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Top 40 of the Past 40 – No. 29
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Previously posted:
- Game No. 40: 2001 – No. 20 Colorado 31, No. 25 Texas A&M 21 – “This One’s For Fred Casotti”
- Game No. 39: 2004 – Colorado 26, Nebraska 20 – Bobby Purify shines as Nebraska Empire crumbles
- Game No. 38: 1995 – No. 4 Colorado 38, No. 10 Oklahoma 17 – John Hessler sets TD passing record in first start
- Game No. 37: 1998 – Colorado 51, No. 21 Oregon 43 – Aloha Bowl shootout sets the stage for Rick Neuheisel bolting
- Game No. 36: 1996 – No. 7 Colorado 38, No. 12 Oregon 6 – Cotton Bowl domination inadvertently leads to “Nike U”
- Game No. 35: 1999 – Colorado 38, No. 24 Oklahoma 24 – Mike Moschetti four touchdowns leads to upset of No. 24 Sooners
- Game No. 34: 2010 – Colorado 29, Georgia 27 – Late fumble recovery preserves the home victory for the Buffs
- Game No. 33: 1995 – No. 14 Colorado 43, No. 21 Wisconsin 7 – Neuheisel debut a huge success; Dave Plati’s Dad
- Game No. 32: 2009 – Buffs rally for 35-34 win over Texas A&M – Also remembered as the “Blue Out” Game
- Game No. 31: 2007 – Cornhuskers sent packing as CU qualifies for bowl game with a 65-51 win in Boulder
- Game No. 30: 1990 – No. 12 Colorado 33, Missouri 31 – The Fifth Down game puts an asterisk on CU’s title season
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- Player No. 40: Wide receiver Scotty McKnight (2007-10)
- Player No. 39: Punter Barry Helton (1984-87)
- Player No. 38: Quarterback Cody Hawkins (2007-10)
- Player No. 37: Linebacker Greg Biekert (1989-92)
- Player No. 36: Running back Bobby Purify (2000-04)
- Player No. 35: Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon (2014-16)
- Player No. 34: Wide receiver/kick returner Jeff Campbell (1986-89)
- Player No. 33: Linebacker Ted Johnson (1991-94)
- Player No. 32: Offensive Tackle Nate Solder (2006-10)
- Player No. 31: Quarterback Sal Aunese (1987-88)
- Players No. 30: CU’s star offensive linemen
As always, I look forward to your comments and suggestions as we count down my favorite 40 games and favorite 40 players of my 40 years as a Buff …
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Top 40 Favorite Games … No. 29
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September 8, 2018 – Colorado 33, Nebraska 28 – Spoiling Scott Frost’s debut
From the Game Story in the CU at the Game Archives …
Steven Montez hit Laviska Shenault for a 40-yard touchdown with 1:06 to play, giving Colorado a 33-28 come-from-behind win over Nebraska in Lincoln. Montez went 33-for-50 passing, going for 351 yards and three touchdowns. Shenault collected ten of those passes for 177 yards and a touchdown … also scoring on a three-yard run in the first quarter.
The game went back and forth all afternoon. The Buffs raced out to an early 14-0 lead, only to watch the Cornhuskers dominate play for the remainder of the first half. Nebraska led 21-17 at the break, having posted 243 yards rushing to CU’s nine. The Buffs steadied themselves in the second half, overcoming two missed field goals before securing the winning points in the final minute of play.
Nebraska had 565 yards of total offense against the Colorado defense, with freshman quarterback Adrian Martinez completing 15-of-20 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown (one interception), while also leading the Cornhuskers in rushing (15 carries for 117 yards and two touchdowns). For the Buffs, other than the Montez-to-Shenault combo, there was little offensive production (395 total yards of total offense). Kyle Evans and Travon McMillian each had 25 yards rushing, while no Buff other than Shenault was over 50 yards receiving (though Jay MacIntyre had eight catches for 45 yards and two touchdowns.
… Continue reading game story here …
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From the Essay for the Game, “We have to beat them. It’s the only thing they understand”
The Colorado/Nebraska rivalry means something different to every Buff coach, player, and fan.
For the players, most of whom were in elementary school the last time the Buffs and Cornhuskers played, having Nebraska on the schedule didn’t carry with it a great deal of extra meaning.
“A lot of the guys on the team know about the history. They have been playing all of the highlights and the clips around the Champions Center this whole week now”, said quarterback Steven Montez before the game. “To us, we just treat it like another game. They are just another team wearing a different color than us. We have to go in and do what we do best, play our game, and hopefully it will work out for us in the end.”
Added running back Travon McMillian, himself just a Buff for one game before the showdown in Lincoln, “We don’t know much about it because it has been so long since Colorado and Nebraska have played, but we are taking this game really seriously. We are preparing as hard as we can in practice so when we go out there we can execute to the best of our ability.”
Even head coach Mike MacIntyre, who acknowledged hearing about Nebraska from Buff fans the entire off-season, wasn’t caught up in the hype. “(Film clips of CU/Nebraska) were just on when I got here early Sunday morning,” said MacIntyre at his Tuesday press conference. “I don’t know who put it on, but all the televisions were on. The one in my conference room was on so I watched a few minutes of it, but then I turned it off because I need to go watch film”.
For older Buff fans, though, the game has much deeper meaning, and much of that is thanks to the efforts of former CU head coach Bill McCartney (1982-94).
McCartney was on the CU campus this past week. He had no problem getting excited about Nebraska week.
“It is game week. I would rather be dead than red,” said McCartney. “Seriously, here is what you have to understand about Nebraska. Here we have CU, CSU, Air Force, and the Broncos. You know what they’ve got in Nebraska? Nothing. Just that team that’s coming. There is nothing else there for them to do. When they get up every day, that is the only option they have is to get behind that big red thing. We have to beat them. That’s the only thing they understand. They understand that. If you beat them, they’ll salute. If you don’t you will hear about it. We don’t want to hear about it, especially from their media. They don’t stop. You know what the media can be like right? You know how media gets a little out of control here in Denver, and wears out their welcome? It gets worse there. Sorry.”
… Continue reading story here …
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From YouTube, here the 2018 CU/Nebraska game (in 40 minutes) …
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Top 40 Favorite Players … No. 29
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Running Back Hugh Charles (2004-07)
From his CUBuffs.com bio …. He ended his career sixth all-time at Colorado in rushing yards (2,659) (now eighth, falling behind Rodney Stewart and Phillip Lindsay), as well as second in all-purpose yards (3,622), fifth in yards from scrimmage (3,211), tied for 27th in receptions (60, tied for the second most by a running back), 49th in receiving yards (552, sixth most by an RB), and tied for 38th in scoring (102 points) …
He had 11 games with 100 or more yards rushing which tied for the fifth most in school history… The 11th player at CU to have 500 yards both rushing and receiving for a career (the 3,211 yards were the third most of the 11 to do both)… Just the seventh player in school history to lead the team in rushing three times, doing so in 2005-06-07…
Charles had 989 yards as senior when he missed the better part of the first three games of the season with a pulled hamstring… That same year, he had 327 all-purpose yards against Nebraska, the sixth most in school history, and was honorable mention All-Big 12 (Associated Press, Big 12 Coaches) while being selected CU’s John Mack Award winner as the team’s most outstanding offensive player… He went on to enjoy a seven-year career in the Canadian Football League.
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Here is the YouTube video of the 2007 CU/Nebraska game. The Buffs defeated the Cornhuskers, 65-51, with Hugh Charles rushing for 169 yards on 33 carries, scoring three times. Charles also had a 33-yard catch and 125 yards on five kickoff returns, giving the senior 327 all-purpose yards on the day, only the 7th time ever a CU player has had over 300 yards of total offense in a single game.
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