Buffaloes rank among college football’s most penalized teams

BOULDER» A hallmark of Mike MacIntyre coached college football teams: few self-inflicted wounds.

In 2011, his San Jose State squad was the second-least penalized team in the country with 2.3 flags per game. When MacIntyre arrived at the University of Colorado in 2013, the Buffaloes committed only 10 fouls over their last four games.

But through the midway point of this season, yellow cloth has rained down against CU at an unprecedented rate.

Never in MacIntyre’s seven-year head coaching career has his team finished a season penalized at the Buffaloes’ current clip: 7.8 per game. Only 16 teams nationally so far this year have fared worse.

“We’ve got to fix that,” MacIntyre said.

Refining technique and focus to eliminate holding, offsides, late hits and everything in between, are teachable solutions — but is it enough to overcome the source of mistakes at the crux of CU’s 0-3 start to Pac-12 play?

“Discipline is what it comes down to,” CU tailback Phillip Lindsay said.

In the aftermath of CU’s loss to Arizona last week, emotions were visible as players addressed reporters’ questions.

Senior defensive back Ryan Moeller said: “I don’t think discipline is an issue. You can put anyone out there. You can bring Tom Brady and put him out there. We just have to prepare better and we have to execute.”

But it was Moeller whose first-quarter late-hit-outof-bounds penalty sidelined Arizona starting quarterback Brandon Dawkins and cost CU 15 yards.

The Buffaloes would add two more personal fouls in the second and fourth quarter from sophomore cornerback Dante Wigley. CU then tacked on nine more penalties to deduct a total of 110 yards on the night — errors that become more glaring in only a three-point loss.

“The aggressive (penalties), you’ve got to curtail and show them, but you don’t want to curtail the aggression. It’s a fine line,” MacIntyre said. “Our offsides penalties or our holding penalties, those are things you can keep coaching.”

Lindsay contends “that every play could be a penalty, honestly.” MacIntyre compared getting flagged to getting pulled over on the highway for speeding: “You get caught, and sometimes you don’t get caught.”

But if CU plans to win three of its next six games to gain bowl eligibility, the majority of those miscues must be reduced.

“I would say we’ll drastically cut down (penalties) in the last half of the year,” MacIntyre said. “I’d be extremely disappointed if we don’t.”

College football’s most penalized teams