# 2016 Colorado Buffaloes football team

The 2016 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado Boulder during the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Mike MacIntyre, they played their home games on-campus at Folsom Field in Boulder and were members of the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season 10–4, 8–1 in Pac-12 play to win their first Pac-12 South Division Title. They represented the South Division in the 2016 Pac-12 Football Championship Game where they lost to Washington. They were invited to the Alamo Bowl where they lost to Oklahoma State. It was their first winning season since 2005.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 6:00 p.m. | vs. Colorado State* | | Sports Authority Field at Mile HighDenver, CO (rivalry) | ESPN | W 44–7 | 69,850 |
| September 10 | 3:30 p.m. | Idaho State* | | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | P12N | W 56–7 | 39,505 |
| September 17 | 1:30 p.m. | at No. 4 Michigan* | | Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI | BTN | L 28–45 | 110,042 |
| September 24 | 3:30 p.m. | at Oregon | | Autzen StadiumEugene, OR | P12N | W 41–38 | 53,974 |
| October 1 | 12:30 p.m. | Oregon State | | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | P12N | W 47–6 | 46,839 |
| October 8 | 2:00 p.m. | at USC | No. 21 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | P12N | L 17–21 | 68,302 |
| October 15 | 6:00 p.m. | Arizona State | | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | P12N | W 40–16 | 48,588 |
| October 22 | 1:00 p.m. | at Stanford | | Stanford StadiumStanford, CA | P12N | W 10–5 | 44,535 |
| November 3 | 7:00 p.m. | UCLA | No. 15 | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | FS1 | W 20–10 | 43,761 |
| November 12 | 8:00 p.m. | at Arizona | No. 12 | Arizona StadiumTucson, AZ | FS1 | W 49–24 | 41,068 |
| November 19 | 1:30 p.m. | No. 22 Washington State | No. 10 | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | FOX | W 38–24 | 48,658 |
| November 26 | 5:30 p.m. | No. 22 Utah | No. 9 | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO (Rumble in the Rockies) | FOX | W 27–22 | 52,301 |
| December 2 | 7:00 p.m. | vs. No. 4 Washington | No. 8 | Levi's StadiumSanta Clara, CA (Pac-12 Championship Game) | FOX | L 10–41 | 47,118 |
| December 29 | 7:00 p.m. | vs. No. 12 Oklahoma State* | No. 10 | AlamodomeSan Antonio, TX (Alamo Bowl) | ESPN | L 8–38 | 59,815 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 1 released prior to gameAll times are in Mountain time ||||||||
    Source:
Conference opponents not played this season: California; Washington was played in the conference championship game, but was not scheduled in the regular season

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | — | RV | RV | — | RV | 21 | RV | RV | 23 | 21 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 17 |
| Coaches | — | RV | RV | — | RV | 23 | RV | RV | 23 | 20 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 15 |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 15 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 10 | Not released |

## Game summaries
### Vs. Colorado State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Rams | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Buffaloes | 21 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 44 |

### Idaho State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bengals | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Buffaloes | 14 | 35 | 7 | 0 | 56 |

### At Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buffaloes | 21 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
| #4 Wolverines | 7 | 17 | 14 | 7 | 45 |

### At Oregon

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buffaloes | 16 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 41 |
| Ducks | 7 | 10 | 21 | 0 | 38 |

### Oregon State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Beavers | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Buffaloes | 13 | 24 | 3 | 7 | 47 |

### At USC

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #21 Buffaloes | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 17 |
| Trojans | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |

### Arizona State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Sun Devils | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 16 |
| Buffaloes | 7 | 16 | 10 | 7 | 40 |

### At Stanford

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buffaloes | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| Cardinal | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 |

### UCLA

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bruins | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| #21 Buffaloes | 7 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 20 |

### At Arizona

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #16 Buffaloes | 7 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 49 |
| Wildcats | 0 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 24 |

### Washington State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #20 Cougars | 14 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| #12 Buffaloes | 7 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 38 |

### Utah

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #22 Utes | 7 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 22 |
| #9 Buffaloes | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 27 |
at Folsom Field • Boulder, CO
* Date: November 26, 2016
* Game time: 5:30 p.m. MT
* Game attendance: 52,301
* TV: FOX
* Source
Game information :
First quarter
(9:17) UTAH TD: Boobie Hobbs 55-yard punt return (Andy Phillips PAT).
(0:00) COLO TD: Sefo Liufau 2-yard rush (Davis Price PAT).
Second quarter
(9;20) COLO FG: Chris Graham 25-yard field goal.
(5:21) COLO FG: Chris Graham 19-yard field goal.
Third quarter
(11:54) UTAH FG: Andy Phillips 22-yard field goal.
(2:58) UTAH FG: Andy Phillips 22-yard field goal.
(0:00) COLO TD: Sefo Liufau 6-yard pass to Shay Fields (Davis Price PAT).
Fourth quarter
(13:53) UTAH FG: Andy Phillips 23-yard field goal.
(10:56) COLO TD: Kenneth Olugbode 10-yard fumble return (Davis Price PAT).
(1:3$) UTAH TD: Troy Williams 7-yard pass to Demari Simpkins (2-pt. no good).
Top passers
UTAH – Troy Williams – 13/40, 160 yards, TD, 2 INT
COLO – Sefo Liufau – 23/44, 270 yards, TD
Top rushers
UTAH – Joe Williams – 26 carries, 97 yards
COLO – Sefo Liufau – 21 carries, 59 yards, TD
Top receiving
UTAH – Tim Patrick – 5 receptions, 78 yards
COLO – Devin Ross – 9 receptions, 94 yards :

### vs Washington (Pac-12 Championship game)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #9 Buffaloes | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| #4 Huskies | 7 | 7 | 17 | 10 | 41 |
at Levi's Stadium • Santa Clara, CA
* Date: December 2, 2016
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. MT
* Game attendance: 47,118
* TV: FOX
Game information :
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
WASH –
COLO –
Top rushers
WASH –
COLO –
Top receiving
WASH –
COLO – :

### vs Oklahoma State (Alamo Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #13 Cowboys | 3 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 38 |
| #11 Buffaloes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 |

## Awards and honors

Season Awards :
| Person | Award | Date awarded | Ref. |
| Mike MacIntyre | Pac-12 Coach of the Year | September 30, 2016 | |
| Mike MacIntyre | Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award | December 1, 2016 | |