American college football season
1989 Colorado Buffaloes football |
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Big Eight champion |
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Conference | Big Eight Conference |
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Ranking |
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Coaches | No. 4 |
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AP | No. 4 |
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Record | 11–1 (7–0 Big 8) |
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Head coach | - Bill McCartney (8th season)
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Offensive coordinator | Gerry DiNardo (6th season) |
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Offensive scheme | I-Bone option |
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Defensive coordinator | Mike Hankwitz (2nd season) |
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Base defense | 5-2 |
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MVP | Darian Hagan (QB) |
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Captains | - Sal Aunese (honorary)
- Bill Coleman (OT)
- Mike Jones (LB)
- Erich Kissick (FB)
- Bruce Young (S)
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Home stadium | Folsom Field |
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Seasons |
The 1989 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado at Boulder in the Big Eight Conference during the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. Colorado finished with the most wins in school history, surpassing the 1971 team, and their first conference championship in thirteen years. The Buffaloes went undefeated in the regular season at 11–0 (7–0 in Big 8) and played for the national title, but lost to fourth-ranked Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl.[1]
The team dedicated the season to senior and former starting quarterback Sal Aunese, who was diagnosed with stomach cancer in late March,[2] and died at age 21 on September 23 due to complications from the disease.[3][4][5]
For the first time in 28 years, Colorado defeated Oklahoma and Nebraska in the same season.[6][7] In the 27 seasons in between, they had five wins over Oklahoma (1965, 1966, 1968, 1972, 1976) and two over Nebraska (1967, 1986).
In another feel-good story, the team was host to a Make A Wish recipient Chad Henry for the big game against Nebraska in Boulder. Henry was an up-and-coming high school football player from Indiana, Pennsylvania, and the son of college/NFL coach Jack Henry, who began following the Buffaloes after reading about Sal Aunese's battle with cancer while himself battling a very rare and dangerous form of abdominal cancer. After cheering on the Buffs to the biggest win in school history in early November, Henry and his family were also invited to attend the national championship game in Miami as guests of the university. He went on to defeat the disease and did play football for his high school again in 1990. Although his once promising football career was ended following that season due to complications with side effects from the intense chemotherapy he endured, Henry went on to coach football at his high school and became a scout for the NFL's Detroit Lions and is currently with the Indianapolis Colts.
Schedule
Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
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September 4 | 5:30 pm | Texas* | No. 14 | | ESPN | W 27–6 | 47,269 |
September 9 | 1:30 pm | Colorado State* | No. 9 | | KCNC | W 45–20 | 44,921 |
September 16 | 1:30 pm | No. 10 Illinois* | No. 8 | - Folsom Field
- Boulder, Colorado
| CBS | W 38–7 | 46,747 |
September 30 | 2:00 pm | at No. 21 Washington* | No. 5 | | KCNC | W 45–28 | 69,152 |
October 7 | 1:30 pm | Missouri | No. 3 | - Folsom Field
- Boulder, Colorado
| | W 49–3 | 51,855 |
October 14 | 1:00 pm | at Iowa State | No. 3 | | KCNC | W 52–17 | 41,515 |
October 21 | 1:30 pm | Kansas | No. 3 | - Folsom Field
- Boulder, Colorado
| | W 49–17 | 50,057 |
October 28 | 12:30 pm | at Oklahoma | No. 3 | | KWGN | W 20–3 | 75,004 |
November 4 | 12:30 pm | No. 3 Nebraska | No. 2 | - Folsom Field
- Boulder, Colorado (rivalry)
| CBS | W 27–21 | 52,877 |
November 11 | 12:30 pm | at Oklahoma State | No. 2 | | KCNC | W 41–17 | 41,000 |
November 18 | 11:10 am | at Kansas State | No. 2 | | KCNC | W 59–11 | 20,117 |
January 1, 1990 | 6:00 pm | vs. No. 4 Notre Dame* | No. 1 | | NBC | L 6–21 | 81,191 |
- *Non-conference game
- Homecoming
- Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
- All times are in Mountain time
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- Source:[8]
Personnel
1989 Colorado Buffaloes football team roster |
Players | Coaches |
Offense Pos. | # | Name | Class | RB | | Matt Bell | RB | 1 | Eric Bieniemy | Jr | TE | | Jon Boman | WR | 84 | Jeff Campbell | Sr | OT | 77 | Bill Coleman (C) | RB | | Dennis Collier | RB | | Scott DeGoler | RB | | J.J. Flannigan | G | 62 | Joe Garten | Jr | QB | 3 | Darian Hagan | So | FB | | George Hemingway | WR | | Mark Henry | QB | | Charles S. Johnson | FB | | Eric Kissick (C) | C | 52 | Jay Leeuwenberg | So | G | | Darren Muilenberg | WR | | M.J. Nelson | RB | | O.C. Oliver | TE | | John Perak | WR | 9 | Mike Pritchard | Jr | RB | | Tony Senna | RB | | Michael Simmons | OT | 72 | Mark VanderPoel | Jr | QB | | Mark Walters | | Defense | Special teams | - Head coach
- Coordinators/assistant coaches
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (S) Suspended
- (I) Ineligible
- Injured
- Redshirt
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Rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked ( ) = First-place votes | Week |
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Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
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AP | 14 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 (2) | 3 (3) | 3 (1) | 2 (2) | 2 (4) | 2 (3) | 2 (3) | 1 (53) | 1 (55) | 1 (51) | 4 |
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Coaches | 14 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 (1) | 3 (1) | 3 (1) | 2 (2) | 2 (5) | 2 (4) | 2 (4) | 1 (39) | 1 (42) | — | 4 |
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Season summary
Texas
Colorado State
Illinois
At Washington
Missouri
At Iowa State
Kansas
At Oklahoma
Game information |
- First quarter
- Second quarter
- CU – Ken Culbertson 30-yard field goal. Colorado 3–0. Drive: 11 plays, 50 yards.
- CU – J.J. Flannigan 1-yard run (Ken Culbertson kick). Colorado 10–0.
- Third quarter
- Fourth quarter
- OU – R.D. Lashar 33-yard field goal. Colorado 10–3.
- CU – Ken Culbertson 27-yard field goal, 9:49. Colorado 13–3. Drive: 9 plays.
- CU – Darian Hagan 8-yard run (Ken Culbertson kick). Colorado 20–3.
| - Top rushers
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- Colorado 8-0 for first time since 1927
- Culbertson's field goal in second quarter gave Colorado its first lead over Oklahoma in a game since 1976
- Colorado's first win in Norman since 1965
- J.J. Flannigan 25 rushes, 103 yards
- Arthur Walker 8 tackles, sack (Big 8 Defensive Player of Week)
[9]
Nebraska
#3 Nebraska at #2 Colorado | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | Cornhuskers | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 | • Buffaloes | 14 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 27 | |
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Scoring summary |
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| 1 | 13:30 | NEB | Bryan Carpenter 51 yard pass from Gerry Gdowski (Gregg Barrios kick) | NEB 7–0 | | 1 | 8:22 | COL | J.J. Flannigan 70 yard run (Ken Culbertson kick) | Tie 7–7 | | 1 | 5:04 | COL | Darian Hagan 1 yard run (Ken Culbertson kick) | COL 14–7 | | 2 | 11:33 | NEB | Morgan Gregory 12 yard pass from Gerry Gdowski (Gregg Barrios kick) | Tie 14–14 | | 2 | 0:12 | COL | Ken Culbertson 49 yard field goal | COL 17–14 | | 3 | 8:00 | COL | J.J. Flannigan 2 yard run (Ken Culbertson kick) | COL 24–14 | | 3 | 1:04 | NEB | Chris Garrett 26 yard pass from Gerry Gdowski (Gregg Barrios kick) | COL 24–21 | | 4 | 8:47 | COL | Ken Culbertson 28 yard field goal | COL 27–21 | |
[10] [11]
Colorado honored their All-Century team at halftime
At Oklahoma State
At Kansas State
Orange Bowl (vs. Notre Dame)
#1 Colorado Buffaloes (11–0) vs. #4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11–1)
at Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
- Date: January 1, 1990
- Game attendance: 81,190
- TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Bill Walsh
- Recap/Box
Game information |
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter - ND – Anthony Johnson 2-yard run (Craig Hentrich kick), 11:48. Notre Dame 7–0.
- ND – Raghib Ismail 35-yard run (Craig Hentrich kick), 7:19. Notre Dame 14–0.
- CU – Darian Hagan 39-yard run (kick failed), 0:01. Notre Dame 14–6.
Fourth quarter - ND – Anthony Johnson 7-yard run (Craig Hentrich kick), 1:32. Notre Dame 21–6.
| - Top passers
- Top rushers
- ND – Anthony Johnson – 15 rushes, 89 yards, 2 TD
- CU – Eric Bieniemy – 11 rushes, 66 yards
- Top receivers
- ND – Pat Eilers – 2 receptions, 47 yards
- CU – Eric Kissick – 2 receptions, 33 yards
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[12]
References
- ^ "No crown for Buffs". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. January 1, 1990. p. 1B.
- ^ "Colorado quarterback stricken by cancer". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 31, 1989. p. 2B.
- ^ "Colorado mourns quarterback's death". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 25, 1989. p. 2B.
- ^ "2,000 bid farewell to Aunese". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 26, 1989. p. 6D.
- ^ "Colorado tips Washington after memorial". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. October 1, 1989. p. 7B.
- ^ "Colorado ends Oklahoma domination, 20-3". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. October 29, 1989. p. 5B.
- ^ "Colorado nails Nebraska, 27-21". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. November 5, 1989. p. 1B.
- ^ 2011 Colorado football information guide
- ^ "Oklahoma – Getting a High Five in the Produce Aisle". CU at the Game. October 28, 1989. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
- ^ "A look back at Nov. 4, 1989: Colorado 27, Nebraska 21". Denver Post. November 22, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
- ^ "Nebraska vs. Colorado 1989". Husker Max. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
- ^ "Lackluster Colorado Leveled by Notre Dame". The New York Times. January 2, 1990. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
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Bowls & rivalries | |
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Culture & lore | |
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People | |
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Seasons | |
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National championship seasons in bold |
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MVIAA | |
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Big Six | |
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Big Seven | |
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Big Eight | |
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National championships in bold |