2019 Colorado

5–⁠7 (3–⁠6 Pac-12), coached by Mel Tucker.

Schedule and results

Colorado in 2019, game by game: won vs. Colorado State 52–31; won vs. No. 25 Nebraska 34–31; lost vs. Air Force 23–30; won at No. 24 Arizona State 34–31; lost vs. Arizona 30–35; lost at No. 13 Oregon 3–45; lost at Washington State 10–41; lost vs. USC 31–35; lost at UCLA 14–31; won vs. Stanford 16–13; won vs. Washington 20–14; lost at No. 6 Utah 15–45+21−42Won 52–31 vs. Colorado State+21Colorado StateWon 34–31 vs. No. 25 Nebraska+3No. 25 NebraskaLost 23–30 vs. Air Force-7Air ForceWon 34–31 at No. 24 Arizona State+3No. 24 Arizona StateLost 30–35 vs. Arizona-5ArizonaLost 3–45 at No. 13 Oregon-42No. 13 OregonLost 10–41 at Washington State-31Washington StateLost 31–35 vs. USC-4USCLost 14–31 at UCLA-17UCLAWon 16–13 vs. Stanford+3StanfordWon 20–14 vs. Washington+6WashingtonLost 15–45 at No. 6 Utah-30No. 6 Utah
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Utah 45–⁠15; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 9th in the Pac-12.

In program history: The 96th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

Record
5–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠6 tied for 9th in Pac-12
AP final
Unranked
Points
282–⁠382
Coach
Mel Tucker
Elo
1452 −6 this season
SP+ rating
-4.1 No. 81 of 130; offense No. 49, defense No. 105, special teams No. 43
SRS
−2.3 No. 74 of 130 in FBS
Returning
85% of last season’s EPA, No. 12 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 44 roster talent No. 48 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Jay Johnson
Defensive coordinator
Tyson Summers
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense59th of 130
  • Defense114th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted48th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted105th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1244%1.1559th of 130
Defense0.2149%1.19114th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.13 off
0.17 def
43% off
46% def
—48th off
105th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.7own 2815% allowed
Defense3.9own 2718% caused

CORE rating -1.9, 69th of 130 (offense 4.1, defense 6.0).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsSteven Montez QB2,808 yds
Passing touchdownsSteven Montez QB17 TD
Rushing yardsAlex Fontenot RB874 yds
Rushing touchdownsAlex Fontenot RB5 TD
Receiving yardsLaviska Shenault Jr. WR764 yds
Receiving touchdownsTony Brown WR5 TD
TacklesNate Landman LB114 tkl
SacksTerrance Lang DE5.5 sacks
InterceptionsMikial Onu S4 INT

Top recruits in the 2019 class

La’Vontae Shenault WR★★★★No. 391
Jaren Mangham ATH★★★No. 423
Marvin Ham ILB★★★No. 462
Braedin Huffman-Dixon WR★★★No. 533
Tarik Luckett WR★★★No. 677

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2019 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs13.00.847
Receivers33.30.883
Offensive line43.00.843
Defensive line43.00.841
Linebackers32.70.843
Defensive backs23.00.867
Athletes and specialists33.00.858
Whole class203.00.854

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2020

The 2020 draft
Rd 2Laviska Shenault Jr. WRJacksonville Jaguars
Rd 3Davion Taylor OLBPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 7Arlington Hambright OTChicago Bears

Roster 111

The 2019 roster

111 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2019 line; 56 have a stat line. See the roster

2019 Pac-12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oregon8–⁠112–⁠25
Utah8–⁠111–⁠316
USC7–⁠28–⁠5
Arizona State4–⁠58–⁠5
California4–⁠58–⁠5
Washington4–⁠58–⁠5
Oregon State4–⁠55–⁠7
UCLA4–⁠54–⁠8
Washington State3–⁠66–⁠7
Colorado3–⁠65–⁠7
Stanford3–⁠64–⁠8
Arizona2–⁠74–⁠8

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.