UCLA football 2017 schedule preview: Colorado

Colorado running back Phillip Lindsay, front, celebrates after scoring a touchdown against UCLA during the first half of an NCAA college football game Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado at UCLA
Saturday, Sept. 30 | Rose Bowl

Colorado ascended from the Pac-12 South cellar to the Pac-12 Championship Game in just one year. On social media, the Buffaloes (10-4, 8-1 Pac-12 last year) dubbed the stunning climb “The Rise.” This year, the team’s defining social media phrase demands that the Buffaloes “never stop rising.”

“They know they can do it now,” head coach Mike MacIntyre said on the first day of spring practice. “Last year everybody was laughing at us. Now we want to go do it. We didn’t finish it last year.”

No team has ever won back-to-back Pac-12 South titles and no Pac-12 South team has won the conference championship. UCLA is the only team to represent the South in the Pac-12 championship game in back-to-back years, but participated in the 2011 game because USC was ineligible for postseason competition.

Game storylines

— Flip flop: While Colorado’s stout defense helped the Buffaloes claim their first Pac-12 South title last year, it’ll likely be the offense that shines brightest this season. The unit returns nine starters from last year’s team that scored 31.1 points per game, Colorado’s best average in 15 years. UCLA and Colorado slogged through a defensive battle for four quarters last year, but it’ll be much harder for the Bruins to hold this Colorado offense down.

— New man in charge: Part of why the defense might be a concern for the Buffaloes is the departure of former defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt, who took the same position at Oregon and become the highest-paid assistant at a public Pac-12 school in history. Leavitt took a defense that was ranked 11th in the Pac-12 in both total and scoring defense in 2014 and turned it into one of the conference’s best in 2016: The Buffaloes ranked third in scoring defense and second in total defense last season. Former Kentucky defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot will try to maintain that production while replacing eight starters, including all three defensive linemen.

— Receiving good marks: UCLA has a new starting quarterback for the first time since 2013, but Steven Montez has little reason to worry. The redshirt sophomore has one of the best receiving corps in the country with seniors Devin Ross, Shay Fields and Bryce Bobo leading the way. Of the 214 passes caught by Colorado receivers last year, 213 were made by returning players.

Players to watch

— QB Steven Montez: Montez is Colorado’s old new starter. The redshirt sophomore got significant playing time last year as the oft-injured Sefo Liufau’s backup. Montez, who went 2-1 as a starter in 2016, was the first player in Colorado history to pass for 300 yards and rush for 100 in the same game as he led the Buffaloes to a win over Oregon in his first career start.

— RB Phillip Lindsay: Lindsay led the Pac-12 with 16 rushing touchdowns and had the third-most rushing yards (1,189). The senior was also a threat catching the ball with 47 receptions for 390 yards and one touchdown and earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors. Lindsay is trying to become the first ever Colorado player to rush for back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons.

— CB Isaiah Oliver: Oliver sat behind two NFL Draft picks last year in Chidobe Awuzie and Akhello Witherspoon, but still played 48.4 percent of the team’s defensive snaps. He saved three touchdowns and had seven third-down stops with 13 pass breakups. On special teams, the Bruins likely remember him well: Oliver scored the game-clinching touchdown against UCLA last year on a 68-yard touchdown return.

Colorado in a GIF

via GIPHY

UCLA 2017 schedule

Sun., Sept. 3: Texas A&M at UCLA, 4:30 p.m. PT, FOX/FOX Deportes
Sat., Sept. 9: Hawai’i at UCLA, 2 p.m. PT, Pac-12 Networks
Sat., Sept. 16: UCLA at Memphis, 9 a.m. PT, ABC/ESPN2 mirror
Sat., Sept. 23: UCLA at Stanford
Sat., Sept. 30: Colorado at UCLA
Sat., Oct. 7: BYE
Sat., Oct. 14: UCLA at Arizona
Sat., Oct. 21: Oregon at UCLA
Sat., Oct. 28: UCLA at Washington
Fri., Nov. 3: UCLA at Utah, 6:30 p.m. PT, FS1/FOX Deportes
Sat., Nov. 11: Arizona State at UCLA
Sat., Nov. 18: UCLA at USC
Fri. Nov. 24: California at UCLA, 7:30 p.m. FS1/FOX Deportes
Fri., Dec. 1 or Sat., Dec. 2: Pac-12 Football Championship Game