Colorado University Athletics

BATTLING TO THE END

BATTLING TO THE END

 

Despite Some Ups and Downs, the Buffs Made Some Noise in the Big XII

by Brian Dvorak

 

After what can only be described as the most difficult offseason imaginable, the CU football team has regrouped admirably under head coach Gary Barnett. With only a couple of weeks remaining in the regular season, the Buffs are poised to possibly capture another Big XII North crown, earning a trip to the conference title game in Kansas City.

 

Here is a look back on a topsy-turvy 2004 campaign for CU football.

 

With the weight of the media and sports viewing world on their shoulders, the Buffaloes stormed out of the gates with three straight victories. The sweetest of those wins came at the expense of Sonny Lubick and his CSU Rams. With a poetic goal-line stop of former Colorado tailback Marcus Houston, the Buffs stopped the Rams offense as time expired, giving CU a win to start the year.

 

That game brought back images of old, with tailback Bobby Purify running rampant in the Rams secondary for the entire first half. CSU fought back and made the game close, as everyone had expected in this rivalry, before finally wilting on that glorious Boulder night.

 

Week two sent to the Buffs to Seattle for a makeup game against the Washington State Cougars. This was the game that many CU fans had circled as a “make or break game” when the season started. A win would catapult CU into the national rankings and serve notice to the country that they had placed all their off-field trouble behind them. A loss and they would be just another team with no national hope of a BCS bowl game.

 

Despite being out-gained 402 to 125 yards by the Cougars, the Buffs managed to scrape and claw their way to a 20-12 victory. Even though the offense failed to find their rhythm, the defense was there to lead the way. A blocked punt and interception return gave CU all the scoring they would need, as they held off a ferocious last-second comeback by Washington State.

 

The next week, the roles were reversed when CU played North Texas. It took a huge offensive output by Joel Klatt and company to secure their third straight win. Even to the most pessimistic fan it was apparent ? this team was coming together and just may create some noise in the Big XII.

 

The 3-0 start had the Buffs poised to make a run and gave them confidence heading into their first conference game at Missouri. In a hard-fought game, the Buffs just didn’t have enough firepower and CU ended up losing 17-9.  Down but far from out, Coach Barnett was proud of his team.

 

“I was really impressed with our players and how hard we played,” he said. “How poised they were and how convinced and confident they were that we were going to win the game.”

 

The Buffs came home the next week to face the talented Oklahoma State Cowboys for Homecoming and ended up disappointed with a 42-14 loss. The defense held tight for most of the first half but in the end, they and the offense couldn’t do enough to keep the game close. 

 

CU rebounded by beating the Iowa State Cyclones in Boulder before losing the next two games against Texas A&M and Texas. The A&M game was the toughest to take, as CU played them toe-to-toe for 48 minutes at Kyle Field and ended up losing in heartbreak fashion in overtime.

 

Sitting at 1-4 in Big XII play, the players and coaches had a decision to make. They could either quit and call it a season or they could fight on. There was never a doubt which direction the Buffs would take.

 

“We always try to play our best football in November,” Barnett said prior to playing the Kansas the next week. “We have a saying that says, ?They remember what you do in November.’ And that’s the kind of team we want to be.”

 

A 30-21 victory in Lawrence brought the Buffs to 2-4 in conference play and left them one win from being bowl eligible. More importantly, that victory brought CU back into the race for the Big XII North. It kept hope alive in Boulder that this team still had a chance with upcoming games against Kansas State and Nebraska.

 

In the showdown with K-State, a game that has determined the North Division’s representative in the conference championship game in each of the past three seasons, the Buffs again found a way to get in done. In a back-and-forth affair, Colorado was able to pull out a win in dramatic fashion, scoring on a 64-yard pass from Klatt to Ron Monteilh with five seconds remaining in the game to win 38-31. As the Folsom Field faithful erupted in jubilation, one fact became crystal clear to Buffs fans everywhere ? CU was suddenly bowl eligible and right in the middle of the Big XII North chase.

 

With only their annual day after Thanksgiving showdown at Nebraska remaining on the schedule, there are three scenarios that will send Colorado to Kansas City. Here’s a rundown, as CU tries to hold off Iowa State, Missouri and Nebraska:

 

  • If Colorado beats Nebraska, Kansas State beats Iowa State and Iowa State beats Missouri, Colorado wins the division due to their head-to-head edge over the Cyclones.

 

  • If CU beats NU, ISU beats Mizzou, Mizzou beats Kansas and Kansas State beats ISU, Colorado wins the division by virtue of the best divisional record among the three teams tied atop the standings.

 

  • And finally, if Colorado beats Nebraska, Kansas State beats Iowa State, Missouri beats Iowa State and Kansas Beats Missouri, Colorado wins the division as the only team with a 4-4 conference mark.

 

No matter what transpires over the coming weeks, the 2004 Colorado Buffaloes have had a season to remember. Last-minute heroics have become the norm, as the Buffs have given their faithful plenty to cheer about, buoying spirits all over the state and providing proof that CU football is back on track.