Welcome Back! CU’s Return to the Big 12

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Welcome Back! CU’s Return to the Big 12

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Over the past two seasons, the Pac-12, in business in one iteration or another since 1915, disintegrated.

USC and UCLA, followed later by Oregon and Washington, defected to the Big Ten.

Colorado, Arizona, Utah, and Arizona State found new homes in the Big 12.

Cal and Stanford found a lifeboat in the ACC.

Washington State and Oregon State … were set adrift.

As a result of the latest realignments, this fall 11 of 12 schools from the former Pac-12 will be playing a drastically revised schedule from what their fans have grown accustomed to over the years.

The exception? The University of Colorado, which is heading home to the Big 12.

A founding member of the Big 12, CU was also a founding member of the Big Eight, and, for that matter, the Big Seven.

For CU fans who may have joined the Buff Nation in the last 14 years, or who just need a refresher, here is a primer on CU’s conference history with the Big 12, followed by CU’s history with its “new” rivals …

Colorado and the Big 12 …

• 1928-47 … There was the “Big Six” Conference … Missouri, Kansas, Iowa State, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas State;
• 1947-59 … There was the “Big Seven” Conference … Colorado joining, leaving the Mountain States Conference;
• 1960-95 … There was the “Big Eight” Conference … Oklahoma State joining;
• 1996-2010 … There was the first version of the “Big 12” Conference … The Southwest Conference dissolves, with the Big Eight adding Texas, Baylor, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech.

Colorado and Nebraska left the Big 12 in 2010, leaving for the Pac-12 and Big Ten, respectively, with Missouri and Texas A&M leaving for the SEC in 2011. To get back to ten teams for the 2012 season, the Big 12 added West Virginia and TCU.

• 2011 – The “Big 12” had ten teams: Kansas, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech, Baylor, Texas A&M and Missouri
• 2012-22 – The “Big 12” had a different makeup: Kansas, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech, Baylor, West Virginia, TCU

In 2023, with the defections of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC imminent, the Big 12 added UCF, Houston, Cincinnati, and BYU, leaving the Big 12 with 14 teams.

• 2023 – Kansas, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech, Baylor, West Virginia, TCU, Houston, UCF, Cincinnati, BYU

Now, with Texas and Oklahoma gone, the Big has added the “Four Corners” schools – Colorado, Arizona, Utah, and Arizona State.

So, for those of you scoring at home, the “Big 12” went from 12 teams from 1996-2010, to ten teams from 2011-2023, to 14 teams in 2023 … to 16 teams for 2024.

With the dust settled (for now) on the new and improved Big 12, how does CU stack up against its “new” rivals.

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CU v. the 2024 Big 12 … 

— Arizona … Colorado leads the all-time series, 16-10 … 7-6 in Boulder; 9-4 in Tucson

• First game … 1931: CU 27-7
• Most recent … 2023: Arizona 34-31

Favorite game: 2016 … No. 16 Colorado 49, Arizona 24

— Arizona State … Arizona State leads the all-time series, 10-4 … 4-2 in Boulder; 6-2 in Tempe

• First game … 2006: Arizona State 21-3
• Most recent … 2023: CU 27-24

Favorite game: 2019 … Colorado 34, No. 24 Arizona State 31

… Continue reading story here …

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— Baylor … Colorado leads the all-time series, 9-7 … 5-4 in Boulder; 4-2 in Waco; 0-1 in Houston (Bluebonnet Bowl)

• First game … 1959: Baylor 15-7
• Most recent … 2010: Baylor 31-25

Favorite game: 1998 … No. 15 Colorado 18, Baylor 16

The Baylor Bears, fresh off of a 33-30 win over North Carolina State (which in turn had just shocked the nation with a 24-7 win over previously 2nd-ranked Florida State) came to Boulder with aspirations of putting to rest the memories of a 2-9 1997 campaign.

Baylor almost came away with the win, scoring late to pull ahead of Colorado, 16-15, with 6:31 remaining. But a 44-yard pass on third-and-ten from Adam Bledsoe, subbing for the injured Mike Moschetti, to Darrin Chiaverini put the Buffs in field goal position with just over two minutes to play. A few plays later, Jeremy Aldrich connected from 31 yards out, and the Buffs had pulled out another “ugly” win, 18-16.

… Continue reading story here …

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— BYU … Colorado leads the all-time series, 8-3-1 … 6-1 in Boulder; 2-1-1 in Provo; 0-1 in Anaheim (Freedom Bowl)

• First game … 1923: Colorado 41-0
• Most recent … 1988: BYU 20-17 (Freedom Bowl)

Favorite game: 1988 … BYU 20-17 (All of CU’s wins in the series came before the start of CU at the Game in 1980. The Freedom Bowl makes the list mainly because we made the trip to Anaheim for the game, and got to visit Disneyland before heading down to San Diego for the Holiday Bowl between Oklahoma State and Wyoming). 

Game story … The only lead BYU would enjoy the entire game would be when it counted most, as BYU defeated Colorado, 20-17, in the 1988 Freedom Bowl. BYU kicker Jason Chaffetz connected from 35 yards out with 2:33 remaining to give BYU its first lead and the victory.

It was a frustrating loss for Colorado, as two costly turnovers and nine penalties relegated the Buffs to their fifth consecutive bowl loss.

No doubt, Colorado had its chances.

Early on, it appeared that the Buffs would have their way, with Eric Bieniemy scoring from one yard out to give Colorado a 7-0 lead early after a BYU turnover. Later, after the Cougars had tied the score, Bieniemy again scored from a yard out to give the Buffs a 14-7 halftime lead. In the third quarter, Colorado twice penetrated the Cougar 20, only to come away empty.

Enter Ty Detmer.

… Continue reading story here …

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— Cincinnati … Colorado leads the all-time series, 1-0 … 1-0 in Boulder

• First game (and most recent) … 1972: Colorado 56-14

… As my history with CU only dates back to 1980, I don’t have a story on this game. If anyone has a personal story/history with this game, please post it in the comments section, and I’ll post it here …

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— Houston … Colorado leads the all-time series, 1-0 … 1-0 in Houston (Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl)

• First game (and most recent) … 1971: Colorado 29-17

… Write up from CUBuffs.com … Colorado sophomore tailback Charlie Davis returned to his hometown and ripped host Houston for a whopping 202 yards on 37 carries as the Buffs whipped the Cougars, 29-17, in the 13th annual Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl Classic at the Astrodome.

Davis scored twice and was a one-man show in the first half. CU took a 23-14 lead into the dressing rooms. CU marched 70 yards in nine plays on the games first possession, and thanks to a 27-yard run by Davis, took a 7-0 lead less than four minutes into the game. After a pair of Robert Newhouse runs spotted Houston a 14-7 after the first quarter, but CU answered with a 16-point second quarter. A touchdown pass of five yards from Ken Johnson to Larry Brunson, a 32-yard field goal by J. B. Dean, and another TD run by Davis enabled the Buffs to take the nine-point halftime lead.

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— Iowa State … Colorado leads the all-time series, 49-15-1 … 25-6-1 in Boulder; 24-9 in Ames

• First game … 1946: CU 13-7
• Most recent … 2010: CU 34-14

Favorite game: 1994 … 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 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.

… Continue reading story here (and don’t forget to read the story of Coach Mac’s surprise retirement announcement) …

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— Kansas … Colorado leads the all-time series, 42-25-3 … 24-9 in Boulder; 17-16-3 in Lawrence; 1-0 in Denver

• First game … 1903: Kansas 12-11
• Most recent … 2010: Kansas 52-45 (the game which cost Dan Hawkins his job)

Favorite game: 2003 … Colorado 50, Kansas 47 … Brian Calhoun scored on a twelve-yard run up the middle of the Kansas defense on Colorado’s third play of overtime, lifting the Buffs to a wild 50-47 win.

Both teams had double digit leads on a day which witnessed Colorado come back five different times to tie the game or take the lead.

The Buffs rallied from deficits which, at various stages of the game stood at: 7-0, 21-17, 35-24, 38-30, 44-38 and 47-44 in a scoring display in which the two teams combined for 1,184 yards of total offense.

Colorado posted 598 of those yards, led by quarterback Joel Klatt, back for his first start since separating his shoulder against Washington State. Klatt passed for 419 yards and two touchdowns, scoring a third on a one yard run. His 54 passes overall set a new school record, as did his 38 completions.

… Continue reading story here …

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— Kansas State … Colorado leads the all-time series, 45-20-1 … 28-5 in Boulder; 17-15-1 in Manhattan

• First game … 1912: Kansas State 14-6
• Most recent … 2010: Colorado 42-36

Favorite game: 2004 … Colorado 38, Kansas State 31 … The stakes were not as high.  It was not  No. 7 Colorado versus No. 4 Michigan in front of 106,427 fans and a national television audience.

Instead, it was 5-4 Colorado versus 4-5 Kansas State in front of 46,502 fans and no television coverage.

But the yardage was the same.

And – importantly to the Buff Nation – the results were the same.

Ten years after Kordell Stewart hit Michael Westbrook for a 64-yard touchdown and a 27-26 win over Michigan, Joel Klatt hit Ron Monteilh for a 64-yard touchdown and a 38-31 win over Kansas State.  The score came with five seconds remaining, culminating a wild finish which witnessed a total of 35 fourth quarter points.

… Continue reading story here …

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— Oklahoma State … Colorado leads the all-time series, 26-20-1 … 13-8 in Boulder; 12-11-1 in Stillwater; 1-0 in Oklahoma City; 0-1 in San Antonio (2016 Alamo Bowl)

• First game … 1920: Colorado 40-7
• Most recent … 2016: Oklahoma State 38-8 (Alamo Bowl)

Favorite game: 2001 … No. 25 Colorado 22, Oklahoma State 19 … Against Oklahoma State, Colorado continued what was becoming an agonizing pattern for the 2001 season: play well early; let the opposition control the game for a significant portion of the mid-section of the game; then finish with a flourish.

The formula had worked well against Kansas, Kansas State, Texas A&M, and now was a successful formula against the Cowboys.  The net result was a hard-fought 22-19 win in Stillwater.

The fourth quarter, while tense, was dominated by the Buffs.

The Colorado defense gave up drives which entered Buff territory, but did not surrender any more points.  Twice Oklahoma State was forced to give up the ball on downs, and Buff safety Michael Lewis contributed an interception on a ball tipped by teammate Kory Mossoni.

The game’s winning points came with 5:55 remaining, as Bobby Pesavento hit tight end Daniel Graham from 21 yards out to put the Buffs up 20-19.  Two unsportsmanlike penalties – one for Graham spiking the ball, the other for tackle Victor Rogers removing his helmet – put the Buffs at the 33-yard line.  With nothing to lose, the Buffs went for two points.  Bobby Pesavento proceeded to hit Derek McCoy alone in the end zone for the 22-19 final.

… Read full story here …

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— TCU … Colorado and TCU are tied in the all-time series, 1-1 … CU is 0-1 in Boulder; 1-0 in Fort Worth

• First game … 2022: TCU 38-13
• Most recent … 2023: Colorado 45, No. 17 TCU 42

Favorite game: 2023 … Colorado 45, TCU 42 … Colorado shocked the college football world with a 45-42 upset victory on the road against No. 17 TCU. Head coach Deion Sanders silenced his critics by leading the Buffs to a win over a Horned Frog team which was coming off of a national championship game appearance.

The Buffs, a 20.5-point underdog, led throughout much of the game, and withstood comeback after comeback by the Horned Frogs, with a stop on fourth down with under a minute to play sealing the win.

“We were just preaching one stop,” Coach Prime said. “Just one dern stop. I always had confidence because I knew as long as we had the ball, Shedeur was gonna get us down there. But we just needed to stop.”

… Continue reading story here …

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— Texas Tech … Colorado and Texas Tech are tied in the all-time series, 5-5 … CU is 4-1 in Boulder; 1-4 in Lubbock

• First game … 1962: Texas Tech 21-12
• Most recent … 2010: Texas Tech 27-24

Favorite game: 1981 … Colorado 45, Texas Tech 27 … As if the 1980 season was just a bad dream, Colorado woke up and began the 1981 season in fine fashion, with a 45-27 rout of Texas Tech.

Granted, Texas Tech was only 5-6 in 1980.

Granted, Texas Tech was not a threat to win the Southwest Conference in 1981.

But a win was a win.

Sophomore quarterback Randy Essington passed for 345 yards, breaking the school record of 278 yards held by Jeff Knapple (1977 v. Kent State). Not to be outdone, a fellow sophomore, wingback Walter Stanley, caught five passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns, eclipsing the mark of 158 yards held by CU legend Cliff Branch (1970 v. Missouri).

In all, Essington and Stanley established nine new individual records at Colorado on the day. Not bad for a team which had set a school record for losses in a season the year before.

… Continue reading story here …

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— UCF … Colorado and Central Florida will meet for the first time this September

• First game … September 28, 2024
• Most recent … N/A

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— Utah … Utah leads the all-time series, 34-32-3 … Utah is 14-16-1 in Boulder; 20-14-2 in Salt Lake City; 0-2 in Denver

• First game … 1903: Colorado 22-0
• Most recent … 2023: Utah 23-17

Favorite game: 2016 … No. 9 Colorado 27, No. 21 Utah 22 … Colorado relied upon its defense to bring home the school’s first ten win season since 2001, downing No. 21 Utah, 27-22. With the victory, the “worst-to-first” dream season was completed, with the Buffs going from 1-8 in Pac-12 play in 2015 to 8-1 in 2016, claiming CU’s first Pac-12 South title, and first division title since winning the Big 12 North in 2005.

The Buffs were held to 378 yards of total offense, but the CU defense held the Utes to 339 yards of total offense, forcing four turnovers along the way. A forced fumble from Utah running back Joe Williams was returned by Buff linebacker Kenneth Olugbode ten yards for a game-clinching score early in the fourth quarter. Olugbode’s score made it 27-16, and the Buff defense made it hold up.

Special teams almost cost the Buffs the game, with Utah scoring on a punt return for a touchdown early in the game, and almost scoring on a kickoff return early in the fourth quarter.

“I’m very excited to grind one out,” said Colorado quarterback Sefo Liufau, who had 270 yards passing and a team-leading 59 yards rushing, but fumbled twice. “The defense got my back.”

… Continue reading story here …

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— West Virginia … Colorado and West Virginia are tied in the all-time series, 1-1 … CU is 1-0 in Boulder; 0-1 in Morgantown

• First game … 2008: Colorado 17-14, OT
• Most recent … 2009: West Virginia 35-24

Favorite game: 2008 … Colorado 17, No. 21 West Virginia 14 … Aric Goodman connected on a 25-yard field goal in overtime, lifting Colorado to a 17-14 win over No. 21 West Virginia.

Just moments after Mountaineer kicker Pat McAfee’s 23-yard attempt clanked off the left upright to end West Virginia’s overtime possession, Goodman snuck his 25-yarder just inside the same upright. Goodman’s kick not only gave Colorado it’s first 3-0 start since the 2004 season, but also earned the former walk-on a scholarship.

“That was unbelievable and a great thing to be a part of right there,” said Dan Hawkins after the game. “The longer the game went on, the better I felt our chances were. It was a good game against a good team. Give our guys credit for hanging in there and showing character.”

… Continue reading story here …

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So, for those of you scoring at home, Colorado has an all-time winning record against nine of the 15 other teams in the Big 12, and trail in the series against only two teams (Arizona State and Utah).

Colorado is tied in their series with three teams (Texas Tech, TCU, and West Virginia), and there is one team (Central Florida), which CU will be facing for the first time this fall.

It was fun putting this long Essay together, and fun deciding which games to put in as my favorites against each opponent.

I hope you have enjoyed them as well (and will take some time to click on the links to the full stories in the CU at the Game Archives) …

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This post, about the Spring/Summer game, from the 2024 Season, is filed under Article.
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