Farewell to our Pac-12 friends: Where Colorado never found its footing

As the sun sets on the current incarnation of the Pac-12, we take a look at where our other teams have gone and how Cal interacted with them.

It felt like a natural fit. Once a national champion, but struggling to find footing in the Big 12, the Colorado Buffaloes could reset and rebuild out West in a conference that had the better cultural footprint for its alumni and its student-athletes.

And yet, it never really panned out for Colorado in the Pac-12.

The Buffs had a very rocky road in the conference. In their 13 seasons in the conference, Colorado won more than three Pac-12 games ONCE. In their first five years in the Pac-12, they won five conference games. In their last seven seasons, they averaged two Pac-12 wins a year.

A good chunk of these failures were administrative, and some were due to bad luck. Colorado stumbled from bad hire to mediocre hire to turncoat to really bad hire in this conference. Not one of these coaches brought a consistent vision or identity.

Colorado suffered from very similar problems as Cal, with athletics and academics never really aligning for most of its time here. After numerous scandals in the athletic department, the Colorado regents did not want to pay full dollar for a legitimate football program for a long time. The focus was on prioritizing Colorado academics, and getting the university up to its new California peers in the Pac-12.

Despite all that, the Buffs did change things up at the very end and made life interesting at the very end with the hiring of Deion Sanders. They were proactive in moving back to the Big 12 when it was clear the numbers were not matching up. It is hard to say whether either excursion will bear fruit with a resurgent Colorado, as the program seems engulfed with headlines rather than actual on-the-football field growth. But it does show that Colorado is trying harder than they usually have been to be good at the revenue sports.

However, Colorado’s time in the Pac-12 is likely not going to be fondly remembered by anyone in Boulder. Despite all the seemingly reasonable fits on paper in terms of culture, academics and all-around athletic success, football faltered significantly. Here’s to the Buffs.

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And despite all of that turmoil, Cal was stuck fighting Colorado in the trenches, over and over and over. It led to embarrassing results.

Cal played some of the worst Colorado football teams ever to suit up on a football field, and found ways to lose, or nearly lose. Cal played Colorado teams that went a combined 6-30 in Pac-12 play in the four seasons they made the trip to Boulder, and managed one win. Twice they handed Colorado its only Pac-12 win. Once they handed them their only win on the entire season.

On the flip side, since Colorado was almost always bad, Cal enjoyed some memorable wins during that time. Zach Maynard and Keenan Allen showed the upside of their connection, including connecting on the game winner in Boulder in 2011.

In 2014, Colorado and Cal went to double overtime, as Jared Goff earned his first signature win at home with a 59-56 triumph. After getting battered in the air all day, the Cal defense stiffened with a crucial goal-line stop that helped secure victory.

In 2018, the Cal defense locked down Colorado early with a touchdown bonanza, and it was enough to secure victory.

Regardless, because of the setbacks, Cal going to the wire with terrible Colorado teams was definitely a warning sign of how far the Bears were from the gold standard of the conference. Cal was capable of more in the Pac-12 era, yet the Colorado games were a bellwether for how far the program was competing against the premier programs.

Still, it was kind of a shame Cal and Colorado couldn’t really enjoy their time together for longer. Boulder and Berkeley shared similar culture, similar lifestyles, similar environments, and could have been good allies in the times to coming.

For now though, the two teams will look at each other as passing ships in the night, wondering how long they can stay afloat at sea.

Cal fans, what are your thoughts on our time with Colorado, and what will you remember the most about playing the Buffs?