Posts Tagged ‘Ron Brown’

 September 29th – Boulder           #17 UCLA 33, Colorado 16

Colorado came into the UCLA game 0-3. Two close calls, against Michigan State and Oregon, had been followed by a rout at the hands of Notre Dame. The hope and optimism which had greated the 1984 campaign, on the heels of a 4-7 record in 1983, had been dimmed. Now, the Buffs had to face their first ranked team of the season, 17th-ranked UCLA.

The UCLA Bruins, though, came to Boulder licking wounds of their own. Unimpressive wins over San Diego State (18-15) and Long Beach State (23-17) had been followed by a 42-3 rout at the hands of the No. 1 ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers. That the Bruins were even ranked after such a sluggish start was likely a testament as much to the dominance of Nebraska as it was to the talents of the Pac-10 Bruins. Still, there may have been another reason. UCLA had started the 1983 campaign 0-3-1 before winning seven of their last eight games (behind quarterback Rick Neuheisel), including a rout of Big Ten champion Illinois in the Rose Bowl. This being the recent history, the ranking could have been on assumed late season potential.

The Buffs no…

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Oregon – Ed Reinhardt

//posted 9.15.1984

 September 15th – @ Oregon           Oregon 27, Colorado 20

The Oregon Ducks, like Michigan State, had posted a 4-6-1 record in 1983. Unlike the Spartans, though, the Buffs had no history from which to draw incentive. The last meeting between the two teams had been in 1979, with the Buffs falling 33-19 at home in Chuck Fairbanks’ debut as Colorado head football coach.

In 1984, Oregon was able to outlast Colorado, holding off the bumbling Buffs, 27-20. Dropped passes, 11 penalties, and continuing difficulties with the kicking game condemned the Buffs to a second straight failed fourth quarter comeback.

Unlike the Michigan State game, the Buffs did well in their first drive in Eugene. Despite starting on the eight yard line, Colorado put together a 92-yard drive, with junior wide receiver Ron Brown hauling in a 68-yard touchdown pass from Steve Vogel for the early score. Kicker Larry Eckel, however, missed the extra point, and the Buffs’ enthusiasm was tempered.

After falling behind 17-6 at halftime, Colorado rallied in the second half to take the lead. Two one-yard touchdown runs by Lee Rouson put the Buffs on top, 20-17. Rouson’s second score, coming on the first play of the fourth quarter, was capped…

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 September 8th – Boulder           Michigan State 24, Colorado 21

Michigan State appeared to be the ideal opening game opponent for the 1984 Buffs. First, the issue of payback had to be addressed. Colorado had led the Spartans after three quarters in the 1983 opener, only to surrender 17 fourth quarter points in a 23-17 defeat. Second, the 1984 game would be in Boulder, not East Lansing. Finally, the 1983 Michigan State team had finished their year with a less than stellar record of 4-6-1, including an embarrassing season-ending 42-0 loss at home to arch-rival Michigan.

Colorado and Michigan State were teams which were fairly equal on paper, and the Buffs needed the win if Colorado’s first winning season since 1978 was to become a reality.

Reality bites.

Senior quarterback Steve Vogel did pass for 344 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore tight end Ed Reinhardt was Vogel’s favorite target, snagging a Colorado record ten catches for 142 yards and two scores. These numbers would have been more impressive, however, had they not come – for the most part – after the Buffs had fallen behind 24-0 early in the third quarter.

The game, and the season, could not have begun more ominously.…

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 November 19th – Boulder           Colorado 38, Kansas State 21

Only 27,649 Buff faithful bothered to come out for the 1983 finale against the Kansas State Wildcats. It would be the smallest crowd to ever watch a Bill McCartney coached Colorado team in Folsom Field. Though it was mid-November, the skies were sunny, and the game time temperature was a tolerable 39 degrees. It was not the weather, then, that kept the fans away.

It was the matchup.

While the Buffs were playing for a sixth place finish in the Big Eight, and while a fourth victory would represent the most wins for Colorado since Bill Mallory’s final squad had finished 6-5 in 1978, it could hardly be called a glamour contest. It was easy to find a good seat in the half-filled stadium as kickoff neared.

The Buffs started the game with about as much enthusiasm for the contest as their fans. At half-time, the score was 21-7 in favor of the Wildcats. Between the two of them, quarterbacks Derek Marshall and Steve Vogel threw four first half interceptions. The score could have been even worse than 21-7, as Kansas State lost four fumbles in the opening half (and all…

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 November 12 – @ Oklahoma           Oklahoma 41, Colorado 28

The final scores of the Nebraska games in the two years of the McCartney era had been somewhat misleading. The Buffs were at least in the game in the first half of each contest.

Conversely, the final score against Oklahoma in 1983, 41-28, would lead one to believe the Buffs made a respectable showing against the Sooners. After all, the Sooners had won the previous six contests against Colorado by an average score of 51-16. Yes, it was the Buffs out there on Owen field, before 75,008 Sooner faithful, with quarterback Steve Vogel, subbing for an injured Derek Marshall, overthrowing tight end Dave Hestera in the end zone with the Buffs having the chance to pull within seven points late in the fourth quarter. And yes, it was a pass from Vogel to Chris McLemore which came up an inch short on fourth down at the Sooner three-yard line with just over two minutes to play.

And yes, the headline in the Boulder Daily Camera the next morning did proclaim “Buffs make it close at OU, 41-28″.

Actually, though, it was never really that close. Oklahoma raced out to a 34-0 lead in the first half. If not for…

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October 8th – Boulder           Missouri 59, Colorado 20

The excitement surrounding the Buffs’ two game winning streak in September seemed like ancient history only eight days into October.

As Notre Dame had done the week before, Missouri took the opening kickoff and marched down the field for a touchdown. It was just the beginning of a rout that, if possible, was even worse than the 59-20 score indicates. In Coach McCartney’s words: “We got beat every way you can get beat … soundly, thoroughly, in every way”. To underscore the domination, it should be noted that the score was 59-6 with only a few minutes left in the game. Colorado did score two gimme touchdowns in the last 2:18 of the game, narrowly avoiding a 50-point loss.

Colorado’s first points, a four-yard touchdown pass from Steve Vogel to tight end Jon Embree, didn’t come until Missouri had built a 31-0 second quarter lead. The final two touchdowns, after the game was well out of hand, came with Derek Marshall at quarterback. The first came on a  four-yard run by Guy Egging; the second on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Marshall to sophomore tight end Hugo Nevarez.

“I knew emotionally we…

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September 24th – Boulder           Colorado 38, Oregon State 14

Colorado was able to look towards another struggling opponent for the third week in a row as the Oregon State Beavers came to Boulder. Oregon State had posted a record of 1-9-1 in 1982, and had won only one of three starts in 1983. If the Buffs were to put together back to back wins for the first time since 1979, this would be their best chance. The woeful Oregon State football program had not put together more than three wins in a season in its last eleven campaigns, and the team presented to the 33,504 Folsom Field faithful was not a likely candidate to break the streak.

The rout was on early.

After Linebacker Jeff Donaldson returned an interception 44 yards for one score, and Steve Vogel had hooked up with Ron Brown on a 62-yard bomb for another, it was Colorado 21, Oregon State 0, before the first quarter had even come to a close. In just over one half of play, Colorado had a lead of 28-0, with offensive plays of 50, 62, 44, 36, and 29 yards – plus Donaldson’s interception return.

Oregon State did push through…

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