Top 40 of the Past 40 – No. 7

Previously posted:

As always, I look forward to your comments and suggestions as we count down my favorite 40 games and favorite 40 players of my 40 years as a Buff …

Top 40 Favorite Games … No. 7

September 14, 1985 – Colorado 21, Oregon 17 – “I think that could be a turning point for our program”

From the Game Story in the CU at the Game Archives …

Mickey Pruitt’s sack of Oregon quarterback Chris Miller as time expired allowed Colorado to raise its season record to 2-0 for the first time since 1978 with an exciting 21-17 win over the Ducks in Boulder.

The Buffs offense made it look easy in the first quarter, racing to a 14-0 lead. Sophomore fullback Anthony Weatherspoon scored on a ten-yard run, followed shortly thereafter by a three yard touchdown run by quarterback Mark Hatcher.

After the quick start, though, Oregon dominated through the middle quarters, forging a 17-14 advantage early in the fourth quarter.

Then the game really got interesting.

Quarterback Mark Hatcher scored on a 22-yard run early in the fourth quarter to put the Buffs back on top, 21-17. After that, the defense was asked to take over. Specifically, the game, and the fragile confidence of Colorado’s young team, came down to the play of two sophomore defensive backs, David Tate and Mickey Pruitt.

With the Buffs holding on to a tenuous four-point lead after Hatcher’s run, Oregon drove down the field. The drive was thwarted, however, by an interception by David Tate at the Buffs’ 10 yard line. After the pick, the Buffs were held deep in their own territory and were quickly forced to punt. Punter Barry Helton did his part, with a 68-yard kick down to the Ducks 13-yard line.

5:23 still remained. Colorado 21, Oregon 17.

The Ducks, led by future NFL quarterback Chris Miller, methodically drove from its own 13 to the Colorado three-yard line as the clock ticked off the final minutes of the game.

Oregon had a first-and-goal at the Colorado five yard line with a minute left to play. Three plays netted only two yards, however, with Buff fans pleading with the defense to hold on for one more down.

Faced with fourth-and-goal at the Colorado three yard line, Chris Miller called time out.

Only nine seconds remained on the game clock.

The game would come down to one play.

Continue reading story here

Here is the YouTube video of the game’s final play …

Ed Reinhardt Day

Only 30,373 were in attendance for the 1985 Colorado/Oregon game.

That’s a shame.

The occasion deserved nothing less than a sellout crowd of 50,000+. Not only because of the win, but because of the halftime activities that afternoon. The Oregon game in 1985 was designated at Colorado as “Ed Reinhardt Day”. After collapsing in Eugene after the Colorado/Oregon game the year before, Reinhardt spent two months in a coma. By September, 1985, Reinhardt was in an extensive rehabilitation program at Craig Hospital in Denver.

Continue reading story here

Top 40 Favorite Players … No. 7

Wide receiver Paul Richardson (2010-13)

From his CUBuffs.com bio … Overall, he set or tied 44 school records (he owns 30 by himself), despite playing just three seasons as he declared for the NFL Draft after his junior season… In just 33 career games (he missed four his junior year with a knee injury), he finished his CU career third all-time in receptions (156), fifth in receiving yards (2,423), second in touchdown receptions (21), 18th in yards from scrimmage (2,440), 29th in all-purpose yards (2,454) and 29th in scoring (128 points) …

Richardson had three career 200-yard games (of the school’s five total), with his nine 100-yard plus games third in school history… His 13 career plays of 50 yards or longer set a record (all receptions), and his 21 career touchdowns covered 841 yards, or 40.0 per… In 2013, as the team’s most valuable player, he set CU single-season records of 83 receptions and 1,343 receiving yards, opening with back-to-back 200-plus yard games, the first player in Pac-12 Conference history to ever do so (208 vs. Colorado State, 209 vs. Central Arkansas)… He scored 10 touchdowns, the second-most by receiving in a single-year… Also threw a TD pass, a 75-yard bomb to D.D. Goodson against Oregon, the second-longest CU pass completion by a non-quarterback…

Richardson earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors in 2013, CU’s first all-conference wide receiver in 16 seasons… One of six team captains as a junior… He missed the entire 2012 season after tearing an ACL in spring drills… As a sophomore, he set the CU single-game record with 284 yards on 11 receptions against Cal (the second most single-game yards in the nation in 2011)… In 2010, he garnered second-team Freshman All-American honors was CU’s Co-Male Freshman Athlete of the Year Award for all sports… Selected by Seattle with its first pick in the 2014 NFL Draft (No. 45 overall in the second round).

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One Reply to “Top 40 of the Past 40 – No. 7”

  1. My freshman year at CU. Eddie Reinhardt waving to the crowd from the back of a convertible that drove around the field at halftime. Mickey Pruitt flying around the corner to sack Chris Miller and preserve the win on the game’s final play. What a day. What a memory. It still brings a smile to my face.

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