The primary goal of all Division I football teams is to put fannies in the seats and make donors want to contribute to the university.
The best way to accomplish this is to produce a winning team. The hard cold facts are that half the teams that play every Saturday are losers. Fans don’t support losing programs and Buffs football fans have found better things to do on Saturday afternoons than support the black and gold.
The Buffs finished the 2004 and 2005 seasons with 7-5 records. In 2004 they were 4-4 in the Big 12 and in 2005 they were 5-3. Oklahoma beat them 42-3 in the 2004 Big 12 Championships and Texas thumped them 70-3 the following year.
Many viewed these drubbings in the championships as a sign that CU was not capable of participating in the D1 football arms race without a sugar daddy. The CU administration viewed the losses differently. They used them as justification for hiring a new coach.
The Buffs football team has not had a winning season since 2005. Since then, they have had a 29-67 record, i.e. they have won only 30% of their games.
In 2011, the University of Colorado made a decision to move to the PAC 12 conference. Unfortunately the switch to a tougher conference did not positively impact the Buff’s performance on the field.
Their conference record for the past three seasons follows:
2011
- 2-7 conference record
- Home win over Arizona and a road win against Utah.
2012
- 1-8 conference record
- Road win over Washington State
2013
- 1-8 conference record.
- Home win over California.
The points for/against Buffs football for the past three seasons follow:
2011
- 5 home games 127 points for 183 points against
- 4 away games 51 points for 193 points against
- 9 total games 178 points for 376 points against
- For every point scored by the Buffs, the opponents scored 2.11 points
2012
- 5 home games 69 points for 221 points against
- 4 away games 86 points for 210 points against
- 9 total games 155 points for 431 points against
- For every point scored by the Buffs, the opponents scored 2.78 points
2013
- 4 home games 106 points for 172 points against
- 5 away games 77 points for 226 points against
- 9 total games 183 points for 398 points against
- For every point scored by the Buffs, the opponents scored 2.11 points
Most Buffs football fans supported CU’s move to the PAC 12, they are less supportive of the product being rolled out at Folsom Field. In the past three years, the Buffs have won 2 of 14 home games and been outscored 2 to 1.
The Buffs conference home attendance for the past three seasons follows:
2011
The Buffs were 1-4 at home in conference play.
- 9/10 49,532 California
- 10/1 51,928 Washington State
- 10/22 52,123 Oregon
- 11/4 50,083 Southern California
- 11/22 48,111 Arizona.
Average conference home attendance 50,355.
2012
The Buffs were 0-5 at home in conference play.
- 9/29 46,893 UCLA
- 10/11 45,161 Arizona State
- 10/27 44,138 Stanford
- 11/17 43,148 Washington
- 11/23 46,052 Utah.
Average conference home attendance 45,078.
2013
The Buffs were 1-3 at home in conference play.
- 10/5 45,944 Oregon
- 10/26 38,679 Arizona
- 11/16 38,252 California
- 11/23 36,005 Southern California.
Average conference home attendance 39,720.
Hopefully, the most recent change in coaches bodes well for the Buffs football program!