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September 16th – Boulder No.9 Colorado 66, Northeast Louisiana 14
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Class: Get out a fresh piece of paper.
It’s time to start noting all of the new school records set by the Buffs in mauling the Indians of Northeast Louisiana (now Louisiana-Monroe), 66-14. The point total for the game set a modern record, besting by one the 65 points put up against Arizona back in 1958.
Prior to the Northeast Louisiana “contest”, the highest total offensive output ever by a Buff team in CU football history was 676 yards (v. Oklahoma State, 1971). The 1995 Buffs obliterated that record, posting 758 yards of total offense. The 35 points scored in the first quarter tied a school record; the 49 points on the scoreboard at half set a new one.
Get the picture?
Perhaps NLU head coach Ed Zaunbrecher summed it up properly when interviewed the week leading up to the game. “I’ve been sleeping like a baby all week”, said the Indians’ coach. “Sleeping for four hours and then waking up and crying the rest of the night.”
Individually, quarterback Koy Detmer quite literally had a field day. Before leaving the game early in the third quarter, Detmer had tied the team record for passing touchdowns in a game (4) and the school mark for passing yards in a quarter (192). The 426 yards passing for the game set a new standard, as did his passing yards for a half (352).
There were more records set, but in deference to the Northeast Louisiana players, they won’t all be recounted here. Colorado starters played just 12:38 in possession time before being pulled with less than a minute gone in the third quarter.
CU used big plays to score early and often. A 38-yard pass play from Koy Detmer to James Kidd set up the first score, a three-yard touchdown run by Herchell Troutman five minutes into the game. Less than two minutes later, Troutman scored on a nine yard run, and the rout was on with the Buffs up 14-0.
The Buffs scored three more times before the first quarter was over, on a 72-yard pass from Detmer to Rae Carruth, a 40-yard Marlon Barnes run, and an 11-yard touchdown pass from Detmer to Troutman. Five touchdowns in the first fifteen minutes … a record output for the CU football program.
With the score 35-0, Northeast Louisiana finally got on the board early in the second quarter, but the Buffs posted two more scores (a one-yard run by Marlon Barnes and a 13-yard pass from Detmer to Blake Anderson) before the break, giving Colorado a 49-7 lead at the break.
After the Buffs needed all of 57 seconds to score to open the second half (a 31-yarder from Detmer to Phil Savoy), the offensive starters were pulled, with second-teamers getting significant playing time. In the final 29:03 of playing time, the Buffs, who had 56 points in the first 30:57 of the game, settled for ten more points, with Jason Lesley connecting on a 44-yard field goal and backup quarterback John Hessler contributing a ten-yard run.
“All week long people asked whether or not our team was going to come out flat,” said Neuheisel, referencing Colorado playing two tough opponents (Wisconsin, CSU) before facing two more (Texas A&M, Oklahoma). “As I tried to explain to those who were asking the questions, and as I tried to implore on my team, it was that you only get 11 shots …. So, I’m proud of ’em, and we’re ready for upcoming contests.”
Up next was third-ranked Texas A&M, in the last contest between the two squads before they were scheduled to became conference foes in the new Big 12.
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Game Notes –
– Any number of individual, team, and Folsom Field records were set the afternoon of September 16, 1995, many of which still stand. For perspective, note that Colorado has only played Northeast Louisiana (now Louisiana-Monroe) twice in school history. Yet over twenty years after last playing the Indians, the Buffs still are in double digits in both individual and teams records held against Northeast Louisiana. The only schools with more mentions are conference foes, teams the Buffs have played dozens of times each.
– A quick recital of the most significant team records set against Northeast Louisiana: points in a game (66; modern era); most total offense (758); most passing yards (533); most points in a half (49); and passing yards in a half (352). The 35 points in the first quarter tied a team record for most points in a quarter.
– Koy Detmer’s records (on only 27 passes and one half of playing time): most passing yards in a game (426); in a half (352); in a quarter (192), while tying the school record for most touchdown passes in a game (4).
– Louisiana-Monroe would go on to post a 2-9 record in 1995, though one of those wins was against Mississippi State from the SEC, a 34-32 upset win two weeks after the Indians played the Buffs.
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