UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS Fieldhouse Annex #50, 357 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0357 www.CUBuffs.com Telephone 303/492-5626 (FAX: 303/492-3811; E-mail: [email protected]) David Plati (Assistant AD/Media Relations), Colleen Reilly Krueger (Associate SID), Lindsay Anhold (Assistant SID), Andrew Green (Assistant SID), Troy Andre (Asst. SID/Internet Managing Editor), Barry Rubenstein (Grad Assistant), COLORADO Patrick Gleason (FB Student Assistant). © 2003 CU Athletics. 2003 CU Football: Game 1 — Colorado State SAT., AUG. 30 / INVESCO Field at Mile High, Denver / 5:47 p.m. MDT (ESPN) RELEASE NUMBER 1 (August 25, 2003) Quickly The unranked Colorado Buffaloes (9-5, 7-1 Big 12 North Division champions in 2002) open the school’s 114th season of intercollegiate football this Saturday, August 30, in the Frontier Airlines Rocky Mountain Showdown in Denver against the in-state rival No. 23/NR Colorado State Rams (10-4, 6-1 Mountain West champs in 2002) in a 5:47 p.m. MDT kickoff at INVESCO Field at Mile High… The contest is expected to sellout (76,125), as few tickets remain (CU has sold its full allotment); that would make three of the six in Denver… The Rams opened the year at No. 25 in the coaches’ poll, but inexplicably dropped out as Iowa leaped past them (the only game involving a top 25 team last Saturday saw Kansas State beat California, and KSU head coach Bill Snyder was previously an assistant at Iowa, so that must be the reason)… CSU is the home team for the contest, the last of six straight in Denver as the ’04 and ’05 games return to campus, both in Boulder… ESPN will televise the game nationally, with Ron Franklin (play-by-play), Mike Gottfried (analysis) and Adrian Karsten (sidelines) to call the action… This marks the ninth straight game in the series that will be televised either nationally or regionally, as ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and Fox Sports Net have broadcast games between the two in-state rivals, which are located just 45 miles apart… When all is said and done come game time, coach Gary Barnett and his staff will have put the Buffs through 27 practices, two short of the maximum allowed… CU’s official website, www.CUBuffs.com, features game day updates and live stats for all games, home and road. DEPTH CHART ON PAGE 31 In-The-Polls CU was ranked No. 20 in the Associated Press (media) and No. 21 in the USA Today/ESPN (coaches) final polls of the 2002 season, but opens the year unranked in both (receiving votes in each, technically coming in at No. 28 in the coaches and No. 32 in the AP). CU has been ranked in 180 of the last 231 polls (AP; 78%), including a tremendous run of 143 consecutive between 1989 and 1997 (the 10th longest streak of all-time). Since 1989, CU has played the third most ranked teams in the nation (74), trailing only Florida State (81) and Florida (78). Season Openers Colorado is 70-38-5 in 113 season openers, with a 2-3-1 record at neutral sites (5 Denver, 1 Anaheim). CU has lost its last four “lid-lifters,” matching the only other time in its history the Buffs have dropped that many in a row (1938 to 1941, losing twice to Missouri and twice to Texas). CU head coach Gary Barnett is 4-9 in season openers in his career, which includes wins over Notre Dame and Oklahoma while at Northwestern. This will be the fifth time since 1990 that the Buffs will open against a ranked opponent, something Barnett did four times in seven openers while in Evanston. Stat of the Week Colorado isn’t perfect in its last 15 season openers (10-4-1), but the Buffs do get their yards. Colorado has amassed 6,781 yards in the 15 games, an average of 452.1 per, and is pretty close to 50-50 rushing (220.0) and passing (231.1). The Buffs have topped the 400-yard mark in a season opener seven times in the last 13 games, and haven’t been held under 300 in a season opener since 1983 (275 yards at Michigan State). Only once in the 19 openers since then has an opponent amassed more total offense than the Buffs, that coming in 1990 when Tennessee put 503 up against CU’s 436 in a 31-31 tie at Anaheim. Obscure Note of the Week Since the Buffs open unranked in 2003, it marks just the third time since 1988 that Colorado has not opened the season as a ranked team (the other two times came in 1998 and 2001). In ‘98, the Buffs won their opener—over No. 15 Colorado State, 42-14; CU dropped its ’01 opener to Fresno State, but got into the win column the following week—topping Colorado State, in Denver, and by a 41-14 score. 2003 Colorado Schedule (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) Date CU* Opponent Opp* TV Result/Time Record Series This-N-That Aug. 30 NR Colorado State (in Denver) 23 ESPN 5:47 p.m. 10-4 54-18-2 Last of six games in Denver; Boulder in ’04 & ‘05 SEPT. 6 UCLA ABC 1:30 p.m. 8-5 1- 4-0 Buffs on board in series with 31-17 win last fall SEPT. 13 WASHINGTON STATE TBA 1:30 p.m. 10-3 3- 1-0 Originally scheduled week of Sept. 11 in 2001 Sept. 20 at Florida State TBA TBA 9-5 0- 0-0 First CU visit to Fla. since ’91 Blockbuster Bowl Oct. 4 at Baylor TBA 5:00 p.m. 3-9 8- 4-0 CU has won 5 straight, with two straight shutouts OCT. 11 KANSAS (FW) TBA TBA 2-10 38-21-3 Buffs up 15-3 since ’85; 16-3 in Boulder since ’65 Oct. 18 at Kansas State TBA TBA 11-2 41-16-1 Teams had five scoring plays of 71 yards-plus in ’02 OCT. 25 OKLAHOMA (H) TBA TBA 12-2 16-36-2 OU sweep in ’02 stopped 8-0-1 Colorado run Nov. 1 at Texas Tech TBA TBA 9-5 3- 3-0 Home team has won all six games in series NOV. 8 MISSOURI TBA TBA 5-7 29-35-3 CU has 16-2 edge since ’85 (8-1 in Boulder) Nov. 15 at Iowa State TBA TBA 7-7 44-12-1 Buffs lead series 18-1 since ’84 (9-0 in Ames) NOV. 28 NEBRASKA ABC 10:00 a.m. 7-7 16-43-2 CU seeking three straight for first time since ’56-58 Dec. 6 Big 12 Championship Game ABC 5:00 p.m. (Kansas City, Mo.) No team has participated three straight times (All times mountain. KEY: *—AP rank at game time; —Big 12 Conference game; H—Homecoming; FW—Family Weekend) 2 | 2003 Colorado Football: The Media Page | 2 Media Services Coach Gary Barnett holds a Tuesday press luncheon in the Dal Ward Athletic Center, starting at 11:30 a.m. with lunch, followed by Barnett beginning the interview session promptly at Noon. This year’s dates: Sept. 2-9-16-30, Oct. 7-14-21-28, Nov. 4-11-24 (Monday), Dec. 2-TBA (bowl). NOTE that there is no organized press conference on Sept. 22 and Nov. 18 (Tuesdays of bye weeks). Barnett can be heard Mondays on the Big 12 Football Teleconference Call at 10:40 a.m. mountain time. All coaches participate weekly; please call 913/981-5507 for access (this number is intended for media only). The teleconference is replayed later in the day, and is available by calling 402/222-9912 after 3 p.m. mountain time. Video highlights of CU football games are available Tuesdays on the Big 12 Conference’s satellite highlights package, which can be found at Galaxy 4R (C-band), Transponder 20 (orbital slot 99W; 4100 MHz vertical, standard audio 6.2-6.8 MHz between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. MT from Aug. 26 through Dec. 9 (trouble number: 817/265-4465). Special requests can be made through CU’s BuffVision (303-735-3637). The Colorado lockerroom (home and road) is closed to all members of the media 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). Colorado’s football practices are closed to the public and media in 2003. The first 20 minutes of practice are open for photography (video) needs from the end zones and sidelines; after the 20-minute cutoff, all must leave practice at that time. This year’s tentative meeting/practice schedule (mountain time): Sunday (off); Monday (2:00-3:30; 3:30-6:00); Tuesday (2:15-3:30/3:30- 6:00), Wednesday (2:15-3:30/3:30-6:00), Thursday (2:15-3:30/3:30-5:30), Friday (5:30-6:00, evening meetings). Interviews with Colorado players are allowed both pre- and post-practice on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays (the cutoff moves up to post-Tuesday practice for Friday games). Phone interviews with out-of-town media are allowed all three days in both time slots. Interviews on Sundays are at the discretion of the player, as it being the standard player day off (no meetings or practice), CU can’t arrange due to NCAA rules. CU on the Internet Colorado has its information available to both the media and fans alike on the Internet.