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Savor the Memories – Part I
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Happy Mother’s Day!
My original thought for an Essay for this weekend was one entitled, “CU in 2031”. I was going to take a best-case and worst-case look as to how the next five years might play out for CU and its fans. When the new television contracts are negotiated, there will be another round of realignment – and perhaps relegation. There are many programs on the bubble … including Colorado.
Unfortunately, it was easier to forecast pessimistic scenarios than it was to project positive outcomes for Colorado football. But … Seeing as how the Buff Nation is already on track for a tough few months of negative forecasts when it comes to the 2026 preseason magazines, I thought it might be better this weekend to instead post something positive.
Enter Mother’s Day.
Even if your mother is no longer with you, we still have wives, sisters and daughters with whom we can celebrate the day. We can also remember the good times we had with our mothers over the years, and savor those memories.
In that spirit, below are some videos and story links to some of my favorite CU memories. There are so many, though, that I am going to spread out the stories over two weekends. This weekend, there are posts from games from the 1980s, the 2000s, and the 2020s. Next weekend, we enjoy the memories from the 1990s and 2010s.
I hope you enjoy the videos – and savoring the memories – as much as I did ..
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1980s
October 25, 1986 – Colorado 20, No. 3 Nebraska 10
This fall will mark the 40-year anniversary of my all-time favorite CU game.
Damn. 40 years! If that doesn’t make you feel old, nothing will.
It gives me pause to think that, even if the Buffs were to win the national championship game again in my lifetime, I doubt that I will ever again feel the unbridled joy I felt that fall afternoon in Folsom in 1986.
CU no longer has a rival which sparks as much passion as does Nebraska. To be sure, Buff fans get up for games against Colorado State, but it’s not the same when you are the favorite. You can have reasons not to like current “rivals” like BYU , Baylor, or Arizona State, or even CU’s designated rival, Utah, but it ain’t the same.
Buff fans, thanks in part to Coach McCartney designating Nebraska as CU’s main rival, have a healthy hate for Nebraska. Evidence of that continued dislike was on full display in the recent home-and-home series with the Cornhuskers.
But beating Nebraska in 1986 … when CU hadn’t beaten the Cornhuskers in 17 years (with many of those losses by lopsided scores) … when Nebraska came to Folsom that afternoon undefeated and ranked No. 3 in the nation, while CU was 2-4 …
I can’t imagine ever again experience such a release of joy as that what I felt when Barry Remington intercepted a Nebraska pass right in front of us in the senior section with 3:14 remaining, clinching the victory.
What a glorious day!
Click here for the full Game Story … October 25, 1986 … Colorado 20, No. 3 Nebraska 10 – “The Signature Wins of all Signature Wins”
Jeff Campbell’s 39-yard touchdown run
Lance Carl’s touchdown on a halfback pass to open the fourth quarter …
The game video … The game was not televised, so a video of the game for resale (of course I bought it) had to be spliced together from game film together with the tape of the KOA radio broadcast of the game. While the video and audio are not always in sync in the video below, hearing Larry Zimmer’s call of the game somehow makes it even better … “The clock is down to 48 seconds … 20-10, Colorado leads Nebraska! … They have waited a long time for this … So many times, the red flood has come into Folsom Field, and they have gone back across the border to the north a winner. It won’t be this time!” … Not ashamed to say that still brings tears to my eyes …
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November 4, 1989 – No. 2 Colorado 27, No. 3 Nebraska 21
There are few a few plays which are etched eternally into our memories as Buff fans.
If you did a poll of biggest plays in CU history, the short list would include:
- The Hail Mary pass from Kordell Stewart to Michael Westbrook to beat Michigan in 1994;
- Rashaan Salaam’s run to 2,055. Needing 15 yards to get to 2,000, Salaam goes for a 69-yard touchdown;
- Deon Figures interception on the final play of the 1991 Orange Bowl, clinching a national title for CU.
And then there is … “The Pitch”.
It’s easy now to look back at CU’s runs in the 1989 and 1990 seasons to the Orange Bowl and the national title game, but, in early November, 1989, nothing was assured. The Buffs were still looked upon as pretenders to the throne. Yes, CU was undefeated and ranked No. 2, but the Buffs had yet to prove to the nation that they belonged on the national stage.
The 1989 Nebraska game changed that. After falling behind the Cornhuskers, 7-0, Darian Hagan and Mike Pritchard teamed up on a 70-yard touchdown run. The play sent Folsom Field into a frenzied state, and helped make CU’s title aspirations a reality.
Click here for the full Game Story … November 4, 1989 … No. 2 Colorado 27, No. 3 Nebraska 21 – “This is the Greatest Win I’ve Ever Been a Part of”
The pitch …
Nebraska’s final drive … “It took 100 years of Colorado football to get in position to play for a national championship. It took about ten seconds for the goalposts to come down … They won it for Sal. They won it for themselves” …
The full game video …
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2000s
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November 23, 2001 – No. 14 Colorado 62, No. 2 Nebraska 36
While this fall will mark the 40th anniversary of the 20-10 win over Nebraska, the 2026 season will also mark the 25th anniversary of another one of my favorite CU memories.
We’ll let pass for the moment that the 2001 season represents the last of CU’s 26 conference championships – the longest drought in school history – and remember the season that was.
To give CU a chance at their first conference title since the national championship season of 1990, the Buffs first had to dispatch the hated Huskers. Nebraska came to Folsom the day after Thanksgiving as the No. 2 team in the nation – No. 1 in the BCS rankings. The Cornhuskers were undefeated, had not let any opponent (including then No. 2 Oklahoma) stay within ten points, and had the favorite for the Heisman trophy in the person of quarterback Eric Crouch.
No one could have foreseen what was about to happen at Folsom that afternoon (the Cornhuskers were ten-point favorites), but, if I do say so myself, the 2001 Nebraska game was one of the few times ever that I entered the stadium with confidence for a CU upset. We went to the game with friends who had seats in the bowl. They asked where we should meet after the game, and, contrary to my usual negative sentiments, said, “The 20-yard line!”.
All the Buffs did was score more points (to that time) against Nebraska in Cornhusker history. All Chris Brown did was score six touchdowns, setting a CU school record.
A win for the ages …
Click here for the full Game Story … November 23, 2001 … No. 14 Colorado 62, No. 2 Nebraska 36 – “The score says it all!”
The full game video …
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If you only have 15 minutes to watch the Buffs get to 62 points …
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Here is a nice 40-minute video, with highlights from every game of the 2001 season …
Like I said … “Let’s meet at the 20-yard line!” …
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September 29, 2007 – Colorado 27, No. 3 Oklahoma 24
There were few highlights in the Dan Hawkins era at Colorado, with an unlikely win over No. 3 Oklahoma likely on top of the short list.
The Buffs entered the game against the Sooners with a 2-2 record. Not great, but still promising considering CU had gone 2-10 in Year One under Hawkins. The Sooners were led by quarterback Sam Bradford, while the Buffs were led by the coach’s son, Cody Hawkins.
Early in the third quarter, things were going according to form, with Oklahoma leading, 24-7. Then, however, something happened on the way to the rout … the Buffs started playing well, and the Sooners, with three turnovers, imploded.
In the fourth quarter, after the Buffs had pulled to within a touchdown, at 24-17, my future brother-in-law, attending his first CU game, exclaimed, “They think they can win!”. Not long thereafter, when kicker Kevin Eberhart put through a 45-yard field goal to win the game, the unlikely became reality.
Click here for the full Game Story … September 29, 2007 … Colorado 27, No. 3 Oklahoma 24 – “They think they can win!”
Highlights from the game …
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2020s
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September 2, 2023 – Colorado 45, No. 17 TCU 42
No one knew what to expect from the Colorado Buffaloes in the 2023 season opener. No one in the country had paid any attention to Colorado football in 2022, when the Buff Nation endured a 1-11 season. CU lost its games that fall by an average score of 45-19, with four November losses coming by the combined score of 221-55 … or an average mauling by the score of 55-13.
Yes, Virginia, the Buffs in 2022 were that bad.
Then Deion Sanders landed in Boulder.
Coach Prime immediately made national headlines with his “Bringing my Louis” comment. He then sold out CU’s Spring game … two days before saying goodbye to over half of the players who suited up for the nationally televised scrimmage.
The roster overhaul was unprecedented (though since often copied). What CU brought to Ft. Worth for the 2023 season opener was all new … and the nation couldn’t help but want to watch. Fox Sports brought their Big Noon crew to Texas, to see watch Coach Prime’s Buffs succeed … or fail spectacularly.
And then … the Buffs succeeded …
Click here for the full Game Story … September 2, 2023 … Colorado 45, No. 17 TCU 42 – “I Can’t Believe What I Just Saw”
Game highlights …
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September 21, 2024 – Colorado 38, Baylor 31 OT
There were several great games during CU’s run to a 9-4 record in 2024. Travis Hunter was a human highlight film, while Shedeur Sanders scrambled and improvised his way to numerous successful plays. The Buffs managed to pull out road wins at Colorado State … then at UCF … then at Arizona … then at Texas Tech.
Perhaps the game which most epitomized the 2024 season was the overtime win against Baylor. The Buffs fell behind, 24-10, in the second quarter, before an unlikely 58-yard touchdown pass from Sanders to Omarion Miller in the final minute before halftime gave the Buffs new life.
Then, with the Buffs down a touchdown in the final minute, Sanders worked his magic, tying the game on the final play of regulation … only to have Travis Hunter make a play on defense to seal the win in overtime …
Click here for the full Game Story … September 21, 2024 … Colorado 38, Baylor 31 OT – “Singin’ in the Rain”
Game highlights …
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There, don’t you feel better?
Next weekend, we’ll take a look at some of the best CU games from the 1990s and 2010s … before we get back to the (assumed) difficulties which lay ahead this fall …
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One Reply to “Savor the Memories – Part I”
Taking absolutely nothing away from any other CU vs the cobbs games my favorite was one I got to watch in person. That was the 1970 humiliation the Buffs handed to Penn State with Harris,Ham and a highly rated QB whose name I don’t remember. The jaw dropper for me was watching Branch making everyone else on the field look like they were running in slo mo.
Also way up on the list were. the game agains illinois and Jeff George’s mouth. The 1969? Liberty Bowl against Byant’s mouth and of course the 62-36 blowout that sent the cobbs into decades of mediocrity they still haven;t recovered from.
And you were worried about dating yourself, Stuart.
There have been a couple of times I have gone back to Lincoln in thanksgiving to visit the inlaws, all except one who are good sports. The games didnt turn out well but the thing that I remember most were the cars on I-70 and 76, heading back to Lincoln as well, that were covered with cobb flags bumper stickers etc., whocame to Colorado to live and work but couldnt let go. It reminded me of some CU losses in Boulder where folks would say , “they lost too because they have to go home.”
My father was a career military officer stationed in Eirope when I was in middle school. When that tour was over his next assignment was a base in Alabama. My brother and I howled so hard he asked for a change and they gave him Colorado Springs instead. That might have been because he was up for retirement. That was one of the luckiest days of my life