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Setting the Standard
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Overall, the 2024 Colorado football team exceeded the expectations of pretty much everyone who doesn’t have an office or a locker in the CU Champions Center.
Las Vegas set the bar at 5.5 wins for the season. The Big 12 media picked the Buffs to finish 11th.
Now, even after 36-14 a blowout loss to BYU in the Alamo Bowl, leaving CU with a five-game losing streak in bowls, a 20-year drought since the Buffs’ last bowl victory, and an 0-4 all-time record in San Antonio, there are positives to consider.
Don’t get me wrong, losing another bowl game – and another Alamo Bowl – in embarrassing fashion, is not to be discounted. The deficits along CU’s offensive line, from failing to generate a rushing attack to failing to protect the quarterback, were again painfully obvious. CU hasn’t won a bowl game since 2004, and has now been mauled in three straight Alamo Bowls.
It sucks.
Buff fans are licking their wounds after another disappointing postseason effort, but those wounds will heal.
For only the second time in the past 20 seasons, there is reason to believe that the CU program is not only good … but has the ability to stay that way.
Coach Prime, who the pundits said could not coach at the collegiate level, took a Jackson State program which hadn’t had a winning season in six seasons, and went 27-6 in three campaigns. Then the pundits said Coach Prime couldn’t win at the Power conference level, and he took a program with one winning campaign in a full season in 20 years, and had the Buffs in the College Football Playoff conversation into the final week of his second season.
How did it happen? Having two top ten first-round NFL draft picks running the team certainly didn’t hurt, but the roster and coaching staff assembled by Coach Prime is what got CU to nine wins this season.
While rosters today are more fluid than ever, there is still something to be said for having strong senior leadership in the locker room. This fall, CU may had the most tight-knit senior class in several years.
“I’d say the chemistry,” senior linebacker LaVonta Bentley said this past week when asked what is special about the senior class. “Everybody’s just close. Last year we didn’t have that. Everybody’s just leaning on one another and having fun, like we be joking and everything. It’s a real deal family here, and we built that.”
This class came together for the common goal of winning, but they didn’t come here just to win and move on. Leaving a legacy is important to this group.
Camron Silmon-Craig grew up in Alabama and watched the 2009 Alabama squad that won the national title. It was the first title in 16 years for the Crimson Tide and it kick-started a run of six championships in 12 years.
“I remember the ’09 Alabama team that kind of struck the match for the run that Alabama went on, so I always wanted to be the standard,” Silmon-Craig said. “I wanted to come in here and set a standard for us to live by years and years on hand. When (players) come back next year, they know the standard. When we bring guys in here, freshman guys in here, we have a standard set.
“When I came here, we didn’t have a standard. So that was the biggest thing for me; I wanted to set the standard. Our standard is to dominate, our standard is to win, our standard is 9-10-win seasons. That’s the standard.”
Coach Prime, for his part, echoed the thoughts of his players. In his post-game press conference, reliving the details of the 36-14 blowout loss to BYU, CU’s head coach had this to say:
“We’ve established expectations,” Coach Prime said. “So now you expect us to perform a certain way. You expect us to win. You expect us to be exciting. You expect us to be a lot more disciplined than we displayed today. You just have expectations of us now. That’s what we’ve established.”
Such language is music to the ears of the Buff Nation, which has longed for the past two decades for CU to field a program for which six wins a season is the floor of expectations each fall, not the ceiling.
But … We’ve heard this song before.
Remember the 2016 season?
Remember “The Rise”?
The Buffs went from worst-to-first in 2016, going from 1-8 in Pac-12 play in 2015 to 8-1 in 2016. Nightmares of CU’s ten straight losing seasons fell to the wayside as CU won the Pac-12 South, won ten games, and advanced to the Alamo Bowl.
The secret sauce for the 2016 team?
Senior leadership.
“It means everything,” quarterback Sefo Liufau said towards the end of the 2016 campaign. “To be able to help turn the program around with this group of seniors and everyone else, it’s a great feeling. Usually at this time of the year we’re moseying about on the field and playing for pride basically. I’m very happy and proud of the way that our team is playing.”
Oh, and the 2016 seniors were anxious to leave a legacy … to set a new “standard” for excellence which would outlast them.
“I just want to win,” Liufau said. “I think winning will really help the university long after I’m gone, long after the seniors are gone. I don’t really rest on records or ‘what-ifs.’ I think it’s important for us to make our own history and this is an opportunity for us to do that and really set a strong foundation for the university for years to come.”
Buff fans, of course, are all too familiar what happened after the 2016 season.
Three straight 5-7 seasons, a 4-2 anomaly during the 2020 COVID season, followed by records of 4-8, 1-11, and 4-8.
Now, the Buffs have gone from 1-8 in conference play in Coach Prime’s first season at Colorado to 7-2 in Year Two.
So, the question has to be asked:
What will happen in 2025?
Gone will be Shedeur Sanders, the record-setting quarterback who bailed out his porous offensive line time and time again with athletic plays (yes, he took some unnecessary sacks, but Sanders is considered to be a candidate for the No. 1 overall draft pick for a reason).
Gone will be the once-in-a-generation talent of Travis Hunter, who was at the same time CU’s best receiver and its best defensive back.
Gone will be around two dozen other seniors, some of whom will be drafted in April; many of whom were major contributors to CU’s success in 2024.
Can the Buffs recover from the Alamo bowl debacle? Can the Buffs regain the status of as a ranked team?
Or … Was the 2024 season another one hit wonder, like the 2016 season, with the CU program destined to slide back into mediocrity once Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter don NFL uniforms?
Time will tell.
First, there is the matter of keeping Coach Prime. It should be old news by now, as CU’s head coach has given every indication he wants to stay in Boulder. To be sure, an announcement of a contract extension would be welcome, but if CU survives Black Monday (January 6th, the Monday after the NFL regular season concludes, when NFL coaches are usually fired and replaced), the Buff Nation’s focus on the 2025 season can intensify.
Second, Coach Prime needs to keep the coaching staff in tact. Defensive coordinator Robert Livingston may not be a hot commodity quite yet (Livingston has only one year of coordinator experience), but when you have a successful season, other teams come calling. The CU staff has rightly been given a great deal of credit for CU’s winning season, so keeping it together will be a priority.
Third, CU needs to recruit its own players. Attrition and the Transfer Portal are a fact of life, and not having to start from scratch next season is vital to keeping the Buffs from having to fight for more than just a winning season. To date, only a handful of quality players (most notably linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green, who took Alabama’s money to leave Boulder) have left. The winter Transfer Portal has now closed, but there will be a second 15-day period in April, and Coach Prime will want to keep his proven players in the fold.
Finally, CU needs to hit another home run in the Transfer Portal. There is already hand-wringing in the Buff Nation that CU is not bringing in as many four-star transfers as before. Patience, though, will be important. Don’t forget that many of the best transfers brought in this past off-season came in the spring (and don’t forget that players on playoff teams have a 30-day window after their teams are eliminated to join the Portal, so there are some quality players to be had once the season comes to and end).
The 52-0 blowout win over Oklahoma State in the regular season finale, coupled with CU’s flirtation with a Big 12 title game berth, had Buff fans heads in the clouds.
The 36-14 meltdown against BYU was not only a splash of cold water on our faces, but a reminder of how hard it is to be a nationally ranked – and nationally relevant – program.
Coach Prime isn’t starting from scratch in 2025.
Sefo Liufau thought the 2016 team was leaving a legacy of winning, setting a new standard for future teams to follow.
Cam’ron Silmon-Craig believes the 2024 team is leaving a legacy of winning, setting a new standard for future teams to follow.
Sefo’s prediction didn’t work out.
Here’s hoping Cam’ron’s prediction will …
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10 Replies to “Setting the Standard”
Southside Buff is spot on with point #1. Couldn’t believe how many snaps with no motion and deep routes with SS having 1.5 seconds before being flushed….and we would just line up and do it again with same result. It’s not boring offense when you see the other team rip off well-designed plays for 5-10 yds a pop and march down the field. Something has to change.
Army and Navy do not get top quality recruits to play football. Because they will never get a “top” QB, they focus on the run game. Every team knows they will run on almost every down, and yet they are successful in doing this. Notre Dame had the #3 ranked defense. Army ran for 207 yards against them, and Navy ran for 222 yards. Oklahoma had the # 30 defense, and Navy ran for 226 yards.
My point: the Buffs. should get an offensive asst coach who knows how to develop a run game with a bunch of 3 star players. The Buffs will be much better if they are not one dimensional. Pass all the time and the Nebraskas and BYUs will beat them every time.
True, true…
2025 has to be the year where the offensive and defensive lines set the standard. That’s not news to anyone, least of all Deion.
Shedeur, Travis and all the skill guys (receivers and defensive backs) set the transition. Now Jordan, cash, Hank et al need to take the next step.
Looks like they will be led by a new coach, as loadholdt is moving on to miss state, reuniting with Jeff Lebby.
Go Buffs
This season brought some new hardware to Boulder that is the envy of even many blue bloods… HE12MAN will forever be enshrined in the Champions Center. Next stop is a Big XII championship… Coach Prime won’t leave CU until achieving some meaningful hardware himself.
Thats truly the Buffs I know and love! Some things will never change.
Stuart, I would be interested in hearing your take on specifically what the Buffs need to do going forward to take the next step in the wide open Big 12? Here’s my top three (to which you can agree or disagree—and maybe why?):
1. Offense: we have recruited many great athletes in the skilled positions and I believe we have enough talent in the trenches. The problem all year was the stubborn reluctance to change the scheme when things weren’t clearly working, I.e. changing to a short passing game (including passing to our RBs) and let the athletes run. Why on earth do we continue to send receivers way downfield while SS was being consistently chased and hit? If something isn’t working, don’t we try something new? Meanwhile, BYUs QB threw TWO passes more than 5 yards and had three interceptions and they still won. The clear recipe for good teams in the Big 12 and elsewhere: QB runs 50-100 yards/game by design (not desperation), RBs over 100 yards, TEs are involved by design for 3-5 catches, WRs have many short passes thrown their way so they can run afterward mixed with several occasional long balls. Does this recipe work? See BYU, KState, ASU, NDSU, Iowa State, Baylor and Kansas for details. I suppose this is boring football to watch as everyone likes a flashy play, but BYU sure looked like they were having fun crushing us with simple, disciplined football. Once we make this level work for a couple years and get more line depth, THEN we move to what Nike Duck$, Georgia, Ohio State, and the Alabamas do in a more pro style offense (what we have tried to do since CP arrived) with their QBs still always running more than the NFL because it’s college, Josh Allen aside.
2. Special Teams: A designated coach please. How many drives did BYU basically start in CU territory? And how valuable is a good kicker!
3. Defense: CU played much better here this year especially when they played as a swarming unit, the final OSU game being a perfect example. Too much man coverage that was easily exploited with simple picks and crossing routes and, again, a stubborn refusal to change the design.
Would appreciate hearing your perspectives, Stuart!
The next step is changing from a one dimensional, pass only, offense. This of course starts with the O-line. I think there is enough talent on the line, just not the desire to coach them up to be good at it. That could change with the departure of Shedur. The offense was built around him.
Depth last night was too evident. Poor Rock ain’t no Tackle. Transfers out killed any other “smoke screens” upfront. 3 Frosh and 3 transfers should be a good start. Oh, #92 for BYU will be making noise in the NFL, Jordan you’ll be better next season
The biggest differences between 2016 and 2024 is the state of college football in general and the state of CU’s athletic department transfer rules. I didn’t fully appreciate how handcuffed the previous coaches were by DiStefano’s idiocy, incompetence and arrogance. I suspect that even if Mickey Mac and HWSRN were not handcuffed, I don’t think they’d be up to the task, but I do think the program never would have sunk to the depths that led to the historically awful 2022 season. Midnight Mel and the pandemic didn’t help, however, the program probably never would have sunk so low.
Prime has a plan and he does not seem to fear playing without his sons on the team. I am excited to see what’s next and there are reasons to believe that it is not a mirage like the 2016 season turned out to be. But only time will tell.