No. 22 Oklahoma – The Return of Great Expectations


Posts Tagged ‘Bill McCartney’

  — October 27th – Boulder           No. 10 Colorado 32, No. 22 Oklahoma 23 — Like the Buffs, the Oklahoma entered the 1990 campaign with high hopes. Five weeks into the season, the Sooners seemed to be well on their way to realizing their dreams. Oklahoma took a 5-0 record and a No. 4 national ranking to play Texas in Dallas, only to be turned away by the unranked Longhorns, 14-13. The loss was hard to take, but not nearly as debilitating as the loss the next week to Iowa …

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— October 20th – at Kansas           No. 14 Colorado 41, Kansas 10 — Colorado put together a complete game for the first time all season, scoring on its first drive on the way to a 17-0 first quarter lead and a 41-10 win over 1-4-1 Kansas. Eric Bieniemy rushed for 174 yards on the afternoon, but his three touchdowns were the story of the day. Bieniemy’s second touchdown tied, and his third touchdown broke, Bobby Anderson’s record for career rushing touchdowns. Bieniemy new touchdown total was 35, setting the new standard …

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— October 13th – Boulder           No. 14 Colorado 28, Iowa State 12 — The controversy over the “Fifth Down” game continued to swirl around Boulder during the week after the Missouri game. Playing as if the distraction had affected the team’s preparation for its next opponent (and who is to say it didn’t?), Colorado fell behind Iowa State 9-0 early in the first quarter, needing to rally to come away with a 28-12 home win over the Cyclones. The Buffs utilized three quarterbacks on the afternoon, not pulling away from the Cyclones until …

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— The controversial ending no one could see coming – and few got to watch — On October 6, 1990, the 12th-ranked Colorado Buffaloes traveled to Faurot Field in Columbia, Missouri, to face the Missouri Tigers. A top five team in the 1990 preseason poll, the Buffs had completed the non-conference portion of their schedule 3-1-1. Colorado tied No. 5 Tennessee to open the season, beat Stanford at home, and fell on the road to No. 21 Illinois before rebounding to defeat No. 22 Texas in Austin and No. 12 Washington in …

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— September 15th – at Illinois           No. 21 Illinois 23, No. 9 Colorado 22 — Howard Griffith scored from a yard out with 1:18 to play to give the Fighting Illini a 23-22 win over Colorado. 21st-ranked Illinois exacted a measure of revenge for the 38-7 pasting the Buffs had put on the Illini in 1989, pulling out the win on a 10-play, 63-yard drive to erase a 22-17 deficit. Quarterback Jason Verduzco did what his famed predecessor, Jeff George, could not – he out-performed the Colorado defense. Verduzco completed 23-of-29 …

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  — September 6th – Boulder           No. 6 Colorado 21, Stanford 17 — Stanford head coach Dennis Green was 3-8 in his first year in Palo Alto in 1989, which may have given CU fans a false sense of security heading into CU’s 1990 home opener. Instead of being an easy mark, Stanford came to Boulder ready to play. Stanford raced to a 14-0 first quarter lead before a stunned Folsom Field crowd of 50,669. It took the entire game for Colorado to right the ship, pulling out a 21-17 …

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— 1990 – A Preview — How things looked in August In 1989, Colorado broke the hold the “Big Two” had maintained over the rest of the Big Eight since 1976. In 1990, there would be plenty of competition for the Big Eight Champions from Boulder, both for conference and national honors. Back in the hunt for the national championship were many of the teams which had vied for the title in 1989. Defending national titleist Miami was the preseason pick by many to finish #1, while 1988 champ Notre …

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— Prelude to the 1990 Orange Bowl … Travel Plans — When I was an undergrad at Colorado, a number of my friends and I made a pact: If Colorado ever made it to the Orange Bowl as Big Eight Champions, we would go to the game. No matter when, no matter our circumstances, we would find a way to get there.  At the time, with the Buffs posting a series of records like 1-10, 2-8-1, and 3-8, there seemed to be little substance to the pledge. A few short …

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— November 18th – at Kansas State          No. 2 Colorado 59, Kansas State 11 — Having learned their lesson against Oklahoma State, the Colorado Buffaloes did not allow Kansas State to open up strong.  Instead, the Buffs dominated from beginning to end, rolling up the most points by a Colorado team in 20 years, mauling Kansas State, 59-11. J.J. Flannigan rushed for a career-high 246 yards and four touchdowns as Colorado rushed for 518 yards.  The defense also contributed, holding Kansas State without a first down and only eight (eight!) yards …

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—  November 4th – Boulder         No. 2 Colorado 27, No. 3 Nebraska 21 — Jim Nantz, the play-by-play announcer for CBS, introduced the Colorado/Nebraska game to the nation as follows: “Quite simply, there has never been a bigger game in Colorado’s 100-year history than this game today.” After falling behind early, the Colorado Buffaloes played like champions, prevailing over Nebraska, 27-21, taking control of the Big Eight race to the Orange Bowl, and taking dead aim at a national championship. The game began ominously for the Buffs.  In each of …

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— October 28th – at Oklahoma          No. 3 Colorado 20, Oklahoma 3 — Colorado used a stifling defense and just enough offense to take a 20-3 decision over Oklahoma in one of the biggest wins in Colorado football history. Raising its season record to 8-0 for the first time in sixty-two years, the Buffs gave notice to future opponents that its defense was just as good as its offense.  Colorado held the Sooners to only 248 yards of total offense, including completions on only three-of-22 passes in the stiff afternoon …

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—  October 21, 1989 – Boulder          No. 3 Colorado 49, Kansas 17 — The largest Homecoming crowd in the Bill McCartney era, 50,057, witnessed the methodical dismantling of the Jayhawks as the Buffs rolled to a 49-17 win. Starting for the injured Eric Bieniemy, senior tailback J.J. Flannigan ran for 178 yards and three touchdowns, including two in the second quarter as Colorado built a 21-3 halftime advantage.  Before Kansas was allowed to score its two consolation touchdowns in the fourth, Colorado had built the lead to 42-3. The 482 …

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