Game Archive

No. 1 Nebraska – Record quarter dooms CU’s upset bid

//posted 10.22.1983

— October 22nd – at Nebraska No. 1 Nebraska 69, Colorado 19 — Colorado, 2-4 and on a three game losing streak, had to next face a road trip against undefeated and No. 1 ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln. History did not favor the Buffs, as Colorado entered the contest 0-7 all-time vs. No. 1 ranked teams, including two previous attempts against Nebraska. Nothing changed in 1983, as Colorado fell to Nebraska, 69-19. The Cornhuskers in 1983 were loaded. Quarterback Turner Gill, I-Back Mike Rozier, Wingback …

Iowa State – Third straight loss to the Cyclones

//posted 10.15.1983

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— October 15th – at Iowa State Iowa State 22, Colorado 10 — Playing in a gusty wind, the Iowa State Cyclones blew away the bumbling Buffs, 22-10. The Iowa State homecoming crowd was sent home happy, as for the third straight game the Colorado offense had great difficulty in finding the opposition’s goal. Lee Rouson was switched from fullback to halfback for the game to try an add a spark to the offense. Rouson responded with 93 yards, but it took 29 carries to produce those yards. Steve Vogel …

Missouri – “I thought we’d bounce back …”

//posted 10.8.1983

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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 …

Notre Dame – Taking the LSAT

//posted 10.1.1983

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— Taking the LSAT — The University of Colorado had never played the University of Notre Dame in football. This simple statement, in and of itself, was enough to raise anticipation level for the matchup between the Buffs and the Irish. But there was also this: heading into the October 1, 1983, Colorado/Notre Dame game in Boulder, Colorado was 2-1; Notre Dame 1-2. As a result, there was excitement across the Boulder campus not only about the possibility of playing Notre Dame, but about the possibility of actually beating the Irish. It would …

Oregon State – “Here we go CU, Here we go!”

//posted 9.24.1983

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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 …

Colorado State – Rivalry? What Rivalry?

//posted 9.17.1983

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— Rivalry? What Rivalry? — As much as Nebraska looks with disdain at Colorado (or anyone else, for that matter) who dares to call the Cornhuskers their “rival”, the Colorado Buffaloes in the early 1980’s were just as pompous when it came to their “rivals” just 40 miles to the north, the Colorado State Rams. While the game was a natural for generating interest and a full house at Folsom Field, the Buffs resisted scheduling the game due to the perception that playing Colorado State in football represented a “no-win” situation for …

Michigan State – Coach Mac returns to his home state

//posted 9.10.1983

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— September 10th – at Michigan State Michigan State 23, Colorado 17 — While the Missouri game in 1982 served as Bill McCartney’s collegiate homecoming game, the return to the state of Michigan for the first game of the 1983 collegiate campaign was also a return to familiar territory for coach Mac. McCartney was a native of Riverview, Michigan, and his eight years on the Michigan Wolverine staff gave the coach some familiarity with the Spartan players. Still, MSU was starting its first game under new head coach George Perles, …

Kansas State – Wildcats earn first-ever bowl bid

//posted 11.20.1982

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— November 20 – at Kansas State Kansas State 33, Colorado 10 — Fresh from their largest margin of victory since 1978, a 28-3 decision over Kansas, the Buffs had a small degree of momentum going into the season finale against Kansas State in Manhattan. The Wildcats, for their part, despite a 5-4-1 overall record, were on a two-game losing streak. Kansas State needed a win over Colorado to finish with a winning season, and, with a little help, earn the first bowl bid in the school’s history. The game was …

Kansas – The goalposts come down at Folsom

//posted 11.13.1982

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— November 13th – Boulder Colorado 28, Kansas 3 — In Colorado’s seventh home game of the year, the Buffs finally put things together. On the game’s second play from scrimmage, Colorado quarterback Steve Vogel, having earned the start based on his second half efforts against Missouri, tossed a short screen pass to halfback Richard Johnson. Some 77 yards later, the Buffs had a 7-0 lead less than a minute into the contest. “It’s fair to say that play set the tone for the …

Missouri – Homecoming for Coach Mac not pretty

//posted 11.6.1982

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— November 6 – at 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 …

No. 17 Oklahoma – Progress in small doses

//posted 10.30.1982

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— October 30th – Boulder No. 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 …

Iowa State – Ineffective offense dooms Buffs to inevitable loss

//posted 10.23.1982

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— October 23rd – Boulder Iowa State 31, Colorado 14 — The Iowa State Cyclones came to Boulder with a better overall record than the Buffs (3-2-1 to Colorado’s 1-4-1), but both teams sported identical 0-1-1 conference records. In fact, the Big Eight Conference standings heading into the third weekend of the season were somewhat bizarre. Nebraska and Oklahoma were both 2-0, and this was to be expected. After that, third place in the league was shared by Oklahoma State and Missouri, with 0-0-2 marks. The remaining four teams in …