1997 Season Archive

National and Big 12 recap for 1997 Season – “Ralphie” and Me

//posted 12.31.1997

National and Big 12 Recap – 1997 For the third time in eight seasons, the national polls split the National Championship. For the Associated Press, the National Champion was the 12-0 Michigan Wolverines. Michigan, which had been ranked No. 1 in both polls heading into the bowls, defeated Cinderella Washington State 21-16 in the Rose Bowl to claim its first national title since 1948. In the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll, however, 13-0 Nebraska changed the vote of just enough coaches to claim its third national championship in four years. The …

Tags: Libby Hall, Ralphie
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Dr. Tom retires / Buffs forfeit the 1997 season

//posted 12.1.1997

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— Dr. Tom — In everyone’s life, there are “remember where you were when” days. For better or worse, you always seem to remember where you were when you heard President Kennedy was shot, when man first walked on the moon, or when the Challenger disaster first crossed the television screen. For Colorado college football fans – okay, maybe only the Colorado college football fans I know – we can always remember two dates. The first, November 19, 1994, was when Coach Bill McCartney announced, immediately after CU running back …

No. 2 Nebraska – “Phil! Pitch the Ball!! Phil!”

//posted 11.28.1997

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— CU/Nebraska Pregame – Worth the Trip? — When the Big 12 was formulated, Nebraska was left with a dilemma. Gone from the schedule was the traditional Thanksgiving weekend game against Oklahoma, now of the Southern Division. Rather than give up the money and exposure of the high-profile game, Nebraska agreed to make Colorado its new season-ending competition. The first game, the 1996 17-12 Husker victory in Lincoln, proved worthy of the special time slot. The first such contest in Boulder did not seem to merit any hype. Nebraska …

No. 10 Kansas State – Wildcats take over No. 2 spot in Big 12 North

//posted 11.15.1997

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November 15th – @ Kansas State No. 10 Kansas State 37, Colorado 20 In 1996, Kansas State was once-beaten (handily by Nebraska), and ranked No. 9 in the nation heading into the Colorado game. The result: Colorado 12, Kansas State 0. Colorado once again had slammed the door on a Wildcat squad attempting to obtain legitimacy on the national stage. The University of Colorado had its critcs, to be sure, being only the 2nd-best team in the Northern Division of the Big 12. But if that was the case, what must …

Iowa State – “Now or Never” – Buffs rally from 17-point deficit

//posted 11.8.1997

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1997 – Buffs win a 43-38 thriller on the road over Iowa State

Missouri – CU’s 56-0-2 streak against unranked conference opponents ends

//posted 11.1.1997

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November 1st – Boulder Missouri 41, Colorado 31 Unable to capitalize upon the success of the previous two weeks, the Buffs came home and laid an egg against Missouri, losing 41-31. Colorado lost in all phases of the game, and were never able to place itself in a position to win the game in the second half. The Tigers came to Boulder 5-3, 3-2 in the Big 12. Missouri was riding high coming to town, having made national news the week before in defeating previously unbeaten Oklahoma State, …

Texas – “Continue to Climb” theme works against the Longhorns

//posted 10.25.1997

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— October 25th – at Texas Colorado 47, Texas 30 — During the week leading up to the Kansas game, the Colorado coaching staff had adopted the phrase “relentlessly positive” as the slogan for the remainder of the season. It was the staff’s intention to keep the Buffs upbeat and optimistic, despite the 2-3 start to the 1997 season. The first week of the new campaign was a great success, in part due to an inept Kansas squad which came to Boulder carrying a suspect 4-2 record (only one win over …

Kansas – “Relentlessly Positive” and A New Routine

//posted 10.18.1997

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— October 18th – Boulder Colorado 42, Kansas 6 — For the first time in 1997, the Colorado Buffaloes played like the 1997 Buffaloes were predicted to play when the season started. After falling behind 3-0 early, the Buffs dominated on both sides of the line of scrimmage, posting its first easy win of the season, taking out Kansas, 42-6. Leveling the season record at 3-3, the Buffs recorded their largest margin of victory since leveling Northeast Louisiana 66-14 early in 1995. A night game parent’s weekend crowd of 52,097 was treated …

No. 20 Oklahoma State – Statistics are for Losers

//posted 10.11.1997

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— October 11th – at Oklahoma State No. 20 Oklahoma State 33, No. 24 Colorado 29 — From a college football fan’s perspective, the 33-29 victory by No. 20 Oklahoma State over No. 24 Colorado was a great game. Plenty of offense, plenty of big plays by the defenses and special teams, numerous lead changes, and a cliff-hanger ending. Enthusiasm of the Oklahoma State homecoming crowd was dampened only by intermittent showers on a 70-degree evening in Stillwater. Colorado struck first, completing an 80-yard drive when Marlon Barnes took a pitch from John Hessler …

No. 21 Texas A&M – Yell Practice in Denver

//posted 10.4.1997

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— October 4th – Boulder No. 21 Texas A&M 16, No. 16 Colorado 10 — The headlines from the Denver newspapers the morning after the CU-Texas A&M game spoke volumes: “Agg-ony of defeat -CU’s hopes for season go poof” proclaimed the Denver Post; “Feeling Buffa-low – League opening loss to Texas A&M sends Neuheisel searching for answer, offense” charged the Rocky Mountain News. Yes, it was “Agg-ony”, and I was feeling “Buffa-low”. But more than anything, it was frustration. The chances were there to win this game. Rich Coady’s interception …

Wyoming – Buffs need an unlikely finish to pull out win … “If you’ll excuse me”

//posted 9.27.1997

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— September 27th – Boulder No. 16 Colorado 20, Wyoming 19 — Colorado won its Homecoming game for the 14th year in a row, defeating a very game Wyoming Cowboy squad, 20-19. It was one of the most unlikely wins in Colorado history, as the Buffs came from nine points down in the final 4:29 to escape with a much needed win. After Wyoming had scored on an 18-yard run to take a 19-10 lead late, the Buffs needed a big play. The big play came, courtesy of diminutive cornerback …

No. 14 Michigan – Hail, No!

//posted 9.13.1997

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— September 13th – at Michigan No. 14 Michigan 27, No. 8 Colorado 3 — Hail, No! During the week leading up to the rubber game of the three-game match between Colorado and Michigan, much was made of the first two games in the series. The Hail Mary pass from Kordell Stewart to Michael Westbrook in 1994 received considerable air time, as did the “Fail Mary” pass thrown by quarterback Koy Detmer to end the 1996 Michigan game. For an intersectional contest being played for only the fourth time (Michigan defeated …