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Friday Fast Facts – Alamo Bowl Edition
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It’s been awhile since Colorado has played in a bowl game, so a refresher as to the Buffs’ bowl history is in order …
— Bowl appearances
The 2016 Alamo Bowl will mark CU’s 29th bowl appearance. With Arizona State sitting out the bowl season, the Buffs are now tied with the Sun Devils for 35th on the all-time list.
The Pac-12 (includes 2016 bowl appearances):
— No. 3 – USC – 53
— No. 22 – Washington – 36
— No. 23 – UCLA – 35
— No. 31 – Oregon – 30
— No. 35 – Colorado – 29
— No. 35 – Arizona State – 29
— No. 38 – Stanford – 28
— No. 49 – California – 22
— No. 54 – Arizona – 20
— No. 54 – Utah – 20
— No. 68 – Oregon State – 15
— No. 74 – Washington State – 13
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— Bowl History
— Colorado is 12-16 record in bowl games. The .429 winning percentage is 66th in the nation, sandwiched between Oregon (.433 – 13-17) and Michigan State (.423 – 11-15).
— The Buffs’ last bowl appearance was in the 2007 Independence Bowl against Alabama. The Buffs fell behind the Crimson Tide, 27-0, before rallying. The 30-24 final left the Buffs with a 6-7 record, but hope for the future. Instead, it proved to be the second of a school record ten straight losing seasons.
— The Buffs’ last bowl victory came in the 2004 Houston Bowl. Colorado took on UTEP, coming away with a 33-28 win over the Miners. Joel Klatt threw for 333 yards, with Mason Crosby contributing four field goals, leaving the Big 12 North champions with an 8-5 overall record.
— CU’s first bowl game was the 1938 Cotton Bowl, with the Buffs falling 28-14 to No. 18 Rice. It was the second-ever Cotton Bowl, with CU Hall-of-Famer Byron White contributing a touchdown pass and an interception return for all of the Buffs’ 14 points (White even kicked the two extra points).
— Buff fans would have to wait almost 20 years for CU’s second bowl appearance … and first bowl victory. Colorado, the Big Seven runner-up (to Bud Wilkinson’s Oklahoma dynasty), raced out to a 20-0 lead over ACC champion Clemson in the 1957 Orange Bowl. The Tigers came back to take a 21-20 lead, but the Buffs scored on a one-yard run by John Bayuk midway through the fourth quarter to post a 27-21 victory.
— Between 1972 and 1990, Colorado fans endured seven straight losses in bowl games, stretching from a win over Houston in the Bluebonnet Bowl in 1971 to the national championship victory over Notre Dame in the 1991 Orange Bowl.
— From the 1993 Aloha Bowl win over Fresno State to the 1999 Insight.com Bowl win over Boston College, the Buffs won six straight bowl victories.
— In the 21st century, Colorado is 1-4 in bowl games, with the lone victory coming in the 2004 Houston Bowl victory over UTEP.
— Colorado has played in eight bowl games in the state of Texas … the Buffs are 1-1 in Cotton Bowls; 2-2 in Bluebonnet Bowls; 1-0 in the Houston Bowl; and 0-1 at the Alamo Bowl (a 31-28 overtime loss to Wisconsin in 2002).
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— Colorado Bowl records
… As we know, Colorado does not count bowl records in career records, so the stats Buffs accumulate against Oklahoma State will be be measured against the following:
— Rushing yards – 254, Bobby Anderson (v. Alabama, 1969 Liberty Bowl)
— Passing yards – 371, Koy Detmer (v. Washington, 1996 Holiday Bowl)
— Receiving yards – 162, Rae Carruth (v. Washington, 1996 Holiday Bowl)
— Scoring – 18 points, Bobby Anderson (v. Alabama, 1969 Liberty Bowl) and Rashaan Salaam (v. Fresno State, 1993 Aloha Bowl and v. Notre Dame, 1995 Fiesta Bowl)
— Tackles – 18, Ted Johnson (v. Notre Dame, 1995 Fiesta Bowl)
— Sacks, 3, Alfred Williams (v. BYU, 1988 Freedom Bowl)
— Points, 62 (v. Boston College, 1999 Insight.com Bowl)
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— Colorado and Oklahoma State – head-to-head
— This will be the 47th meeting between the Buffs and the Cowboys, with Colorado holding a 26-19-1 advantage in the series.
— Colorado has won 11 of the last 15 games played between the two teams, though Oklahoma State has won the last two games, and three of the past four.
— The last victory for the Buffs came in 2005, a 34-0 shutout in Stillwater … the fifth time CU has shut out Oklahoma State in the the series (the Cowboys have yet to shut out the Buffs).
— In the 1971 game, a 40-6 Colorado victory, Charlie Davis rushed for 342 yards (on 34 carries), still the all-time record at Colorado.
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— Colorado and Oklahoma State … historical
— In the 12 statistical categories tracked by Winsipedia, there are two ties between the schools, with each team possessing one national championship and boasting one Heisman trophy winner.
— In the remaining ten categories, Oklahoma State leads in but one … but it is a significant one. Oklahoma has the tenth-best bowl record in the nation (.615, 16-10). Colorado, meanwhile, languishes back in 65th place in bowl winning percentage (.429, 12-16).
— Otherwise, the historical statistics all skew toward Colorado. The Buffs are 25th in all-time wins (695) and 36th in all-time winning percentage (.583). The Cowboys, meanwhile, are 64th in all-time wins (575) and 79th in all-time winning percentage (.514).
— Both teams missed out on conference championships in the last regular season games. For Colorado, it would have been conference title No. 27; for Oklahoma State, it would have been conference title No. 11.
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— Colorado and Oklahoma State … Notes and Numbers
— Only once before have Colorado and Oklahoma State met when both teams were ranked. In 1997, the Buffs were ranked 24th, the Cowboys 20th, when the teams met in Stillwater. Oklahoma State prevailed in that game, 33-29, breaking an eight-game winning streak for the Buffs in the series;
— Colorado and Oklahoma were the last two teams to join the Big Eight, with CU joining to make it the Big Seven in 1948, and Oklahoma State joining in 1958 to make it the Big Eight;
— The two teams played to a 25-25 tie in 1982, with 24 points (15 by OSU; nine by CU) in the final 4:24 of the game;
— The number 676 figures in two stats between the two teams. In 1971, CU posted a school record 676 total yards in a 40-6 romp in Boulder (the record stood for 24 years, and is still the third-highest total ever). Meanwhile, Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy, while the quarterback for the Cowboys from 1986-88, threw for a total of – you guessed it – 676 yards (with three touchdowns and two interceptions);
— Forty years ago, in 1976, the Buffs and Cowboys shared the Big Eight title with Oklahoma, with all three teams finishing with 5-2 records in conference play. As the Buffs had defeated both Oklahoma schools during the regular season, Colorado earned the trip to the Orange Bowl.
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