UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BUFFALOES / SPORTS INFORMATION SERVICE www.CUBuffs.com Fieldhouse Annex #50, 357 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0357 © 2008 CU Athletics Telephone 303/492-5626 (FAX: 303/492-3811; E-mail: [email protected]) David Plati (Associate AD/Sports Information), Andrew Green (Assistant SID), Troy Andre (Assistant SID/ Internet Managing Editor), COLORADO Linda Poncin (Assistant SID), Allie Musso (Assistant SID), Nick Bernal (Football Student Assistant). 2008 COLORADO BUFFALO Football Game 12 — NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS November 28 / 1:30 p.m. MST / Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Neb. RELEASE NUMBER 12 (November 23, 2008) ABC (National) | KOA-RADIO | CUBUFFS.COM (Live Stats) QUICKLY SPEAKING… The Colorado Buffaloes (5-6, 2-5 Big 12) close out the regular season this Friday in need of a win to become bowl eligible, and will travel to the northeast to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-4, 4-3 Big 12) in a 1:30 p.m. kickoff at Lincoln’s Memorial Stadium … The game will be televised nationally by ABC with Ron Franklin (play-by-play), Ed Cunningham (analyst) and Jack Arute (sidelines) on hand to call the action … CU and NU enter with a combined 12-10 record, 1-7 versus ranked teams and 11-3 versus the unranked … Friday will mark the 21st anniversary of when CU first wore all black uniforms, doing so on Nov. 28, 1987 against the Huskers in Boulder (NU won, 24-7) … This is just the fourth time since 1988 that neither team comes into the game ranked in the top 25; the Buffs have won two of the previous three … Ninety freshman have now started games over the last two seasons, the most in any two-year period in CU history … This marks the 13th straight year that the two schools meet the Friday after Thanksgiving; that possibly could change in the future: the two are scheduled to meet on either Nov. 27 or 28 in 2009, but won’t have the previous Saturday off has been the case every year since 1996; CU plays at Oklahoma State on Nov. 21 while Nebraska will host Kansas State … CU opponents have made 16-of-20 field goals this year; if it seems like the foe doesn’t miss much, the numbers bear it out: over the last four years, opponents are 57-of-75 (76 percent) … Visit CUBuffs.com/gameday as your one stop for everything, including live stats for all games. DEPTH CHART ON PAGE 60; ROSTER ON PAGES 61-62 WIN OR STAY HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS With a 5-6 record, this isn’t the first time CU is faced with having to win the regular season finale to qualify for a bowl game. With the explosion of bowls over the last 15 years, if CU became bowl eligible, it was going; prior, the Buffs on five occasions needed a win even with a winning record to advance to the postseason. The fourth time will have to be the charm with the Huskers, as in 1987, 1997 and 2003, NU kept the Buffs from the postseason and all three games were also played on Nov. 28. Here’s a look at the 11 previous times CU knew a win would earn itself a bowl appearance (won 6, lost 5): Season Record Finale Result Bowl Season Record Finale Result Bowl 1970 5-4 at Air Force W 49-19 Liberty 1987 7-3 NEBRASKA L 7-24 ……… 1973 5-5 KANSAS STATE L 14-17 ……… 1988 7-3 KANSAS STATE W 56-14 Freedom 1976 7-3 *at Kansas State W 35-28 Orange 1997 5-5 NEBRASKA L 24-27 ……… 1978 6-4 IOWA STATE L 16-20 ……… 2003 5-6 NEBRASKA L 22-31 ……… 1985 6-4 KANSAS STATE W 30- 0 Freedom 2007 5-6 NEBRASKA W 65-51 Independence 1986 5-5 at Kansas State W 49- 3 Bluebonnet (*—needed win to clinch share of Big 8 title; CU won tiebreakers for Orange Bowl) STAT OF THE WEEK The Buffs had the second best game in their history in fourth down conversions against Oklahoma State, going 4-of-4. That was second to only a 5-of-5 effort at Baylor on Nov. 13, 1999. CU is now 16-of-23 on the season, with the 16 makes a school record for a single year, eclipsing the 14 made (also on 23 tries) in 2003. Colorado is 15th in the NCAA in fourth down conversion percentage (69.6), with the 16 conversions tied for fourth and the 23 attempts tied for 12th. OBSCURE NOTE OF THE WEEK Colorado’s offensive woes have been well documented, with injuries playing the biggest role in CU’s struggles. But looking inside the numbers, here’s another factoid: the Buffs have started 36 of 140 possessions this season inside its own 20 (that’s 26 percent); the opponent has started 25 of 139 by comparison (18 percent). Combining a struggling young offense with a longer way to go for a touchdown is not what you would call a good mix. 2008 COLORADO SCHEDULE & RESULTS (5-6, 2-5 BIG 12) 2008 Date CU* Opponent Opp* TV Result/Time Record Series This-N-That Aug. 31 NR Colorado State (N; Denver) NR FSN W 38-17 6-6 59-19-2 Smith 93 KOR, Hawkins TD runs and defensive effort (CSU: 258 yds) wins it SEPT. 6 NR EASTERN WASHINGTON NR none W 31-24 6-5 1- 0-0 C.Brown’s 27 INT/TD return with 1:44 left rallies CU; Hawkins 3 TD passes SEPT. 18 NR WEST VIRGINIA 21 ESPN W 17-14 (OT) 7-3 1- 0-0 Buffs up 14-0 early, win it in first OT on Goodman 25 FG Sept. 27 NR Florida State (at Jacksonville) NR ABC L 21-39 8-3 0- 3-0 CU missed on early opportunities, FSU pulls away thanks to special teams OCT. 4 NR TEXAS (N; HC) 5 FSN L 14-38 10-1 7-10-0 Buffs sluggish on offense, late first half UT TD put ‘Horns up 21-0 Oct. 11 NR at Kansas 16 ESPN2 L 14-30 6-5 41-24-3 KU breaks open a 16-14 game with two fourth quarter scores OCT. 18 NR KANSAS STATE (FW) NR FSN W 14-13 5-7 44-19-1 Buffs rush for 247, CU forces KS into 6 3-and-outs, matching season total Oct. 25 NR at Missouri 16 FSN L 0-58 9-2 31-39-3 Tigers end CU’s 242-game scoring streak, but trot first team D out at end Nov. 1 NR at Texas A & M NR none L 17-24 4-7 5- 3-0 Buffs ahead 10-3 at half but A&M scores 21 in 3Q; CU season-high 392 TO NOV. 8 NR IOWA STATE NR Versus W 28-24 2-10 48-14-1 CU rallies from 11 down (9:14 4Q); Hawkins 4 TDs, Smith/Dykes GS TFL NOV. 15 NR OKLAHOMA STATE 11 ABC L 17-30 9-2 26-18-1 Buffs fall behind 13-0 and tried to play catch-up the rest of the way Nov. 28 NR at Nebraska NR ABC 1:30 p.m. 7-4 18-46-2 Teams play one of six games in ’07 where both teams scored 50-plus (All times mountain. KEY: —Big 12 Conference game; N—Night game; HC—Homecoming; FW—Family Weekend.) 2007 Colorado Football: The Media Page 2 MEDIA SERVICES ¾ Coach Dan Hawkins holds a Tuesday press luncheon in the Dal Ward Athletic Center, starting at 11:30 a.m. with lunch, followed by Hawkins beginning the interview session promptly at Noon. This year’s dates: Sept. 2-15 (Monday)-23-30, Oct. 7-14-21-28, Nov. 4-11-24 (Monday), Dec. 2-TBA (bowl). NOTE that there is no organized press luncheon on Sept. 9 or Nov. 18 (bye weeks). The press conference portion of the luncheon is streamed live on www.CUBuffs.com (in the BuffsTV area); all press conferences on CUBuffs.com are free and thus do not require access codes. ¾ Hawkins can be heard Mondays on the Big 12 Football Teleconference Call at 10:40 a.m. MT. All coaches participate; please call the Big 12 office (469-524-1007) for access (media only—you must register). A teleconference replay is available after 2 p.m. MT the same day by phone (706/634-1618) or on www.Big12sports.com. ¾ Video highlights of CU football games are available anytime provided by the Big 12 Confer+ence through www.CollegePressBox.tv. Highlights will be in files in Quicktime format, with all available for viewing prior to downloading. First-time visitors will need to register on-line for access; information: contact Ted Gangi at 214/909- 9314 or [email protected]. Special requests can also be made through CU’s BuffVision (Deric Swanson or Eric Pelloni: 303-735-3637). ¾ The Colorado lockerroom (home and road) is closed after games; following the customary 10-minute cooling off period, players will be made available (a list of players will be solicited immediately following the game; no cutoff to request players). ¾ Colorado’s regular season football practices are closed to the general public (exception: Sundays) but are open to the media (exception: Thursdays). The 11th through 30th minute of practices (Sun-Tues-Wed) in-season are open for photography/video needs from the end zones and sidelines. All parameters listed in CU media policies. ¾ This year’s standard meeting/practice schedule (mountain time, pre-time change): Sunday (3:15-5:00, 5:15-6:15); Monday (off); Tuesday (2:30-3:40/4:00-6:30), Wednesday (2:30-3:40/4:00-6:30), Thursday (2:30-3:40/4:00-6:00), Friday (3:00-4:00, evening meetings).