College Football News Preview 2021: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Colorado season with what you need to know.
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– 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
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
4. Colorado Buffaloes College Football Preview 2021: Defense
– The offense is deep, and so is the D. The pass rush was good, the ability to get behind the line was great – the Buffs led the Pac-12 in tackles for loss – and the D led the conference in third down stops. but as the Alamo Bowl loss to Texas showed, there’s still work to do.
With nine starters expected back – depending on health and a few breaks – again, this will be a stronger group.
– Can Nate Landman get back? The all-star linebacker led the team with 53 tackles after leading the 2019 D with 114 stops after leading the 2918 version with 105, but he suffered an Achilles’ heel injury late last season and was out this offseason. There’s still talent in the linebacking corps with veteran Carson Wells an all-star – who led the team with 6.5 sacks, 16 tackles for loss and was second with 37 tackles – and a slew of young parts looking fine this spring.
– Not having Mustafa Johnson around at tackle hurts, but the line has size and experience with 6-7, 285-pound junior back as a big end, but the pass rush has to come from somewhere on the outside. The tackles have to use its size to overcome the lack of production and play last year.
– The secondary has plenty of returning parts, but it needs more playmakers after only coming up with three of the team’s four picks. Isaiah Lewis is an all-star caliber safety who makes a whole slew of tackles.
He’s set, and it’s going to be a fight for the other spots after losing corner Derrion Rakestraw to Tulane and with KJ Trujillo also leaving.
– What You Need To Know: Offense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Colorado Buffaloes Schedule Analysis
NEXT: Colorado Buffaloes College Football Preview 2021: Top Players
Colorado Buffaloes College Football Preview 2021: Top Players
Best Colorado Buffaloes Offensive Player
RB Jarek Broussard, Soph.
He redshirted when he got to Boulder, hurt his knee when it was about to be his time and missed all of 2019, and then he got healthy and … boom. He turned into the best back in the Pac-12 last season.
The 5-9, 185-pounder isn’t big and doesn’t bring a whole lot of pop, but he was tough enough to handle the ball for 156 carries in the six games for 895 yards and five scores, highlighted by his 301-yard day against Arizona. He won’t have to work as much this year with a deeper, stronger group of backs, but he’s still the main guy.
2. OT Frank Fillip, Soph.
3. WR Dimitri Stanley, Soph.
4. OG Casey Roddick, Jr.
5. RB Alex Fontenot, Soph.
Best Colorado Buffaloes Defensive Player
LB Carson Wells, Jr.
Nate Landman is the star of the D and would be No. 1 on this list, but he still has to get back from his Achilles’ heel injury. The 6-4, 250-pound Wells, though, is good enough to be an All-Pac-12 star, too, leading the Buffs with 6.5 sacks, 16 tackles for loss, and 37 tackles with a pick from his spot on the outside.
2. LB Nate Landman, Sr.*
3. S Isaiah Lewis, Jr.
4. DE Terrance Lang, Jr.
5. CB Christian Gonzalez, Fr.
Top Incoming Colorado Buffaloes Transfer
LB Robert Barnes, Sr.
There’s a chance this could be JT Shrout from Tennessee if he ends up winning the quarterback job, but until Nate Landman is 100% and ready to go, getting the 6-2, 230-pound Barnes from Oklahoma might mean even more.
The former defensive back has speed and he’s got experience, but he only played in nine games over the last two seasons after coming up with 54 stops and a pick in 2018.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Colorado Buffaloes Schedule Analysis
NEXT: Colorado Buffaloes College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season
Colorado Buffaloes College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season
Colorado Buffaloes Biggest Key: Offense
The passing game has to be sharper. The running game will be a potential killer with an outstanding group of backs working around a strong-looking line. Now the passing game has to hold up its end of the deal.
The coaching staff at the top specializes in cranking up the passing game, but that started to fall flat late in the season. To be fair, the 92 passing yards against Arizona were so low because the ground game was ripping off yards in massive chunks – but there were still two picks.
After that the Buffs failed to his half of their passes in either of the last two games – both losses to Utah and Texas – but it’s more than that. There weren’t enough big things happening down the field with seven interceptions thrown along with just six touchdown passes.
Colorado Buffaloes Biggest Key: Defense
Generate more takeaways. There’s still a question mark about how good the pass defense really is – it didn’t face a whole slew of killer passing games in 2020 – but the secondary will be fine.
There’s some work to do on the defensive front, and missing LB Nate Landman for any stretch of time could be a problem, but the front seven will be good.
The pass rush was manufactured from a few spots and there were plenty of tackles for loss. Now it all has to add up to more big plays.
The Buffs came up with four takeaways in the fun 48-42 win over UCLA to start the season, and that was about it. There was just one recovered fumble over the last five games, just three more passes were picked off, and the team failed to win the turnover margin after beating the Bruins.
Colorado has won the turnover margin in just three of its last 12 games.
Colorado Buffaloes Key Player To A Successful Season
QB Sam Noyer, Sr.
Or JT Shrout, or Brendon Lewis, or any of the quarterback options for a passing game that, again, needs to do more. Noyer was good enough to earn Second Team All-Pac-12 honors, but he only hit 55% off his passes for 1,101 yards with six touchdown passes and seven picks.
He’s got the size and he can run, but to get through a brutal first half of the season, Colorado needs its quarterback to be able to carry the attack at times. Noyer was out this spring, but it’s still likely his job to lose come fall.
Colorado Buffaloes Key Game To The 2021 Season
at Arizona State, Sept. 25
Of course Colorado wants to beat USC the week after when it has to come to Boulder, but dreaming of winning the Pac-12 South goes bye-bye right out of the conference schedule gate with a loss at ASU. And why?
USC, at Oregon, at UCLA, at Utah, at Cal, Washington. The rest of the conference slate is horrible, and that’s after getting Texas A&M and Minnesota before facing the Sun Devils.
The two didn’t play last year, but Colorado the last two meetings and three of the last four.
– Colorado Buffaloes Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2020 Colorado Buffaloes Fun Stats
– Tackle For Loss: Colorado 46 for 125 yards – Opponents 33 for 99 yards
– 3rd Quarter Buff Scoring: 41 – 4th Quarter Scoring: 16
– 3rd Down Conversions: Colorado 47% – Opponents 34%
NEXT: Colorado Buffaloes College Football Preview 2021: What Will Happen, Season Prediction
Colorado Buffaloes College Football Preview 2021: What Will Happen, Season Prediction
The team will be better, and it might not matter.
Head coach Karl Dorrell did wonders in his first season to get Colorado in the mix for the Pac-12 title despite dealing through Covid issues that helped derail those hopes, and he got Colorado to a big bowl game.
But for all of the good things the team did in the 4-0 start, it all broke down in the final two games against Utah and Texas.
It was his first year – Dorrell was supposed to get time to get things in place. He did that, got through 2020, and now a slew of injured and opt-out players return, the transfer portal is a help, and the young team of last season returns experienced and a whole lot deeper.
However …
Set The Colorado Buffaloes Regular Season Win Total At … 5.5
It’s not that Colorado can’t compete or beat just about anyone on the schedule, but it’s a killer.
There shouldn’t be an issue against Northern Colorado to open things up, and taking care of Arizona and Oregon State at home is a must, and then it’s going to take a whole lot of upsets to make this a big year.
There aren’t many breaks.
There’s a neutral site game in Denver … against Texas A&M.
Minnesota is hardly a layup in Boulder, and neither are USC and Washington.
The Buffs get five Pac-12 road games, and they’re almost certainly going to be underdogs in all of them.
But Colorado has been underestimated before – like last year – and again, this year’s team is stronger and good enough to win some of those battles against the tough squads.
It’s still going to be a process under Dorrell, and there’s still building to do, but it’s going to be a tough out every week and it’ll be even more fun.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– Colorado Buffaloes Schedule Analysis
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