Fiesta Bowl – Notre Dame – McCartney, Stewart & Salaam go out winners


1994 Season Archive

— A bowl game against Notre Dame – An Afterthought, but still fitting — It would have been appropriate for Bill McCartney to go out playing for the National Championship. The 24-7 loss to Nebraska, however, eliminated the possibility, as Nebraska ran out the string and headed off to the Orange Bowl undefeated and ranked No.1 in the country. By the time the bowl matchups were announced, CU was ranked 4th, trailing only Nebraska, Penn State, and Miami. Such high standing would normally afford the Buffs a worthy New Year’s …

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  Back from the store In Bozeman, I received updates from ABC and ESPN throughout the afternoon (concerning the 41-20 romp by 7th-ranked Colorado over Iowa State). Frustration with the Buffs’ inability to put away ISU was quickly forgotten when the highlight of Rashaan Salaam’s touchdown run flashed across the screen. The play made for perfect theater. Salaam reached the 2,000 mark at home, running right in front of the CU bench, on a 67-yard touchdown run to clinch the win. If Salaam had not already clinched the Heisman, that …

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  — November 19th – Boulder                       No. 7 Colorado 41, Iowa State 20 — A game between a 9-1 team and an 0-9-1 to finish off the regular season would normally not bear much attention.  The 41-20 final score, after the Buffs nursed a 20-13 lead into the fourth quarter, would not have merited much notice nationally. For local writers, though, the game could presented a year’s worth of headlines: “Christian Fauria snares six catches; becomes Big Eight all-time tight end reception leader” would have been apropos; “CU posts 576 …

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— November 12th – at Kansas                                   No. 7 Colorado 51, Kansas 26 — Kordell Stewart, who had the previous week become the first player in Big Eight history to pass for 6,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a career, piled up 249 yards of total offense against the Jayhawks as the Buffs rolled to an easy 51-26 win. Rashaan Salaam came into the final road game of the season on the brink of taking the leap from great to all-time legend. He needed only 65 rush yards and …

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  — November 5th – Boulder                    No. 7 Colorado 17, Oklahoma State 3 — The main distraction for the Colorado Buffaloes for Homecoming, 1994, was not the Homecoming festivities, nor was it the Oklahoma State Cowboys.  Rather, the Buffs greatest concern was lethargy.  Oklahoma State was 3-4-1 on the year, with its only wins coming in non-conference contests against the likes of Northern Illinois, Tulsa, and North Texas. The glow of the national spotlight was gone, as, for the first time in a month, CU’s game would not be shown by …

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— October 29th – at Nebraska             No.3  Nebraska 24, No. 2  Colorado 7 — Like many over-hyped Super Bowls, the 1994 Game-of-the-Year failed to live up to advance billing … at least as far as Colorado fans were concerned. No. 3 Nebraska methodically took care of business, defeating No. 2 Colorado, 24-7, to take the inside track to the Big Eight and National Championships.  Led by quarterback Brook Berringer, subbing for injured starter Tommy Frazier, the Cornhuskers built a 17-0 halftime lead and were never …

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— October 22nd – Boulder               No. 2 Colorado 35,  No. 19 Kansas State 21 — The Kansas State Wildcats were the real deal in 1994. Coming off of a 9-2-1 season in 1993, Kansas State had re-established itself as the No. 3 team in the Big Eight in 1994.  The Wildcats only blemish coming into Boulder was a 17-6 loss to Nebraska, and Kansas State wanted nothing more than to knock off the 2nd-rated Buffs to make its own national statement. They almost did. The 5:30 p.m. kickoff represented the Buffs’ third nationally …

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— October 15th – Boulder                 No. 4 Colorado 45, No. 22 Oklahoma 7 — It was now official. What had been dreamed of since the “Miracle in Michigan” could now be spoken of openly.  The Rocky Mountain News banner headline after Colorado dismantled Oklahoma 45-7 before a national ESPN audience said it all:  “Buffs make a run for No. 1?”. Not to be outdone, the Denver Post headline proclaimed:  “Taking aim at No. 1?”. Before the Buffs took the field to set about …

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— October 8th – at Missouri                           No. 5 Colorado 38, Missouri 23 — The Colorado Buffaloes could have been forgiven for being sluggish against the Missouri Tigers. After all: – the game against Missouri represented CU’s third straight road game; – The game was the Buffs only game against an unranked opponent sandwiched between six games against nationally rated foes; and – Missouri was 1-3 after having lost to the likes of Tulsa. Fortunately for Colorado fans, the Buffs were ready to play.  Cruising to a 21-7 first quarter lead, Colorado never …

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— October 1st – at Texas                          No. 5 Colorado 34, No. 16 Texas 31 — Texas was more than anxious to take a crack at the No.5 Buffs.  Undefeated on the young season, the 16th-ranked Longhorns were 3-0 for the first time since 1985.  Playing at home in front of a sell-out crowd of 77,809 (the first non-conference sell-out for the Longhorns in ten years) Texas players looked to avenge the 36-14 pasting laid on them by the Buffs in 1993 season-opener. Eight returning starters on offense and nine on defense …

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— September 24th – at Michigan                      No. 7 Colorado 27, No. 4 Michigan 26 — While there is much to be said about the final six seconds of the 1994 Colorado/Michigan game, the set-up is equally important. Both teams had the opportunity to dominate the game, but both fell short. Momentum swayed back and forth before 106,427 fans, the largest crowd to witness a Colorado football game in school history. Midway through the second quarter, the Buffs were putting on …

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— Badger Mania The Wisconsin Badgers came to Boulder September 17th for a night game to be nationally televised by ESPN. Like the Buffs, the Badgers were 1-0 on the 1994 season, having dispatched Eastern Michigan, 56-0.  Wisconsin, ranked 10th  in the nation, had been the feel-good story of 1993, having come from nowhere to post a 10-1-1 record.  Claiming a share of the Big 10 title for the first time in over three decades, the Badgers made their first trip to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl since 1962.  A 21-16 win …

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