Colorado University Athletics

CU Football: Game 13 - Alabama

CU Football: Game 13 - Alabama

The Colorado Buffaloes (6-6, 4-4 Big 12) are back in the postseason after a one-year hiatus, set to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide (6-6, 4-4 SEC) on Sunday, December 30 in the 32nd Annual PetroSun Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La.; kickoff is set for just after 6:00 p.m. mountain time at Independence Stadium (49,182)... Colorado played four teams in the final BCS Standings, all in the top 11: Oklahoma (No. 4), Missouri (No. 6), Kansas (No. 8) and Arizona State (No. 11); Alabama also played four (#2 LSU, #5 Georgia, #16 Tennessee and #23 Auburn). CU is the only school in the nation to play four in the top 11... The game will be televised nationally by ESPN, with Mark Jones (play-by-play), Bob Davie (analyst) and Stacey Dales (sidelines) to call the action (donGÇÖt know if we can top South ParkGÇÖs Eric Cartman doing CUGÇÖs intros, as was done for the Nebraska game)... The game will also air nationally on SportsUSA Radio, with Tony Roberts (p-b-p), Charles Arbuckle (analyst) and Rich Herrera (sidelines) behind the mikes... The third time was the charm as CU coach Dan Hawkins won his 100th career game on the third try, doing it in style with the 65-51 win over Nebraska. Hawkins now owns a 100-39-1 record as a collegiate head coach (61-27 in Division I-A/FBS)... Colorado defeated both Nebraska and Oklahoma in the same season for the first time since 1990 (and for just the fifth time ever: 1960, 1961, 1989, 1990, 2007)... The Buffs were 4-4 in 2007 against teams that defeated them the previous year... Both schools have a 12,000-seat allotment for the game; for ticket information, visit CUBuffs.com/bowl, and for alumni events, go to www.cubuffalum.org/events/football/ ... CUBuffs.com features game day updates and live stats for all games; live stats for the Independence Bowl can also be found at www.independencebowl.org (click on the live stats link at the bottom of the page).

STAT OF THE WEEK

Though ColoradoGÇÖs offense is still very much a work in progress (there are often seven freshmen in the lineup at the same time), the Buffs did manage to score 30 or more points in five games this season. ThatGÇÖs only the second time in the last five seasons CU has produced that many outings with 30-plus points. The 331 points are the most by the Buffs since scoring 398 in the 2002 season, and are the fifth most by CU since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996.

OBSCURE NOTES OF THE WEEK

  • The Buffs need to win to avoid back-to-back losing seasons for the first time in 22 years (a six-year run between 1979-84); thatGÇÖs the 17th longest active run in the NCAA without going below .500 two straight years; Alabama is in the same boat: the Crimson Tide last suffered back-to-back losing years from 1954-57, and their 49-year run is the fifth longest. Tennessee owns the longest run, now at an astounding 96 years, as the Volunteers, if thatGÇÖs what they were called back then, last had consecutive losing seasons from 1909 through 1911. The irony this year is that Colorado will have played three of the seven schools with the longest active streaks to keep its own run alive (Arizona State, Alabama, Nebraska). See page 49 for detailed info.
  • Start And Finish, But In-Between. Colorado has outscored its opponents by 156-115 in the first and fourth quarters combined (plus overtime), but have been outscored in the second and third by 238-175. Turnovers could have something to due with it; in the first, fourth and OT, the Buffs are a plus-2; in the second and third, Colorado is a minus-6.

For the complete release, statistics and individual notes for CU and Alabama, click on the links below: