bowl bid.

The final regular season Associated Press poll:

Others Receiving Votes: Houston (9-3) 101; Utah (8-4) 99; Boise State (10-2) 95; Washington State (8-4) 31; Texas A&M (8-4) 26; Air Force (9-3) 20; Navy (9-3) 15; Tennessee (8-4) 12; San Diego State (10-3) 8; Western Kentucky (10-3) 7; Miami (Fla.) (8-4) 6; Georgia Tech (8-4) 3; Kansas State (8-4) 2

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USA Today coaches poll:

Others Receiving Votes: Pittsburgh (8-4) 61; Boise State (10-2) 50; Houston (9-3) 43; Navy (9-3) 42; Washington State (8-4) 39; San Diego State (10-3) 36; Tennessee (8-4) 33; Texas A&M (8-4) 22; Miami (Fla.) (8-4) 14; Western Kentucky (10-3) 14; North Carolina (8-4) 7; Kentucky (7-5) 2; Appalachian State (9-3) 2

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This post, about the Postseason game, from the 2016 Season, is filed under Article.
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