1991 Season Archive

No. 8 Alabama – New CU offense not a Blockbuster in bowl game

//posted 12.28.1991

— Colorado v. Alabama – 1991 Blockbuster Bowl — The 1991 season was a mixed bag for Colorado and its fans. An 8-2-1 regular season record, along with a share of a third consecutive Big Eight title, were certainly nothing to be ashamed of. Still, after posting an 11-1 record in 1989 and an 11-1-1 record in 1990, an eight win season seemed like a letdown to many in the Buff Nation. Still, there were some memorable games in 1991, including a big 34-17 win over Oklahoma in Norman (when the Buffs …

Iowa State – “Three-peat” clinched before crowd of 2,500

//posted 11.23.1991

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— November 23rd – at Iowa State No. 15 Colorado 17, Iowa State 14 — Running back Lamont Warren capped the most successful freshman rushing season in Colorado history with a 168-yard performance against Iowa State in a 17-14 Colorado win. Warren sprinted 74 yards for one score and carried the load on a ten-play, 80-yard drive as Colorado took the lead for good in the third quarter. Lamont Warren finished the 1991 season with 830 rushing yards, a Colorado freshman record. The game conditions in Ames, Iowa, were horrendous, marking the third …

Kansas – Vance Joseph leads Buffs back from two TD deficit

//posted 11.16.1991

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— November 16th – Boulder No. 16 Colorado 30, Kansas 24 — The Kansas Jayhawks, despite a lopsided 59-23 loss to Nebraska the weekend before, still harbored hopes of post-season play heading into the Colorado game. Kansas was 5-4 on the year, including shutout wins over Iowa State (41-0) and Oklahoma State (31-0). The Kansas/Oklahoma State score, if not the Buffs’ overall performance in the 16-12 nail-biter against the Cowboys, should have been to focus Colorado on the task at hand. Once again, though, the Buffs were in a dogfight …

Oklahoma State – A fake field goal saves Buffs

//posted 11.9.1991

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— November 9th – at Oklahoma State No. 14 Colorado 16, Oklahoma State 12 — The Oklahoma State Cowboys entered their 1991 game against Colorado with an 0-7-1 overall record, having managed only a 6-6 tie against equally hapless Iowa State. There was little for the Cowboys to play for in November other than pride. The Colorado Buffaloes, meanwhile, still had the chance at a third straight Big Eight title. It would be fair to expect, then, for the Buffs to roll to a blowout win over the Cowboys. Not so. Senior wide receiver …

No. 9 Nebraska – “We don’t go out in that kind of weather to play for a tie”

//posted 11.2.1991

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— November 2nd – Boulder No. 15 Colorado 19, No. 9 Nebraska 19 — In the bitter cold of Folsom Field, Colorado and Nebraska fought to a 19-19 tie in a classic college football game. The tie was preserved for Colorado when senior free safety Greg Thomas blocked a 41-yard field goal attempt by Nebrasak kicker Byron Bennett as time expired. Three successive time outs by the Buffs prior to the attempt served to freeze not only the Cornhusker kicker, but also the sell-out crowd of 52,319 who had braved …

Kansas State – Nerves of Spaghetti

//posted 10.26.1991

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— October 26th – at Kansas State No. 16 Colorado 10, Kansas State 0 — The 1991 Kansas State team was different from the Wildcat teams which Big Eight teams had grown accustomed to playing. Third year coach Bill Snyder was building a program in Manhattan. The joke of the conference throughout much of the ‘1980’s (and, in all honesty, for a number of decades), Snyder had taken a woeful team over in 1989, going 1-10 in first campaign. The second team improved to 5-6, and in 1991 the Wildcats were …

No. 12 Oklahoma – Two 99-yard drives take down Sooners

//posted 10.19.1991

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— October 19th – at Oklahoma No. 22 Colorado 34, No. 12 Oklahoma 17 — Colorado put together a pair of 99-yard touchdown drives on its way to a 34-17 upset of 12th-ranked Oklahoma. In scoring the most points ever against the Sooners in Norman, the Buffs out-gained the Sooners 371 yards to 251. Darian Hagan accounted for 211 yards of total offense on the day, including 10-of-15 passing for 150 yards and three touchdowns. After witnessing Oklahoma put up a score on their first possession, Colorado scored 20 unanswered first …

Missouri – Fear Factor

//posted 10.12.1991

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— October 12th – Boulder No. 25 Colorado 55, Missouri 7 — There is nothing like a loss to bring out the frustrations of a good team. After being surprised by Baylor in the second game of the season, Colorado had responded with a 58-0 rout of Minnesota. On the heels of the disappointing setback at Stanford in game four, the Buffs again bounced back, this time with a 55-7 mauling of Missouri. In 101 years of football, Colorado had accumulated over 600 yards in total offense only seven times. Now, the Buffs surpassed …

Stanford – Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes

//posted 9.28.1991

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— September 28th – at Stanford Stanford 28, No. 17 Colorado 21 — “Touchdown” Tommy Vardell lived up to his nickname, scoring three touchdowns in leading Stanford to a 28-21 upset of 17th-ranked Colorado. Vardell rushed for 114 yards, also contributing 97 yards receiving, in posting almost as many total yards as the entire Buff offense. On the day, Stanford out-gained Colorado, 485-270, holding the Buffs to their lowest offensive output in two years. Stanford took a 7-0 lead on the game’s first drive on a Vardell one-yard run. In …

Minnesota – Buffs roll up 612 yards in rout

//posted 9.21.1991

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— September 21st – Boulder No. 19 Colorado 58, Minnesota 0 — The Minnesota Golden Gophers came to Boulder 1-0 on the young season, hoping to build on their 6-5 effort from 1990. Instead, it was the Buffs who left Folsom Field with an improved state of mind, as Colorado mauled Minnesota, 58-0. In all, Colorado amassed 612 yards of total offense, surpassing the 600-yard mark for only the eighth time in school history. Leading the onslaught was quarterback Darian Hagan, who passed for two touchdowns, connecting on 7-of-8 …

No. 23 Baylor – Blocked kick leads to last minute loss

//posted 9.14.1991

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— September 14th – Boulder No. 23 Baylor 16, No. 12 Colorado 14 — Baylor kicker Jeff Ireland’s 35-yard field goal with 0:51 remaining gave the Baylor Bears an unlikely 16-14 win over the Colorado Buffaloes. Ireland’s third field goal of the game came about as a direct result of a blocked field goal attempt by Colorado kicker Jim Harper. Up 14-13 with just over three minutes to play, the Buffs lined up for a 24-yard field goal to give the Buffs a 17-13 lead. Instead, Satana Dotson blocked the kick, with the …

Wyoming – Buffs up series record to 23-2-1

//posted 9.7.1991

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— Buffs and the Cowboys — The 1991 Colorado/Wyoming game would be the 25th meeting between the two neighbors, but the first in the series since 1982. Colorado held a commanding 22-2-1 edge in the rivalry, but one of the two losses was the 24-10 setback in 1982, Bill McCartney’s first year as head coach at Colorado. The Cowboys in 1990 had opened the season with a run of nine consecutive wins (and a No. 19 national ranking) before succumbing to four consecutive losses to end the year, including a 17-15 setback to …