1985 Season Archive

Washington – Freedom Bowl – Fake punt!

//posted 12.30.1985

December 30th – @ Anaheim, California Washington 20, Colorado 17

Some 30,961 fans, representing all the interest that the 7-4 Buffs and 6-5 Washington Huskies could muster, were witness to an exciting, if not particularly well played, contest in the second-ever Freedom Bowl. Washington coach Don James and his Huskies, with a 20-17 victory, were able to salvage something from a 1985 campaign which had started with great promise.

Washington had been rated highly in the preseason polls (6th in UPI; 12th in AP), only to lose the first two games of the season. Rebounding with four straight wins, the Huskies seemed to have righted the ship, only to be stunned at home by Oregon State, 21-20, losing on a blocked punt return for a touchdown with less than two minutes in the game. After winning two of the next three games, the Huskies again were victimized, again at home and again by the score of 21-20, this time by arch-rival Washington State.

The first quarter of the 1985 Freedom Bowl was scoreless until Washington kicker Jeff Jaeger connected with a 30-yard field goal late, giving the Huskies a 3-0 lead. The Buffs responded with a drive culminating with a one…

Kansas State – Buffs “Bowled over” – just a week later than expected

//posted 11.23.1985

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November 23rd – Boulder Colorado 30, Kansas State 0

Just a year earlier, Colorado limped into its finale against Kansas State. Demoralized, cold, and playing before just 17,600 Wildcat fans, the Buffs had nothing to play for, and it showed. The resulting 38-6 humiliation was a fitting end to a 1-10 disaster.

What a difference a year makes.

The weather was not much better (20 degrees for the 11:00 a.m. kickoff), and the smallest home crowd since the 1983 finale against the same Kansas State squad (28,210 paid, 20,777 actual), were in attendance. But the game was light years away from the 1984 game.

This year, it was the Buffs who would send the visiting team home with a 1-10 record on the heels of a rout. The Buffs were in control from the outset, as the offense complimented the defense for the first time in over a month. After junior safety Steve Beck intercepted a Randy Williams pass on the Wildcats’ opening possession, Colorado needed just three plays to move 43 yards and a 7-0 lead. Halfback Ron Brown, who would pick up 72 yards on the day, did the honors with a 20-yard touchdown run.

Two possessions later, the…

#7 Oklahoma – Buffs run into nation’s #1 defense

//posted 11.16.1985

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November 16th – @ Oklahoma #7 Oklahoma 31, Colorado 0

Oklahoma came into the Colorado game 6-1 on the season, 4-0 in the Big Eight. With a date with 2nd-ranked Nebraska looming over the Thanksgiving weekend, the Sooners could not afford to look past the Buffs.

They did not.

Showing Colorado what it was like to run a ball-control rushing offense, Oklahoma ran the ball a total of 81 times, picking up 360 yards and four touchdowns along the way, but it was the Sooner defense which dominated the game. The Buffs longest drive on the day lasted just five plays and covered just 20 yards. The totals for the Colorado offense on the day: six first downs; 75 yards rushing; and only 34 yards passing. The Sooners’ 31-0 shutout of the Buffs was Colorado’s first goose-egg since 1981. “Their defense was overpowering”, relayed coach McCartney in stating the obvious after the game.

The 31-0 score, however, is not really indicative of the effort put in by the Colorado defense. Through the first 29:41 of the game, the score was 7-0 Oklahoma. Then, with only 19 seconds left in the first half, the Sooners pushed through a two yard…

Tags: Rodney Rogers
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Kansas – “CU on Independence Bowl list” – McMillen sets two all-time records

//posted 11.9.1985

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November 9th – @ Kansas Colorado 14, Kansas 3

Colorado regained its winning form, but again it was the defense which carried the day as Colorado ran its record to 6-3 with a 14-3 win over Kansas. The mood on the rainy, 40-degree was somber for the 25,000 on hand for Homecoming in Lawrence, and the frigid crowd was silent after the game was only three plays old. On third down in the game’s opening series, safety Mickey Pruitt, the hero of the Oregon game, stepped in front of a Mike Norseth pass and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown. It would be all the points the Buffs would need, as the Jayhawks could muster only 62 yards rushing on 32 attempts. The defense was led by senior linebacker Dan McMillen, who recorded a school record five sacks on the day.

The Colorado offense struggled for the third consecutive week. Mark Hatcher completed only one-of-six passes, and the Buffs were actually outgained by Kansas, 318 total yards to just 221 for the Buffs. Anthony Weatherspoon contributed 65 yards rushing, and Ron Brown 59, but Colorado was held without a 100 yard rusher for the fourth consecutive game. The contest was…

#12 Oklahoma State – Defense gives Buffs a chance

//posted 11.2.1985

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November 2nd – Boulder #12 Oklahoma State 14, Colorado 11

Colorado continued to accumulate believers, if not wins, in falling short against the 12th-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys in Boulder. After a scoreless first quarter, the Buffs scored first on a 29-yard field goal by Larry Eckel to take a 3-0 lead. Oklahoma State, though, came back to take a 7-3 halftime lead on a one-yard plunge by running back Thurman Thomas. The play was controversial as replays showed Thomas failed to break the plane of the goal line.

Thomas then tried to break the Buffs’ spirit with a 60-yard touchdown run just three plays into the second half. With the Cowboys up 14-3, Colorado could have folded. Instead, quarterback Craig Keenan, the Buffs’ third starting signal caller in three games, scored on a two yard run in the fourth quarter. A two point conversion pulled Colorado within 14-11, but the Buffs would come no closer. The Buffs did get the ball back for one last drive, taking over at their own 20-yard line with 1:11 to play. Memories of the last minute, game-winning touchdown drive against Oklahoma State came to mind, but the Buffs only made it as far as their…

#5 Nebraska – Road trip – Lincoln; Denver/Kansas City; ‘85 World Series

//posted 10.26.1985

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October 26th – @ Nebraska #5 Nebraska 17, Colorado 7

“Resurgent Colorado”, as the Buffs were called in the Nebraska Homecoming program, met the Cornhuskers in a game televised to the western half of the nation by ABC. It was Colorado’s first nationally televised game since a newly-formed all-sports network by the name of ESPN had televised the 1979 Colorado/Oregon game (the first game ever for ESPN - but it was tape delay).

At stake, as strange as it sounded, was nothing less than first place in the Big Eight Conference. Both teams came into the game 5-1 and undefeated in conference play, with Nebraska’s only loss coming at the hands of Florida State, 17-13, in the season opener.

Nebraska was on a five game winning streak and ranked #5 in the nation, but they couldn’t afford to take the Buffs lightly. The same Missouri Tiger squad which had been rolled by the Buffs, 38-7, just two weeks earlier, had bounced back to give the Cornhuskers a scare before succumbing, 28-20. After surrendering over 500 yards of offense to Colorado, the Tigers had forced Nebraska into tying an NCAA record by kicking seven field goals. The lone touchdown for the Nebraska against Missouri…

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Iowa State – Buffs make it look easy

//posted 10.19.1985

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October 19th – @ Iowa State Colorado 40, Iowa State 6

What in the name of Fred Folsom was going on?

The Colorado Buffaloes, who couldn’t buy a conference win for the first half of the 1980’s, were now making it look easy. A 40-6 romp over Iowa State gave Colorado a 2-0 conference record for the first time since 1971 (the same season the Buffs went on to finish the season ranked #3 in the nation), and the Buffs’ largest margin of victory on the road since 1967.

The Buffs managed just 14 yards passing in the game, the fewest yards passing by the Buffs in the history of the series, but it didn’t matter. The running game posted 244 yards and three scores, and the defense held the Cyclones to just 41 rushing yards in 30 attempts. The defense, somewhat overlooked in the re-birth of the Colorado offense, held Iowa State scoreless until late in the game, with the Buffs already comfortably ahead 37-0.

Colorado methodically took control of the game, adding to its lead in each quarter. The first quarter witnessed only one score, a 14-yard touchdown pass from Rick Wheeler to Jon Embree. In the…

Missouri – Finally, payback for coach McCartney

//posted 10.12.1985

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October 12th – Boulder Colorado 38, Missouri 7

After a two week layoff to contemplate their 3-1 record, Colorado played its homecoming game against the Missouri Tigers.

For a change, Homecoming played out the way it was supposed to: the home team beating up against an inferior opponent. True, Colorado had won its homecoming game against Iowa State in 1984, but that came in the last minute, and proved to be the Buffs only win of the year.

In 1985, all cylinders were clicking in a 38-7 rout of the Tigers.

The Tigers of 1985 were merely paper tigers, but the Buffs didn’t care. Missouri was winless coming into the game against the Buffs, struggling to an 0-4 non-conference record. All the better for the win-hungry Buffs. Quarterback Mark Hatcher had his best game of the season, running for 151 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries, while completing three-of-six passes for 110 yards and a fourth score. On the afternoon, Colorado rolled up 505 yards of total offense, including 390 on the ground. In mauling the winless Tigers, the Buffs defeated Missouri for the first time since 1978, while scoring the most points and posting the largest margin of…

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1985 Season Archive

Washington – Freedom Bowl – Fake punt!

Kansas State – Buffs “Bowled over” – just a week later than expected

#7 Oklahoma – Buffs run into nation’s #1 defense

Kansas – “CU on Independence Bowl list” – McMillen sets two all-time records

#12 Oklahoma State – Defense gives Buffs a chance

#5 Nebraska – Road trip – Lincoln; Denver/Kansas City; ‘85 World Series

Iowa State – Buffs make it look easy

Missouri – Finally, payback for coach McCartney

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