Colorado University Athletics
Alamo Bowl Win Would Put Buffs In Elite Company
December 27, 2016 | Football, Neill Woelk
SAN ANTONIO — There is no shortage of motivation at hand for the Colorado Buffaloes in Thursday night's Valero Alamo Bowl matchup with Oklahoma State (7 p.m., ESPN).
No doubt, a special place in CU history is on that list. A win by the 10-3 Buffs would make the 2016 team only the fourth squad in CU history to win 11 games and would virtually guarantee a top-10 ranking in the finals polls — something that would also put the Buffs on another very elite list.
Since 1960, only nine programs in the nation have achieved a top 10 ranking in every decade from the 1960s through the 2000s: Alabama, Auburn, Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, Nebraska, Penn State and Washington. Of that group, only Alabama, Auburn, Georgia and Ohio State have managed the feat in six straight decades.
The Buffs could join that list with a win Thursday.
Those are no doubt important goals. But there is another source of motivation for the Buffs in Thursday night's 2016 season finale. Along with cementing a legacy as the team that turned CU's fortunes back in the right direction and along with the piece of history they could call their own, the Buffs have a much more simple reason to want to win.
They don't want their final memory of such an outstanding season to be another loss. They have had a month to stew over their last game — a 41-10 loss to Washington in the Pac-12 Championship game — and they don't want to spend the next several months with a similar feeling about the Alamo Bowl.
"Our goal was to win a Pac-12 championship and we didn't get there," safety Tedric Thompson said earlier this week. "There's still a salty taste in our mouths. To play a great offense like Oklahoma State and have the chance to go out on a high note, that's a great opportunity. I think that's what all of us are feeling right now."
CU head coach Mike MacIntyre has referenced the Washington game frequently since the Buffs began bowl preparations. Earlier this week, he was asked if he thought the players had put the game behind them.
"I hope not all the way," he said. "I hope they still have a little of that in their gut because I imagine Oklahoma State still has a little bit of their Oklahoma game in their gut (a 38-20 loss to the Sooners). You want to get over parts of it, but you also want to realize you want to kind of get that taste out of your mouths."
TUMPKIN IN SPOTLIGHT: Since the Buffs are technically without a defensive coordinator, safeties coach Joe Tumpkin will call the plays in Thursday night's game. Tumpkin also attended the afternoon Colorado defense press conference, along with defensive lineman Jordan Carrell, linebacker Jimmie Gilbert and defensive backs Chidobe Awuzie and Tedric Thompson.
MacIntyre turned to Tumpkin after the departure of former coordinator Jim Leavitt. Tumpkin has served as a defensive coordinator at several previous stops, including Central Michigan, where he coached before coming to Colorado.
"He's very knowledgeable of the front end and the back end together," MacIntyre said. "Some people can understand the front, some people understand the back. He understands both, which is what you need to be able to do to coordinate and understand it. He gets along with the players, he understands our scheme real well and the guys really respond to him."
DOME PREPARATION: The Buffs have spent some time over the last couple of weeks working on "silent counts" on offense in the event that it is hard to hear in the Alamodome on Thursday.
"It echoes," MacIntyre said. "In a dome it's a little bit harder to hear … so we've worked on our silent count if we need to do that. We've done that on the road quite a few times, so we're treating it as a road game."
The Buffs have played in a dome only four times in their history and own a 2-2 record indoors.
Their most recent game in a dome was the 2002 Alamo Bowl, when they dropped a 31-28 overtime loss to Wisconsin.
The Buffs played twice in the Astrodome, a 1971 Bluebonnet Bowl win over Houston and a 1975 Bluebonnet loss to Texas; and they played one regular-season game in a dome, that coming in 1992, when they traveled to Minnesota and beat the Golden Gophers, 21-20, in the Metrodome.
SCHEDULE: The Buffs wrapped up their last major practice on Tuesday with a solid workout at University of the Incarnate Word. They worked on special teams situations as well as specific offense and defense situations they might see against the Cowboys.
"It went real well," MacIntyre said. "They seemed excited about playing and light on their feet, so it was a good day."
The team had one last major activity Tuesday, a public pep rally on the San Antonio Riverwalk.
Wednesday, the Buffs get their first look at the Alamodome when they have a light walkthrough/practice at the facility.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
