Just How Bad Has CU's (Not So) Special Teams Been?

It has now been officially stated by me that the entire operations known as the CU special teams needs to be blown up and put back together. New players, new coaches...everything. The main reason: CONSISTENTLY being horrible, costing the Buffs points and, since the beginning of the season, not giving the Buffs anything positive. Yes, Josh Smith will bust one here and there that will give CU good field position, but not since the Eastern Washington game has he really put the Buffs in an immediate position to score. So just how bad are the Buffs this year on special teams? According to my calculations, the Buffs have given up a total of 81 points to the opposition on special teams. Get out your calculator and do the math. 81/10 = 8.1 points/game. See the chart below for a breakdown of what I am counting in my 81 points. You could argue against one of the Missouri touchdowns due to bad coverage and short punt but most of the other "blunders" are truly legitimate. The number could be higher if you factor in the momentum changers the missed field goals cost the Buffs in the Texas game and the Florida State game. You could even throw the Iowa State game in as one of those games where the Buffs convert, it may be a different outcome. 81 points. Yes, Josh Smith has a few good returns and a touchdown against CSU that would offset a few points but when the CU place kickers are 28.6% on the season in made field goals and the Buffs play musical punters in the Mizzou game, they lose the benefit of the doubt in a lot of scenarios. To make matters worse, the Buffs are 117th in the nation in kickoff coverage, giving up 27.17 yards/kickoff. There are only 119 teams in FBS! CU ranks 85th in punt coverage giving up 11.0 yards/punt. For how good WR/KR Josh Smith has seemed to have done this year, the Buffs still rank 50th in punt return average and 54th in kick return average. In net punting, the Buffs only average 39.1 yards/punt which is good for 79th in the nation. I am sorry, this performance is not acceptable. 8.1 points a game plus the influence that poor special teams play has on the momentum of the game has killed the Buffs this year. I believe it cost them the Florida State game, gave them no chance against Missouri and could have cost them the Iowa State game.