Bowl-bound Buffs deliver best season in a decadeÂ
If you were following along on Twitter this fall, #TheRise quickly turned into #TheRiseIsReal.
By the midway point of Mike MacIntyre’s fourth year as ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥â€™s head football coach, the team had made its biggest splash in a decade and MacIntyre was a candidate for Coach of the Year.
Clinching a bowl berth for the first time since 2007 — by Week 8 — tends to draw attention.
As ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ raced to a 7-2 start, MacIntyre was hardly the only one getting noticed. Five Buffs earned Pac-12 Player of the Week honors through the first eight weeks of the season. Quarterbacks Sefo Liufau (Econ’17) and Steven Montez (StComm’19) earned awards in September; Phillip Lindsay (Comm’17) won in October.
True freshman kicker Davis Price (A&S’20) was named Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week after making the first kicks of his college career against Oregon State, including a 54-yard field goal — the longest ever by a ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ freshman.
Price, of Evergreen, Colo., followed the fantastic start by getting a lift to the Buffs’ next game, against USC, from his dad — a pilot who flew the team plane to Los Angeles.
Strong safety Tedric Thompson (Soc’17) also earned Pac-12 honors after hauling in two interceptions in a 10-5 victory at Stanford Oct. 22.
A week earlier, the Buffs handily beat Arizona State during Homecoming Weekend.
Reflecting the strong season, ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ returned to the national rankings for the first time since Nov. 2005 and also made their debut in the College Playoff Rankings, at No. 15.Â
Photo Cliff Grassmick/Daily CameraÂ
