Posts Tagged ‘Chad Brown’

Colorado v. Texas – 1990

  After opening the 1990 season with a 1-1-1 record, there was little discussion about a national championship in Boulder. Coming off an 11-1 season in 1989, expectations were high for the Buffs, but a 31-31 tie with Tennessee, a last-second win over Stanford, and a loss to Illinois reduced Colorado fans to looking forward to the Big Eight campaign.

 Two non-conference games remained, both against ranked teams. Before a home game against 12th-ranked Washington in Boulder, the Buffs had to travel to Austin to face Texas. The 22nd-ranked Longhorns were 1-0, have defeated Penn State to open the season. Texas was looking to improve on a 5-6 record in 1989 (the Longhorns would go on to a 10-2 season), and had a bye week to prepare for the Buffs.

  A 1-3-1 non-conference record, unthinkable a few weeks earlier, was now a distinct possibility.

 September 22nd – @ Texas          #20 Colorado 29, #22 Texas 22

 Colorado returned to the win column with a hard-fought 29-22 victory over Texas. Eric Bieniemy scored three touchdowns, including the go-ahead touchdown with 5:57 to play. For the game, Bieniemy rushed for 99 yards, while his backfield mate, fullback George Hemingway, posted 76…

READ MORE >>

September 15th – @ Illinois           #21 Illinois 23, #9 Colorado 22

Howard Griffith scored from a yard out with 1:18 to play to give the Fighting Illini a 23-22 win over Colorado. 21st-ranked Illinois exacted a measure of revenge for the 38-7 pasting the Buffs had put on the Illini in 1989, pulling out the win on a 10-play, 63-yard drive to erase a 22-17 deficit. Quarterback Jason Verduzco did what his famed predecessor, Jeff George, could not – he out-performed the Colorado defense. Verduzco completed 23-of-29 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns in leveling Illinois’ record at 1-1.

Colorado jumped out to a 17-3 lead early in the second quarter. After spotting Illinois a 3-0 lead, Darian Hagan led the Buffs on a nine-play, 80-yard drive, finished off by a two-yard touchdown run by fullback George Hemingway. An interception by safety Tim James led to a 54-yard field goal by junior Jim Harper raised the lead to 10-3. Less than two minutes later, after a 42-yard punt return by Dave McCloughan, Hagan hit wingback Michael Simmons for a 32- yard touchdown pass to give the Buffs a 17-3 cushion.

A touchdown drive late in the second quarter by the Illini changed the…

READ MORE >>

September 6th – Boulder           #6 Colorado 21, Stanford 17

Stanford head coach Dennis Green was 3-8 in his first year in Palo Alto in 1989. His second team came to Boulder ready to play. Stanford raced to a 14-0 first quarter lead before a stunned Folsom Field crowd of 50,669. It took the entire game for Colorado to right the ship, pulling out a 21-17 win as Eric Bieniemy scored from a yard out on fourth down with only 12 seconds remaining to give Colorado the win.

It was Stanford which looked like a title contender early in the game. 

A 73-yard punt return by Glyn Milburn set up the Cardinal for its first score, a one-yard run by quarterback Jason Palumbis, with 5:50 to play in the first quarter. On the next play from scrimmage, Eric Bieniemy, who had been suspended for the first game of the season against Tennessee, fumbled at the Colorado 21-yard line. Four plays later, fullback “Touchdown” Tommy Vardell dove in from the one yard line. Suddenly, Stanford, a 20-point underdog, was ahead of Colorado, 14-0.

Thereafter, though, the Colorado defense took command of the Stanford offense, allowing the Cardinal only 104 yards and five first downs after…

READ MORE >>

 

 Travel Plans

When I was an undergrad at Colorado, a number of my friends and I made a pact: 

If Colorado ever made it to the Orange Bowl as Big Eight Champions, we would go to the game. 

 No matter when, no matter our circumstances, we would find a way to get there.  At the time, with the Buffs posting a series of records like 1-10, 2-8-1, and 3-8, there seemed to be little substance to the pledge.

A few short years later, though, the Buffs were going.  I envisioned a class reunion of sorts in Miami, catching up with friends not seen for several years.  Not only were the Buffs Big Eight champs, they were playing for the national championship.  Surely all of my football buddies of the early 1980′s, who had endured the carnage of the early years, would not miss the Orange Bowl.

 Reality check.

 Many of my friends from the early 80′s had, much to my chagrin, gotten a life.  I was still single, while many of my classmates had settled down with wives and children.  An excursion to Miami for them was just not in the cards. 

Pact or no pact, few were planning on the…

READ MORE >>

Copyright 2012 cuatthegame.com - Website design and development by BridgeWorks