Posts Tagged ‘Mark Hatcher’

Oklahoma State – Buffs rally from 14-3 halftime deficit to rout Cowboys

//posted 11.1.1986

November 1st – @ Oklahoma State Colorado 31, Oklahoma State 14

The undefeated – at least in Big Eight conference play - Colorado Buffaloes traveled to Stillwater, Oklahoma for a game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys, just seven days after accomplishing the impossible. How would the Buffs, 3-0 in the Big Eight (for the first time since 1967), 3-4 overall, play against the 3-4 Cowboys? After all, the reality was that Colorado had not defeated Oklahoma State since 1981, and had not won in Stillwater since 1976.

It was the story of two halves. Fortunately for Colorado, the game lasted sixty minutes.

In the first half, the Buffs played as if the huge win against Nebraska entitled them to coast against any lesser opponent. The Buffs sleep-walked their way to a 14-3 halftime deficit. Out-gained in total yards at the break by a margin of 219-95, Colorado seemed to have reverted back to the Buffs who had opened the 1986 campaign 0-4.

The second half, however, demonstrated that a corner had in fact been turned. “Fear is a great motivator”, said nose tackle Kyle Rappold after the game, “Just the realization that so much was riding on it …. we really want a…

No. 3 Nebraska – The Signature Win

//posted 10.25.1986

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1986 – Colorado v. Nebraska - Preface

In September 1989, almost three years after the Colorado/Nebraska game of 1986, Brad and I traveled to Seattle, Washington for the Colorado/Washington game. Colorado was in the midst of the most tumultuous season in its 100-year history, entering the game undefeated, but also on the heels of the loss of quarterback Sal Aunese, who had succumbed to cancer the week before. The game story will be retold in the appropriate chapter, but the relevance of that game to 1986 came just after the 1989 Washington game had ended.

It had rained for much of the second half, so, by the end of the game, the sellout crowd had thinned to a thousand or so Buff fans, soaked but jubilant over the Buffs’ 45-28 victory, separated only by a few pockets of the true Husky faithful. Walking through the parking lot after the game, Brad and I encountered a group of young Buff fans gathered around a van. They warmly greeted the sight of the black and gold we were wearing, and Brad and I in turn hailed the meeting of fellow travelers. In our brief conversation, Brad and I learned that this group of five or six…

Iowa State – 1-4 Buffs roll over 4-1 Cyclones

//posted 10.18.1986

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October 18th – Boulder Colorado 31, Iowa State 3

For the second week in a row, Colorado put together an excellent effort on both sides of the ball. For the first time all season, though, the Buffs did not have to hope for a fourth quarter stop by the defense to win, routing Iowa State, 31-3. Led by quarterback Mark Hatcher’s 95 yards and O.C. Oliver’s 79 yards, the Buffs rolled up 303 yards on the ground. Behind Oliver’s two early scores, the Buffs were up 17-0 by the end of the first quarter, and led 24-3 at halftime.

The Cyclones, 4-1 entering the contest, played more like a team with Colorado’s record of 1-4. (In fact, Iowa State’s 4-1 record was somewhat misleading, with the Cyclones’ wins coming over powerhouses Indiana State, Wichita State, Wyoming, and Kansas. Colorado, despite its 1-4 record, was listed as a 10 1/2 point favorite coming into the contest).

The second half of the Iowa State game, for the first time since the Freedom Bowl-clinching win over Kansas State to end the 1985 season, was just a relaxing time for the Folsom Field crowd. The only score of the second half came when little used junior…

Missouri – John Nairn saves the day

//posted 10.11.1986

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October 11th – @ Missouri Colorado 17, Missouri 12

The bye week between the non-conference slate and the commencement of Big Eight play could not have come at a better time for the Colorado Buffs. The Buffs were reeling at 0-4, though they could easily have been 3-1. “It (the bye week) gives us a chance to regroup and get a new perspective on the season”, said Coach Bill McCartney, “I think we need to regroup emotionally as much as anything.”

Whatever the coaching staff devised to rejuvenate the team, it worked.

Playing more like the 1985 team which had won seven games, the offense and defense came off of the Buffs’ week off to play well during the same game for the first time all season. Mark Hatcher and O.C. Oliver both scored in the second quarter with runs of 27 and five yards, respectively, to give Colorado all of the points it would need in a 17-12 victory.

Oliver’s touchdown run was set up by a trick play. On fourth-and-one at the Buffs’ own 29 yard line, punter Barry Helton threw a pass to safety Mickey Pruitt for a 17-yard gain. “You gotta take chances when you’re 0-4″,…

#10 Arizona – No wins … No hope?

//posted 9.27.1986

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September 27th – Boulder #10 Arizona 24, Colorado 21

A year earlier, the Arizona Wildcats entered the game against Colorado 3-0, only to be stunned by the Buffs, 14-13, in Tucson. In 1986, Arizona, 3-0 once again, came to Boulder determined to record the Wildcats’ first victory over the Buffs in 13 attempts. The tenth-ranked Wildcats would not be denied, though the hard-fought 24-21 win over the Buffs was anything but easy. The Buffs led throughout the game, but Arizona took the lead from the Buffs when it mattered, scoring on a 67-yard catch-and-run from quarterback Alfred Jenkins to flanker Jeff Fairholm late in the fourth quarter.

For most of the day, it appeared that the Buffs would pull out their first win of the season. Freshman halfback O. C. Oliver, who had made a name for himself in the Ohio State game in leading the team with 83 rushing yards, scored the first two touchdowns of his Colorado career, putting the Buffs up 21-12 in the third quarter on a two yard run. Later, after freshman Jeff Campbell electrified the home crowd with a 41-yard run to the Wildcat 39, yard line, all looked good for the Buffs’…

Oregon – Words cannot describe …

//posted 9.13.1986

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September 13th – @ Oregon Oregon 32, Colorado 30

Holding a lead of 30-23 with 3:22 left in the game, the Buffs seemed to be comfortably in control of the game against the Oregon Ducks. Quarterback Mark Hatcher had just scored his second touchdown of the day on a 55-yard run to put the Buffs back on top, and all the Colorado defense had to do was hold Oregon one last time. With under a minute to play, the score remained 30-23. Forty four seconds and nine Oregon points later, though, Colorado was 0-2.

After the Colorado score with just over three minutes to play in the game, Oregon marched quickly down the field, scoring on Derek Loville’s one-yard run. Oregon Coach Rich Brooks, opting to play for the win rather than the tie, went for a two-point conversion. The bold move seemingly backfired on the Ducks, though, as quarterback Chris Miller’s pass fell incomplete. Now, with less than a minute to play and down 30-29, Oregon had no choice but to go for an onside kick.

Everyone of the 26,155 in attendance knew it was coming, including the Buffs. Still, Oregon recovered the onside kick, as Duck kicker…

Colorado State – Off to a bad start

//posted 9.6.1986

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September 6th – Boulder Colorado State 23, Colorado 7

All signs pointed toward an opening day victory for Colorado in their game against Colorado State.

Colorado had gone 4-0 at home in 1985 against unranked opponents. Colorado State was predicted to be a good team in 1986, having gone 5-7 in 1985, but the Rams were not considered a threat to BYU’s dominance in the Western Athletic Conference, and was certainly was not a Top 20 team. What was more, the Buffs came into the game against the Rams with a 45-15-2 advantage in the series, including a 31-3 win in 1983. The stars were aligned for a great start to the 1986 season.

Unfortunately for Buff fans, the game would not be played on paper.

Frustrating is the only word to describe the 23-7 loss to Colorado State in the 1986 season opener. The Buffs moved the ball, racking up 304 yards of total offense and an average of five yards per play. The defense held up its end, surrendering only one touchdown drive all afternoon (and that coming on an eight yard drive). Then what went wrong?

Six turnovers.

Four fumbles and a pair of interceptions, the last…

1986 – An Introduction – “Great Expectations”

//posted 6.15.1986

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1986 – An Introduction

National and Big Eight recap – 1986

In 1986, Penn State finished what its players considered to be the unfinished business from the 1985 season, going 12-0 to claim for Coach-of-the-Year Joe Paterno the school’s second national title in five years. In 1985, the Nittany Lions had gone unbeaten in the regular season, only to fall 25-10 to national champion Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. In 1986, Penn State again finished the regular season 11-0, but this time the bowl result was different, as the Nittany Lions from State College, Pennsylvania, defeated the Miami Hurricanes in the Fiesta Bowl, 14-10. Penn State relied mainly upon its tough defense to carry the team, led by linebacker Shane Conlan. The running game did hold its own, though. D.J. Dozier led the team with 811 yards and 10 touchdowns, with sophomore Blair Thomas contributing 504 yards and six scores. The Heisman Trophy in 1986 was awarded to Vinny Testaverde, quarterback for national championship runner-up Miami.

As had been the case in 1985, the Oklahoma Sooners in 1986 went undefeated in Big Eight play. As was also the case in 1985, the Sooners capped off an 11-1 season with an…

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Posts Tagged ‘Mark Hatcher’

Oklahoma State – Buffs rally from 14-3 halftime deficit to rout Cowboys

No. 3 Nebraska – The Signature Win

Iowa State – 1-4 Buffs roll over 4-1 Cyclones

Missouri – John Nairn saves the day

#10 Arizona – No wins … No hope?

Oregon – Words cannot describe …

Colorado State – Off to a bad start

1986 – An Introduction – “Great Expectations”

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