Colorado’s Roper has difficult task of beating Cal
Unsure of exactly what information his 10-year-old daughter was getting while spending Thanksgiving week in North Carolina, Kurt Roper sent a text from Boulder, Colo., to ask how she was doing.
“She said: ‘I handled it well,’ ” Roper said. “That’s just what happens when you grow up in this business.” Like daughter, like father. Roper appears to be taking a matter-of-fact approach to being named Colorado’s interim head coach Sunday, giving him six days to prepare for a bowl-or-bust game against Cal.
“I look at it as: ‘Hey, this is the Cal week. We need somebody to organize all the decisions that need to be made to go into it and find a way to win,’ ” Roper said Tuesday during his first media luncheon since Mike MacIntyre was fired. “I need to get the quarterbacks ready to play, and every other coach needs to get their positions ready to play. Hopefully, we can help these guys win a game, and maybe it extends the season.”
After starting 5-0 and jumping to No. 19 in the Associated Press rankings, the Buffaloes have lost six straight and remain one victory shy of postseason eligibility. The morning after Colorado lost to Utah 30-7, athletic director Rick George made the move from MacIntyre to Roper.
MacIntyre, who led San Jose State to a 10-2 record in 2012 and the program’s only AP Top 25 finish (No. 21), went 30-44 at Colorado. During his tenure in Boulder, he was named the 2016 national Coach of the Year after leading the Buffaloes to the Pac-12 championship game.
In 2017, he signed a fiveyear, $16.25 million extension and will be owed a $10.3 million buyout — unless he gets another head-coaching job and the number is reduced.
“Six weeks ago, we’re 5-0 and the talk of the country,” George said. “That’s where Colorado should be every year and every season. We should be the talk of the country. But we’re not there, and that’s why I made the decision.”
Instead, they’re talking about a coaching change, and Roper is tasked with leading the players through the uncertainty.
“Obviously, they’re not blind to what’s going on, what’s being said and what’s being talked about,” said Roper, who was hired as the Buffaloes’ quarterbacks coach in January after 19 seasons in similar positions — most notably at South Carolina (2015-16), Duke (2008-09) and Mississippi (1999-2002). “… When you come in the building, it’s time to go to work. You put aside the issues that you have, and it’s about focusing on Cal.”
Roper said the team drilled first-down and red-zone situations Tuesday, and he’ll continue on a similar path to the one established by MacIntyre. Co-offensive coordinators Klayton Adams and Darrin Chiaverini and defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot will remain in their respective positions, and Roper will continue his focus on the quarterbacks.
He spent most of Sunday detailing the schedule for a week that will have shortened practices while the team breaks for Thanksgiving and is designed to infuse the team with fun during a rough time.
During one practice period Tuesday, the offensive and defensive linemen got to play skill positions.
“He understands this is a hard time for us right now and there’s a lot of confusion,” sophomore defensive lineman Mustafa Johnson said. “We can’t fall back or lose our bond.”
Junior offensive lineman Aaron Hanger said: “When you’re 5-0, it seems like everything is doing just dandy. It’s the best time anyone has ever had. But when you go and lose those games, it just kind of stalls out. After a while, you just don’t know how to come back from that. You don’t really know what to do differently. It’s not like guys aren’t trying or are quitting. We’re just searching for answers.”