2003 Season Archive

National and Big 12 recap – 2003 Season

//posted 1.10.2004

— National and Big 12 Recap — In 2003, the Bowl Championship Series failed to produce a consensus national champion. LSU defeated Oklahoma, 21-14, in the Sugar Bowl to claim the BCS Championship, while the University of Southern California claimed the Associated Press National title with a 28-14 win over Michigan in the Rose Bowl. The rift between the polls came when Oklahoma, despite losing the Big 12 title game to Kansas State, remained as the Bowl Championship Series Rankings No. 1 team, followed by LSU and USC. This required …

No. 25 Nebraska – So long, Frank Solich

//posted 11.28.2003

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— November 28th – Boulder No. 25 Nebraska 31, Colorado 22 — Colorado played with purpose against their hated rival Nebraska, but in the end it was the Cornhuskers who prevailed, 31-22. The loss ended the season for the 5-7 Buffs, sending the 53,444 in attendance home without a bowl trip for only the third time since 1987, but for the second time in four years. Nebraska scored first on the cool November morning in Boulder, with quarterback Jammal Lord hitting tight end Matt Herian for a 58-yard touchdown less than …

Iowa State – Bowl talk returns after rout of Cyclones

//posted 11.15.2003

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— November 15th – at Iowa State Colorado 44, Iowa State 10 — Colorado extended its road winning streak against Iowa State to ten games in routing the Cyclones in Ames, 44-10. Joel Klatt threw for two first half touchdowns, and Brian Calhoun scored on two short runs as the Buffs raced to a 37-0 halftime lead before cruising to the win. Just over six minutes into the game, the Buffs were on the scoreboard. A 42-yard scoring pass from Klatt to D.J. Hackett gave Colorado an early 7-0 lead. …

No. 22 Missouri – Long Drive Contest

//posted 11.8.2003

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— November 8th – Boulder Colorado 21, No. 22 Missouri 16 — Joel Klatt passed for 187 yards and two touchdowns, leading Colorado to a 21-16 upset of 22nd-ranked Missouri. Brian Calhoun rushed for 65 yards and a score, while D.J. Hackett caught five passes for 84 yards as the Buffs beat the Tigers for the fifth straight season. The Buffs scored first, taking a 7-0 lead on a 16-yard pass from Klatt to Derek McCoy, culminating an 82-yard drive to open the contest. Missouri responded with a 77-yard drive of …

Texas Tech – Third Quarter Doldrums haunt Buffs

//posted 11.1.2003

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— November 1st – at Texas Tech Texas Tech 26, Colorado 21 — In a game in which the offenses for both teams were supposed to be showcased, the defenses for both Colorado and Texas Tech made surprise appearances, with the Red Raiders holding on to defeat the Buffs, 26-21. The Buff defense created six turnovers, including five interceptions, but that was not enough to prevent Colorado from dropping its third straight to fall to 3-6 on the season. The game started off as well as any Colorado fan could have …

No. 1 Oklahoma – “I guess you have to take this as a moral victory”

//posted 10.25.2003

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— October 25th – Boulder No. 1 Oklahoma 34, Colorado 20 — Oklahoma jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead, then held Colorado at bay for the remainder of the evening, winning 34-20. Playing before the largest crowd in Colorado history, 54,215, Oklahoma posted its third win over Colorado in less than twelve months. The Buffs were 25-point underdogs at home to the Sooners, and it looked early on as if Oklahoma would easily cover the spread. Sooner quarterback Jason White, who would go on to win the 2003 Heisman …

Kansas State – Northwestern Revisited – Barnett Part II?

//posted 10.18.2003

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— October 18th – at Kansas State Kansas State 49, Colorado 20 — Kansas State quarterback Eli Roberson threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more in leading the Wildcats to a 49-20 rout of Colorado. Roberson’s final touchdown, a one-yard run with 35 seconds remaining, capped a 34-7 second half domination of the Buffs. In allowing over 40 points in a fifth consecutive game, the Colorado defense collapsed after a decent showing in the first half. The Buffs actually got on the board first, with a six-yard Daniel Jolly …

Kansas – Happy Canadian Thanksgiving

//posted 10.11.2003

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— October 11th – Boulder Colorado 50, Kansas 47 OT — 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 …

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Baylor – Bye-Bye Week

//posted 10.4.2003

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— October 4th – at Baylor Baylor 42, Colorado 30 — The Baylor Bears, winners of just four games in seven Big 12 seasons, and losers of 37 out of their last 38 conference games, stunned Colorado at home, 42-30. Baylor coach Guy Morriss, in his first season at the helm of the Bears, raised his record to 3-2, giving Baylor as many wins in five games as the Bears had earned in any of the past six seasons. The game started slowly for both teams, but quickly heated up. After …

No. 10 Florida State – “Manhandle in the Panhandle”

//posted 9.20.2003

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— September 20th – at Florida State No. 10 Florida State 47, Colorado 7 — The third-largest crowd in Florida State history, 83,294, witnessed “The Manhandle in the Panhandle”, as Florida State crushed Colorado, 47-7. Seminole quarterback Chris Rix connected on 30-of-39 passes for a career-best 394 yards and two touchdowns against a tissue paper thin Buff secondary. The Buffs did manage to stay close for a half. Chris Rix’s 37-yard touchdown pass to Craphonso Thorpe was matched by an 81-yard bomb from Erik Greenberg to Buff speedster Jeremy Bloom. Three Florida State field goals …

Washington State – Cougars first to post 45 in Folsom in 20 years

//posted 9.13.2003

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— September 13th – Boulder Washington State 47, No. 17 Colorado 26 — Washington State scored early and often, cruising to a 47-26 thrashing of Colorado before 48,146 disbelieving Buff fans. The Cougars scored 20 first quarter points, then posted 24 more in the third quarter to squelch any hopes of a Colorado comeback. In mauling the Buffs, Washington State became the first opposing team to post over 45 points in Boulder in twenty years. The carnage started early. Quarterback Matt Kegel hit Sammy Moore on a 74-yard bomb to put …

UCLA – Welcome home to Dorrell, Embree, and Bieniemy

//posted 9.6.2003

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— September 6th – Boulder No. 24 Colorado 16, UCLA 14 — A crowd of 48,534 helped the home team christen the newly renovated Folsom Field stadium with a hard-fought 16-14 win over UCLA. Quarterback Joel Klatt provided the Buff faithful with a late fourth quarter drive for the second consecutive week, leading Colorado to a 2-0 record for the first time in five years. On this occasion, Klatt hit sophomore tight end Joe Klopfenstein on a six-yard touchdown pass with 2:15 to play, capping the 63-yard game-winning drive. After …