CU At The Game Podcast

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This is Stuart Whitehair, publisher and editor for the CU at the Game website, and your host for the CU at the Game podcast.

The Colorado 2024 Big 12 schedule was announced this past week. Buff fans have known for years who the non-conference opponents would be this fall, and we have known for some time which of the remaining 15 Big 12 teams would fill CU’s nine-game conference slate. But, it wasn’t until this week that the Buff Nation was introduced to the schedule for the Buffs' first season back in the Big 12. 

This episode will be taking a deep dive into how CU’s fall lays out. Which teams have a bye week before playing the Buffs? Which teams will be coming off of a tough road contest or a rivalry game? Which teams may be looking past the Buffs to a “more important” game the following week? 

So ... Will playing a top level FCS school, followed by two rivalry games on the road, derail optimism in the second season under Coach Prime, or will the non-conference slate be a springboard to a winning season? ... Will the Buffs, replacing Oregon and USC with Baylor and Central Florida to open conference play, be able to take advantage of an easier opening schedule? ... Will CU’s back-loaded conference schedule, with the potential to finish against three ranked teams, lead to another frustrating just-short-of-a-bowl-game finish? Or, as it did in 2016, when the Buffs vanquished ranked opponents on their way to the Pac-12 title game, use the tough slate of games to make their case as a Big 12 title contender? 

Let’s find out ... 

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 This is Stuart Whitehair, publisher and editor for the CU at the Game website, and your host for the CU at the Game podcast. 

I am joined for this podcast by Brad Geiger and Neil Langland, and we are here to take a unit-by-unit look at your 2024 CU Buffs. 

Tough as it may be to believe in January, what with the Transfer Portal commitments still flowing in and another Transfer Portal window coming in April, but the CU roster - as is the case for most Power Four teams - is already 80-90% complete. Yes, the CU coaching staff is still in the market for quality transfers, and yes, there will be defections at the end of spring practices, but, unlike 2023, there will not be a wholesale makeover of the roster between now and Fall Camp. What CU has right now is largely what you will see on the field this fall. 

So ... Which units on the CU roster can be clearly defined as having Power Four conference quality and depth? ... Conversely, which units remain in serious need of upgrades? ... With new transfers coming in this spring, room will have to be made on the roster to keep CU under the 85-man limit. Which units are most likely to see attrition between now and the kickoff to the season on August 31st? 

Let’s find out ... 

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This is Stuart Whitehair, publisher and editor for the CU at the Game website, and your host for the CU at the Game podcast.

Welcome to our first podcast of 2024. I am joined for this podcast by Brad Geiger and Neil Langland, and we will open up the mailbag to discuss your questions and concerns. 

Included in this episode: 

– Half of Coach Prime’s coaching staff, including both of his coordinators, have left for other opportunities. Should Buff fans look at these moves as a compliment - that CU has coaches worth hiring away? Or is it cause for concern that Coach Prime will have to reinvent his staff for the 2024 season?;

– Only 11 scholarship players from Colorado entered the Transfer Portal in the first window. Is this number a surprise? Will there be a mass exodus come April? Or, is the Buff lineup of 85 scholarship players largely now in place for the fall?; 

– Now that there is a settlement - at least in principle - between the outgoing Pac-10 and the leftover Pac-2, will Oregon State and Washington State have enough resources to survive, and be relevant when the next round of realignment begins?; 

– The offensive line room is being completely overhauled. With the transfers coming in, and the signing of five-star phenom Jordan Seaton, does CU have enough quality starters and sufficient quality depth in the offensive line to compete in the Big 12?; and

– What are our picks for the national championship game, and should CU fans have a rooting interest one way or the other? 

Let’s find out ... 

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Welcome to our Signing Day podcast. I am joined for this episode by Brad Geiger and Neil Langland, and we are going to discuss one of the most important days on the college football calendar - Signing Day - with a quarter of CU’s 2024 roster sending in their Letters of Intent. 

We first discuss the overall look of the CU Recruiting Class of 2024, and whether it was a success - the most four-star recruits ever signed in one day by a Colorado coaching staff - or whether it was a disappointment, as the jewel of the Class failed to sign his Letter of Intent, and there were no surprise flips from other programs. 

We will then take a unit-by-unit look at the CU Class of ‘24, which was dominated by signees playing in the trenches on both sides of the ball. There were also a few talented skill position players joining the Herd, whetting the appetites of Buff fans looking for even more spectacular plays next fall.

So ... Should the Buff Nation be alarmed that Coach Prime and his staff only signed five freshmen? ... Did CU bring in enough offensive line talent in the “Protect Shedeur” campaign to make sack reduction in 2024 a realistic possibility? ... Has the groundwork been laid for a winning campaign next fall, or is there still plenty of work left to do in the Transfer Portal between now and Fall Camp to make a bowl bid a realistic expectation?

Let’s find out ... 

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This is Stuart Whitehair, publisher and editor for the CU at the Game website, and your host for the CU at the Game podcast.

Welcome to our first post-season podcast. I am joined for this episode by Neil Langland, and we are going to begin our journey into what promises to be another memorable off-season for the Colorado football program. 

First, a note. We are going back to posting episodes every other week, with our next episode covering Signing Day. The Recruiting Class of 2024 will be signing their Letters of Intent on Wednesday, December 20th, with our podcast taking a deep dive into the Class being posted that Friday. 

We will open this podcast with a review of Year One of the Coach Prime era. It’s hard to believe the impact Deion Sanders has had on the CU athletic department, the City of Boulder, and upon college football as a whole, but it’s worth taking a few moments to look back at what the Buff Nation has ... compared to what might have been. 

Quick quiz: Which is the most unbelievable factoid from Year One of the Coach Prime era? 

•That CU sold out every home game for the first time in school history (not to mention the Spring Game)?;
•That CU, after a 1-11 season, was nationally ranked in September?; or 
•That more viewers watched the Rocky Mountain Showdown (with a 10:30 p.m., ET kickoff) than watched the prime time Pac-12 championship game between two top five programs in Oregon and Washington? 

After our short trip down memory lane, we turn our attention to the reshaping of the coaching staff and roster, with a look ahead to how Signing Day might influence CU’s won/loss record next fall.

So ... Was the loss of offensive coordinator Sean Lewis, with his “most likely” replacement being Pat Shurmur, a net loss or a net gain for the program? ... If Coach Prime brings in well-known names, like Warren Sapp and Brian Leftwich, who have no collegiate coaching experience, will that help or hurt the development of the roster? ... And ... Are there enough quality offensive and defensive line transfers out there, who can be counted upon to turn CU’s front lines into strengths instead of weaknesses? 

Let’s find out ... 

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