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1994 Revisited – Game Eleven … No. 7 Colorado v. Iowa State
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Note … The 2024 season marks the 30th anniversary of one of the best seasons in Colorado football history. The 1994 Buffs went 11-1, finishing 3rd in the final Associated Press poll. Along the way, the Buffs had a Miracle in Michigan, had a running back win the Heisman Trophy … and had their coach unexpectedly resign. Every starter on CU’s offense in 1994 (and many on the defense) spent time in the NFL.
This fall, we’ll follow the 1994 team, with week-by-week coverage of the Buffs’ run to the Fiesta Bowl.
- Game One: No. 8 Colorado 48, Northeast Louisiana 13 – Break out the record books
- Game Two: No. 7 Colorado 55, No. 10 Wisconsin 17 – Badger mana comes to Boulder
- Game Three: No. 7 Colorado 27, No. 4 Michigan 26 – The “Miracle in Michigan”
- Game Four: No. 5 Colorado 34, No. 16 Texas 31 – On Oxygen
- Game Five: No. 5 Colorado 38, Missouri 23 – A break after three straight games against ranked teams
- Game Six: No. 4 Colorado 45, No. 22 Oklahoma 7 – An Evening in Paradise
- Game Seven: No. 2 Colorado 35, No. 19 Kansas State 21 – The End of the Preliminaries
- Game Eight: No. 3 Nebraska 24, No. 2 Colorado 7 – Now What?
- Game Nine: No. 7 Colorado 17, Oklahoma State 3 – Lethargy the Buffs’ Greatest Opponent
- Game Ten: No. 7 Colorado 51, Kansas 26 – Heisman Hype; BSN Prescience
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November 19th – Boulder No. 7 Colorado 41, Iowa State 20
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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 yards of offense, sets team record for season average – 495.3″ would have been good; or
“Kordell Stewart becomes Big Eight all-time leader for total offense”.
All worthy events, but they were all overshadowed. First by Rashaan Salaam, then by the team’s thirteen-year head coach.
Salaam was effective against Iowa State, rushing for almost 200 yards and a touchdown in the game’s first three quarters. The Buffs, though, could not put away the winless Cyclones, leading only 20-13 at the start of the fourth quarter.
Salaam was still 13 yards shy of the 2000-yard mark as the Buffs, leading 27-13 after a 23-yard run by Kordell Stewart to open the quarter, faced a first-and-ten at the CU 33-yard line. Salaam took the handoff from Stewart, cut to his right, and raced down the sideline in front of his teammates for a 67-yard touchdown and front-runner status for the Heisman. Salaam’s run gave him 2,055 yards on the season, and also gave him the titles of the nation’s leading rusher, scorer, and all-purpose runner.
Salaam’s final run of the day also gave Colorado its first real comfortable lead of the day, at 34-13.
The remainder of the game was a celebration. The 10-1 Buffs were heading for the Fiesta Bowl and a yet-to-be-named opponent. Salaam was given a ride off of the field by his teammates, as 46,113 frigid fans (37 degrees at kickoff) kept themselves warm by cheering the third 10-win team in school history. All in all, a successful game and season. Fans piled out of the stadium and into the late-afternoon sunshine, cold but content with the day.
But it wasn’t over yet.
Highlight of Salaam’s run which put him over 2000 yards for the season:
Back from the store
In Bozeman, I received updates from ABC and ESPN throughout the afternoon on the win over Iowa State. Frustration with the Buffs inability to put away ISU was quickly forgotten when the highlight of Salaam’s touchdown run flashed across the screen. The play made for perfect theater. Salaam reached the 2,000 mark in just the right fashion – at home, running right in front of the CU bench, on a long touchdown run to clinch the win. If Salaam had not already clinched the Heisman, that highlight alone may have sealed the deal. It would be replayed numerous times in subsequent weeks as college football analysts debated the issue.
Content with the afternoon’s events, I went to the store with my wife, Lee. Some time later, we returned to find the answering machine blinking. It was Charlie B. in Tennessee. “What is McCartney thinking?”, Charlie asked me by way of tape. “What is going on?”
Not understanding the message, and assuming Charlie was merely upset about McCartney’s play-calling on the day, I returned the call. It was then that I learned the reason for Charlie’s consternation. I quickly clicked on the television, turned to ESPN, and quickly had confirmed for me what Charlie was telling me.
Colorado head football coach Bill McCartney was resigning.
(More under “McCartney’s Announcement“, to be posted in its entirety next Thursday) …
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Game Notes –
– The win over Iowa State was the 11th in a row for Colorado in the series, but was still one short of the series record (the Buffs won 12 straight from1966 and 1977).
– Kordell Stewart went 14-for-21 for 196 yards passing on the afternoon, putting him over 2,000 for the season. As a result, Colorado, in the 125-year history of college football, became just the second team to ever have a 2,000-yard rusher and a 2,000-yard passer in the same season, with Salaam’s 2,055 yards rushing complemented by Stewart’s 2,071 yards passing (in 1988, Barry Sanders ran for 2,628 yards and Mike Gundy passed for 2,163 yards for Oklahoma State).
– While Colorado was posting 576 yards of total offense against Iowa State, giving the Buffs a school-record average of 495.3 yards per game, the defense held the Cyclones to a season-low 243 yards.
– Iowa State finished the 1994 season with an 0-10-1 record, with only a 31-31 tie to show for Jim Walden’s final campaign in Ames. Walden coached at Iowa State for eight seasons, compiling an overall record of 28-57-3, with his best season being a 6-5 campaign in 1989. Walden was replaced by Dan McCarney, who would go on to become the all-time winningest coach in ISU history.
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1994 Honorees
– All Americans … First team … Rashaan Salaam (unanimous); Chris Hudson (consensus) … Tony Berti (College Sports Magazine); Michael Westbrook (AFCA; Walter Camp)
– All Big Eight (First team) … OT Tony Berti; DT Shannon Clavelle; TE Christian Fauria; CB Chris Hudson; LB Ted Johnson; TB Rashaan Salaam; QB Kordell Stewart; OC Bryan Stoltenberg; WR Michael Westbrook
– Heisman trophy: Rashaan Salaam (winner) (Kordell Stewart finished 13th in the balloting)
– Jim Thorpe Award: Chris Hudson (winner)
– Doak Walker Award: Rashaan Salaam (winner)
– Maxwell Award: Rashaan Salaam (runner-up)
– Dick Butkus Award: Ted Johnson (runner-up)
– Davey O’Brien Award: Kordell Stewart (one of ten finalists)
– Fred Biletnikoff Award: Michael Westbrook (one of ten semi-finalists)
– Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award: Kordell Stewart (one of six finalists)
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