Colorado

I was going through all the college football teams just now; seeing how many starters were returning for each team, seeing non-conference opponents, etc. I came across Colorado, an interesting team in a couple of regards. 1) They join the Pac-12 this year. 2) They have a new coach, former Redskins TE Coach Jon Embree, who has never been head coach at any level.

Shockingly, and what got me to come on here and write about them, is that they play FOUR home games. FOUR.

I'm looking all around, trying to find another source to dismiss this, but I can't. The new Pac-12 schedule gives them nine games, 4 at home, 5 on the road. Okay, they kinda get the short end of the stick there, but it's fair.

Then, they play 3 non-conference games: @Hawaii, @ Ohio State, and Colorado State at Mile High. FOUR HOME GAMES!

Odds are is that Colorado adds another game. I forgot exactly how this works, but there is usually a condition that if you play Hawaii in Honolulu, you can add a 13th game (USC did this last year). Hopefully when they do, they make sure they play it at Folsom Field.

As far as their prospects for the season; one would think that anything other than the Dan/Cody Hawkins duo would be an improvement. Both are now gone. In the last five seasons with Hawkins, Colorado made one bowl game. It was Hawkins' second year, and it was the 2007 Independence Bowl. Their opponent was Alabama, with first year coach Nick Saban. To say the programs have gone in different directions since then would be a bit of an understatement.

An article that I can no longer find highlights the lack of high quality recruits in the state of Colorado. Colorado had built its success in previous seasons by recruiting outside of the state; mainly in California. Experts are saying that Colorados inclusion in the Pac12 will re-open the state of California to them, but we shall see. I'm not sure I really understand this logic. I am from the south side of Chicago, and grew up watching the Big10, but that didnt make me want to go to Penn State or Minnesota, and in fact, I don't know anyone who went to either school. Why would this make someone from southern California want to go to Boulder, Colorado?

Colorado does return 16 players overall. Their marquee win last year was an early season upset over UGA. Their low moment came against Kansas, when they blew a 45-17 lead with 12 minutes left. This loss was the final blow to Hawkins' small chances of retaining his job. They won 2 of their last 3, including an upset over Kansas State, but finished 5-7.

Tyler Hansen takes over for Hawkins at QB. He has some experience, as he started the season at QB, and started the game against UGA. They have an experienced offensive line, featuring three seniors, and 4 returning starters. As stated above, their schedule does them no favors, but there is potential for them to win 6 games and get back in a bowl.