1983 Season Archive

Kansas State – Victor Scott and the “Survivors” go out winners

//posted 11.19.1983

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— November 19th – Boulder Colorado 38, Kansas State 21 — Only 27,649 Buff faithful bothered to come out for the 1983 finale against the Kansas State Wildcats, in what would prove to be the smallest crowd to ever watch a Bill McCartney coached Colorado team in Folsom Field. Though it was mid-November, the skies were sunny, and the game time temperature was a tolerable 39 degrees. It was not the weather, then, that kept the fans away. It was the matchup. Both teams were 3-7, 1-5 in Big Eight …

Oklahoma – Buffs 28-7 rally not enough to take down Sooners

//posted 11.12.1983

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— November 12 – at Oklahoma Oklahoma 41, Colorado 28 — The final scores of the Nebraska games in the two years of the McCartney era had been somewhat misleading. The Buffs were at least in the game in the first half of each contest. Conversely, the final score against Oklahoma in 1983, 41-28, would lead one to believe the Buffs made a respectable showing against the Sooners. After all, the Sooners had won the previous six contests against Colorado by an average score of 51-16. Yes, it was the Buffs …

Kansas – Marshall and McLemore lead Buffs to victory

//posted 11.5.1983

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— November 5th – at Kansas Colorado 34, Kansas 23 — Against the Kansas Jayhawks in Lawrence, sophomore quarterback Derek Marshall received his first starting assignment. In the second half of his first game as a starter, Marshall failed to complete a pass. Meanwhile, his counterpart, Kansas quarterback Frank Seurer, passed for a career-high 394 yards. Still, the Buffs, managed to hold on for a 34-23 win, the Buffs first conference win of 1983, and only the second conference win in two years for Bill McCartney. Fullback Chris McLemore, converted …

Oklahoma State – Vogel: 0-for-7; three interceptions

//posted 10.29.1983

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— October 29th – Boulder Oklahoma State 40, Colorado 14 — The Buffs and Cowboys had provided two of the most entering Big Eight contests in the previous two years, with the Buffs coming from behind to win 11-10 in 1981, and the two teams battling to a 25-25 tie in 1982. The Buffs, 2-5 in 1983, and sporting a four-game losing streak, could only hope to repeat the magic against Jimmy Johnson’s Cowboys. It was not meant to be. Oklahoma State came into the contest with a 5-2 record, but …

No. 1 Nebraska – Record quarter dooms CU’s upset bid

//posted 10.22.1983

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— October 22nd – at Nebraska No. 1 Nebraska 69, Colorado 19 — Colorado, 2-4 and on a three game losing streak, had to next face a road trip against undefeated and No. 1 ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln. History did not favor the Buffs, as Colorado entered the contest 0-7 all-time vs. No. 1 ranked teams, including two previous attempts against Nebraska. Nothing changed in 1983, as Colorado fell to Nebraska, 69-19. The Cornhuskers in 1983 were loaded. Quarterback Turner Gill, I-Back Mike Rozier, Wingback …

Iowa State – Third straight loss to the Cyclones

//posted 10.15.1983

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— October 15th – at Iowa State Iowa State 22, Colorado 10 — Playing in a gusty wind, the Iowa State Cyclones blew away the bumbling Buffs, 22-10. The Iowa State homecoming crowd was sent home happy, as for the third straight game the Colorado offense had great difficulty in finding the opposition’s goal. Lee Rouson was switched from fullback to halfback for the game to try an add a spark to the offense. Rouson responded with 93 yards, but it took 29 carries to produce those yards. Steve Vogel …

Missouri – “I thought we’d bounce back …”

//posted 10.8.1983

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— October 8th – Boulder Missouri 59, Colorado 20 — The excitement surrounding the Buffs’ two game winning streak in September seemed like ancient history only eight days into October. As Notre Dame had done the week before, Missouri took the opening kickoff and marched down the field for a touchdown. It was just the beginning of a rout that, if possible, was even worse than the 59-20 score indicates. In Coach McCartney’s words: “We got beat every way you can get beat … soundly, thoroughly, in every way”. To …

Notre Dame – Taking the LSAT

//posted 10.1.1983

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— Taking the LSAT — The University of Colorado had never played the University of Notre Dame in football. This simple statement, in and of itself, was enough to raise anticipation level for the matchup between the Buffs and the Irish. But there was also this: heading into the October 1, 1983, Colorado/Notre Dame game in Boulder, Colorado was 2-1; Notre Dame 1-2. As a result, there was excitement across the Boulder campus not only about the possibility of playing Notre Dame, but about the possibility of actually beating the Irish. It would …

Oregon State – “Here we go CU, Here we go!”

//posted 9.24.1983

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— September 24th – Boulder Colorado 38, Oregon State 14 — Colorado was able to look towards another struggling opponent for the third week in a row as the Oregon State Beavers came to Boulder. Oregon State had posted a record of 1-9-1 in 1982, and had won only one of three starts in 1983. If the Buffs were to put together back-to-back wins for the first time since 1979, this would be their best chance. The woeful Oregon State football program had not put together more than three wins …

Colorado State – Rivalry? What Rivalry?

//posted 9.17.1983

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— Rivalry? What Rivalry? — As much as Nebraska looks with disdain at Colorado (or anyone else, for that matter) who dares to call the Cornhuskers their “rival”, the Colorado Buffaloes in the early 1980’s were just as pompous when it came to their “rivals” just 40 miles to the north, the Colorado State Rams. While the game was a natural for generating interest and a full house at Folsom Field, the Buffs resisted scheduling the game due to the perception that playing Colorado State in football represented a “no-win” situation for …

Michigan State – Coach Mac returns to his home state

//posted 9.10.1983

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— September 10th – at Michigan State Michigan State 23, Colorado 17 — While the Missouri game in 1982 served as Bill McCartney’s collegiate homecoming game, the return to the state of Michigan for the first game of the 1983 collegiate campaign was also a return to familiar territory for coach Mac. McCartney was a native of Riverview, Michigan, and his eight years on the Michigan Wolverine staff gave the coach some familiarity with the Spartan players. Still, MSU was starting its first game under new head coach George Perles, …

Preseason Outlook – Mac’s first Recruiting Class

//posted 9.2.1983

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— 1983 Preseason — While it was certainly true that Colorado, with a 2-8-1 record in 1982, was mired in a four-season long slump without a winning season, there was still reason for optimism in Boulder as the 1982 season came to a close. There had been moments in 1982 – a 12-0 shutout of Washington State in the second game of the season (and on the road!); a record-setting passing day of 361 yards against Nebraska (and trailing only 20-14 at the start of the fourth quarter!); a comeback …