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[The 1999 Buffs finished the regular season with a 6-5 record. Under first year head coach Gary Barnett, CU had a year with highs and lows. The Buffs started the season with a #14 ranking. A humbling loss in the opener, 41-14, to CSU, however, dropped Colorado from the rankings for the remainder of the season. Encouraging wins over Missouri (46-39 in CU’s first-ever overtime game) and #24 Oklahoma (38-24) were offset by disappointing losses to Washington (31-24 against former head coach Rick Neuheisel) and #6 Kansas State (20-14). The final regular season game was a microcosm of the season: the Buffs fell behind #3 Nebraska, 27-3, through three quarters of play. Three fourth quarter touchdowns by CU sent the game into overtime, where the Buffs ultimately fell, 33-30.]
A Good Loss
While the Buffs and their fans were still mourning the lost opportunity of the final moments of the Nebraska game, some good did come from the loss. Nebraska had come into the CU game ranked third in the Bowl Championship Series standings, behind undefeated Florida State and Virginia Tech. The Cornhuskers needed a convincing win over the Buffs, along with a win over Texas in the Big XII Championship game, to play for the national title. The narrow escape from Boulder virtually eliminated the Cornhuskers’ title chances.
The game also had repercussions on the Buffs’ bowl chances. The Big 12 had seven bowl eligible teams, but contracts for only six bowl slots. At the bottom of the list were Colorado and Texas Tech, both 6-5 (OSU lost its last game to Oklahoma to finish 5-6). The Red Raiders had an edge over the Buffs, in that they had trounced CU 31-10 earlier in the year, but now Colorado had the national attention of almost upsetting the third-ranked team in the nation. The near win was enough for the officials of the Insight.com Bowl, formerly the Copper Bowl. The Buffs were invited to play 8-3 the Boston College Eagles from the Big East Conference on New Year’s Eve in Tucson, Arizona. The national exposure, along with the extra practices a bowl bid represented, were of enormous value to the Buffs.
Still, the greatest impact of the game was several years from being realized. Fifteen recruits attended the CU/Nebraska game, and were on the sidelines for the comeback. Several of those present committed to play for CU. Whether the Nebraska game was the deciding factor for these players is speculation, but it had to help to have the loudest crowd in years cheering on the determined team effort.
By any account, as the Buffs settled in to practice for Boston College, hoping to finish the ‘99 season on a winning note, few would soon forget the last CU/Nebraska game of the century.
December 31st – @ Tucson – Insight.com Bowl Colorado 62, #25 Boston College 28
On the final day of the 20th century, the CU Buffs played the Boston College Eagles in the Insight.com Bowl. The meeting was the first between the two schools, and, after a 62-28 rout by CU, it may be some time before BC calls for a re-match.
Scoring in almost every way imaginable, Colorado rolled over Boston College. Running back Cortlen Johnson scored twice, and had a career-best 201 yards out of CU’s 365 total rushing yards. Playing in his final game as a Buff, Mike Moschetti completed 14-24 passes for 149 yards before sitting out much of the second half. Not to be outdone, the CU defense and special teams also contributed, with the defense returning two interceptions for scores, while Ben Kelly brought back a punt 88 yards for a touchdown.
By the end of the first quarter, the score was 21-0, Colorado. Moschetti and Johnson led the CU offense on two impressive drive to take a 14-0 lead. Thirty seconds after Moschetti’s two-yard run had given CU a two touchdown cushion, linebacker Jashon Sykes intercepted a pass by BC quarterback Tim Hasselback, returning the ball 29 yards for a touchdown.
A few minutes later, senior free safety Rashidi Barnes intercepted a pass by BC backup quarterback Brian St. Pierre, returning the pick 21 yards for the Buffs’ fourth score. Less than two minutes later, Ben Kelly returned an Eagles’ punt for a touchdown and the rout was on.
Kelly’s score put the Buffs up 35-0 midway through the second quarter. By halftime, the score was up to 45-7, with CU setting an all-time NCAA record for first half points in a bowl game. The second half was garbage time, with BC posting two late scores after Colorado had raised the lead to 62-14.
“Gary has come back in here, and he brought a sense of team,” said offensive coordinator Tom Cable, coaching his last game for the Buffs before assuming responsibilities as head coach at his alma mater, Idaho. “To be part of that is pretty awesome.”
Cortlen Johnson, in besting his previous career high of 185 against Iowa State, was hesitant to accept all the praise. “I can’t take all the credit,” Johnson said. “The offensive line did a great job of opening up holes, and the wide receivers blocked well downfield.” Johnson’s coach, though, had nothing but praise for his sophomore tailback. “Cortlen really started to turn it on as the year went on,” said Gary Barnett after the game. “He kept looking better and better his last five or six games, and we became a better team.”
The Buffs had indeed become a better team. Not quite enough to make it into the final polls for the 1999 season (CU finished 28th in the AP polling; 29th in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll). 7-5 was not the record Colorado had envisioned in August, but after the debacle against Colorado State and the disheartening losses to Washington and Texas Tech, a 7-5 record, capped with an amazing comeback against Nebraska and a thorough domination of a ranked Boston College squad, certainly gave Buff fans reason to be optimistic about the future.
On to 2000
The 1999 season certainly ended on a high note. The Buffs were finally “buying into” coach Gary Barnett’s system, and there was plenty of talent returning for the ‘00 campaign. The last five quarters of play were the best all year, and highly touted recruits were giving Colorado more than just a casual glance.
But there were gathering clouds on the horizon as well. Shortly after the season ended, junior cornerback Ben Kelly announced he would forego his senior season at CU in order to make himself eligible for the NFL draft. With the losses of senior safety Rashidi Barnes and cornerback Damen Wheeler, the Buffs were now faced with the loss of three quarters of their secondary. Along with Moschetti, the Buffs’ offense would have to replace three starters along the offensive line.
And then there was this. In an article in The Sporting News (“2000 and 12″, January 10, 2000), TSN looked into its crystal ball and predicted twelve teams which would emerge as contenders for the national championship in 2000. In addition to the expected Florida State’s and Florida’s of the college football world, there were four teams from the Big 12 (Nebraska, Kansas State, Texas, and Texas A & M), all four of which were on CU’s schedule for the fall. Also given national title hopes was USC, which also just happened to be on CU’s ‘00 list. In all, five of Colorado’s first six games in the upcoming year were against ‘99 bowl participants (the lone “breather” was against USC on the road).
At the end of the 1999 season, the University of Colorado emerged as a team on the rise. For CU to remain on the way up, though, it would have to navigate a difficult ‘00 schedule.
[CU would, of course, go on to suffer through its worst season in sixteen years in 2000. Opening with four tough losses - including three to teams ranked in the top 11 in the nation - the Buffs would endure a 3-8 campaign.]
Insight.com Bowl notes
- Against BC, the 200-yard barrier was surpassed by a Buff back for only the 21st time in school history. Cortlen Johnson’s 201-yard effort, though, was only the third best effort by a Colorado running back in a bowl game, falling short of the 254 yards posted by Bobby Anderson against Alabama in the 1969 Liberty Bowl, and 202 put up by Charlie Davis in the 1971 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl.
- Colorado’s 45 points were the most ever in a first half of a bowl game in NCAA history, besting the 42 points put up by Toledo against Davidson in the first half of the 1969 Tangerine Bowl. The 45 points, though, only tied Colorado for the most ever, as Oklahoma State posted 45 against Wyoming in the second half of the 1988 Holiday Bowl.
- Ben Kelly’s 88-yard punt return for a touchdown was the longest in NCAA bowl history, placing Kelly’s name in the record book alongside fellow CU defensive back Marcus Washington, who set the record for the longest interception return in bowl history, 95 yards, against Oregon in the 1996 Cotton Bowl.
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