Colorado University Athletics
Champs Sports Bowl Notes
December 27, 2005 | Football
Colorado Notes
QUICKLY... CU drops a 19-10 decision to No. 23 Clemson, finishing 0-4 against ranked teams for the year; it was the ninth straight setback to ranked opponents, and marked the first time since the 1979 to 1985 seasons where CU went more than one year without beating a ranked foe... This loss will officially count toward Gary Barnett's record at Colorado; he thus finishes with a 49-39 record in seven seasons... QB Joel Klatt was not cleared to play, but served as the conduit between offensive coordinator Shawn Watson in the press box and the sideline, sending in the plays via messenger... 56 players saw action tonight for the Buffaloes, including OG/DT John Guydon for just the second time this year on offense... CU sold 580 tickets and used just over 1,400 of its 12,000 allotment (the Big 12 absorbs the cost of the unsold tickets).
SCORING STREAKS. CU added to its school record consecutive games scoring streak, as the Buffs have now scored in 210 straight games dating back to a 7-0 loss at Nebraska in 1988. That streak is the sixth longest in the nation and the 13th longest all-time; CU has now also scored in all 27 of its bowl games in its history.
SEASON TRENDS... Here are some updated key trends in Colorado football for 2005:
u 7-1 when owning advantage in average field position
u 7-1 when owning the edge in turnover margin
u 4-2 when committing fewer than 10 penalties
u 0-5 when allowing 100-plus yards rushing
u 1-6 when trailing at halftime
BOWL TRENDS... Colorado is 12-15 all-time in its 27 bowl appearances. Here's a look at some won-lost trends:
u versus ranked teams 9-10
u versus a higher ranked team 3-9
?versus ranked team as an unranked team 2-2
u when scoring 13 or fewer points 1-7
u when coming from behind (from the start) 2-9
u when trailing at halftime (0-2 when tied) 3-9
u with two or fewer turnovers (2-1 with zero) 8-8
u when playing at night (5 p.m. or later start) 3-6
LOOOOOOOONG... The 68-yard punt by John Torp in the first quarter set a Colorado bowl record; he technically broke his own record (his first punt was 63), but coming in the record was 62, held by both Mitch Berger ('93 Fiesta) and Nick Pietsch ('98 Aloha). Torp's 49.7 average on nine kicks was the third best bowl performance by a CU punter; he owns the second as well (4-50.0 against UTEP in the '04 Houston Bowl); Pietsch set the mark against Oregon (51.5 on six punts).
TAKING CARE OF THE BALL... Colorado is now turnover-free for its last 10 bowl quarters, not committing a turnover in back-to-back bowl games for the first time in its history. CU's last came in the second quarter of the 2002 Alamo Bowl (Robert Hodge interception against Wisconsin).
PICK CITY... Colorado now has at least one interception in its last 13 bowl games, extended this evening when S Tyrone Henderson picked off a pass in the second quarter. The streak started in the '91 Orange Bowl when CU defeated Notre Dame, 10-9, to win the consensus national championship; FS Greg Thomas had two interceptions with a third by CB Deon Figures as time expired to seal the victory. Only one player since Thomas has had multiple picks in a game?S Tom Hubbard swiped a pair in last year's Houston Bowl against Texas-El Paso.
DEFENSE... The 19 points allowed by Colorado were the fewest since a 38-6 win over Oregon in the '96 Cotton Bowl (11 seasons ago), and were the fifth fewest in 27 bowls.
Miscellaneous Statistics
Colorado Clemson
Time Spent In The Lead..................... 0:00 41:15
Average On First Down.................... 20/2.9 29/3.5
Rush/Avg. ................................... 13/1.8 23/2.9
Pass/Avg. ..................................... 7/4.9 6/5.7
Third Downs........................................3-14 6-14
3rd & 5 or less.................................. 3-4 3-5
3rd & 6 or more...................................0-11 3-9
3rd & 10 or more.......................... 0-5 0-3
Avg. Yards To Go................................ 8.7 7.6
Yards Gained On 3rd Down............. 5 97
Poss./Avg Field Position................... 12/Co33 12/Cl23
Drives Started At/Inside 20............. 3 (2/1) 5 (4/1)
Three Plays & Out............................ 6 3
Yards By Quarter: 1st......................... ....26 95
2nd.................... 8 112
3rd..................... 4 94
4th..................... 86 64
Yards By Half: 1st............................... 34 207
2nd........................... 90 158
RUSHING... The Buffaloes rushed for 347 yards in its 62-28 drubbing of Boston College in the 1999 Insight.com Bowl; in four bowl games since, CU has managed just 346 yards on the ground, just 17 tonight. The opponent has been held under 200 yards rushing 10 straight bowls, but Clemson TB James Davis ran for 150, the first back to top 100 against CU this season; the last to do it was Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson in the 2004 Big 12 Championship game (28-172).
LINER NOTES... Assorted liner notes from tonight's game:
? QB Brian White (12-7-0, 81, 1 TD). This was his first extensive action, as he entered with just one career pass attempt (which he completed for 10 yards against Oklahoma State in 2004). He had seen action in just one game this season (mop-up, no passes).
? DT James Garee. His blocked PAT kick was his second block of the season; he blocked a field goal against New Mexico State to preserve CU's shutout.
? CU had 12 possessions?the first 11 ended with a kick: nine punts, one field goal, one PAT; the 12th ended when the game expired.
Offensive Low. The 124 yards by Colorado was its second lowest ever in a bowl; as CU mustered just 55 in its firs bowl ever, a 28-14 loss to Rice in the '38 Cotton. It was the sixth time CU was held under 200 yards. The 17 rushing yards were also the second fewest, trailing the minus-11 against Alabama in the '91 Blockbuster Bowl?the former site of this very contest; thus, the Buffs have 59 rushes for 6 yards in this particular bowl franchise. Ouch.
Clemson Notes
*Clemson's defense allowed just one touchdown tonight, the only touchdown the Clemson defense allowed over the last 43 possessions of the season. When the Buffs scored in the fourth quarter it broke a streak of 41 consecutive defensive touchdowns without allowing a touchdown.
*Clemson's defense allowed just 124 yards of total offense by
*The 124 yards allowed were the fewest allowed by the Clemson defense since the season opener of 2000 when The Citadel had just 105 yards of total offense. It was the fewest yards allowed against a Division I-A team since
*Charlie Whitehurst completed 19-27 passes tonight and finishes the season with 227 completes in 338 attempts for a 67.2 completion percentage, a Clemson school record. He finishes his career with 42 Clemson school records.
*James Davis finished the game with 28 carries for 150 yards. It was the second most rushing yards by a Clemson running back in a bowl game, trailing only the 151 accumulated by Clemson career rushing leader Raymond Priester in a loss to LSU in the 1996 Peach Bowl.
*
*Jad Dean broke the Clemson single season field goal record with his 18-yard field goal in the first half. It game him 24 for the season, one more than Obed Ariri had in 1980 when he led the nation in field goals per game.
*Dean scored seven points on the night to give him 106 for the season, one point short of the Clemson kick scoring record for a season (107 by Chris Gardocki in 1989). He missed an extra point, his only extra point miss all year, when it was blocked. Had he made it he would have tied Gardocki's record for kick scoring in a season.
*Gained
*Charlie Whitehurst won his 25th game as Clemson's starting quarterback. He moved into second place on Clemson's all-time list, ahead of Nealon Greene who had 24 between 1994-97. Rodney Williams is still the career leader with 32.
*Clemson won six of its last seven games to close the season. It is the first time since 1991 that Clemson has won six of its last seven games of the season.
*This was Clemson's first win in a
*Clemson has now won three of its last four bowl games after losing five in a row from 1991-2000.
*Charles Bennett had a career high 3.5 tackles for loss in his final game as a Clemson player. It was the most tackles for loss by any Clemson defensive player in a bowl game.
*Clemson finished the season 6-1 when leading going into the fourth period and is now 43-6 under Tommy Bowden.
*Clemson is now 25-4 with a 100-yard rusher under Tommy Bowden. Clemson is now 22-2 when leading at the half over the last four years.
