The Buffaloes offense scored 338 points while the defense allowed 160 points. Led by head coach Bill McCartney , Colorado defeated Notre Dame 10–9 in the 1991 Orange Bowl to conclude the season.
Despite the infamous Fifth Down Game controversy against a 4-7 Missouri Tigers football team, Colorado was selected national champions by AP , Berryman , Billingsley , DeVold , FB News , Football Research , FW , Matthews , NFF , Sporting News , and USA/CNN, and co-champion by both FACT and NCF -all NCAA-designated major selectors. Georgia Tech took the UPI Coaches poll title, with both Washington and Miami receiving national titles from other selectors.
Georgia Tech finished the season undefeated (with its record only blemished by a tie), and subsequently split the national championship with Colorado.
The victory in the Orange Bowl was Colorado's first bowl win in nineteen years .
Schedule
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance Source August 26 1:00 pm vs. No. 8 Tennessee * No. 5 NBC T 31–3133,485 September 6 6:00 pm Stanford * No. 6 ESPN W 21–1750,699 September 15 1:30 pm at No. 21 Illinois * No. 9 ABC L 22–2364,351 September 22 5:30 pm at No. 22 Texas * No. 20 ESPN W 29–2277,373 September 29 1:30 pm No. 12 Washington * No. 20 PSN W 20–1452,868 October 6 12:30 pm at Missouri No. 12 KCNC W 33–31 46,856 October 13 11:30 am Iowa State No. 14 KCNC W 28–1251,861 October 20 11:00 am at Kansas No. 14 KCNC W 41–1040,000 October 27 12:30 pm No. 22 Oklahoma No. 10 CBS W 32–2351,967 November 3 2:00 pm at No. 3 Nebraska No. 9 ESPN W 27–1276,464 November 10 1:00 pm Oklahoma State No. 4 KCNC W 41–2251,873 November 17 12:10 pm Kansas State No. 2 KCNC W 64–351,136 January 1, 1991 6:00 pm No. 5 Notre Dame * No. 1 NBC W 10–977,062 *Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time
Personnel
1990 Colorado Buffaloes football team roster Players Coaches Offense Pos. # Name Class C 55 Jim Adams Jr TB 44 David Arterberry So TB 31 Matt Bell So TB 1 Eric Bieniemy Sr TE 84 Jason Blatt Fr TE 81 Jon Boman Jr TB 34 Darnell Brooks Fr TE 32 David Brown Sr TE 87 Sean Brown Jr OT 78 Bryan Campbell So TB 6 Dennis Collier So FB 25 Robert Dobbins Fr TE 85 Sean Embree So TE 88 Christian Fauria Fr QB 18 Roman Foster So QB 10 Mike Freeman So G 62 Joe Garten Sr C 71 Erez Gottlieb So QB 3 Darian Hagan Jr WR 46 Chris Hall Fr OT 77 Jim Hansen So WR 26 Julian Hayward So G 79 Russ Heasley Jr FB 22 George Hemingway Sr WR 25 Mark Henry Jr WB Dan Hestra Fr FB 33 James Hill Fr G 73 Roger Ivey Fr G 74 Dolyn Jackson Fr WR 84 James Jackson Fr WR 80 Robbie James Jr WR 88 Charles E. Johnson Fr QB 4 Charles S. Johnson Jr QB 1 Vance Joseph Fr TB 7 Kent Kahl Fr WR 89 Jack Keys So FB 38 Charles Lee Fr C 52 Jay Leeuwenburg Jr WB 23 Greg Lindsey Fr OT 65 Greg Loest Fr WB 28 Erik Mitchell Fr OT 70 Thomas Mixon Fr OT 60 Clint Moles So WB 5 O.C. Oliver Sr WB 36 J.C. Orvis Sr FB 49 Scott Phillips Fr FB 20 Kelly Phipps Fr WB 26 Jason Allegri Fr WR 9 Mike Pritchard Sr FB 30 Tony Senna Jr WB 42 Michael Simmons Sr WR 86 Rico Smith Jr TB 35 Chuck Snowden Fr OT 76 Ariel Solomon Sr C 51 Rudy Stearnes Fr OT 61 Chris Stortz Fr G 66 Dan Todd Fr TE 82 Doug Van Horn Fr OT 72 Mark Vander Poel Sr OT 63 Derek West Fr WB 12 Michael Westbrook Fr TB 41 Roger Yago Sr
Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 29 Derek Agnew Fr S 5 Blake Anderson Fr LB 90 Norm Barnett Fr LB 50 Tony Berti Fr S 30 Matthew Bickel Fr LB 19 Greg Biekert So CB 13 Ronnie Bradford So LB 34 Chad Brown So DT 59 Kenny Browne Fr NT 39 Jeff Brunner Fr LB 55 DeShannon Campbell Fr S 31 Spencer Colter Jr S 21 Dwayne Davis So LB 40 Scott DeGoler Sr DT 89 Brian Dyet Fr DT 97 Marcellous Elder So CB 2 Deon Figures So LB 88 Richard Fisher Fr CB 15 David Gibbs Sr LB 91 Lamarr Gray Sr LB 92 Rodell Guest Jr S 6 Eric Hamilton So DT 95 Garry Howe Sr CB 47 Chris Hudson Fr LB 51 Alfred Hull Fr LB 43 Rob Hutchins Sr S 17 Tim James Sr LB 48 Terry Johnson Sr LB 58 Noah Kaiser Fr LB 41 John Katovisch Fr CB 12 Dave McCloughan Sr LB 96 Kanavis McGhee Sr LB 98 Mike Motley Sr S 37 Tate Nelson So S 45 Chris O'Donnell Jr DT 75 Jason Perkins So LB 57 William Polk So DT 99 Leonard Renfro Fr LB 53 Jason Robinson Fr LB 46 Paul Rose Sr S 49 Jim Schrant Fr S 4 Aaron Shaw Fr DT 76 Corey Smith Fr CB 38 Scott Starr So NG 93 Joel Steed Jr LB 64 Colton Sudberry Fr S 27 Greg Thomas Jr CB 19 Ryan Thomas Fr CB 14 Jeff Walden Fr LB 94 Alfred Williams Sr LB 81 Dennis Williams Fr LB 56 Ron Woolfork Fr
Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 20 Jim Archibald Fr PK 9 Daniel Beck Fr PK 23 Justin Blake Fr PK 14 Pat Blottiaux So PK 16 Jim Harper Jr PK 1 Branon Johnson Fr P 17 Jeff Kochevar Jr P 21 Ron Mayer Fr PK 85 Jason Miller Fr P 10 Tom Rouen Sr
Coordinators/assistant coaches (C) Team captain(S) Suspended(I) IneligibleRoster
Rankings
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final AP 5 (4) 6 9 20 20 12 14 14 10 9 4 (5) 2 (5) 1 (45) 1 (41) 1 (42) 1 (39) Coaches 5 (2) 7 9 18 16 9 11 14 8 7 3 (2) 2 (3) 1 (45) 1 (39) 1 (38) 2 (27)
Game summaries
Vs. Tennessee #5 Colorado vs. #8 Tennessee 1 2 3 4 Total Buffaloes 0 10 7 14 31 Volunteers 7 3 0 21 31
Date: August 26Location: Anaheim Stadium , Anaheim, CA Game start: 12:05 PM Elapsed time: 3:43Game attendance: 33,458Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C), clear, Wind SW 8–10 mph (13–16 km/h)Referee: James SprengerTV announcers (NBC ): Don Criqui and Bill Walsh Scoring summary Q1 7:52 TENN Chuck Webb 4-yard run (Burke kick) TENN 7–0 Q2 9:55 COL George Hemmingway 1-yard run (Harper kick) Tied 7–7 8:09 COL Jim Harper 35-yard field goal COL 10–7 2:54 TENN Greg Burke 47-yard field goal Tied 10–10 Q3 10:49 COL Mike Pritchard 55-yard run (Harper kick) Tied 17–10 Q4 9:34 COL Dave McCloughan 55-yard punt return (Harper kick) COL 24–10 8:53 TENN Alvin Harper 24-yard pass from Andy Kelly (Burke kick)COL 24–17 7:11 COL Mike Pritchard 78-yard run (Harper kick) COL 31–17 5:36 TENN Carl Pickens 14-yard pass from Andy Kelly (Burke kick)COL 31–24 2:25 TENN Chuck Webb 4-yard run (Burke kick) Tied 31-31
Each team dominated with its offensive strength. Mike Pritchard ran for 217 yards and 2 touchdowns as Colorado outgained Tennessee 368-135 on the ground even with Eric Bieniemy sitting out due to a suspension. The Volunteers passed for 368 yards (to Colorado's 68 passing yards), and future NFL wide receivers Carl Pickens and Alvin Harper each had over 100 yards receiving and a touchdown.
Stanford Stanford at #5 Colorado 1 2 3 4 Total Cardinal 14 0 0 3 17 • Buffaloes 0 0 14 7 21
Date: September 6Location: Folsom Field , Boulder, CO Game start: 6:08 PM Elapsed time: 3:14Game attendance: 50,699Game weather: 77 °F (25 °C), partly cloudy, Wind NW 5 mph (8.0 km/h)Referee: Dean Cramer Scoring summary Q1 5:47 STAN Palumbis 1-yard run (Hopkins kick) STAN 7–0 4:09 STAN Vardell 1-yard run (Hopkins kick)STAN 14–0 Q3 8:04 COL Eric Bieniemy 18-yard run (Harper kick) STAN 14–7 5:09 COL Eric Bieniemy 36-yard run (Harper kick) Tied 14–14 Q4 4:17 STAN Hopkins 27-yard field goal STAN 17–14 0:12 COL Eric Bieniemy 1-yard run (Harper kick) COL 21-17
At Illinois #9 Colorado at #21 Illinois 1 2 3 4 Total Buffaloes 7 10 2 3 22 • Fighting Illini 3 7 7 6 23
Date: September 15Location: Memorial Stadium , Champaign, IL Game attendance: 64,351Game weather: 73 °F (23 °C), clear, Wind NW 10 mph (16 km/h)Referee: Tom QuinnTelevision network: ABC Scoring summary Q1 9:14 ILL Doug Higgins 29-yard field goal ILL 3–0 5:38 COL George Hemingway 2-yard run (Harper kick) COL 7–3 Q2 14:55 COL Harper 54-yard field goal COL 10–3 13:02 COL Michael Simmons 32-yard pass from Darian Hagan (Harper kick) COL 17–3 0:28 ILL Elbert Turner 8-yard pass from Jason Verduzco (Higgins kick) COL 17–10 Q3 2:28 ILL Shawn Wax 4-yard pass from Jason Verduzco (Higgins kick) Tied 17–17 0:24 COL Safety, Greg Biekert tackled Griffith in end zone COL 19–17 Q4 12:44 COL Harper 26-yard field goal COL 22–17 1:18 ILL Howard Griffith 1-yard run (conversion failed) ILL 23–22
At Texas #20 Colorado at #22 Texas 1 2 3 4 Total • Buffaloes 7 7 0 15 29 Longhorns 10 3 6 3 22
Date: September 22Location: Texas Memorial Stadium , Austin, TX Game start: 6:39 PM Elapsed time: 3:20Game attendance: 77,273Game weather: 79 °F (26 °C), Cloudy/Low Overcast, Wind NE 15–20 mph (24–32 km/h)Referee: Larry FisherTelevision network: ESPN Scoring summary Q1 8:46 TEX Kerry Cash 6-yard pass from Gardere (Pollak kick) TEX 7–0 3:30 COL George Hemingway 38-yard pass from Hagan (Harper kick) Tied 7–7 0:16 TEX Pollak 47-yard field goal TEX 10–7 Q2 6:51 COL Eric Bieniemy 2-yard run (Harper kick) COL 14–10 1:26 TEX Pollak 25-yard field goal COL 14–13 Q3 4:44 TEX Brown 2-yard run (Pass failed) TEX 19–14 Q4 14:22 TEX Pollak 22-yard field goal TEX 22–14 10:10 COL Eric Bieniemy 4-yard run (Pass failed) TEX 22–20 5:47 COL Eric Bieniemy 2-yard run (Harper kick) COL 27–22 0:29 COL Safety, Williams tackled Garder in End Zone COL 29–22
Washington #12 Washington at #20 Colorado 1 2 3 4 Total Huskies 7 0 7 0 14 • Buffaloes 0 3 14 3 20
Date: September 29Location: Folsom Field , Boulder, CO Game start: 1:31 PM Elapsed time: 2:46Game attendance: 52,868Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C), cloudy, Wind E 3 mph (4.8 km/h)Referee: Dean Cramer Scoring summary Q1 6:25 WASH Mark Brunell 1-yard run (Dodd kick)WASH 7–0 Q2 0:00 COL Harper 47-yard field goal WASH 7–3 Q3 12:47 COL Darian Hagan 15-yard run (Harper kick) COL 10–7 7:22 WASH Pierce 3-yard pass from Brunell (Dodd kick) WASH 14–10 4:52 COL Darian Hagan 3-yard run (Harper kick) COL 17–14 Q4 13:05 COL Harper 32-yard field goal COL 20-14
At Missouri #12 Colorado at Missouri 1 2 3 4 Total • Buffaloes 7 7 3 16 33 Tigers 14 0 7 10 31
Date: October 6Location: Faurot Field , Columbia, MO Game start: 1:33 PM Elapsed time: 2:58Game attendance: 46,856Game weather: 82 °F (28 °C), partly cloudy, Wind S 15–25 mph (24–40 km/h)Referee: J. C. LouderbackTelevision network: KCNC Scoring summary Q1 11:10 MIZ Bailey 19-yard pass from Kiefer (Jacke kick) MIZ 7–0 3:19 COL Bieniemy 29-yard run (Harper kick) Tied 7–7 1:55 MIZ Mays 49-yard pass from Kiefer (Jacke kick) MIZ 14–7 Q2 1:45 COL Pritchard 68-yard run (Harper kick) Tied 14–14 Q3 10:51 COL Harper 35-yard FG COL 17–14 7:30 MIZ Jones 13-yard run (Jacke Kick) MIZ 21–17 Q4 13:56 COL Pritchard 70-yard pass from Johnson (Harper kick) COL 24–21 11:11 MIZ Jacke 45-yard FG Tied 24–24 3:41 COL Harper 39-yard FG COL 27–24 2:32 MIZ Mays 38-yard pass from Kiefer (Jacke kick) MIZ 31–27 0:00 COL Johnson 1-yard run (conversion failed) COL 33–31
Iowa State Iowa State at #14 Colorado 1 2 3 4 Total Cyclones 9 3 0 0 12 • Buffaloes 7 7 14 0 28
Date: October 13Location: Folsom Field , Boulder, CO Game start: 1:32 PM Elapsed time: 2:46Game attendance: 51,861Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C), partly cloudy, Wind S 25–40 mph (40–64 km/h)Referee: John Laurie Scoring summary Q1 11:34 ISU Patterson 6-yard pass from Pedersen (kick failed) ISU 6–0 9:14 ISU Shudak 36-yard field goal ISU 9–0 4:55 COL Simmons 29-yard pass from Johnson (Harper kick) ISU 9–7 Q2 2:19 ISU Shudak 46-yard field goal ISU 12–7 0:06 COL Brown 29-yard pass from Hagan (Harper kick) COL 14–12 Q3 10:45 COL Eric Bieniemy 1-yard run (Harper kick) COL 21–12 0:28 COL Pritchard 30-yard run (Harper kick) COL 28-12
At Kansas #14 Colorado at Kansas 1 2 3 4 Total • Buffaloes 17 3 21 0 41 Jayhawks 0 10 0 0 10
Date: October 20Location: Memorial Stadium Game start: 12:10 PM Elapsed time: 2:48Game attendance: 40,000Game weather: 67 °F (19 °C), partly cloudy, Wind S 15–20 mph (24–32 km/h)Referee: Larry Fisher Scoring summary Q1 9:25 COL Harper 36-yard field goal COL 3–0 6:46 COL Eric Bieniemy 31-yard run (Harper kick) COL 10–0 0:58 COL Mike Pritchard 44-yard pass from Darian Hagan (Harper kick) COL 17–0 Q2 14:08 KU Drayton 11-yard pass from Hilleary (Eichloff kick) COL 17–7 2:47 KU Eichloff 26-yard field goal COL 17–10 0:01 COL Harper 42-yard field goal COL 20–10 Q3 10:06 COL Eric Bieniemy 41-yard run (Harper kick) COL 27–10 2:51 COL Eric Bieniemy 10-yard run (Harper kick) COL 34–10 0:18 COL McCloughan 90-yard punt return (Harper kick) COL 41–10
Oklahoma #22 Oklahoma at #10 Colorado 1 2 3 4 Total Sooners 7 7 3 6 23 • Buffaloes 3 9 6 14 32
Date: October 27Location: Folsom Field , Boulder, CO Game start: 12:31 PM Elapsed time: 3:23Game attendance: 51,967Game weather: 58 °F (14 °C), sunny, Wind E 8 mph (13 km/h)Referee: Dean Cramer Scoring summary Q1 9:00 OU Cale Gundy 5-yard run (Lasher kick) OU 7–0 3:01 COL Harper 48-yard field goal OU 7–3 Q2 6:58 COL Harper 28-yard field goal OU 7–6 6:46 OU Long 80-yard pass from Gundy (Lashar kick) OU 14–6 0:24 COL Pritchard 12-yard pass from Hagan (run failed) OU 14–12 Q3 10:19 COL Eric Bieniemy 69-yard run (pass failed) COL 18–14 5:06 OU Lasher 43-yard field goal COL 18–17 Q4 13:54 COL Smith 85-yard pass from Hagan (Harper kick) COL 25–17 11:24 COL Hagan 3-yard run (Harper kick) COL 32–17 5:51 OU Brewer 6-yard run (run failed) COL 32-23
At Nebraska #9 Colorado at #3 Nebraska 1 2 3 4 Total • Buffaloes 0 0 0 27 27 Cornhuskers 0 6 6 0 12
Date: November 3Location: Memorial Stadium Game start: 3:07 PM Elapsed time: 3:00Game attendance: 76,464Game weather: 38 °F (3 °C), Light rain, Wind N 20–22 mph (32–35 km/h)Referee: John LaurieTV announcers (ESPN): Sean McDonough and Mike Gottfried Scoring summary Q2 13:14 NEB Barrios 26-yard field goal NEB 3–0 11:25 NEB Barrios 44-yard field goal NEB 6–0 Q3 2:39 NEB Mitchell 48-yard pass from Joseph (pass failed) NEB 12–0 Q4 14:43 COL Bieniemy 1-yard run (Harper kick) NEB 12–7 8:37 COL Bieniemy 2-yard run (pass failed) COL 13–12 4:35 COL Bieniemy 3-yard run (Harper kick) COL 20–12 1:31 COL Bieniemy 5-yard run (Harper kick) COL 27–12
Oklahoma State Oklahoma State at #4 Colorado 1 2 3 4 Total Cowboys 7 0 0 15 22 • Buffaloes 7 10 21 3 41
Date: November 10Location: Folsom Field , Boulder, CO Game start: 1:02 PM Elapsed time: 3:09Game attendance: 51,873Game weather: 67 °F (19 °C), sunny, Wind NE 7 mph (11 km/h)Referee: John Laurie Scoring summary Q1 9:36 COL Hemingway 9-yard pass from Hagan (Harper Kick) COL 7–0 0:09 OSU Mayfield 43 pass from Ford (Blanchard Kick) Tied 7–7 Q2 11:28 COL Pritchard 28-yard pass from Hagan (Harper Kick) COL 14–7 0:03 COL Harper 40-yard field goal COL 17–7 Q3 10:24 COL S.Brown 8-yard pass from Hagan (Harper Kick) COL 24–7 7:48 COL Pritchard 34-yard pass from Hagan (Harper Kick) COL 31–7 0:06 COL Bieniemy 21-yard run (Harper Kick) COL 38–7 Q4 14:24 OSU Hudson 1-yard run (Kirksey pass from Ford) COL 38–15 7:36 COL Harper 50-yard field goal COL 41–15 3:23 OSU Kirksey 19-yard pass from Ford (Blanchard Kick) COL 41-22
Kansas State Kansas State at #4 Colorado 1 2 3 4 Total Wildcats 0 3 0 0 3 • Buffaloes 17 23 3 21 64
Date: November 17Location: Folsom Field , Boulder, CO Game start: 12:12 PM Elapsed time: 3:19Game attendance: 51,136Game weather: 65 °F (18 °C), partly cloudy, Wind NE 8 mph (13 km/h)Referee: Larry Fisher Scoring summary Q1 12:02 COL Hagan 23-yard run (Harper kick) COL 7–0 6:28 COL Hagan 9-yard run (Harper Kick) COL 14–0 2:53 COL Harper 28-yard field goal COL 17–0 Q2 12:38 KSU Wright 28-yard field goal COL 17–3 9:35 COL C.S. Johnson 5-yard run (Harper kick) COL 24–3 5:29 COL Pritchard 48-yard pass from Hagan (Harper kick) COL 31–3 5:11 COL Safety, Straw sacked by Howe in endzone, KSU covered fumble COL 33–3 0:06 COL Pritchard 70-yard run (Harper kick) COL 40–3 Q3 10:56 COL Blottiaux 47-yard field goal COL 43–3 Q4 6:54 COL Henry 39-yard pass from Joseph (Blottiaux kick) COL 50–3 4:35 COL C.E. Johnson 26-yard run (Blottiaux kick) COL 57–3 0:04 COL Oliver 8-yard run (Blottiaux kick) COL 64-3
The Buffs scored early and often while totaling 634 yards of total offense (360 rushing).
Notre Dame (Orange Bowl) #5 Notre Dame vs. #1 Colorado 1 2 3 4 Total Fighting Irish 0 6 3 0 9 • Buffaloes 0 3 7 0 10
Scoring summary Q2 12:04 CU Jim Harper 22-yard field goal COL 3–0 7:32 ND Ricky Watters 2-yard run (PAT blocked) ND 6–3 Q3 10:10 ND Craig Hentrich 24-yard field goal ND 9–3 4:26 CU Eric Bieniemy 1-yard run (Harper kick) COL 10–9
Team players drafted into the NFL
Awards and honors
References
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