Colorado @ Hawaii preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 20, 2014 ) Hawaii 12, Colorado 21

Colorado has not enjoyed a winning season since 2005 and went 0-9 in the Pac-12 in 2014, but third-year coach Mike MacIntyre remains optimistic in advance of the Buffaloes' 2015 season opener in Hawaii on Thursday. MacIntyre went 6-18 over his first two years in Boulder and with the other five teams in the Pac-12 South Division winning at least nine games last season, the talent-rich opponents Colorado will soon face could create impatience among fans and boosters if the losing continues.

“I don’t look at things concerned about what other people think,” MacIntyre told the Denver Post. “I need to do what I feel is best for our team and treat young people the right way and the correct way, set the right foundation, the right basis and the right culture, and move forward.” The Buffaloes are 4-32 in the Pac-12 since joining the conference in 2011, but could begin the long road to respectability with key players returning at the skill positions, including junior quarterback Sefo Liufau (28 touchdowns, 15 interceptions in 2014). But first, Colorado must improve a defense which yielded 39 points per contest last season - 43 in conference games. The Rainbow Warriors were picked to finish fifth in the six-team West Division of the Mountain West Conference, but senior quarterback Max Wittek - a transfer from USC - provides hope that they can better that rating and record their first winning season since 2010.

TV: 1 a.m. ET (Friday), CBS Sports Network. LINE: Colorado -7.5

ABOUT COLORADO (2014: 2-10): Senior wide receiver Nelson Spruce was tied for fourth in the country with 106 receptions last season and shared the Pac-12 lead in receptions and touchdowns (12) - both school records. Liufau has thrown at least one touchdown pass in all 20 career games - the longest active streak in the NCAA - and has a solid No. 2 option in sophomore WR Shay Fields, who averaged 9.7 yards on 50 receptions as a freshman. The Buffaloes must improve its running game on both sides of the ball as they were ninth in the Pac-12 at 154.6 yards per game while yielding a league-worst 204.8 yards.

ABOUT HAWAII (2014: 4-9): Wittek completed 50-of-95 passes for 600 yards with three touchdowns and six interceptions over two seasons with USC before sitting out 2014, and has an opportunity to thrive in coach Norm Chow's pro-style offense."We need each other equally as bad - he needs a quarterback like myself, that style, and I need a coach like him," Wittek told reporters. Hawaii, which lost six games by 10 points or fewer in 2014, returns its top two wide receivers in junior Marcus Kemp (56 receptions, 14.2 yard average, three touchdowns) and senior Quinton Pedroza (59, 11.4, three).

EXTRA POINTS

1. Colorado was picked to finish last in the South Division and received the fewest votes among the 12 teams in the Pac-12 preseason poll.

2. Hawaii is 29-58 all-time versus the Pac-12 while Colorado is 21-66 in its last 87 conference games.

3. The series is tied 2-2 with the Buffaloes winning 21-12 last season in Boulder and the Rainbow Warriors prevailing 34-17 in the last encounter in Honolulu in 2011.

PREDICTION: Hawaii 28, Colorado 27