2007 Colorado Buffaloes football team
Encyclopedia
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season
2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, or the college football season, began on August 30, 2007, progressed through the regular season and bowl season, and concluded with the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game in New Orleans, Louisiana on January 7, 2008, where the top...
. The team was coached by Dan Hawkins in his second season at Colorado and played their home games at Folsom Field
Folsom Field
Folsom Field is an outdoor football stadium on the campus of the University of Colorado, at Boulder, Colorado. Opened in 1924, it is the home field of the Colorado Buffaloes of the Pacific-12 Conference; until July 2011, Colorado was a member of the Big 12 Conference. The horseshoe-shaped stadium...
. Colorado finished 6-7 after losing in the Independence Bowl
2007 Independence Bowl
The 2007 PetroSun Independence Bowl, part of the 2007–08 NCAA football bowl season, took place on December 30, 2007 at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The competing teams were the Alabama Crimson Tide, representing the Southeastern Conference, and the Colorado Buffaloes, from...
to Alabama
2007 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
The 2007 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama for the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season trying to improve from a disappointing 6–7 record in the 2006 season. The Tide was led by its new head coach Nick Saban, a former head coach of rival LSU. Despite a...
. 2007 was Colorado's first consecutive losing season in 22 years, but represented a vast improvement over the team's 2-10 mark in 2006.
Spring practice
Prior to spring practice, there were two position changes planned: Cha’pelle Brown will move from cornerback to wide receiver, and Joe Sanders will switch back to tight end from outside linebacker. Sanders started his career at tight end but two weeks into his first spring practice moved to inside linebacker (he missed the fall of his freshman year after undergoing shoulder surgery).
Nine players will not return from the 2006 squad: Paul Backowski (OL), Quinton Borders (OL), Dominique Brooks (S), Clayton Cammon (WR, walkon), Steve Fendry (TE), Isaac Garden (P/PK, walkon, graduated), Tom Grubin (C, walkon), Jeremy Hauck (OL) and Reggie Joseph (WR).
The annual spring game occurred on April 14. The game consisted of a mix between live scrimmages and 7-on-7 drills due to the shortage of healthy and eligible offensive linemen. The offense was remarked as having made improvements compared to last season's spring game.
Bernard Jackson (quarterback)
Bernard Jackson was a quarterback at Colorado. He played quarterback for the Santiago Sharks at Santiago High School in Corona, California...
, the starting quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
from last season saw limited time at the position during spring practice and was used as a wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
, running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
, punt
Punt returner
Punt returner is a position on special teams in American football.-Description:The role of a punt returner is to catch the ball after it is punted and to give his team good field position by returning it. Before catching the punted ball, the returner must assess the situation on the field while...
and kick returner
Kick returner
In American and Canadian football, a kick returner is the player on special teams who is primarily responsible to catch kickoffs and attempts to return them in the opposite direction. If the ball is kicked into his own endzone, he must assess the situation on the field while the ball is in the...
. Cody Hawkins
Cody Hawkins
Cody Hawkins is a former quarterback for the University of Colorado Buffaloes football team, and current quarterback for the Stockholm Mean Machines of the Sweden Super Series.-High school:...
(Red shirt Freshman) and Nick Nelson (JC transfer Junior) competed for the quarterback position. Hawkins completed 12-of-20 passes for 119 yards an interception and a touchdown in live action. In 7-on-7 drills, he completed 15-of-23 passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns. Nelson completed 3-of-10 passes for 30 yards and an interception and also had two rushes for 20 yards during live action. In 7-on-7 drills, he completed 21-of-28 passes for 256 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
Awards
- Jordon DizonJordon DizonJordon Dizon is an American football linebacker who is currently a free agent. Dizon played college football for the University of Colorado. He was voted runner-up for the 2007 Butkus Award, given each year to college football's best linebacker...
- Lott TrophyLott TrophyThe Lott IMPACT Trophy is presented annually to the college football Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. IMPACT is an acronym for: integrity, maturity, performance, academics, community, and tenacity. The award purports to equally recognize the personal character of the winning player as well as...
watchlist
- Lott Trophy
- Daniel Sanders
- Dave Rimington TrophyDave Rimington TrophyThe Dave Rimington Trophy is awarded to the player considered to be the best center in college football. Dave Rimington was a center who played at the University of Nebraska from 1979-1982....
watchlist
- Dave Rimington Trophy
- Terrence WheatleyTerrence WheatleyTerrence Wheatley is an American football cornerback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft...
- Jim Thorpe AwardJim Thorpe AwardThe Jim Thorpe Award, named in memory of multi-sport legend Jim Thorpe, has been awarded to the top defensive back in college football since 1986...
watchlist
- Jim Thorpe Award
Infraction
In June 2007, the Buffaloes were placed under probation for two years and fined $United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
100,000 for undercharging 133 student-athletes for meals over a six year span (2000-01 to 2005-06) resulting in the major infraction. The football program, with 86 of the 133 student-athletes involved, also lost one scholarship for the next three seasons.
Recruiting
National Signing DayNational Signing Day
National Signing Day most commonly refers to a day in February, usually on the first Wednesday of that month, which is the first day that a high school senior can sign a binding National Letter of Intent for college football with a school that is a member of the NCAA, the main governing body for...
was on February 7, 2007 and Colorado signed high school athletes from around the country. Colorado's overall team ranking was 35th by Scout.com and 31st by Rivals.com. Colorado had 31 scholarships available.
Official CU Signing Day Central
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|colspan="20"|2006 = counts towards 2006 class
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- Jess Beets (OL, 6-3, 280) from Mission Viejo, CA (Saddleback JC) had given a verbal commitment but picked Kentucky over Colorado.
- Apaiata Tuihalamaka (LB, 6-3, 205) from Gardena, CA (Junipero Serra HS) had given a verbal commitment to Colorado on November 15, 2006 but later retracted and gave a verbal commitment to the Arizona WildcatsArizona Wildcats-Athletic program:The University of Arizona participates in the NCAA's Division I-A in the Pacific-12 Conference Arizona participates in the conference's South Division, along with Arizona State, Colorado, UCLA, USC, and Utah...
on December 1, 2006. - Devonne Quattlebaum (S, 6-0, 175) from Monetta, SC (Ridge-Spring Monetta HS) had given a verbal commitment to Colorado in November. But he took another recruiting visit to South Carolina State UniversitySouth Carolina State UniversitySouth Carolina State University is a historically black university located in Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States. It is the only state funded, historically black land-grant institution in South Carolina and is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.- Colleges, departments,...
in late January and gave a "solid verbal" to them afterwards. - Adam Tello (OL, 6-4, 290) from Norco, CA (Norco HS) had verbally committed to Colorado but later retracted giving a commitment to Arizona State on February 6, 2007.
- Garth Gerhart (OL, 6-2, 300) from Norco, CA (Norco HS) had verbally committed to Colorado but gave a verbal commitment to Arizona State on February 6, 2007.
- Robert Hall (LB, 6-2, 220) from Friendswood, TX (Friendswood HS) was reported as committing to Colorado but did not sign.
Uniform changes
On June 2, 2007, Colorado announced changes to their uniforms. Most notable is the incorporation of silver into the uniform combining the two school colors, silver and gold, for the first time. The "COLORADO" across the chest and player names on the back are now smaller, and will be gold instead of white (the only color it has ever been). The numbers will now be silver. The pants now have trim on the sides; silver on the gold pants and gold on the black pants. The white pants have now been eliminated. In addition to the design change, the new uniforms designed by Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
also improve technical parts of the uniform including innovative fit, weight reduction, increased ventilation and improved moisture management.
Schedule
The schedule was ranked as the #10 toughest home schedule.Roster
Michael Sipili was charged with assault for being suspected for fighting with Taj Kaynor, defensive tackle, also involving Chris Perri, sophomore defensive tackle on June 22, 2007. Sipili and Perri were suspended for the first three games and Kaynor was suspended for the first game. Sipili was later suspended from campus on September 21, 2007 for the fall semester over the incident forcing him to miss the entire season. As a true sophomore, he will likely use this season as a redshirt and have 3 years remaining of eligibility.Starting running back Hugh Charles suffered a pulled hamstring on the first series of the Colorado State game, forcing him to miss the rest of that game and the Arizona State game the following week.
| (as of October 22, 2007) | ||||
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C = Captain ‡ = Out for season (SUSP) = Suspended for game(s) Positions listed by (numerical order) mean no preference by the coaching staff who is a starter and/or playing time Tight Ends and Tailbacks |
Coaching staff
| Name | Position | Years at CU |
Alma mater Alma mater Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:... (Year) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Hawkins | Head Coach | 1 | University of California, Davis University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment... (1984) |
| Ron Collins | Defensive Coordinator | 1 | Washington State University Washington State University Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university... (1987) |
| Mark Helfrich | Offensive Coordinator Quarterbacks |
1 | Southern Oregon University Southern Oregon University is a public liberal arts college located in Ashland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1926, it was formerly known as Southern Oregon College and Southern Oregon State College . SOU offers criminology, natural sciences, including environmental science, Shakespearean studies and theatre arts programs... (1996) |
| Jeff Grimes | Offensive Line | 0 | University of Texas at El Paso University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso is a four-year state university, and is a component institution of the University of Texas System. Its campus is located on the bank of the Rio Grande in El Paso, Texas. The school was founded in 1914 as The Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy,... (1991) |
| Eric Kiesau | Passing Game Coordinator Receivers |
1 | Portland State University Portland State University Portland State University is a public state urban university located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1946, it has the largest overall enrollment of any university in the state of Oregon, including undergraduate and graduate students. It is also the only public university in... (1996) |
| Romeo Bandison | Defensive Line | 1 | University of Oregon University of Oregon -Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :... (1994) |
| Greg Brown | Secondary | 4 (1991–93) |
University of Texas at El Paso (1980) |
| Brian Cabral Brian Cabral -External links:... |
Linebackers | 18 | University of Colorado at Boulder (1978) |
| Darian Hagan Darian Hagan Darian Hagan is a former American football and Canadian football player, who, since February 2005, is an assistant coach of the University of Colorado Buffaloes football team.-College career:... |
Running Backs | 2 | University of Colorado at Boulder (1991) |
| Kent Riddle | Tight Ends Special Teams |
1 | Oregon State University Oregon State University Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the... (1991) |
| Mark Nolan | Recruiting Coordinator | 1 | Willamette University Willamette University Willamette University is an American private institution of higher learning located in Salem, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest university in the Western United States. Willamette is a member of the Annapolis Group of colleges, and is made up of an undergraduate College of Liberal Arts and... (1995) |
| Jashon Sykes Jashon Sykes Jashon Sykes is a former American football linebacker. He played college football for the Colorado Buffaloes, and was subsequently signed by the Denver Broncos. He started 11 games during his career with the Broncos. He now works as the director of football operations for CU.... |
Recruiting Coordinator | 1 | University of Colorado at Boulder (2002) |
Colorado State
The 2007 QwestQwest
Qwest Communications International, Inc. was a large United States telecommunications carrier. Qwest provided local service in 14 western U.S. states: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.On April...
Rocky Mountain Showdown
Rocky Mountain Showdown
The Rocky Mountain Showdown is an an American college football rivalry game played annually by the Colorado Buffaloes football team of the University of Colorado and the Colorado State Rams football team of Colorado State University. The winner of the game receives the Centennial Cup. The series...
was back in Invesco Field at Mile High
INVESCO Field at Mile High
Sports Authority Field at Mile High, previously known as Invesco Field at Mile High, and commonly known as Mile High, is a multi-purpose stadium, in Denver, Colorado. It replaced the identically sized, but commercially obsolete Mile High Stadium in 2001...
in Denver, CO
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
with the kickoff at 10:10 am MDT. Both the Colorado Buffaloes and Colorado State Rams were coming off losing seasons. Colorado State won last season's game and the series was tied at 4-4 over the last 8 games coming into the game. Colorado State returned running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
Kyle Bell who missed last season due to an injury. Colorado started quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Cody Hawkins
Cody Hawkins
Cody Hawkins is a former quarterback for the University of Colorado Buffaloes football team, and current quarterback for the Stockholm Mean Machines of the Sweden Super Series.-High school:...
, head coach Dan Hawkins' son and a redshirt freshman in his first start at the college level.
Colorado had been favored entering the game. This was Colorado's 200th game against current members of the Mountain West Conference
Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference , popularly known as the Mountain West, is the youngest of the college athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I FBS . The MWC officially began operations in July 1999...
, with a 137-55-7 record. Colorado was 73-39-5 in their 117 season openers and had won five of its last eight season openers entering the game. Colorado was 8-5, prior to the game, against intrastate rival Colorado State when the Rams have been the opposition in the season opener.
The game was not sold out, with the low sales possibly due to the losing records of both teams last season. There were about 9,000 tickets still available a week before the game. Invesco Field has a capacity of 76,125. A crowd of 68,133 ultimately attended the game.
Colorado made a come from behind victory to force overtime and then win the game. The game started with the first three series scoring touchdowns. Cody Hawkins completed 18 of 31 passes for 201 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Colorado State's Kyle Bell rushed for a career-high 40 times for 135 yards and a touchdown. Colorado State's quarterback, Hanie went 20-of-27 and threw three touchdown passes to tight end Kory Sperry and one interception, in overtime.
Colorado State won the coin toss in overtime and elected to go first. Terrence Wheatley made an interception to end the Rams' OT side. Kevin Eberhart, senior place kicker, had a good game going 3 for 4 with a career long 38-yard field goal before halftime, a 22-yard field goal with 13 seconds left to send the game into overtime and the game winning 35-yard kick in overtime.
Colorado lost their starting running back, Hugh Charles early in the first quarter with a pulled hamstring. The backup, Demetrius Sumler rushed 16 times for 85-yards.
External link: http://www.qwestrockymountainshowdown.com
Arizona State
Colorado lost last season to Arizona State (21-3), the only time the teams have previously played each other. The game was scheduled to start at 8:28 p.m. Mountain Time. Entering the game, Colorado had a 9-2 record in the state of ArizonaArizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, including 8-0 against the Arizona Wildcats
Arizona Wildcats
-Athletic program:The University of Arizona participates in the NCAA's Division I-A in the Pacific-12 Conference Arizona participates in the conference's South Division, along with Arizona State, Colorado, UCLA, USC, and Utah...
and 1-2 in the Fiesta Bowl
Fiesta Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Frito-Lay and named with their Tostitos brand, is a United States college football bowl game played annually at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Between its origination in 1971 and 2006, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil...
. A sellout crowd larger than 71,000 was expected to be in attendance. Colorado had won their last two road games against Pacific-10 Conference opponents before this game; Washington State Cougars
Washington State Cougars
The Washington State Cougars are the athletic teams at Washington State University; the term applies to any of the school's varsity teams. Washington State University is a member of the Pacific-12 Conference, which participates in the NCAA Division I...
in 2004 and UCLA Bruins
UCLA Bruins
The UCLA Bruins are the sports teams for University of California, Los Angeles . The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pacific-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation . For football, they are in the Football Bowl Subdivision of Division I...
in 2003.
Arizona State entered the game 1-0, with a win the previous week over the San Jose State Spartans
San José State Spartans
The San Jose State Spartans is the name of the athletic teams representing San Jose State University. SJSU sports teams compete in the Western Athletic Conference at the NCAA Division I level...
. Head coach Dennis Erickson
Dennis Erickson
Dennis Erickson is an American football coach and former player. He was the head football coach at Arizona State University until November 28, 2011, a position he had held since the 2007 season. In 2008 the Arizona Board of Regents had approved a contract extension to keep Erickson at Arizona...
was going for his 150th win in his 215th game. Coming into the game, Arizona State was 3-2 all time against the Big 12 Conference
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
.
The Buffaloes scored two touchdowns in the first quarter including an interception return for a touchdown by Terrence Wheatley
Terrence Wheatley
Terrence Wheatley is an American football cornerback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft...
, while holding the Sun Devils
Arizona State Sun Devils football
The Arizona State Sun Devils' football program represents Arizona State University in college football, and competes in NCAA Division I FBS as a member of the Pacific-12 Conference....
scoreless. ASU responded with three touchowns in the second quarter, but they missed their second extra point
Extra Point
Extra Point is a twice-daily, two-minute segment on ESPN Radio that covers generic sports-related topical news and opinion. The AM edition airs Monday through Saturday at various times between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. ET, and the PM edition airs Monday through Friday between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET...
(wide left) and their attempt at a two point conversion after their third touchdown, so they took a 19-14 lead into halftime. Colorado did not score for the rest of the game. Arizona added two more touchdowns in the third quarter.
The actual crowd attendance was 58,417.
Florida State
Colorado welcomed Florida State (1–1) for their home opener. Florida State won the only previous game between the two schools on September 20, 2003.Florida State came in to the game with a win the previous week over the UAB Blazers
UAB Blazers
The UAB Blazers are the forest green and old gold-swathed athletic teams at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The school is one of the twelve member institutions of Conference USA and participates in Division I of the NCAA...
and a loss in the season opener against the Clemson Tigers
Clemson Tigers
The Clemson Tigers are any team that represents Clemson University as a member of the NCAA's Division I or in the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference....
. The game was scheduled to start at 8:10 p.m. Mountain Time and aired on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
. There were approximately 3,000 tickets remaining 3 days before the game. Florida State was 15-11 all-time against Big 12 Conference teams coming in to the game.
Colorado was 7-5 all-time against Atlantic Coast Conference
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
teams and 0-4 when playing on September 15 before the game. There were only 4 current Colorado players that dressed for the previous match-up in 2003: Eberhart, Wheatley, Robinson and Sanders. Colorado students and fans were planning to "black out" the stadium by wearing black clothing.
Actual attendance was 52,951. Colorado's Eberhart missed two field goals of 37 and 46 yards. Colorado scored a touchdown with 3:36 left in the game to keep their record scoring streak alive; the latest score in a game to keep the streak alive. Colorado has not been shutout in a football game since November 12, 1988 when they played the Nebraska Cornhuskers
Nebraska Cornhuskers
The Nebraska Cornhuskers is the name given to several sports teams of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference...
. They have not been shutout at home since November 15, 1986 by the Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma Sooners
The University of Oklahoma features 19 varsity sports teams. Both men's and women's teams are called the Sooners, a nickname given to the early participants in the land rushes which initially opened the Oklahoma Indian Territory to non-native settlement. They participate in the NCAA's Division I-A,...
. Terrence Wheatley
Terrence Wheatley
Terrence Wheatley is an American football cornerback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft...
left the game with a knee injury during the 4th quarter, with his future status undetermined.
In the week after the game, Matt DiLallo was named to the Ray Guy Award
Ray Guy Award
The Ray Guy Award is presented annually to college football's top punter by the Greater Augusta Sports Council. The award is named after punter Ray Guy, a former All-American at Southern Mississippi and an all-pro player for the Oakland Raiders.-Criteria:...
watchlist.
Miami University
Colorado beat the Miami University RedHawks by a score of 42-0. It was first time the RedHawks were shut out since a 1993 loss to Ball StateBall State University
Ball State University is a state-run research university located in Muncie, Indiana. It is also known as Ball State or simply BSU.Located on the northwest side of the city, Ball State's campus spans and includes 106 buildings...
. In sophomore quarterback Daniel Raudabaugh’s first start of the season for Miami, he completed 11 of 32 passes for only 95 yards. The Colorado defense was never able to sack Raudabaugh, but they did not allow him time to set his feet for passes. Colorado out gained Miami 634-139 in total yardage. The Buffaloes’ offense rushed for 359 after only running for 134 total yards in three previous games.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma was first to score by capitalizing on a D.J. Wolfe interception returned to the Colorado 11. Sam Bradford connected with Juaquin Iglesias for the 13 yard touchdown. The Buffalo's scored next by driving the ball 70 yards capped off by a 25 yard touchdown rush by Hugh Charles. The Sooners responded 49 seconds later thanks to a 34 yard touchdown run by Allen Patrick. The Sooners added 3 more as a result of a 28 yard Hartley field goal to return to the locker rooms at halftime with a 17-7 lead.Baylor
Kansas State
Kansas
Texas Tech
Missouri
Iowa State
Colorado seemed to have this game under control with a 21—0 lead at halftime. However, Iowa State rallied back in the second half for the victory. Coach Hawkins made a controversial call going for a first down on 4th—1 on Colorado's own 43—yard line after Iowa State refused a 10-yard holding penalty in the third quarter. The Buffaloes fell short of making the first down when Demetrius Sumler was stopped by Jesse Smith. Iowa State would score their first points of the game three plays later.Bret Culbertson of Iowa State kicked a 24—yard field goal
Field goal (football)
A field goal in American football and Canadian football is a goal that may be scored during general play . Field goals may be scored by a placekick or the now practically extinct drop kick.The drop kick fell out of favor in 1934 when the shape of the ball was changed...
with 12:21 left in the game to put the Cyclones up 31—21. Kevin Eberhart of Colorado had earlier missed a 43—yard field goal. Colorado then fought back and Scotty McKnight
Scotty McKnight
-New York Jets:McKnight was drafted by the New York Jets in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL Draft. McKnight joins best friend Mark Sanchez, whom McKnight has known since he was eight years old. McKnight signed a four-year contract on July 29, 2011. He was waived on September 2. McKnight was...
scored a 9—yard touchdown pass from Cody Hawkins
Cody Hawkins
Cody Hawkins is a former quarterback for the University of Colorado Buffaloes football team, and current quarterback for the Stockholm Mean Machines of the Sweden Super Series.-High school:...
with 2:40 left in the game. The defensed forced a 3 and out after the kickoff to get the ball back with 46 seconds left in the game on their own 28 yard line. In 5 passing plays, 4 complete, they moved the ball 34 yards to the Iowa State 33 yard line. With no timeouts, they rushed the field goal unit on to the field and Eberhart made a 50—yard field goal with 1 second left on the clock. However, Colorado was penalized 5 yards for snapping the ball before it was whistled ready for play (officially Offensive Delay of Game) which nullified the field goal. With 1 second left on the clock, Eberhart again made the 55—yard field goal try, but the officials ruled the ball had not been snapped before time expired. The field goal was again nullified and the game was over.
Nebraska
Alabama
Colorado earned a bowlBowl game
In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
bid to the Independence Bowl
Independence Bowl
The Independence Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, so named because it was inaugurated in the United States bicentennial year, 1976....
against the Alabama Crimson Tide on December 2, 2007. This was third football game ever between the two schools, with the teams having split the previous two games. They were also both bowl games, the 1969 Liberty Bowl
Liberty Bowl
The Liberty Bowl is an annual U.S. American college football bowl game played in December of each year from 1959 to 2007 and in January in 2009 and 2010. The Liberty Bowl was sponsored by AXA Financial and was known as the AXA Liberty Bowl from 1997 to 2003...
, where Colorado won 47-33, and the 1991 Blockbuster Bowl where Alabama won 30-25.
Alabama scored on their opening drive off of a Leigh Tiffin
Leigh Tiffin
Van Leigh Tiffin is an American football kicker who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2010...
field goal to lead 3-0. Colorado's first offensive play of the game resulted in an interception by Rolando McClain
Rolando McClain
-Oakland Raiders:McClain signed his contract with the Raiders on July 28, 2010, in time to make the first day of training camp. The contract is estimated to be for $40 million over 5 years....
. Once again, Alabama relied on another field goal from Tiffin to push their lead to 6-0. Later in the quarter, Alabama's John Parker Wilson
John Parker Wilson
John Parker Wilson is an American football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. college football at the University of Alabama, he went undrafted during the 2009 NFL Draft, before signing with the Falcons as a free agent.-Freshman:After leading Hoover High School to...
would throw a touchdown to Keith Brown and Matt Caddell to push the Crimson Tide to a 20-0 lead after one quarter. Early in the second quarter, Wilson would connect to Nikita Stover on a 31-yard touchdown pass and the Crimson Tide lead 27-0 after just under 20 minutes played in the game. The Buffaloes would control the majority of the second quarter after Wilson threw an interception. Buffaloes freshman quarterback Cody Hawkins
Cody Hawkins
Cody Hawkins is a former quarterback for the University of Colorado Buffaloes football team, and current quarterback for the Stockholm Mean Machines of the Sweden Super Series.-High school:...
threw touchdown passes to Tyson DeVree
Tyson DeVree
Tyson DeVree is an American football tight end who is currently under contract with the Indianapolis Colts. He was signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2008...
and Dusty Sprague to close the gap, as the Crimson Tide lead 27-14 at halftime. The only score in the third quarter would come from Kevin Eberhart on a Colorado field goal. Leigh Tiffin kicked a field goal as the Crimson Tide lead 30-17, though Cody Hawkins and Tyson DeVree would connect on another passing touchdown. In a desperation attempt with 0:01 left in the fourth quarter, Colorado would attempt several laterals but would fall short of midfield.
Alabama's victory sent them to a 7–6 overall record as they avoided a second consecutive losing season. Colorado had its second consecutive losing season for the first time in 22 years.
Statistics
Colorado does not include bowl game statistics as part of their season total statistics. The statistics below therefore are for the 12 game regular season and do not include any statistics recorded during the bowl game against Alabama.Source for all statistics below: http://www.cubuffs.com/pdf3/100956.pdf?ATCLID=1207369&SPSID=3844&SPID=255&DB_OEM_ID=600
Team
| class="wikitable" style="white-space:nowrap;"> | ||
| Team | Opp | |
|---|---|---|
| Scoring | 331 | 353 |
| Points per Game | 27.6 | 29.4 |
| First Downs | 234 | 236 |
| Rushing | 90 | 75 |
| Passing | 124 | 148 |
| Penalty | 20 | 13 |
| Total Offense | 4524 | 4673 |
| Avg per Play | 5.07 | 5.63 |
| Avg per Game | 377.0 | 389.4 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 26-10 | 18-6 |
| Penalties-Yards | 84-696 | 80-656 |
| Avg per Game | 7.0-58.0 | 6.7-54.7 |
- The neutral site game against Colorado State is not recoded in the attendance figures above. The attendance for that game was 68,133.
Scores by quarter
Rushing
| Name | GP-GS | Att | Gain | Loss | Net | Avg | TD | Long | Avg/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hugh Charles | 11- | 185 | 1022 | 33 | 989 | 5.3 | 8 | 41 | 89.9 |
| Demetrius Sumler | 11- | 100 | 351 | 16 | 335 | 3.4 | 4 | 30 | 30.5 |
| Brian Lockridge | 8- | 38 | 227 | 14 | 213 | 5.6 | 1 | 47 | 26.6 |
| Byron Ellis | 12- | 32 | 133 | 2 | 131 | 4.1 | 2 | 28t | 10.9 |
| Dusty Sprague | 12- | 10 | 68 | 0 | 68 | 6.8 | 1 | 19 | 5.7 |
| Patrick Williams | 12- | 6 | 39 | 2 | 37 | 6.2 | 0 | 24 | 3.1 |
| Josh Smith | 10- | 10 | 43 | 9 | 34 | 3.4 | 0 | 13 | 3.4 |
| Jake Behrens | 9- | 5 | 33 | 0 | 33 | 6.5 | 0 | 23 | 3.7 |
| Kendrick Celestine | 11- | 6 | 37 | 10 | 27 | 4.5 | 0 | 17 | 2.5 |
| Kevin Moyd | 6- | 4 | 18 | 2 | 16 | 4.0 | 0 | 9 | 2.7 |
| Stephone Robinson | 11- | 5 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 1.0 | 0 | 6 | 0.5 |
| Samson Jagoras | 12- | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | -2.0 | 0 | -2 | -0.2 |
| Nick Nelson | 3- | 6 | 13 | 15 | -2 | -0.3 | 0 | 7 | -0.7 |
| Cody Hawkins Cody Hawkins Cody Hawkins is a former quarterback for the University of Colorado Buffaloes football team, and current quarterback for the Stockholm Mean Machines of the Sweden Super Series.-High school:... |
12-12 | 40 | 89 | 100 | -11 | -0.3 | 3 | 12 | -0.9 |
| TEAM | - | 9 | 0 | 73 | -73 | 0 | -1 | ||
| Total | 12 | 457 | 2082 | 282 | 1800 | 3.94 | 90 | 47 | 150.0 |
- A t in the Long column means the play was also a touchdown.
Passing
| Name | GP-GS | Effic | Att-Cmp-Int | Pct | Yds | TD | Lng | Avg/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cody Hawkins Cody Hawkins Cody Hawkins is a former quarterback for the University of Colorado Buffaloes football team, and current quarterback for the Stockholm Mean Machines of the Sweden Super Series.-High school:... |
12-12 | 117.4 | 424-239-15 | 56.4 | 2693 | 19 | 65 | 224.4 |
| Nick Nelson | 3- | 80.8 | 6-3-0 | 50.0 | 22 | 0 | 10 | 7.3 |
| Scotty McKnight | 12- | 1-1-0 | 100.0 | 9 | 0 | 9 | ||
| Brian Lockridge | 8- | 1-0-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Matt DiLallo | 12- | 1-0-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| TEAM | 3-0-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 436-243-15 | 55.7 | 2724 | 19 | 65 | 227.0 |
Receiving
| Name | GP-GS | No. | Yds | Avg | TD | Long | Avg/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotty McKnight | 12- | 43 | 488 | 11.3 | 4 | 40 | 40.7 |
| Tyson DeVree | 11- | 28 | 308 | 11.0 | 6 | 29 | 28.0 |
| Dusty Sprague | 12- | 27 | 336 | 12.4 | 2 | 28 | 28.0 |
| Patrick Williams | 12- | 27 | 265 | 9.8 | 0 | 31 | 22.1 |
| Hugh Charles | 11- | 24 | 233 | 9.7 | 1 | 33 | 21.1 |
| Josh Smith | 10- | 23 | 451 | 19.6 | 0 | 65 | 45.1 |
| Riar Geer | 12- | 14 | 128 | 9.1 | 2 | 32 | 10.7 |
| Byron Ellis | 12- | 12 | 39 | 3.3 | 1 | 9 | 3.3 |
| Kendrick Celestine | 11- | 11 | 151 | 13.7 | 0 | 37 | 13.7 |
| Joe Sanders | 12- | 8 | 71 | 8.9 | 0 | 14 | 5.9 |
| Cody Crawford | 12- | 7 | 73 | 10.4 | 0 | 20 | 6.1 |
| Demetrius Sumler | 11- | 6 | 41 | 6.8 | 1 | 12 | 3.7 |
| Stephone Robinson | 11- | 5 | 65 | 13.0 | 0 | 35 | 5.9 |
| Nate Solder | 12- | 3 | 50 | 16.7 | 0 | 23 | 4.2 |
| Samson Jagoras | 12- | 2 | 12 | 6.0 | 0 | 4 | 1.0 |
| Cody Hawkins Cody Hawkins Cody Hawkins is a former quarterback for the University of Colorado Buffaloes football team, and current quarterback for the Stockholm Mean Machines of the Sweden Super Series.-High school:... |
12- | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | 9 | 0.8 |
| Patrick Devenny | 6- | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 1 | 3t | 0.5 |
| Jake Behrens | 9- | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 1t | 0.1 |
| Total | 243 | 2724 | 11.2 | 19 | 65 | 227 |
- A "t" in the Long column means the play was also a touchdown.
Defense
| Name | GP | Tackles | Sacks | Pass Defense | Interceptions | Fumbles | Blkd Kick |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solo | Ast | Total | TFL-Yds | No-Yds | BrUp | QBH | No.-Yds | Avg | TD | Long | Rcv-Yds | FF | |||
| Jordon Dizon Jordon Dizon Jordon Dizon is an American football linebacker who is currently a free agent. Dizon played college football for the University of Colorado. He was voted runner-up for the 2007 Butkus Award, given each year to college football's best linebacker... |
12 | 120 | 40 | 160 | 7-13 | 4-29 | 3 | 10 | 2-79 | 39.5 | 1 | 42t | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Daniel Dykes | 12 | 60 | 23 | 83 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3 | 4 | 1-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Jeff Smart | 12 | 43 | 37 | 80 | 4-16 | 0-0 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Brad Jones | 12 | 45 | 27 | 72 | 2-4 | 2-4 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Ryan Walters | 11 | 31 | 32 | 63 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 5 | 5 | 1-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Benjamin Burney | 12 | 37 | 18 | 55 | 4-27 | 0-0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| George Hypolite | 12 | 34 | 10 | 44 | 5-11 | 6-42 | 1 | 8 | 1-6 | 6.0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cha'pelle Brown | 12 | 34 | 8 | 42 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 12 | 1 | 1-51 | 51.0 | 0 | 51 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terrence Wheatley Terrence Wheatley Terrence Wheatley is an American football cornerback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft... |
10 | 32 | 10 | 42 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 10 | 2 | 5-65 | 13.0 | 1 | 35t | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Brandon Nicolas | 12 | 28 | 9 | 37 | 8-16 | 3-17 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Alonzo Barrett | 12 | 29 | 7 | 36 | 5-16 | 1-6 | 2 | 7 | 1-4 | 4.0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Maurice Lucas | 12 | 24 | 6 | 30 | 3-3 | 2-16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Lionel Harris | 10 | 18 | 5 | 23 | 1-4 | 1-12 | 1 | 0 | 2-30 | 15.0 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gardner McKay | 12 | 16 | 0 | 16 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Jake Duren | 9 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| R.J. Brown | 3 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Chris Perri | 9 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Marquez Herrod | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Jimmy Smith | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 1-31 | 31.0 | 1 | 31t | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jalil Brown | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| B.J. Beatty | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Taj Kaynor | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Jason Brace | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Eric Lawson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Nate Vaiomounga | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 579 | 249 | 828 | 48-129 | 19-130 | 63 | 126 | 15-266 | 17.7 | 3 | 51 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
- A "t" in the Longest Interception return column means it was also for a touchdown.
Special teams
| Name | Punting | Kickoffs | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Yds | Avg | Long | TB | FC | I20 | Blkd | No. | Yds | Avg | TB | OB | |
| Matt DiLallo | 61 | 2447 | 40.11 | 57 | 3 | 22 | 1 | ||||||
| Tom Suazo | 1 | 48 | 48.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| TEAM | 1 | -6 | -6.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 62 | 2495 | 39.60 | 57 | 3 | 22 | 1 | ||||||
| Name | Punt Returns | Kick Returns | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Yds | Avg | TD | Long | No. | Yds | Avg | TD | Long | |
| Chase McBride | 33 | 316 | 9.6 | 0 | 43 | |||||
| Alonzo Barrett | 2 | 32 | 16.0 | 0 | 17 | |||||
| Stephone Robinson | 4 | 54 | 13.5 | 0 | 42 | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 0 | 10 |
| Daniel Dykes | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 0 | 7 | |||||
| Jordon Dizon Jordon Dizon Jordon Dizon is an American football linebacker who is currently a free agent. Dizon played college football for the University of Colorado. He was voted runner-up for the 2007 Butkus Award, given each year to college football's best linebacker... |
0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | ||||||
| Gardner McKay | 0 | -3 | 0 | -3 | ||||||
| Terrence Wheatley | 37 | 919 | 24.8 | 0 | 68 | |||||
| Hugh Charles | 14 | 364 | 26.0 | 0 | 34 | |||||
| Byron Ellis | 5 | 71 | 14.2 | 0 | 19 | |||||
| Scotty McKnight | 1 | 21 | 21.0 | 0 | 21 | |||||
| Tyson DeVree | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| R.J. Brown | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | ||||||
| TEAM | 1 | -7 | -7.0 | 0 | -7 | |||||
| Total | 40 | 411 | 10.3 | 0 | 43 | 60 | 1380 | 23.0 | 0 | 68 |