wasn’t ready to move on just yet.
The Colorado football coach took several minutes after the Buffaloes’ 38-8 loss to Oklahoma State in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29 to soak in what his team had accomplished in authoring the greatest single-season turnaround in Pac-12 history.
“In the locker room after the game, it was a really neat, neat time,” MacIntyre said that night inside the Alamodome in San Antonio. “Those young men will be remembered to me, should be remembered for a long, long time for what they’ve done for Colorado football.”
When Alabama and Clemson turn out the lights Monday night after the national championship game in Tampa, Fla., preparations for the 2017 college football season will officially begin.
In many ways, it was a banner year for the sport on the Front Range. All four FBS programs — CU, Colorado State, Wyoming and Air Force — reached the postseason, though only Air Force won its bowl game.
For all four programs, matching or surpassing the success of 2016 will require addressing key priorities in the offseason, from signing day in February through fall camps in August.
Here is a look at two key areas each program must address:
Colorado
Lock in recruiting class. The final weeks before signing day can be a nervous time for college football coaches, who must wait and hope that verbal pledges made by recruits turn into signed letters of intent.
CU has put together a nationally ranked recruiting class, a heady achievement for a program that has ranked toward the bottom of the Pac-12 in recruiting since it joined the conference in 2011.
The Buffs seemingly lost one of their key recruits Saturday when four-star offensive lineman Xavier Newman of DeSoto, Texas, tweeted that he was decommitting from CU. Avoiding more recruiting setbacks between now and signing day will be key to maintaining what has been an impressive recruiting effort.
Find a defensive coordinator. Jim Leavitt’s departure for Oregon left a big hole in CU’s defense, and choosing a new defensive coordinator is the biggest offseason task MacIntyre faces.
Safeties coach Joe Tumpkin, who took over defensive play-calling duties in the Alamo Bowl, seemed to be a strong internal candidate. But his status with the program is in doubt after the Daily Camera reported Friday that Tumpkin had a domestic violence complaint filed against him in December.
CU’s new coordinator will take over a defense that is losing eight starters.
Colorado State
Improve defensively. The Rams made a strong second-half run to postseason eligibility despite giving up an average of nearly 43 points over their final four games of the season.
The good news for CSU is that many young players who showed promise during stretches will be back with experience to their credit. The Rams must develop depth in spring ball and fall camp that helps them prevent some of the fatigue the unit demonstrated in the second half of the season.
Solidify the quarterback position. CSU coach said last week that will enter the offseason as the team’s presumed starter for 2017.
Stevens, who will be a senior, was also handed the starting job ahead of the Rocky Mountain Showdown last season, only to be pulled after a poor performance against CSU.
With promising freshman Collin Hill still recovering from an injured ACL, Stevens, who was strong in the second half of the season, must take control of the job and eliminate the kind of uncertainty around the position that really hampered the Rams out of the gate in 2016.
Wyoming
Replace Brian Hill. This certainly won’t be an easy task.
After becoming the all-time leading rusher at Wyoming in just three seasons, Hill decided to skip his senior season and enter the NFL draft, leaving a big hole for a program under coach Craig Bohl that prides itself on smashmouth football.
The Cowboys return no running back on the roster who rushed for more than 100 yards last season.
Await quarterback decision. Wyoming will know the answer to a big piece of its offseason puzzle by Jan. 16. That’s the deadline for underclassmen to declare for the NFL draft, and redshirt sophomore quarterback Josh Allen is still mulling whether to leave school to pursue a professional career.
The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Allen had an impressive first full season as Wyoming’s starter, and he’s pegged high on some NFL mock draft boards.
A return by Allen to Laramie would obviously be a huge coup for the Cowboys. If he heads to the NFL, Bohl will have a big task ahead of him getting a new starting quarterback ready for next season.
Air Force
Ride the momentum. The Falcons had the strongest finish of any Front Range program, winning its final six games of the season. That included a 45-21, come-from-behind victory over South Alabama in the Arizona Bowl on Dec. 30.
Air Force rode the performance of sophomore quarterback Arion Worthman, who had 277 total yards in the bowl win, during the strong closing two-month stretch to close the season.
The Falcons have a good deal of talent coming back on offense and if they can continue to hum behind Worthman in the offseason, that unit could be one of the Mountain West’s best in 2017.
Find impact players on defense. Only one defensive starter from the bowl game will return for Air Force next season. Among the players who must be replaced: Weston Steelhammer, one of the best defensive backs in the country.
The Falcons weren’t world beaters on the defensive side of the ball for much of the season, so the heavy turnover shouldn’t be devastating. Still, spring practice will be crucial as the staff begins to identify a starting 11 on defense for the 2017 season.
