College football is sitting in the middle of a long earthquake, the sport’s tectonic place shifting in recent years toward an uncertain future.
In Colorado, the state’s three Football Bowl Subdivision programs are trying to find their own place in that landscape as the 2016 season gets underway. Here’s a closer look at five burning questions as fall practices kick off:
Can Colorado end its long bowl drought?
Even with an ever-expanding roster of bowl games, the Buffaloes haven’t punched a ticket to the postseason in nearly a decade. Their last such trip came in 2007, a loss to Alabama in the Independence Bowl that dropped CU to 6-7 and continued a string of losing seasons that has now reached 10.
The cover-your-eyes numbers include a dismal 5-40 mark in the Pac-12 since joining the conference in 2011, with just two wins coming under current coach Mike MacIntyre.
CU has invested heavily in facility renovations and other improvements it steadfastly believes will help the school attract the football players necessary to win in this cutthroat conference. As MacIntyre begins his fourth season, the time to prove it is now.
Can the Rams focus on the now?
Cranes on the Colorado State campus pull gazes toward the horizon, both literally and figuratively. The shiny, new stadium set to open at the start of the 2017 season represents a new era of football in Fort Collins.
And as the Rams have begun preparations for their final season at Hughes Stadium, they’ve done so against the backdrop of Big 12 Conference expansion, and the glimmering possibility, however slim, that they could join the college football power pool.
None of that, of course, will happen in 2016. So the task for second-year coach Mike Bobo, whose team is coming off a 7-6 record in 2015, is to keep the Rams locked into the here and now as they begin a quest for a fourth consecutive bowl game.
Will Sefo Liufau rebound from injury?
CU’s quarterback suffered a Lisfranc injury to his foot late last season and there was no guarantee he’d recover in time for the start — or any, really — of the 2016 season.
But Liufau has been cleared to practice and believes he is ready to lead the Buffs to a turnaround season. It won’t happen without strong play from the senior under center.
Liufau, 8-21 as a starter at CU, has a notebook’s worth of school passing records to his credit, but the only one that matters now is a mark that will get the Buffs to a bowl game.
Who will start at quarterback for the Rams?
It might not be to the level of “The Bachelor” drama, but quarterback competitions have a way of making the grind of preseason camps a bit more interesting. Just ask the folks at Dove Valley.
Returning starter Nick Stevens, a redshirt junior who threw for 2,679 yards and 21 touchdowns last season, graduate transfer Faton Bauta from Georgia and true freshman Collin Hill, an early enrollee this spring out of South Carolina, are all in the mix.
Stevens has the most experience, having led the Rams to their third consecutive bowl game last season after replacing NFL draft pick Garrett Grayson. Still, if Stevens is to be the starter again, he’ll have to earn it during the next month.
Can Air Force win the Mountain West?
The Falcons won the Mountain Division last season, then fell to West Division champion San Diego State 27-24 in the conference title game.
Air Force returns a wealth of talent and experience, including nine returning starters on defense. That group is led by senior safety Weston Steelhammer (what a football name), a preseason all-conference selection.
Boise State was picked ahead of the Falcons to win the Mountain Division, but Air Force has defeated the Broncos each of the last two seasons, and the two schools will meet at the academy to end the regular season. The winner could be in line for another trip to the conference title game, with San Diego State a clear favorite in the West Division.
