Posts Tagged ‘Randy Essington’

Iowa State – School records set by Stewart, Detmer, Westbrook, and Johnson

//posted 11.21.1992

November 21st – Boulder #11 Colorado 31, Iowa State 10

Kordell Stewart threw for three touchdowns and 279 yards as the Buffs raced out to a 28-3 halftime lead before cruising to a 31-10 win over Iowa State.

The Buffs put the Cyclones on notice early that Colorado would not fall victim to the complacency which had cost the Cornhuskers. Linebacker Chad Brown recovered a fumble by Iowa State fullback Chris Ulrich on the Cyclones’ first possession. On the very next play from scrimmage, Stewart connected with fullback James Hill on a 19-yard score, and Colorado was ahead to stay, 7-0.

After Iowa State cut the Buffs’ lead to 7-3, the Buffs scored three touchdowns over a nine-minute span in the second quarter to make the second half irrelevant. First Stewart hit Michael Westbrook for 24 yards and a 14-3 lead. Next, Stewart connected with tight end Christian Fauria from one-yard out and a 21-3 advantage. Finally, Lamont Warren took it in from three yards to finish off a nine-play, 82-yard drive, and the Buffs were dominating, 28-3.

Stewart’s 279 passing yards gave him 2,109 for the year, the first time in Colorado history a Buff quarterback had surpassed the 2,000-yard…

Oklahoma – Koy Detmer’s first career start a record-setter

//posted 10.17.1992

(Post your own memories)

October 17th – Boulder #7 Colorado 24, Oklahoma 24

In 1952, the Colorado Buffaloes tied mighty Oklahoma 21-21 to mar an otherwise perfect conference run of the Bud Wilkinson Sooners of 1948-57 (a 57-0-1 streak).

Forty years later, the Buffs salvaged a 24-24 tie against a 3-2 Sooner squad led by 4th-year head coach Gary Gibbs. Colorado managed to pull out the tie only by scoring 10 points in the final 4:27 of the game.

Freshman quarterback Koy Detmer, making his debut as a starter, made quite an impression, re-writing several pages of the Colorado record book. Detmer eclipsed the single game record for passing completions and yardage in completing 33-of-50 passes for a school best 418 yards. Included in the 418 yards was a school record 92-yard touchdown pass to Charles E. Johnson.

But not all of the records were positive. Included in Detmer’s efforts were five interceptions (tying a record set by Jeff Austin against Texas Tech in 1976).

For every good play made by the freshman quarterback, there was a poor one to offset it. Oklahoma scored the first points of the game less than two minutes into the contest when a Detmer fumble was returned…

Colorado State – Kordell Stewart sets numerous records in his first start

//posted 9.5.1992

(Post your own memories)

September 5th –Boulder #12 Colorado 37, Colorado State 17

The 1992 season-opener had all the makings of a disaster.

The Colorado/Colorado State game was the renewal of an intra-state rivalry, which always meant a hard-fought game. In addition, the Buffs were risking state and national embarrassment if their new offense failed to produce against a Colorado State squad which had stumbled to a 3-8 record in 1991. To the relief of many Buff fans, though, the Colorado offense did not disappoint. Head Coach Bill McCartney looked like a genius as the Buffs came away with a 37-17 win in the 1992 opener for both teams.

Sophomore quarterback Kordell Stewart, having earned the starting nod over junior Vance Joseph, smashed a ten-year old team passing record by throwing for 409 yards in completing 21-of-36 attempts. The previous high for any Buff quarterback had been Randy Essington’s 361-yard effort in Colorado’s 40-14 loss to Nebraska in 1982. Stewart contributed an additional 21 yards on the ground for an all-purpose tally of 430 yards, breaking the record of 353 yards held by Bobby Anderson for 24 seasons. “I’m just happy to get a game under my belt,” said Stewart after the Colorado State contest. …

Missouri – Homecoming for Coach Mac not pretty

//posted 11.6.1982

(Post your own memories)

November 6 – @Missouri Missouri 35, Colorado 14

Colorado head coach Bill McCartney marked his own homecoming of sorts in traveling to Columbia to face the Tigers for the first time as the Buffs head coach. Missouri did not exactly make Coach Mac feel welcome, however, running over the Buffs in a 35-14 rout that was worse than the final score indicated. The defense that had kept Colorado in earlier contests did not come to play against a Missouri squad that had won only one of its previous six contests.

The Tigers scored on six of its seven first half possessions in posting a 35-0 halftime lead. Total offense in the first half: Missouri, 299; Colorado 41.

In the second half, Colorado made the statistics a little less lopsided, with Steve Vogel replacing Randy Essington and passing for 200 yards in leading the Buffs to two second half consolation scores. “This is the first time all year that we didn’t come to play. I don’t know why.” was all that Bill McCartney could come up with after the game. “We weren’t ready to play. By breakfast time, I knew the team wasn’t mentally ready … It’s really hard to figure out…

#17 Oklahoma – Progress in small doses

//posted 10.30.1982

(Post your own memories)

October 30 – Boulder #17 Oklahoma 45, Colorado 10

At 1-5-1, the Buffs were not likely to pose much of a threat to the 5-2 Sooners. As the game unfolded, the Oklahoma game became a representation of the 1982 season in a nutshell: a great deal of heart; a stubborn defense; and an eventual submission to a more talented foe.

Considering that the last two games with Oklahoma had left Colorado on the short end of 82-42 and 49-0 scores, the fact that the score at halftime was 10-10 was just this side of remarkable. Add to this the tidbit that the Oklahoma touchdown came on a 77-yard punt return, and it is clear how well the defense of Colorado was playing. Turnovers in the second half led to quick Sooner scores, leaving the final score of 45-10 much more to the Sooner faithful’s liking. “I thought it was another game where we blew opportunities,” said Bill McCartney. “We fought for awhile, and then we just broke down and hurt ourselves.” On the day, Oklahoma passed only eight times, but ran the ball 76 times (for 368 yards) to wear down the Buffs.

Still, progress was being noted. A column in the…

Oklahoma State – It Must have been the Tie

//posted 10.16.1982

(Post your own memories)

October 16 – @Oklahoma State Colorado 25, Oklahoma State 25

It is hard to imagine that anyone would have a revenge factor in playing the Buffs in the early 1980′s, but that is what the Cowboys were playing for in 1982. Colorado had come from behind for an improbable, last second 11-10 win in 1981 in Boulder. Now it was Oklahoma State’s turn to right the wrong. Everyone else was getting healthy playing the powder blue Buffs, and the homecoming crowd of 47,250 expected nothing less from their squad.

Fans of both teams were to be treated to another last second game, but it was the Cowboy fans who were again left with a bad taste in their mouths.

Colorado seemed to have matters well in hand with only 4:39 left in the game, when Colorado’s sensational cornerback Victor Scott had just scored his second touchdown of the game, returning a pass interception for a 22-10 Colorado lead. Oklahoma State, though, promptly marched down the field, scoring a touchdown with still over two minutes left to play. 22-17.

Colorado went three and out on its next possession, punting the ball back to the Cowboys at their 22-yard line. The Colorado defense…

#7 Nebraska – In Search of a Rival – Meeting CU head coach Bill McCartney

//posted 10.9.1982

(Post your own memories)

October 9th – Boulder #7 Nebraska 40, Colorado 14

Many times, the numbers say it all.

1980: Nebraska 45; Colorado 7.

1981: Nebraska 59; Colorado 0.

The last two lopsided losses to the Cornhuskers were only the most recent. In the series, the totals were intimidating. Fourteen straight Nebraska wins overall vs. Colorado. No wins for the Buffs against the Cornhuskers in Boulder since 1960.

Nebraska’s record coming into the 1982 game: 3-1, ranked seventh in the nation. Colorado’s record: 1-3 and going nowhere.

With this background, and a final score of 40-14, it would be easy to dismiss this game as another Husker rout in a long string of mismatches.

Such a conclusion would be wrong.

Yes, the Buffs did lose that day. Yes, it was the 15th straight loss to Nebraska. But, no, it was not the typical yawner for the Cornhuskers. Colorado quarterback Randy Essington passed for 361 yards, the most-ever by a Nebraska opponent. Two Colorado receivers, Donnie Holmes and Dave Hestera, each had over 100 yards receiving. Before Nebraska scored 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, the score was an unnerving – at least to the Husker Nation – 20-14 at the start of the fourth…

#9 UCLA – “Hey – Don’t I know you from somewhere?”

//posted 10.2.1982

(Post your own memories)

October 2nd – Boulder #9 UCLA 34, Colorado 6

For Bruin fans, there was little reason to believe that UCLA’s first-ever visit to Boulder would be anything but a pleasant one. Colorado did little to discredit its role as compliant host, falling 34-6 to the 9th-ranked Bruins. UCLA came into the game 3-0, fresh off of two road wins against Big 10 teams. In the weeks leading up to UCLA’s trip to Boulder, UCLA had beaten back a red sea of Wisconsin fans at Madison, going on to beat the winningest program of all time, Michigan, at one of the shrines of the game, Ann Arbor.

Folsom Field and the 1-2 Buffs would not intimidate this squad.

The game itself was never in doubt. The anemic Colorado offense produced only two long range Tom Field field goals as the Bruins cruised to a 34-6 win. The Buff defense again put in a credible effort, holding UCLA to 10 points until Bruin quarterback Tom Ramsey connected with split end Donnie Williams on a 50-yard bomb in the last minute of the first half to up the score to 17-6 at halftime. “In my mind, that touchdown was the big play of…

Colorado Buffalo Football Analysis and Recaps - CU At the Game

Searching for CU football? you'll find it here.

Posts Tagged ‘Randy Essington’

Iowa State – School records set by Stewart, Detmer, Westbrook, and Johnson

Oklahoma – Koy Detmer’s first career start a record-setter

Colorado State – Kordell Stewart sets numerous records in his first start

Missouri – Homecoming for Coach Mac not pretty

#17 Oklahoma – Progress in small doses

Oklahoma State – It Must have been the Tie

#7 Nebraska – In Search of a Rival – Meeting CU head coach Bill McCartney

#9 UCLA – “Hey – Don’t I know you from somewhere?”

2012 Season

Archive Game of the Week