Livingston's Defense Has Been Big Contributor To Buffs' Success
November 20, 2024 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — When the season began, one of the biggest question marks surrounding the Colorado Buffaloes was how much the defense could improve.
Now, as the Buffs (8-2 overall, 6-1 Big 12) head down the home stretch of the regular season in pursuit of a Big 12 championship and College Football Playoff berth, the answer is clear:
Exponentially. First-year defensive coordinator Robert Livingston has turned CU's defense from a liability into a strength, turning the Buffs into a complete team that no longer has to depend upon winning a shootout every weekend.
When Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders hired Livingston, some national media questioned the hire. A defensive backs coach with the Cincinnati Bengals, he had never run his own defense.
But Coach Prime saw something in Livingston that convinced him to put CU's defense in his hands. Now, Livingston should be a strong candidate for the Broyles Award, given annually to the best assistant coach in college football.
What attracted Coach Prime to Livingston was his NFL-style approach. Unlike most college coordinators, who devise a scheme and then try to fit players into the plan, Livingston came in with a different approach.
He assessed Colorado's talent, determined what each player could do best — and then developed his scheme to fit the players.
The result has been an attacking, opportunistic defense that has created turnovers, produced consistent pressure on the quarterback and — most importantly — come up with momentum-shifting plays at the most critical of moments.
The difference between Year One and Year Two of the Coach Prime era has been dramatic. CU's defense was one of the worst in the nation in 2023.
But CU's head coach hasn't been too keen on wasting time making the comparison. Last year is in the past. The only thing that matters is this season, and this season has seen Colorado's defense become an impact-producing unit.
Not that the Buffs have to live and die by their defense. CU still has one of the most productive offenses in the nation, one that is averaging more than 34 points per game.
But when the defense has needed to make a stand, the Buffs have delivered far more often than not.
Both units will be on display Saturday when CU heads to Kansas City for a 1:30 p.m. matchup with Kansas at Arrowhead Stadium (FOX).
"I knew we had a special team this season," safety Shilo Sanders told the media Wednesday. "I've been saying that before the season even started. Everybody thought I was crazy. But now y'all see. I told y'all even last year's close games and now we got the guys that we can get over the hump and that's what we've been doing. So we just have to continue doing that, keep winning and just win."
Indeed, the Buffs have been excelling in all areas on defense.
CU is currently sixth in the Big 12 in scoring defense (22.7 points per game), nearly two touchdowns better than a year ago. The Buffs are seventh against the run (138.7 yards per game) and seventh against the pass (219).
But where Colorado has truly excelled is in those game-changing, momentum-shifting moments.
The Buffs lead the Big 12 in sacks with 33 — seven more than second-place Kansas State. They are second in forced fumbles (11), first in fumbles recovered (10) and tied for sixth in interceptions (10).
But even more importantly, it's where those turnovers have come that have been so important.
Colorado leads the league in red zone defense, allowing opponents just a 73 percent success rate inside the 20. Five of those stops have come on turnovers — four fumbles and one interception.
One impressive factor for CU's defense has been its depth. While two-way star Travis Hunter has understandably garnered most of the publicity, the Buffs have had numerous players step up with big plays.
Cam'Ron Silmon-Craig leads CU with 77 tackles, including 6.5 for loss. Linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green has 73 tackles with 8.5 for loss. BJ Green II has 5.5 sacks, with Amari McNeill, Arden Walker and Keaten Wade each with 3.5 apiece. Hunter leads the team with three interceptions, but Hill-Green, Preston Hodge and Colton Hood each have a pair and seven different Buffs have recovered a fumble.
Those takeaways have been huge. The Buffs haven't lost the turnover battle since Week 2 at Nebraska. Colorado has scored 55 points off the 20 turnovers produced by the defense and they have recorded 28 sacks in the last six games.
Those are the kinds of plays that make a difference in close games — and a very big reason CU is in the hunt for a CFP bid.
