I don't think anyone here has illusions that the Buffs are going to be a championship team this year. We are still trying to recover from the damage done by the prior coaching staff.
With that in mind I am thinking of a list of things that I want to see the Buffs do to make substantial progress as a program. I think ideally the program can accomplish all of what I list. If we don't accomplish most it will be a bad year.
I. Recruiting - Considering that we will have a relatively small class we need to make our spots count.
1. Get a quality QB *accomplished tonight
2. Start picking up 4* and be on the radar of some 5* kids, at the same time have quality in the class from top to bottom. Parsons and Liufau are a great start in this regard, remember last class we were late in the process before we picked up a 4* kid
3. We need to be in contention for and get quality kids out of Colorado, again Parsons is a good start, and Lindsay is also a CO kid.
4. We need to get at least 4 solid OL prospects and not hope they develop guys but rather legit prospects. Winning starts on the OL
5 A serious gamebreaker on offense, someone who can scare defenses on every play.
6. At least one guy who is a big enough name to make others in college football take notice, give the impression that CU is building something on the recruiting trail.
II. Off the field
1. Avoid negative publicity off the field. It may be impossible to do this completely but minimize the amount of negative press.
2. Maintain academic success. make progress on graduation rate.
III. Most important, On the field.
1. Win at least 5 and better 6 games. Win six and we get a bowl. Huge boost for the program.
2. Go 3-0 OOC including a road win at Fresno.
3. Get a PAC road win, most likely at WSU but if not there an upset at Arizona
4. Be more competitive against the middle schools in the conference. Even if we lose don't get blown out. We are still to far behind in talent to keep Oregon and USC from naming the score and probably Stanford and Washington are still way ahead of us.
5. Might be most important. Develop an identity. Show that we can be effective on offense with a bruising running game. Play a tough defense. Minimize mistakes in all aspects of the game.
I know this is a big list and I could have added a few other things but as a checklist for the season it is a way to measure the progress we are making.
With that in mind I am thinking of a list of things that I want to see the Buffs do to make substantial progress as a program. I think ideally the program can accomplish all of what I list. If we don't accomplish most it will be a bad year.
I. Recruiting - Considering that we will have a relatively small class we need to make our spots count.
1. Get a quality QB *accomplished tonight
2. Start picking up 4* and be on the radar of some 5* kids, at the same time have quality in the class from top to bottom. Parsons and Liufau are a great start in this regard, remember last class we were late in the process before we picked up a 4* kid
3. We need to be in contention for and get quality kids out of Colorado, again Parsons is a good start, and Lindsay is also a CO kid.
4. We need to get at least 4 solid OL prospects and not hope they develop guys but rather legit prospects. Winning starts on the OL
5 A serious gamebreaker on offense, someone who can scare defenses on every play.
6. At least one guy who is a big enough name to make others in college football take notice, give the impression that CU is building something on the recruiting trail.
II. Off the field
1. Avoid negative publicity off the field. It may be impossible to do this completely but minimize the amount of negative press.
2. Maintain academic success. make progress on graduation rate.
III. Most important, On the field.
1. Win at least 5 and better 6 games. Win six and we get a bowl. Huge boost for the program.
2. Go 3-0 OOC including a road win at Fresno.
3. Get a PAC road win, most likely at WSU but if not there an upset at Arizona
4. Be more competitive against the middle schools in the conference. Even if we lose don't get blown out. We are still to far behind in talent to keep Oregon and USC from naming the score and probably Stanford and Washington are still way ahead of us.
5. Might be most important. Develop an identity. Show that we can be effective on offense with a bruising running game. Play a tough defense. Minimize mistakes in all aspects of the game.
I know this is a big list and I could have added a few other things but as a checklist for the season it is a way to measure the progress we are making.
