Brooks: Revisiting CU's 1990 Championship Season

When Buffs fans take a stroll down memory lane, one of the first stops is 1990.

To commemorate Colorado's national championship, secured that season in the Orange Bowl against Notre Dame, CUBuffs.com will take a look back at each game of the '90 season. Game stories that appeared in the Rocky Mountain News and were written by B.G. Brooks, now Contributing Editor for CUBuffs.com, will be reprinted each Wednesday on the website.

Game 1 of that magical year was against Tennessee in the inaugural Disneyland Pigskin Classic. It was the Buffs' first and only meeting to date against the Volunteers of the Southeastern Conference.

The sweltering afternoon in Anaheim, Calif., ended in a 31-31 tie, offering no indication of what the 41/2 months held for CU.

Tailback Eric Bieniemy, who would play a pivotal role in the march to Miami, was suspended for the opener. Coach Bill McCartney fretted - at least for the media - over who would be his tailback.

But "Mac" had a plan.

In Bieniemy's place, McCartney inserted receiver Mike Pritchard. First and foremost, "Pritch" was an athlete; he had been a highly recruited running back in high school in Las Vegas and was a wing back early on at CU.

Pritchard pierced the Tennessee defense 20 times for 217 yards and a pair of long touchdown runs.

How talented was this CU team?

Consider: In the next 11 regular-season games, Pritchard carried only nine more times. Of his 29 total carries, 20 came in the season opener.

Bieniemy was back the next week - and a wild and memorable ride was underway.

Order your 1990 Replica #1 Jersey through the CU Store: click here

CU Hangs On For 31-31 Tie In Pigskin Classic

Buffs squander two-TD lead against Vols

By B.G. Brooks

Rocky Mountain News

ANAHEIM, Calif. - The morning after the inaugural Disneyland Pigskin Classic finds fifth-ranked Colorado maintaining its vision of an undefeated 1990 football season and a national championship.

But it's safe to say CU's vision is blurred.

Tennessee's Andy Kelly passed the Buffs dizzy yesterday afternoon in their season opener, twice bringing the eighth-ranked Vols back from two-touchdown deficits in the fourth quarter to tie CU 31-31.

"I have to congratulate Tennessee on the way they battled back," said CU coach Bill McCartney. "We had the victory but couldn't keep a two-touchdown lead. There's a lot of frustration on our team because we were in the position to win."

CU worked itself into that position despite a passing game that fell embarrassingly short of what McCartney intended to unveil in '90.

Intercepted just four times in 1989, Buffs quarterback Darian Hagan threw three first-half interceptions yesterday. And he can't blame the thefts on spectacular defensive plays by the Vols.

Hagan, who completed just five of 19 attempts for 68 yards, was usually high, wide and loathsome whenever he cocked his right arm. Perhaps the kindest thing that can be said about Hagan's first-half -¡-¡-¡-¡-¡passes is that they had good hang time. They were horribly reminiscent of the 1988 Freedom Bowl interception that made Hagan wonder if he was playing the right position.

"I just don't know what happened," Hagan said. "I messed up a lot of reads, and I just didn't throw well."

On the other arm, er, hand, Kelly completed 33 of 55 passes for 368 yards and two touchdowns. He, too, was intercepted three times, but just once during a fourth quarter that will be difficult for the Buffs' defensive staff to forget.

CU scored two touchdowns but allowed three in the final 15 minutes. And Kelly's passing was instrumental in all three. In the fourth period, he completed 18 of 27 passes for 241 yards and TDs to Alvin Harper (24 yards) and Carl Pickens (14). His passes also set up tailback Chuck Webb's 4-yard touchdown that tied the score at 31 with 2:25 to play.

UT coach Johnny Majors briefly considered calling for a two-point conversion.

"I considered going for two a lot - the whole day," Majors said. "I thought about it, talked about it, the whole course of the game. I had mixed reviews. And I made the decision (not to try for two)."

Majors believed the Vols would return to the offensive and have another chance to turn Kelly loose on CU's passed out defense. He was right, but UT ran out of time inside the Buffs' 20-yard line.

"I've never been in a game that was so up-and-down," said CU cornerback Dave McCloughan. "You knew they had great athletes, and I don't think we believed we were in control - even when we had the two-touchdown leads."

Those leads were 24-10 and 31-17, and McCloughan was responsible for CU's first 14-point cushion. With 9:34 to play, he returned a punt 55 yards for a score that had McCartney and his staff trading high-fives on the sideline.

Kelly answered with a 70-yard drive, hitting four of six passes, including the 24-yarder to Harper. UT, last season's Southeastern Conference tri-champion, was at 24-17 and not the least bit subdued.

Kelly suffered his last interception - and the second in the end zone by CU strong safety Tim James - on UT's next series.

Within two plays, the Buffs returned to a 14-point lead as Hagan dashed right on the option, appeared to be caught just over the line of scrimmage and shoveled a left-handed lateral to tailback Mike Pritchard.

It was one of the ambidextrous Hagan's more accurate tosses, and it resulted in a 78-yard touchdown run for Pritchard. CU's primary substitute for suspended tailback Eric Bieniemy, Pritchard gained 217 yards on 20 carries, scored twice and was selected the Buffs' most valuable player.

It was the first time UT has allowed 200 yards rushing since Alabama's Bobby Humphrey, now with the Denver Broncos, gained 217 against the Vols in 1986.

Pritchard, who is likely to return to his preferred role of wide receiver for CU's Sept. 6 home opener against Stanford, out-gained UT All-America candidate Chuck Webb. The Vols sophomore carried 27 times for 131 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

At halftime, when CU was fortunate to be tied 10-10 after Hagan's errant passing, Webb had rushed for only 44 yards. But in the fourth quarter, after Kelly's passing made them delirious, the Buffs seemed to lose sight of Webb.

And on the game's final play, they almost allowed him to get UT in position to attempt a game-winning field goal. With seven seconds to play, he broke up the middle, then cut right for a 25-yard gain to the CU 16-yard line before being pushed out of bounds.

Time had expired. The 1990 season's first game produced its first tie and left the Buffs still seeking their first victory of the new decade after their 21-6 Orange Bowl loss to Notre Dame.

"You can't say it was almost like a loss," said Hagan, "because it wasn't a loss."

Added James: "We didn't lose. That would have been devastating. We aren't (devastated)."

But dazed?

You bet.

Next: Game 2 - CU vs. Stanford.

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU