To win back lost glory, maybe the Buffaloes should stop trying to be the worst football team in California. Here’s a novel idea: Why not start taking pride in becoming the best football team from Colorado?
When the Buffaloes run out of the tunnel Friday night for the Rocky Mountain Showdown, the word “Colorado” will be emblazoned across the chest of players. But this team was not born in the Rocky Mountains. Made in Colorado? No way. These Buffs were raised on L.A. smog and Texas humidity.
Quarterback Sefo Liufau played high school football in the state of Washington. Star cornerback Greg Henderson traveled to Boulder from a valley in the shadow of the Santa Ana Mountains in California. Get this: Of the 22 players likely to start on offense and defense for the Buffaloes in their season opener against Colorado State, only one is a Colorado kid. That’s defensive end Derek McCartney, grandson of the legendary CU coach.
“It’s important for us to get players that we think are BCS (major-college) players in the state,” Buffs coach Mike MacIntyre said.
When CU bailed on the Big 12 Conference to join the Pac-12 in 2011, the school turned in its cowboy boots for sandals. The attraction was obvious: better scenery. Better TV appeal. It’s better to sip lattes with scholars from Stanford and Cal than chew straw with the farmers from Nebraska and Iowa State.
But here is what eluded the brilliant minds in Boulder: The real, core appeal of Colorado is that it’s not California. The Buffs, however, decided they wanted to rock a more gnarly Cali lifestyle, to make themselves more attractive to West Coast alums and their money. CU might as well have moved from Boulder to Bakersfield.
The problem? The Buffs have forsaken their Colorado roots. Forget where you’re from and you’re lost.
Oh, since joining the Pac-12, the CU football team has lost … and lost … and lost some more. Since 2011, the Buffaloes’ record is 8-29.
It is generally accepted CU could not build a national title contender on Colorado talent alone. But could the Buffs have stunk any worse in recent years if they were manned by Colorado natives who genuinely love the Rocky Mountains for more than the scholarship money?
“High school football in Colorado has definitely gotten much better. When you watch football on Saturdays, there are Colorado players all around the nation playing for other college teams. … Until these teams (at CU and CSU) are prominent within Colorado and surrounding states, we’re going to continue to lose prep players, and Colorado football overall will be looked at in a very diminished way,” said Chad Brown, a linebacker for CU during the glory years of 1989-92.
Yes, the Buffaloes will always need to recruit beyond the state’s borders.
“I don’t think Colorado is populated enough, nor is high school football at the level where both of those teams (in Boulder and Fort Collins) can have a majority of their rosters from the state and field a legitimate top-12 team with a majority of Colorado players,” Brown said. “You’re going to be forced to go to places such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Florida, Texas and Southern California, if you want to be able to compete. You look at Oregon’s roster, it’s not made up of Oregon guys; it’s made up of Southern California and Texas guys. For Colorado and Colorado State to be even close to where top teams are, they’ve got to be able to win some of the recruiting battles in fertile talent areas.”
But if a football team cannot win in its own backyard, it’s lost. To the credit of MacIntyre and his staff, the Buffaloes are recruiting with enthusiasm within the state’s borders. Securing a commitment from 6-foot-4, 295-pound offensive lineman Tim Lynott from Regis Jesuit High School for the incoming class of 2015 is a good sign for CU football made in Colorado.
“It’s nice to stay close,” Lynott told The Denver Post of his decision to attend college in Boulder. “It’s only 45 minutes away. My parents can come to all the home games. … It’s the best of both worlds.”
It’s a start.
Pride in CU football begins at home.
Mark Kiszla: mkiszla@denverpost.com or twitter.com/markkiszla
