Preview 2019: Previewing and looking ahead to the Colorado Buffaloes season with what you need to know.
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Recruiting Class Analysis | Schedule Analysis
– Colorado Previews 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2018 Record: 5-7 overall, 2-7 in Pac-12
Head Coach: Mel Tucker, 1st year
5. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE COLORADO OFFENSE
– The offense has more than enough good parts to find its groove again. It was rocking and rolling early on, and then came the power outage in Pac-12 play, scoring 21 points or fewer in five the last seven games. In comes new offensive coordinator Jay Johnson after spending the last few years on the Georgia staff. The offense will be balanced, but the passing game should be too good not to rely on early and often.
– Steven Montez has the talent to grow into a good pro prospect. He has to be more consistent, he has to maintain and even keel, and he has to be the veteran leader with several big-time receiving weapons to be far, far more explosive.
It’s no coincidence that the O slowed once Laviska Shenault went down with an injury. If he can stay in one piece, he’s the best receiver in college football – but he’s not alone. KD Nixon and Tony Brown are dangers deep threats, too, but …
– The offensive line has to give Montez time to work. The Buffs get four starters back up front, but they were way too leaky in pass protection, and allowed a whopping 104 tackles for loss. The attitude has to be there from the start for a running game and a group of backs coached by Buff legend Darian Hagan.
Top freshman Jaren Mangham looked like a keeper in spring ball, and he’ll get plenty of work with 1,009-yard back Travon McMillian gone from a backfield that’s now very, very thin and inexperienced.
NEXT: What You Need To Know About the Defense, Top Players, Keys to the Season, What Will Happen
4. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE COLORADO DEFENSE
– Head coach Mel Tucker is a defensive coach by nature, and his coordinator Tyson Summers is going to bring the fire, too. There are just enough personnel losses to hurt, but get ready for the pressure to come from a group that wasn’t all that bad at getting into the backfield and finished fifth in the Pac-12 in total D.
– Mustafa Johnson has the upside and talent to be among the Pac-12’s best pass rushers from one end spot, and now he needs more help from the rest of the line. The hope is for Auburn transfer Jaunta’vius Johnson to be a space-eater right away in the interior, but the line needs more beef at tackle and has to establish another consistent pass rusher on the other side of Johnson.
– The linebacking corps loses good veteran Rick Gamboa and Drew Lewis, but the 1-2 tackling punch of Nate Landman inside and Davion Taylor outside is a good place to start. These two should combine for close to 200 tackles if everything goes right. Three starters return to a secondary that was beaten deep way too often and has to come up a few picks – the defensive backs intercepted just four passes.
NEXT: Top Players, Keys To the Season, What Will Happen
3. TOP COLORADO PLAYERS
Best Colorado Offensive Player
WR Laviska Shenault, Jr.
An elite pro prospect with 6-2, 225-pound size, ridiculous strength, and explosive talent, he was an unstoppable force before suffering a foot injury and later a shoulder problem. Even so, in his nine games or work he caught 86 passes for 1,011 yards and six scores, and got the ball in his hands 17 times as a runner and scored five times. Slippery, quick, and able to fight for the ball, he’s the best receiver in college football … when he’s healthy.
2. QB Steven Montez, Sr.
3. OT William Sherman, Soph.
4. WR KD Nixon, Jr.
5. RB Jaren Mangham, Fr.
Best Colorado Defensive Player
DE Mustafa Johnson, Jr.
The 6-2, 290-pounder isn’t built like a pass rushing defensive end, but that’s exactly what he is. The star of a rebuilding line, he made 51 tackles with 7.5 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss after coming in from the JUCO ranks and rocking right away. His pass rush slowed down a bit as the season wore on, but he was tough and steady against the run. Now he’s the one sure thing up front.
2. LB Nate Landman, Jr.
3. CB Delrick Abrams, Sr.
4. LB Carson Wells, Soph.
5. CB Dante Wigley, Sr.
NEXT: Keys to the Season, Prediction & What Will Happen
2. KEYS TO THE SEASON
Biggest Key To The Colorado Offense
Use the NFL talent to get the downfield passing game going. QB Steven Montez will be drafted. WR Laviska Shenault should get to walk across the stage and give Roger Goodell a first round hug in Las Vegas next April. KD Nixon has gamebreaking ability, too.
Now it’s up to all that talent to average well over 11 yards per completion – among the worst in the Pac-12 last year – and explode for way, way more than seven yards per pass attempt. The running game is going to take a bit to get going – Montez has to open things up.
Biggest Key To The Colorado Defense
Come up with takeaways. With a defensive-minded head man in Mel Tucker, and with a good defensive coordinator in Tyson Summers, the Buff defense should be far more active and far more productive. That starts with figuring out how to start taking the ball away.
The 2016 team that got to the Pac-12 title game generated 26 takeaways. The following year, the turnovers stopped with just 14, and none in the last three games. Last season, the defense once again failed to come up with a takeaway over the final three games – the Buffs went -11 in turnover margin during the stretch. The D recovered just three fumbles over the last nine games, and only generated multiple interceptions once all year.
Key Player To A Successful Season
RB Jaren Mangham, Fr.
Leading rusher Travon McMillian is gone. Second-leading running back Kyle Evans is done, and third-leading rusher – not counting QB Steven Montez – Beau Bisharat is now a tight end. The leading returning running back – sophomore Alex Fontenot – ran for just 43 yards and a touchdown.
The hope is for 6-2, 215-pound star recruit Jaren Mangham to take over the ground game right away, and he looked the part in the spring game with 149 yards and three scores.
Key Game To The Colorado Season
at Arizona State, Sept. 21
If Colorado is going to have a good season, the opener against Colorado State has to be a given, and the date with Air Force has to be a layup. To have a really good year, the Buffs have to show they’re the real deal by taking care of Nebraska for the second straight season. But with what’s coming in Pac-12 play, starting out with a win at Arizona State – it was the final Buff win of last year before the slide – would mean the world.
There’s a week off before facing Arizona, but the back half of the slate is an absolute bear – there’s no Oregon State on the schedule this time around. Lose to ASU, and it might be a scramble to go bowling.
– Colorado Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2018 Colorado Fun Stats
– 4th Quarter Scoring: Opponents 73 – Colorado 39
– Tackles For Loss: Opponents 106 for 381 yards – Colorado 79 for 303 yards
– Fumbles: Colorado 23 (lost 7) – Opponents 16 (lost 7)
NEXT: What Will Happen
1. COLORADO WIN TOTAL PREDICTION: WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN
The Buffs need to get their mojo back.
The brutally ugly seven-game losing streak after starting 5-0 was all about confidence. The schedule wasn’t that brutal, and the team didn’t play all that bad in parts. But the offense fell off the map over the final few weeks, and the defense followed closely behind.
Every new coaching staff says it wants to create a culture change, but that’s really what was needed after last year.
Mel Tucker and his staff will change up the energy, but the defensive parts aren’t quite there with just enough holes to be annoying. As long as the D can start taking the ball away and hold serve, the O should be able to do the rest.
The offensive line will be just a wee bit better, and that should be enough for the skill stars to blow up in a much, much stronger season.
Set The Regular Season Win Total At … 6
The schedule, though, isn’t going to be all that easy considering playtime in the Pac-12 might be over.
Yes, six of the first nine games are against teams that didn’t go bowling, but UCLA isn’t going to stink again, and neither will USC. Nebraska is on the slate and should be a whole lot stronger, and even Colorado State and Air Force should be improved.
The Buffs will have games and moments where they just don’t have it – watch out for the the road trips to Oregon and Washington State – but they’ll pull off at least one big upset, win a key home game to slip to six wins. It’s going to be a fight to get there, but they’ll go bowling.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Recruiting Class Analysis | Schedule Analysis
