“A Few of My Favorite Things” – Part II

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“A Few of My Favorite Things” – Part Two: The Team

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… Related … “A Few of My Favorite Things” – Part One: Players … can be found here …

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CU’s season ended with an embarrassing, disappointing and humbling 36-14 loss to No. 17 BYU in the Alamo Bowl. While Buff fans may be forgiven for never wanting to see San Antonio again, it’s not too early to try and put the bitter end of the 2024 season behind us, while taking the time to savor the season that was.

Four months ago, CU was coming into the 2024 season with the hangover of a six-game losing streak to end the 2023 season. The pundits were saying that Coach Prime couldn’t coach at the Power Four conference level. Las Vegas, setting CU’s under/over win total at 5.5, wasn’t sure if the Buffs would go bowling in Coach Prime’s second season.

Four months ago, if Buff fans were offered a 9-4 season, even with a loss to Nebraska in the regular season and a blowout loss in a bowl game … 99.9% of us would have taken the nine-win season sight unseen.

So, rather than dwell on how the season ended, let’s take a few minutes to look back on one of the most exciting seasons – if not the most exciting season – in the past 20 years.

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Here are a few of my favorite things from the 2024 season (Team) … 

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— Favorite game … Okay, the overtime win over Baylor will go down in CU lore as one of the most exciting, unlikely victories. A 43-yard touchdown pass from Shedeur Sanders to LaJohntay Wester on the final play of regulation, followed by Travis Hunter making the game winning forced fumble play at the goal line in overtime? Stuff of legend.

Still, the Baylor game was stressful. The Buffs had a 7-3 lead late in the first quarter, but the Bears scored on their next drive, and didn’t trail CU again until overtime. An unforgettable win, but it took almost four full hours to get there.

So, in terms of the overall game experience, I think the win over Utah was my favorite. The 7-2 Buffs were a two-touchdown favorite over the 4-5 Utes, but it was still Utah. Other than the battle of the backups in 2023, Utah had won six straight in the series by an average score of 40-15.

The Buffs won, and, while there were a few tense moments early, it was CU’s day. Shedeur Sanders threw an interception on the first play of the game … but the defense held the Utes to a field goal. The Buffs then responded with a touchdown drive, and then an exciting 76-yard punt return by LaJohntay Wester. The score was 28-9 before the Utes posted a touchdown, and the Buffs finished off the 49-24 rout with touchdown runs by Charlie Offerdahl and, of course, Travis Hunter.

Fox Big Noon Saturday on hand, a bright, sunny early afternoon morning in Boulder, a satisfying rout of a Utah team which had had its way with Colorado in the Pac-12.

What’s not to like?

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— Favorite road win … Colorado won four road games in 2024. How impressive was that? Well, the Buffs won four road games … in the previous five years combined.

So, if you want to look back at the dominating win over CSU in the first game in Ft. Collins since 1996, or the revenge domination of Arizona (after the Wildcats won on a walk-off field goal at the end of regulation in Boulder in 2023), or the “tortilla” comeback win over Texas Tech as your favorite road win of the season, as your favorite road win of 2024, I have no argument.

That being said, I think the road win over UCF was my favorite. The Buffs were 3-1 on the season coming into the game, but had beaten Baylor on a miracle, and had been smoked on the road by Nebraska. With a game against a ranked Kansas State team coming up next, the contest against Central Florida was pivotal.

The opening of the game was ominous, with Shedeur Sanders throwing an interception on the first series. But the Buff defense held, with Preston Hodge getting an interception in the end zone to end the UCF threat.

The game included a beautiful 47-yard touchdown reception by Will Sheppard, two Alejandro Mata field goals in the final minute before halftime, and, of course, the 95-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Cam’ron Silmon-Craig in the final minutes to cap a satisfying 48-21 victory.

The Buffs traveled to Florida (a state where CU has had very little success over the years) with question marks, but left the Sunshine State with a 4-1 record … and plans for a memorable rest of the season.

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— Best parts of Travis Hunter winning CU’s second Heisman trophy … For me, it was history … and legitimacy.

No one cares about history, right?

Wait a second … This just in … I do.

Colorado was already one of only 24 schools in the nation with a national championship and a Heisman trophy winner (for those of you keeping score at home: CU is one of three such schools in the Big 12, with TCU and BYU; CU was also one of only three in the Pac-12, together with USC and UCLA).

Now, with Travis Hunter’s Heisman, CU is one of only 14 schools in the nation (and the only school in the Big 12) with two or more Heisman trophy winners to go with at least one national championship.

But, perhaps even more importantly, Travis Hunter’s Heisman trophy win gives Coach Prime, his program, and his vision, legitimacy. As the No. 1 high school recruit in the nation, Hunter turned down Florida State for Jackson State, and then followed Coach Prime to Boulder. Hunter’s trust in Coach Prime, and Coach Prime’s willingness to let Travis play full-time on both sides of the ball, is nothing that should – or will – be lost on recruits and potential transfers.

Come to Boulder … win national recognition, and national awards.

That’s a nice sales pitch. CU might not have gotten a commitment from Ju Ju Lewis without CU’s success this fall, both on and off the field.

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— Best part of CU being nationally ranked – and nationally relevant – in November … Colorado finished with nine wins. Again, it’s fine to be disappointed with the Alamo Bowl results.

But don’t let CU’s most recent bowl blowout diminish the overall achievements of the program.

Here is the list of Power Five teams with nine or more wins in 2024:

• ACC … SMU; Clemson; Miami, Syracuse; Louisville; Duke
• Big 12 … Arizona State; BYU; Iowa State; Kansas State; TCU
• Big Ten … Oregon; Penn State; Ohio State; Indiana; Illinois
• Pac-2 … none
• SEC … Texas; Georgia; Tennessee; Alabama; LSU; South Carolina; Missouri; Ole Miss

Now … A partial list of Power Five teams with fewer than nine wins in 2024:

• ACC … Georgia Tech; Pitt; North Carolina; Cal; Stanford; Florida State
• Big 12 … Baylor; Texas Tech; West Virginia; Kansas; UCF; Arizona; Utah; Oklahoma State
• Big Ten … Michigan; Iowa; USC; Minnesota; Washington; UCLA; USC; Nebraska; Wisconsin
• Pac-2 … Washington State; Oregon State
• SEC … Texas A&M; Florida; Oklahoma; Arkansas; Auburn

Think fans of Nebraska would like to be sitting on a nine-win season right now? The fans of USC? Oklahoma? Michigan? Texas A&M? Oklahoma?

If the “Pac-12” existed today, CU’s nine wins would come in behind Big Ten champion Oregon and Big 12 champion Arizona State … and no one else.

Not bad for a program which couldn’t find its way out of the cellar in its old conference.

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— Best part of CU’s being a Big Noon Saturday staple (at home and on the road) … The Fox Big Noon Saturday was on hand for three CU games in 2024:

• at UCF (first time Central Florida hosted the Big Noon Saturday show);
• at Texas Tech (first time Texas Tech hosted the Big Noon Saturday show); and
• v. Utah

In all, CU has now been a part of the Big Noon Saturday Show featured game seven times (only Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State have had more), and have hosted four times (only Ohio State and Michigan have had more).

Oh, and CU was the only school in the country which had all 12 games televised on a national network.

More “Prime Effect” numbers …

Excluding the conference championship, the Big 12 generated 10 games with at least 3 million viewers. The Buffaloes were involved in all 10. Without the Buffs, the Big 12’s conference ratings would be low enough to be a national story.

You don’t think recruits, their families, and their “representatives”, aren’t being made aware of these numbers?

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— The best part of having Folsom Field sold out for almost every game …

On the first play of the fourth quarter of CU’s 2022 game against UCLA, the Bruins scored, making it a 45-10 game. Up in row 72 of Section 218, I sat with a couple who had season tickets next to mine. We had sat next to each other for years, with Mike being a former Ralphie handler.

There were no fans in the five rows behind us; there were no fans in the five rows in front of us. Most of the announced crowd of 42,848 had already left, more than willing to pursue other fall pursuits than watch any more of the beat down.

As anyone who has ever attended a game with me, it is very, very rare that I leave a game early. Regardless of score, temperature, or time of day, I don’t travel 700 miles to watch my Buffs, only to walk out before the final gun.

But on this afternoon, with CU down by five touchdowns, and with the Buff Nation suffering through the latest rout in a season of routs, I decided to call it a day. I turned to my fell sufferers, who were also packing up to leave. I thought I was being ironic when I said: “Next time we’re together, this section will be full”.

Far from being prescient over the hiring of Coach Prime at season’s end, I was making note that the next CU home game I was planning to attend, the 2023 home opener, was to be played against Nebraska. Recalling how the 2019 home game against the Big Red was full (and with about half of Folsom being stained red), it seemed to be our destiny to have a full Folsom Field to open the 2023 season … with the Huskers looking for revenge for losing to the Buffs in 2018 and 2019.

As it turned out, the 2023 home opener was a sell out, but the Husker invasion was significantly reduced. Coach Prime had been hired, and the frenzy over the completely redone roster was palpable.

And now?

Sellouts are the rule, not the exception. In six home games this fall, CU average attendance was 52,514 … with Folsom Field’s capacity being 50,183. The last two seasons, for the first time ever, I ordered seat backs for my season ticket spots. Not for comfort, but to be able to lay claim to my 18 inches of seat space, what with every seat around us being taken.

It’s been a nice problem to have …

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This post, about the Postseason game, from the 2024 Season, is filed under Article.
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