Woelk: Rewards Of 2016 Success More Than Just Alamo Bowl
December 08, 2016 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — College football bowl bids are often described as a reward for a good season.
That's no doubt the case with the Colorado Buffaloes players and coaches.
But for the program overall, the reward of CU's Dec. 29 matchup with Oklahoma State in the Valero Alamo Bowl is merely a fraction of the benefits produced by the Buffs' turnaround season — and just part of the process that got them there.
For starters, the game featuring the College Football Playoffs committee's tenth-ranked, 10-3 Buffs vs. the No. 12 Cowboys (9-3) will yield some excellent national exposure. It is being called one of the top five bowl matchups of the year, and for good reason: the prime-time (7 p.m.), nationally televised contest (ESPN) will be the first bowl of the season to feature two nationally ranked teams, and it will be one of just five — including the CFP semifinals — to match two teams ranked in the top 12.
But the actual game is only part of the storyline surrounding CU's return to relevance. That narrative is also producing a raft of national visibility that will pay dividends for years to come.
One of the most prominent avenues of exposure are the numerous awards that continue to come CU's way. Every such honor increases Colorado's national visibility and opens doors to the homes of recruits — and the Buffs are grabbing their fair share of that attention this season.
Tops on the list, of course, is head coach Mike MacIntyre. Named the Walter Camp Coach of the Year earlier this month, MacIntyre was scheduled to receive the Home Depot Coach of the Year award Thursday night at the nationally televised awards show from the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta (5 p.m., ESPN).
That comes on the heels of being named Pac-12 Coach of the Year, as well as being selected a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year and AFCA Coach of the Year awards, both of which will be named later this month.
As the saying goes, you can't buy that kind of publicity.
"It's a lot better than sitting home, for sure," MacIntyre joked at an Alamo Bowl press conference Thursday morning in San Antonio. "It's exciting for our program and does get our name out there."
But while MacIntyre has been the awards headliner for the Buffs, plenty of other CU players and coaches have found their names attached to honors.
-
Colorado quarterback Sefo Liufau was recently named the 2016 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year.
-
Linebacker Kenneth Olugbode was selected a second-team All-American by Pro Football Focus.
-
Defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt was a national finalist for the Broyles Award, presented annually to the top assistant coach in the nation.
-
Five CU assistants — Leavitt, offensive co-coordinators Brian Lindgren and Darrin Chiaverini, safeties coach Joe Tumpkin and cornerbacks coach Charles Clark — have been selected as finalists for Football Scoop's position coaches of the year.
-
The Buffs had 16 All-Pac-12 selections, including a pair of first teamers, five on the second team and nine honorable mention.
-
Colorado finished with nine Pac-12 players of the week, the most of any team in the conference.
Such awards add up, with the overall effect perhaps greater than the sum of the parts. Each time Colorado is mentioned in any capacity, it means potential recruits, boosters and donors have the chance of noticing. When they hear the program mentioned again and again and again, it sinks in — and that might be one of the biggest benefits of Colorado's season.
The Buffs didn't burst onto the scene overnight. The narrative has been building all season.
CU began drawing national attention early with a solid performance on the road against No. 4 Michigan, followed by a win at Oregon. From that point on, CU's visibility rose almost weekly, growing with a win at home vs. Arizona State (ranked No. 24 in the coaches poll at the time), which began a six-game winning streak that included back-to-back wins over nationally ranked Washington State and Utah.
Meanwhile, as CU's win total grew, the Buffs finally worked their way back into the national rankings for the first time in more than a decade, then steadily climbed the rankings ladder into the top 10. At the same time, they were in the process of producing the most dramatic turnaround in Pac-12 history — from 1-8 a year ago to 8-1 in conference play this year — a story that also received national play.
It was a story with a new chapter each week and each chapter put the Buffs' name in the national eye. One dividend already being realized? A 2017 recruiting class that is being tabbed as among the top 25 in the nation.
No doubt, the Alamo Bowl will be a wonderful reward for Buffs players and coaches. It will be a well-deserved honor for the players who stuck with the program through the lean times. They spoke all year about leaving a positive legacy and they have certainly achieved that.
But the process that earned the Buffs a trip to San Antonio won't culminate with a bowl game.
Rather, it should produce positive results for years to come as CU continues traveling the road back to national relevance.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
Â
