Colorado Buffaloes Football: Win over Utah Is Building Block for Future Success

The Colorado Buffaloes had been mostly unsuccessful in conference play in their inaugural season in the Pac-12 entering Friday's game against Utah in Salt Lake City.  The Buffs' only win was against lowly Arizona.  The only other win this season for Colorado was against dreadful Colorado State.

In short, the Buffaloes were simply awful this season on the football field.  They had pretty much nothing left to play for, since head coach John Embree wasn't going to be fired after only one season.

Their opponent, the Utah Utes, on the other hand, had a lot to play for.  All they had to do was beat a horrible Colorado team at home and they had a pretty good shot at making the Pac-12 Championship game.

Somebody forgot to tell the Colorado Buffaloes that they were an unmotivated, vastly inferior team.

The Buffaloes completely dictated the course of the game and wound up beating the Utes 17-14.

The game wasn't as close as the score would indicate, as Colorado dominated Utah from start to finish.  Despite being the victim of numerous horrible calls in the final five minutes of the game, the Buffs held on to provide Coach Embree with his first signature win as head coach.

That begs the question: Is the win over Utah a defining moment for Colorado Football?  Does this signal the beginning of a competitive Colorado team in the Pac-12?

It may seem ridiculous to question whether a win over a middle-tier Pac-12 team could be the start of great things for a team who finished the season 3-10 (the Buffs got to play one extra home game because they played at Hawaii this season).  However, this win is exactly what the Buffs needed.

While Colorado may have been horrible for the last several seasons, it is important to remember that they were not always that way.  They won the National Championship only 20 years ago.

Most programs with bleak futures are the result of decades of futility.  That affects recruiting, television viewership, fan support, donations, and attendance, creating a vicious cycle of losing.

Colorado doesn't have those problems.  Their failures are recent, and have not strongly effected the proud tradition and history the program has.  The Buffs still have plenty of support and recruiting appeal.  What Colorado is suffering from right now is an attitude problem—they lost their confidence and forgot who they are.

The win over Utah was brimming with confidence and excitement from the Colorado players.  It was easy to tell that they wanted it more than the Utes.

That type of attitude is infectious, and can be a major building block for Coach Embree to use as the foundation for future success.