1980 Season Archive

Kansas State

//posted 11.21.1980

November 21st – @KSU Kansas State 17, Colorado 14

Aside from Iowa State, Kansas State was the only team from which Colorado could find no sympathy in 1980. The Wildcats were the “Mildcats”, representing little mention in the annals of Big Eight history. In 1954, KSU went 7-3 overall, 3-3 in the then Big Seven. Not worthy of mention? Don’t tell that to Wildcat fans. The 1954 record represented Kansas State’s moment in the sun in the school’s Big Eight conference history. No Big Six, Big Seven, or Big Eight titles were ever recorded. No bowl games in school history to that date. Not one.

A total of only 17,510 (about the same size as a Montana/Montana State crowd) even bothered to come to the season-ending game between Colorado and Kansas State. The home team prevailed, but the Wildcats had little to celebrate for their efforts. While the rest of the country settled down to watch season-ending rivalry games before huge audiences, fans of these two teams simply were glad to see the seasons of their teams come to a quiet end. Jim Johnson kicked a 17-yard field goal with one second remaining to give the Wildcats the victory. KSU …

Kansas – “We’re just a very poor football team right now”

//posted 11.15.1980

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November 15th – Boulder Kansas 42, Colorado 3

One week after the Oklahoma State Cowboys posted 42 points against the hapless Buffs, Kansas also scored 42 points against the paper-thin Colorado defense. Small consolation, but at least this time the 42 points allowed were not a record, though, as the Jayhawks could only manage to come within one point of the record 43 points scored against Colorado in 1963.

The Jayhawks did, however, set one series record in putting together 586 yards of total offense. A crowd of only 24,187 braved the November chill (36 degrees at kickoff) to watch the Buffs close out the home schedule with a 1-5 record, falling to 1-9 overall. With the loss, the 1980 team became the first team in Colorado football history to lose nine games in one season.

One play represented the game, if not the Buff season. Down 21-3 with 32 seconds left in the first half, the Buffs faced fourth-and-goal on the Kansas four yard line. Quarterback Scott Kingdom rolled right, and had Charlie Davis open in the end zone. Kingdom could have walked in for a touchdown, giving some redemption, if not momentum, to the Buffs. Instead, Kingdom threw …

Oklahoma State

//posted 11.8.1980

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November 8th – @OSU Oklahoma State 42, Colorado 7

The early November match-up against Oklahoma State represented perhaps the Buffs’ last best chance at a victory in 1980. Colorado was 1-7 on the season, but the Cowboys had not fared much better. Oklahoma State was 1-5-1 on the year, with the only win a 15-6 win over San Diego State (a team which had come to Stillwater 1-6). The Cowboys had fallen to West Texas State in the season opener, and had not played very well since.

Enter the Colorado Buffaloes – healers to the sick.

If there was any momentum for the Colorado football program from the victory over the Cyclones, it was lost on the way down to Stillwater. The Buffs fumbled four times in the first half alone, stumbling to a 28-0 deficit at the break. With Oklahoma State an opponent there for the taking, the return to the bumbling Buffs was not a welcome sight.

The Colorado running game, potent a week earlier against Iowa State, was anemic against Oklahoma State. Lance Olander was banged up and limited to special teams play. Walter Stanley was hurt on the first series, putting the ball into the hands …

Tags: Jimmy Johnson
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Iowa State – First win (only win) of a record-setting season

//posted 11.1.1980

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November 1st – Boulder Colorado 17, Iowa State 9

In its history, Colorado has had as much success against the Cyclones from Ames as it had against any team in the Big Eight.

Coming into the 1980 season, the Buffs had played Iowa State 35 times, losing only eight of those contests. Still, this was not unique. Notwithstanding some moderate success in the 1970′s (all four of the school’s bowl appearances up to 1980 had taken place between 1971 and 1978 – all losses), Iowa State consistently battled Kansas State for the title of Big Eight doormat, with neither school ever claiming a Big Eight football title. It was not surprising, then, that Iowa State was consistently Colorado’s choice for a homecoming opponent.

Still, Iowa State came into the 1980 game with reason for confidence. The Cyclones were on a two game winning streak against the Buffs, and were 5-2 overall on their 1980 campaign. In a conference known for its running prowess, Iowa State was more than holding its own, boasting the 5th best rushing attack in the nation at over 295 yards per game.

For Colorado, junior Scott Kingdom was given his first start at quarterback. Kingdom’s stat …

Tags: Scott Kingdom
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#9 Nebraska – What are our school colors, anyway?

//posted 10.25.1980

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October 25th – Boulder #9 Nebraska 45, Colorado 7

Just what the Buffs needed.

An 0-6 season record, with once-beaten and 9th-ranked Huskers coming to town. Nebraska, led by running backs Jarvis Redwine and sophomore sensation Roger Craig, was on its way to leading the nation in rushing and a 10-2 record. Matching the final 45-7 result of the Missouri game from the week before was not intentional, unless, of course, Nebraska had decided in advance to set the score. With the way the Buffs were playing, naming the score in the locker room before the game started would have been the most difficult decision Nebraska head coach Tom Osborne would have had to make all day.

Apparently, though, I did not see the game the same way others viewed it. Most Colorado fans witnessed a game where the Buffs rushing “attack” was led by Lance Olander, who gained 48 of Colorado’s total of rushing 89 yards. Randy Essington threw two interceptions on the way to 151 passing yards, completing 15 passes on 27 attempts.

Still, according to the newspaper accounts, the 45-7 score was not indicative of what actually occurred. The Denver Post headline on October 26, 1980: “More …

Tags: Roger Craig, Tom Osborne
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#16 Missouri

//posted 10.18.1980

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October 18th – @Missouri #16 Missouri 45, Colorado 7

When the Buffs made their way to Columbia, Missouri, for their first game after the Drake debacle, the Missouri Tigers were well on their way to their third of four straight bowl appearances in the 1978-81 era. Missouri came into the game with a 4-1 mark, and played with the confidence of a winning program.

Missouri was led by senior quarterback Phil Bradley and future NFL Hall of Fame tight end Kellen Winslow, and completely dominated the Buffs. The game meant something to the ranked Tigers, and meant little to the bumbling Buffs. Each team played accordingly. The Buffs set a record for futility in the longtime series between the two teams, “amassing” a total of only 129 yards of total offense. Colorado did forge a 7-7 tie after scoring on a six-yard run by Lance Olander (who finished with 83 yards on 17 carries). After that, though, the game was not in doubt. The Tigers ran out to a 21-7 halftime advantage, and rolled to a convincing win.

Colorado was now 0-6, with little hope for victory on the horizon. Up next was a date with 9th-ranked Nebraska.

Homecoming

“The …

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Drake … Beneath Nadir, or, “Who the Hell is Drake?”

//posted 10.11.1980

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October 11th – Boulder Drake 41, Colorado 22

Colorado responded from the 82-42 Oklahoma debacle by out-gaining the supposedly out-manned Drake Bulldogs, 379-347. This was not sufficient, however, to prevent a 41-22 loss to a Drake team the Buffs had surely scheduled as a breather game between games against ranked Big Eight opponents.

Colorado certainly had no reason to be overconfident against any team, but they played as if they only needed to put on their pads in order to record their first win of 1980. Seven turnovers later, however, and the Buffs had qualified as one of the worst teams in the country, falling 41-22, to drop the 1980 season record to 0-5.

Colorado actually enjoyed its first lead of the season in this game, as quarterback Charlie Davis led the Buffs to an early 14-3 advantage. Unfortunately for the Buffs, Charlie Davis was injured after scoring the second Colorado touchdown. With back-up quarterback Randy Essington suspended for one game for “disciplinary reasons”, the Buffs attack was placed in the hands of Scott Kingdom. Kingdom failed to come through, though, completing only 10-of-25 passes for130 yards, zero touchdowns and four interceptions.

By halftime, the Buffs were down 24-14, well …

No. 12 Oklahoma – 82-42 – Open up the record books

//posted 10.4.1980

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October 4th – Boulder #12 Oklahoma 82, Colorado 42

The score says it all. 82-42.

If you have never seen these numbers before, consider yourself fortunate. The headline in the October 5, 1980, Rocky Mountain News was: “Buffs humiliated by Sooners 82-42″. The statistics border on the unbelievable. The total number of points scored by two teams, 124, set the modern day NCAA record, as did the total number of touchdowns by both teams (18). In all, at least 51 NCAA, Big Eight Conference, Colorado/Oklahoma team, or Folsom Field records were broken – and five more tied.

No one was disillusioned with the belief that 0-3 Colorado was going to upset 12th-ranked Oklahoma. Still, for an ever so brief moment, it looked as if the Buffs, though reeling, might stay with the Sooners. After Oklahoma had gone up 14-0, Buff freshman Walter Stanley ran the ensuing kickoff back 100 yards for a touchdown to make the score 14-7 with 3:07 left in the first quarter. The Sooners quickly responded with a 20-yard touchdown run by Buster Ryhmes to run the score to 21-7, but, with the aid of a pass interference penalty taking the ball to the Sooner three-yard line, …

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1980 Season Archive

Kansas State

Kansas – “We’re just a very poor football team right now”

Oklahoma State

Iowa State – First win (only win) of a record-setting season

#9 Nebraska – What are our school colors, anyway?

#16 Missouri

Drake … Beneath Nadir, or, “Who the Hell is Drake?”

No. 12 Oklahoma – 82-42 – Open up the record books

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