UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BUFFALOES / SPORTS INFORMATION SERVICE www.CUBuffs.com Fieldhouse Annex #50, 357 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0357 © 2007 CU Athletics Telephone 303/492-5626 (FAX: 303/492-3811; E-mail: [email protected]) David Plati (Associate AD/Sports Information), Lindsay Lew (Associate SID), Andrew Green (Assistant SID), Troy Andre (Assistant SID/ COLORADO Internet Managing Editor), Linda Poncin (Assistant SID), Allie Musso (Assistant SID), Erich Schubert (Graduate Assistant). 2007 COLORADO BUFFALO Football Game 13—ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE 32nd Annual PetroSun Independence Bowl December 30 / 6:00 p.m. MST / Shreveport, Louisiana RELEASE NUMBER 13 (December 18, 2007) ESPN (National) | KOA-RADIO | SPORTSUSA RADIO | CUBUFFS.COM (Live Stats) QUICKLY SPEAKING… The Colorado Buffaloes (6-6, 4-4 Big 12) are back in the postseason after a one-year hiatus, set to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide (6-6, 4-4 SEC) on Sunday, December 30 in the 32nd Annual PetroSun Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La.; kickoff is set for just after 6:00 p.m. mountain time at Independence Stadium (49,182)… Colorado played four teams in the final BCS Standings, all in the top 11: Oklahoma (No. 4), Missouri (No. 6), Kansas (No. 8) and Arizona State (No. 11); Alabama also played four (#2 LSU, #5 Georgia, #16 Tennessee and #23 Auburn). CU is the only school in the nation to play four in the top 11… The game will be televised nationally by ESPN, with Mark Jones (play-by-play), Bob Davie (analyst) and Stacey Dales (sidelines) to call the action (don’t know if we can top South Park’s Eric Cartman doing CU’s intros, as was done for the Nebraska game)… The game will also air nationally on SportsUSA Radio, with Tony Roberts (p-b-p), Charles Arbuckle (analyst) and Rich Herrera (sidelines) behind the mikes… The third time was the charm as CU coach Dan Hawkins won his 100th career game on the third try, doing it in style with the 65-51 win over Nebraska. Hawkins now owns a 100-39-1 record as a collegiate head coach (61-27 in Division I-A/FBS)… Colorado defeated both Nebraska and Oklahoma in the same season for the first time since 1990 (and for just the fifth time ever: 1960, 1961, 1989, 1990, 2007)… The Buffs were 4-4 in 2007 against teams that defeated them the previous year… Both schools have a 12,000-seat allotment for the game; for ticket information, visit www.CUBuffs.com/bowl, and for alumni events, go to www.cubuffalum.org/events/football/... CUBuffs.com features game day updates and live stats for all games; live stats for the Independence Bowl will be at www.independencebowl.org (click on the live stats link at the bottom of the page). DEPTH CHART & ROSTER: PAGES 56-58; BOWL SKED ON PAGE 72 STAT OF THE WEEK Though Colorado’s offense is still very much a work in progress (there are often seven freshmen in the lineup at the same time), the Buffs did manage to score 30 or more points in five games this season. That’s only the second time in the last five seasons CU has produced that many outings with 30-plus points. The 331 points are the most by the Buffs since scoring 398 in the 2002 season, and are the fifth most by CU since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996. OBSCURE NOTES OF THE WEEK ¾ The Buffs need to win to avoid back-to-back losing seasons for the first time in 22 years (a six-year run between 1979-84); that’s the 17th longest active run in the NCAA without going below .500 two straight years; Alabama is in the same boat: the Crimson Tide last suffered back-to-back losing years from 1954-57, and their 49-year run is the fifth longest. Tennessee owns the longest run, now at an astounding 96 years, as the Volunteers, if that’s what they were called back then, last had consecutive losing seasons from 1909 through 1911. The irony this year is that Colorado will have played three of the seven schools with the longest active streaks to keep its own run alive (Arizona State, Alabama, Nebraska). See page 49 for detailed info. ¾ Start And Finish, But In-Between. Colorado has outscored its opponents by 156-115 in the first and fourth quarters combined (plus overtime), but have been outscored in the second and third by 238-175. Turnovers could have something to due with it; in the first, fourth and OT, the Buffs are a plus- 2; in the second and third, Colorado is a minus-6. 2007 COLORADO SCHEDULE & RESULTS (6-6, 4-4 BIG 12) 2007 Date CU* Opponent Opp* TV Result/Time Record Series This-N-That Sept. 1 NR Colorado State (Denver) NR FSN W 31-28 (OT) 3-9 58-19-2 PK Eberhart ties it and wins it with two FG; McKnight 108 rec yds, TD Sept. 8 NR at Arizona State NR FSN L 14-33 10-2 0- 2-0 Buffs take early 14-0 lead, but ASU scores last 33 in 102 degree heat SEPT. 15 NR FLORIDA STATE NR ESPN L 6-16 7-5 0- 2-0 First encounter went FSU’s way by 47-7 in Tallahassee in 2003 SEPT. 22 NR MIAMI-OHIO NR none W 42- 0 6-6 1- 0-0 CU rolls up 634 yards (359 rushing, most since ’02) , limits Miami to 139 SEPT. 29 NR OKLAHOMA (H) 3 FSN W 27-24 11-2 17-39-2 Buffs defeat top 5 team for first time since ’01 Big 12 title game (Texas) Oct. 6 NR at Baylor NR none W 43-23 3-9 9- 6-0 Sumler (3 TDs), Eberhart (5 FGs) pace CU as Buffs race to 40-9 lead Oct. 13 NR at Kansas State NR ESPN2 L 20-47 5-7 43-19-1 Buffs play catch-up after falling behind early; Charles 171, 1 TD rushing OCT. 20 NR KANSAS (FW) 15 ESPN L 14-19 11-1 41-23-3 Colorado D limits potent KU offense but CU rally falls short in last minute Oct. 27 NR at Texas Tech NR ABC W 31-26 8-4 5- 4-0 Wheatley’s 3 INTs, Dizon INT/TD key first win by road team in series NOV. 3 NR MISSOURI 9 FSN L 10-55 11-2 31-38-3 Tigers hand CU third-worst home loss in history, score last 48 points Nov. 10 NR at Iowa State NR FCS^ L 28-31 3-9 47-14-1 Buffs take 21-0 lead but can’t hold on; controversial ending prevents OT NOV. 23 NR NEBRASKA NR ABC W 65-51 5-7 18-46-2 Charles racks up 327 all-purpose yards; 127 pts vs. NU last 2 11/23 games DEC. 30 NR Alabama (Independence Bowl) NR ESPN 6:00p 6-6 1- 1-0 CU’s first appearance in Independence Bowl, fifth game ever in Louisiana (All times mountain. KEY: *—AP rank at game time; —Big 12 Conference game; H—Homecoming; FW—Family Weekend; ^—Fox College Sports) 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. 4-11-18-25, Oct. 2-9-16-23-30, Nov. 6-19 (Monday)-27, Dec. TBA (bowl). NOTE that there is no organized press luncheon on Nov. 13 (bye week). 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 706/679-2026 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 Conference 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 first 25 minutes of practices (Sun-Tues-Wed) in-season are open for photography/video needs from the end zones and sidelines. Extensive 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). ¾ Interviews with Colorado players are allowed post-practice on Sundays, pre- and post-practice on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and pre-practice Thursdays (the cutoff moves up to pre-Wednesday practice for Friday games).