Colorado University Athletics
TBT: When Klatt, Buffs 'Restored Order'
September 17, 2015 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — When Joel Klatt finished his Colorado football career, he had set 44 school records, including these eye-popping numbers: 7,375 passing yards, 1,095 attempts, 666 completions and 44 touchdowns.
Big numbers over the span of an outstanding career with the Buffaloes.
But one of the statistics that still has a special place in Klatt's heart?
Try 3-0 — his record as a starter against in-state rival Colorado State.
"One of the things I'm most proud of in my career at CU is that we were 3-0 against CSU," Klatt said earlier this week. "We kind of restored the order."
Indeed, when Klatt took over the reins as CU's starting quarterback in 2003, the momentum had shifted in the rivalry. CSU had won three of the previous four games — one of the Rams' best stretches ever in the series — and they entered the 2003 game ranked No. 23 in the nation against an unranked CU squad.
That was also perhaps one of the most heated eras of the rivalry, thanks in large part to CSU quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt, who minced no words in expressing his thoughts about the Buffs.
Earlier this year, Klatt told Mile High Sports Magazine, "CU-CSU was nasty. Bradlee Van Pelt talked so much trash that I don't think any of us wanted to win a game more than that one. … I was still a walk-on, completely unproven; and they were ranked and favored in the game."
But by the time the night was over, every Buff fan in America knew Klatt's name and it was the Buffs who would be nationally ranked a week later, not the Rams.
In a game dubbed an "instant classic" by ESPN, Klatt threw for 402 yards and four touchdowns in a wild 42-35 CU win that included a driving rainstorm, a thunderous lightning display and an Invesco Field crowd of 76,219 — still the largest crowd ever for a CU-CSU game.
"An amazing game," Klatt said. "It had a little bit of everything."
Indeed. Along with Klatt's 402 yards passing, the game also featured a 339-yard passing effort from Van Pelt, seven scoring plays of 30 yards or longer — including touchdown passes of 82 and 78 yards from Klatt to Derek McCoy — and a last-minute scoring drive from the Buffs that provided the margin of victory.
"One of the things I remember most about that game is that they scored the tying touchdown a little too early," Klatt said.
Indeed, when Van Pelt ran 30 yards for the tying touchdown, there was still 1:50 left on the clock, plenty of time for CU's offense.
"After they scored, I remember walking into the huddle on the sidelines and it was almost eerie — we were giddy, almost as if we'd already won," Klatt said. "We were all smiling because we knew we were going to win. We knew we were going to go down and score.
"I just told the huddle, 'We're going to go win this thing. No question. Just no dumb penalties.'''
Klatt made good on his vow to the huddle, driving the Buffaloes 75 yards in six plays. He completed all four pass attempts on the drive, including a 25-yarder to McCoy and a 33-yarder down the right sidelines to Jeremy Bloom. That gave the Buffs a first-and-goal at the CSU 4, and after a penalty pushed the Buffs back to the 9-yard line, Bobby Purify rolled into the end zone with the winning touchdown.
"I don't know if there was a more gratifying win than that one, to see him (Van Pelt) in his senior year jog off the field as a loser," Klatt told Mile High Sports.
Klatt, now the lead college football analyst for Fox Sports, still keeps close tabs on the Buffs. He watches each CU game live when possible; and when that opportunity isn't available, he taps into the coaches' films via the Pac-12 Network.
He also had a chance this summer to take a look at the new Champions Center when he visited Boulder.
"I was floored," Klatt said. "I see every facility in the country because of my job. I mean every new facility — Alabama, Texas, Oregon, USC, Arizona — you name it. I can tell you that CU's facilities are in the top 10 in the nation, if not the top five. When it comes to functionality, what it means for the athletes, it's definitely in the top five."
Klatt is also impressed at what he calls a "newfound" era of collaboration between all corners of the CU campus.
"What Rick (George, athletic director) has done is infuse the program with infectious energy and great support," Klatt said. "The president, the chancellor — everyone — is working toward a common goal, and that's going to mean a world of difference, particularly from a booster standpoint.
"The University of Colorado is better off than it's been in a long, long time, and it's because of the leadership of Rick George. What I love about that group they have there now, guys like Rick and Kurt (Gulbrand, Associate AD for Development), is that you never hear the excuse of why they can't get something done."
Klatt also said he likes CU coach Mike MacIntyre's energy and enthusiasm, and he called the hiring of defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt a "home run."
"They're going in the right direction," Klatt said, "but it's still going to come down to what you have to have at every program in order to be successful: coaching and recruiting."
