Buffalo Tipping

Yesterday, repeat National Champions and No.1-ranked Georgia fell behind unranked South Carolina 14-3 by Halftime, but the Bulldog defense shut out the Gamecocks in the Second Half and Georgia won the game, 24-14.  Despite the embarrassing First Half struggle, Georgia still got enough top votes (57 of 63) in today’s revised AP Poll to remain No. 1. The Bulldogs have been in the No. 1 spot since October 16, 2022.

It probably didn’t hurt Georgia that No. 2 Michigan didn’t put up big numbers in their 31-6 win over unranked Bowling Green, that it took 3 quarters for Texas to put away unranked Wyoming, and that it took a school-record 18 penalties by BC for Florida State to squeak past the Eagles, 31-29 (the Seminoles fell from No. 3 to No. 4).

But this post isn't about the Georgia Bulldogs. Last night, I stayed up until 2:30 am watching the Colorado-Colorado State game. The Buffaloes had fallen behind by 11 points in the 4th quarter and it really looked like it was all over for them.  But late in the game, after a 41-yard FG, they completed a 98-yard drive capped by a 2-pt conversion and forced OT. Colorado won the game, 43-35, in double OT when they stopped State’s final drive. Despite the thrilling win, the Buffaloes actually fell from No. 18 to 19 in today's poll, probably because it took them a miracle drive and 2 OTs to beat an unranked, 23.5-point underdog. 

Last year, Colorado was one of the worst teams in all of college football, winning only one game the entire season. Then they made the highly improbable move of hiring Deion “Prime Time” Sanders as head coach. Neon Deion, of course, is a highly celebrated college (Florida State) and pro (Falcons, 49ers, Cowboys, and more) football player, as well as a baseball player (Braves, Yankees, and more). But his only prior coaching experience has been at the prep-school and HBCU level.

And to make things even more interesting, Coach Prime brought along his sons, Shedeur and Shilo, as starting QB and defensive safety, respectively. This smacks of nepotism and on paper shouldn’t work, but after three games they’re undefeated, Shedeur is second only to Washington's Penix in passing yards, and Shilo has led the team in tackles and got a Pick-6 against the Rams last night for the game’s first points. On top of all that, Coach Prime is a master trash-talker and has done a great job of hyping up every game this season. 

Talk about a high-wire act: Sanders is out to prove not only his own abilities and those of his sons but the overall legitimacy of HBCU programs as a whole.

It’s hard not to watch.

It seems like there’s always some epic meta-narrative around Colorado teams. This goes way back before Prime Time - we have to go back to at least the late 1980s. In 1988, when Deion was still at Florida State and I was living in Albany, NY, Colorado went 8-4 behind the rushing of running back Eric Bieniemy. If the name sounds familiar, he later became the running backs coach and later offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs, taking them to two Super Bowl championships. He’s assistant head coach and offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders now.

After Hershel Walker’s career in the early ‘80s, running backs were almost as celebrated in college football as quarterbacks. Bieniemy had the potential to be the next running back superstar - the next Hershel or O.J. or Earl Campbell. His exciting play made it fun to watch the Colorado Buffaloes. 

Colorado lost 17-20 to BYU in the Freedom Bowl that year. During that game, coaches and players noticed that QB Sal Aunese looked sluggish and was not his usual self. In the months following the game, Aunese began coughing and vomiting up blood, causing him to miss many workouts. In March 1989, Aunese was diagnosed with a rare form of inoperable stomach cancer and given six months to live. He died at University Hospital in Denver on September 23, 1989.

The Buffaloes dedicated their 1989 season to Aunese, sewing the name "Sal" into the sleeves of their jerseys. They were ranked only No. 14 in the preseason poll, but led by Bieniemy’s rushing yards, Colorado beat both Nebraska and Oklahoma in a single season for the first time in 27 years, and romped through the rest of their Big-8 schedule. (The Big-12 conference was called “Big-8” back then, and Colorado’s 2011 move with Utah from the Big-8 to the “PAC-10,” creating the PAC-12, and then this year’s decision to leave the PAC-12 to go back to the Big-12 or whatever they’ll call it, is a whole other story.)

Anyway, in 1989, Colorado went a perfect 11-0 and by the end of the regular season, they were ranked No. 1. But as Colorado tore through their schedule, stories began to emerge in the press about lawlessness and recklessness among the players. Many wondered if head coach Bill McCartney had any control over his team at all. The rumors did not stop after it was discovered that before he passed away, QB Sal Aunese fathered a child by McCartney’s own daughter.

Buffalo made it to the Orange Bowl that year but lost the game to Notre Dame and finished the season ranked No. 4. I hated Notre Dame even before that game, but after they beat the Buffs and spoiled their perfect “Sal” season, my hatred turned into the white-hot loathing it is today. 

Then things got weird.

In the 1990 season, Colorado tied Tennessee in their first game, beat Stanford in the second, and lost to Illinois in the third. But it’s Game 6 against Missouri that’s remembered by most. 

Trailing 31-27 and with less than three minutes to go, Colorado took possession of the ball deep in its own territory. With about 40 seconds left in the game, Colorado completed a deep pass but the receiver slipped on the turf and fell just yards short of the goal line. 

The play gave the Buffaloes a first down, and Colorado spiked the ball to stop the clock. On second down, Bieniemy was stopped just short of the goal line. Colorado then called its final timeout, but during the timeout, a chain crew member got distracted by EMTs desperately performing CPR on a fan who had suffered a fatal heart attack in the stands. Because of the distraction or for whatever other reason, the crew neglected to flip the down marker from second down to third.

On the next play, with the down marker showing second down when it was really third, Bieniemy was again stopped short of the end zone. Colorado spiked the ball again to stop the clock with two seconds left, thinking it was third down when it was really fourth. On the following play – fourth down according to the marker, but "fifth down" in reality – the Colorado QB ran the ball into the end zone for a touchdown. The clock expired, the game ended, and Colorado won, 33-31.

The officiating crew, realizing their error, spent the next 20 minutes conferring on what to do, but finally allowed the TD to stand. And as if all that controversy weren’t enough, replays showed that Colorado was actually stopped short of the goal line on the final touchdown run. But the score stood and Colorado won what is to today called the “Fifth Down Game.”

I know, crazy, right?

Colorado won the rest of their games that season, including wins over rivals Nebraska and Oklahoma. Ranked No. 1 at the end of their regular season (10-1-1), they drew Notre Dame again for their bowl game. To my delight, this time the Buffaloes won, beating the Irish, 10-9, for their first bowl win in 19 years.

For a final touch of weirdness, that same year (1990) Georgia Tech beat Georgia and finished the season undefeated, the only blemish on their record a 13-13 tie with North Carolina. As a result, Tech won the UPI coach’s poll and Colorado won the AP sportswriters’ poll. Many people believe it was the Missouri “Fifth Down Game” that prevented the Buffaloes from winning both polls. Officially, Colorado and Georgia Tech are listed as “co-champions” for 1990.

My point is there’s always something wild going on behind the scenes - or just as often, out in the open, right on the field - with Colorado. It’s entertaining, it amuses me. The flamboyant style of Coach Prime and his sons is just the latest phase of this long-running sports dramedy.

Next week: Coach Prime meets Bonix and the Oregon Dux.