1994 Colorado Buffaloes football team
| 1994 Colorado Buffaloes football | |
|---|---|
Fiesta Bowl champion | |
Fiesta Bowl, W 41–24 vs. Notre Dame | |
| Conference | Big Eight Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 3 |
| AP | No. 3 |
| 1994 record | 11–1 (6–1 Big 8) |
| Head coach | Bill McCartney |
| Offensive coordinator | Elliot Uzelac |
| Home stadium |
Folsom Field (Capacity: 51,748) |
| 1994 Big 8 football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #1 Nebraska $ | 7 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 13 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #3 Colorado % | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 11 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #19 Kansas State | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oklahoma | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kansas | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Missouri | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 8 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oklahoma State | 0 | – | 6 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 7 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa State | 0 | – | 6 | – | 1 | 0 | – | 10 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1994 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado at Boulder in the 1994 college football season. The Buffaloes offense scored 439 points while the defense allowed 235 points. The team was led by head coach Bill McCartney.
The Buffaloes' only loss of the season came on the road against eventual consensus national champion Nebraska. Colorado, ranked #2 at the time, was in line to play for the national title as part of the Bowl Coalition. They were leapfrogged in the polls by the Cornhuskers, who had been ranked #3, and finished the regular season ranked #4.
The Buffaloes competed in the 1995 Fiesta Bowl, which they won 41–24 over unranked Notre Dame.
The problem of scheduling bowl match-ups for top-ranked teams led to the dissolution of the Bowl Coalition and the creation of the Bowl Alliance (#2 ranked Penn State was not eligible as a member of the Big Ten Conference to play the #1 ranked team). Notre Dame, playing as an independent, had its own agreement with the Bowl Coalition, which allowed the Fiesta Bowl to choose them as an at-large opponent over more highly ranked teams.
Miracle at Michigan
The Miracle at Michigan refers to the final play that occurred during the game played on September 24, 1994 between the Colorado Buffaloes and the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The game was decided on Colorado quarterback Kordell Stewart's 64-yard Hail Mary pass to Michael Westbrook, which gave the play its name. The game was described as one of the two wildest finishes in Michigan football history.[1]
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent# | Rank# | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 3 | 12:00 PM | NE Louisiana* | No. 8 | Folsom Field • Boulder, CO | W 48–13 | 48,114 | |||
| September 17 | 7:45 PM | No. 10 Wisconsin* | No. 7 | Folsom Field • Boulder, CO | ESPN | W 55–17 | 53,457 | ||
| September 24 | 1:30 PM | at No. 4 Michigan* | No. 7 | Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI (Miracle at Michigan) | ABC | W 27–26 | 106,427 | ||
| October 1 | 1:30 PM | at No. 16 Texas* | No. 5 | Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX | ABC | W 34–31 | 77,809 | ||
| October 8 | 12:00 PM | at Missouri | No. 5 | Faurot Field • Columbia, MO | PSN | W 38–23 | 38,901 | ||
| October 15 | 7:30 PM | No. 22 Oklahoma | No. 4 | Folsom Field • Boulder, CO | ESPN | W 45–7 | 53,199 | ||
| October 22 | 5:30 PM | No. 19 Kansas State | No. 2 | Folsom Field • Boulder, CO | ESPN | W 35–21 | 52,955 | ||
| October 29 | 1:30 PM | at No. 3 Nebraska | No. 2 | Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE (Rivalry) | ABC | L 7–24 | 76,131 | ||
| November 5 | 12:00 PM | Oklahoma State | No. 7 | Folsom Field • Boulder, CO | W 17–3 | 45,059 | |||
| November 12 | 12:00 PM | at Kansas | No. 7 | Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, KS | PSN | W 51–26 | 35,000 | ||
| November 19 | 12:00 PM | Iowa State | No. 7 | Folsom Field • Boulder, CO | PSN | W 41–20 | 41,293 | ||
| January 2 | 2:30 PM | vs. Notre Dame* | No. 4 | Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, AZ (Fiesta Bowl) | NBC | W 41–24 | 73,968 | ||
| *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Mountain Time. | |||||||||
Players drafted in the 1995 NFL Draft
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL Club |
| Michael Westbrook | Wide Receiver | 1 | 4 | Washington Redskins |
| Rashaan Salaam | Running Back | 1 | 21 | Chicago Bears |
| Christian Fauria | Tight End | 2 | 39 | Seattle Seahawks |
| Ted Johnson | Linebacker | 2 | 57 | New England Patriots |
| Kordell Stewart | Quarterback | 2 | 60 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Darius Holland | Defensive Tackle | 3 | 65 | Green Bay Packers |
| Chris Hudson | Defensive Back | 3 | 71 | Jacksonville Jaguars |
| Derek West | Tackle | 5 | 149 | Indianapolis Colts |
| Shannon Clavelle | Defensive End | 6 | 185 | Buffalo Bills |
Awards and honors
- Chris Hudson, Jim Thorpe Award
- Rashaan Salaam, Doak Walker Award[4]
- Rashaan Salaam, Heisman Trophy[5]
- Rashaan Salaam, Walter Camp Award [6]
References
- ↑ Jones, Todd (2007). "Michigan". In MacCambridge, Michael. ESPN Big Ten College Football Encyclopedia. ESPN Enterprises. p. 62. ISBN 1-933060-49-2.
- ↑ http://cfreference.net/cfr/schools/colorado/347/1994
- ↑ http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1995.htm
- ↑ http://football.about.com/cs/history/a/doakwalkeraward.htm
- ↑ http://www.heisman.com/winners/hsmn-winners.html
- ↑ http://collegefootball.about.com/od/collegefootballawards/a/award-camp.htm