1994 Colorado Buffaloes football team

American college football season August 2023 December 2025 1994 Colorado Buffaloes football Big Eight Conference Big 8 3 3 11–1 6–1 Bill McCartney 13th Elliot Uzelac 2nd Single set back Mike Hankwitz 7th 3–4 Kordell Stewart Christian Fauria Chris Hudson Folsom Field Fiesta Bowl champion Fiesta Bowl W 41–24 vs. Notre Dame The 1994 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado at Boulder as a member of the Big Eight Conference during the 1994 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by Bill McCartney in his 13th and final season as head coach, the Buffaloes compiled an overall record of 11–1 in a mark of 6–1 in conference play, placing second in the Big 8. Colorado was invited to the Fiesta Bowl, where the Buffalos defeated Notre Dame. The team was ranked No. 3 in the final AP poll and the final Coaches Poll. Colorado played home games at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado. Colorado running back Rashaan Salaam won the Heisman Trophy as college football's most outstanding player. The Buffaloes offense scored 439 points while the defense allowed 235 points. Colorado's only loss of the season came on the road against eventual consensus national champion Nebraska. The Buffaloes, ranked No. 2 at the time, was in line to play for the national title as part of the Bowl Coalition. They were leapfrogged in the polls by the Cornhuskers, who had been ranked No. 3. Colorado finished regular season ranked No. 4. The problem of scheduling bowl match-ups for top-ranked teams led to the dissolution of the Bowl Coalition and the creation of the Bowl Alliance. No. 2 Penn State was not eligible as a member of the Big Ten Conference to Nebraska. Notre Dame, playing as an independent, had its own agreement with the Bowl Coalition, which allowed the Fiesta Bowl to choose the Fighting Irish as an at-large opponent over more highly ranked teams. Schedule 1994 AP Mountain September 3 12:00 pm w y 8 Northeast Louisiana Folsom Field Boulder, CO 48–13 48,114 September 17 7:45 pm w y 7 Wisconsin 10 Folsom Field Boulder, CO ESPN 55–17 53,457 September 24 1:30 pm w y y 7 Michigan 4 Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI Miracle at Michigan ABC 27–26 106,427 October 1 1:30 pm w y y 5 Texas 16 Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX ABC 34–31 77,809 October 8 12:00 pm w y 5 Missouri Faurot Field Columbia, MO PSN 38–23 38,901 October 15 7:30 pm w 4 Oklahoma 22 Folsom Field Boulder, CO ESPN 45–7 53,199 October 22 5:30 pm w 2 Kansas State 19 Folsom Field Boulder, CO rivalry ESPN 35–21 52,955 October 29 1:30 pm l y 2 Nebraska 3 Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE rivalry, College GameDay ABC 7–24 76,131 November 5 12:00 pm w y 7 Oklahoma State Folsom Field Boulder, CO 17–3 51,059 November 12 12:00 pm w y 7 Kansas Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS PSN 51–26 35,000 November 19 12:00 pm w 7 Iowa State Folsom Field Boulder, CO PSN 41–20 46,113 January 2 2:30 pm w y y 4 Notre Dame Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ Fiesta Bowl NBC 41–24 73,968 1994 Colorado Buffaloes Schedule and Results https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/colorado/1994-schedule.html College Football @ Sports-Reference.com Sports Reference April 26, 2025 1994 Football Schedule https://cubuffs.com/sports/football/schedule/1994 University of Colorado Boulder April 26, 2025 Colorado Football 2024 Record Book https://static.cubuffs.com/custompages/football/2024_Record_Book/2024_Record_Book.pdf University of Colorado Boulder 64 April 26, 2025 Rankings 1994 NCAA Division I-A football rankings AP 0 16 8 8 7 7 7 5 (1) 5 (3) 4 (4) 2 (15) 2 (16) 7 7 7 6 5 4 3 Coaches 0 16 7 7 7 7 5 (1) 5 (1) 4 (1) 3 (9) 3 (9) 7 7 7 7 5 5 3 Game summaries Northeast Louisiana Northeast Louisiana at Colorado Indians 3 3 0 7 No. 8 Buffaloes 7 21 14 6 September 3 Folsom Field 48,114 yes Q1 NLU Miller 36 yard field goal NLU 3–0 Q1 COL Salaam 1 yard run (Voskeritchian kick) COL 7–3 Q2 NLU Miller 43 yard field goal COL 7–6 Q2 COL Salaam 9 yard run (Voskeritchian kick) COL 14–6 Q2 COL Stewart 6 yard run (Voskeritchian kick) COL 21—6 Q2 COL Kidd 44 yard pass from Stewart (Voskeritchian kick) COL 28–6 Q3 COL Stewart 58 yard run (Voskeritchian kick) COL 35–6 Q3 COL Salaam 15 yard run (Voskeritchian kick) COL 42–6 Q4 COL Troutman 13 yard run (kick failed) COL 48–6 Q4 NLU S. Williams 10 yard pass from Philyaw (Miller kick) COL 48–13 yes 1994 Northeast Louisiana Indians football team Rashan Salaam 24 Rush, 184 Yds Ocala Star-Banner. 1994 Sep 04. Retrieved 2018-Nov-17. Wisconsin 1994 Wisconsin Badgers football team Michigan Colorado at Michigan No. 7 Buffaloes No. 4 Wolverines 7 7 0 13 0 9 17 0 September 24 Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan MST 106,427 Keith Jackson, Bob Griese, and Lynn Swann ABC 1 COL Rashaan Salaam 2-yard run (Voskeritchian kick) COL 7–0 yes 2 3 11:34 MICH Remy Hamilton 33-yard field goal COL 7–3 7:54 COL Michael Westbrook 27-yard pass from Kordell Stewart (Voskeritchian kick) COL 14–3 1:14 MICH Tim Biakabutuka 4-yard run (pass failed) COL 14–9 3 3 10:43 MICH Tyrone Wheatley 6-yard run (Hayes pass from Collins) MICH 17–14 7:40 MICH Hamilton 20-yard field goal MICH 20–14 2:43 MICH Amani Toomer 65-yard pass from Todd Collins (run failed) MICH 26–14 4 2 2:16 COL Rashaan Salaam 2-yard run (Voskeritchian kick) MICH 26–21 0:00 COL Westbrook 64-yard pass from Stewart COL 27–26 yes Miracle at Michigan 1994 Michigan Wolverines football team The Miracle at Michigan refers to the final play that occurred during the game played on September 24, 1994, between the Colorado Buffaloes and the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The game was decided on Colorado quarterback Kordell Stewart's 64-yard Hail Mary pass to Michael Westbrook, which gave the play its name.On the Wing of a Prayer, Colorado Shocks Michigan https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/25/sports/college-football-on-the-wing-of-a-prayer-colorado-shocks-michigan.html The New York Times September 25, 1994 September 7, 2019COLORADO STUNS MICHIGAN: MIAMI'S STREAK ENDS https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1994/09/25/colorado-stuns-michigan-miamis-streak-ends/40a69687-3a76-4cef-b115-94b5317d9b21/ The Washington Post September 25, 1994 September 7, 2019Colorado Rides on Stewart's Rocket https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-09-25-sp-42805-story.html Los Angeles Times September 25, 1994 September 7, 2019'I Just Heaved It' https://www.si.com/vault/1994/10/03/132143/i-just-heaved-it-kordell-stewarts-game-ending-64-yard-touchdown-pass-to-michael-westbrook-was-part-desperation-part-destiny----and-all-colorado-needed-to-stun-michigan October 3, 1994 August 24, 2019 Sports IllustratedJoy and pain: The Miracle at Michigan https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/11578286/revisiting-miracle-michigan-20-years-later September 23, 2014 September 7, 2019 ESPN Texas 1994 Texas Longhorns football team Missouri 1994 Missouri Tigers football team Oklahoma 1994 Oklahoma Sooners football team Kansas State 1994 Kansas State Wildcats football team Nebraska Colorado at Nebraska No. 2 Buffaloes No. 3 Cornhuskers 0 0 7 0 7 10 7 0 October 29 Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska MST 76,131 1 NEB Cory Schlesinger 14-yard run (Tom Sieler kick) NEB 7–0 yes 2 2 9:01 NEB Sieler 24-yard field goal NEB 10–0 0:36 NEB Clinton Childs 2-yard run (Sieler kick) NEB 17–0 3 2 10:42 NEB Eric Alford 30-yard pass from Brook Berringer (Sieler kick) NEB 24–0 1:06 COL Rashaan Salaam 6 run (Neil Voskeritchian kick) NEB 24–7 yes 1994 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team Colorado–Nebraska football rivalry College GameDay (football) Oklahoma State 1994 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team Kansas 1994 Kansas Jayhawks football team Iowa State 1994 Iowa State Cyclones football team Fiesta Bowl Colorado vs. Notre Dame No. 4 Buffaloes Fighting Irish 10 21 3 7 3 7 7 7 January 2 Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona MST 73,968 1994 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team 1995 Fiesta Bowl Roster 1994 Colorado Buffaloes f 1 Sr Vance Joseph QB y 2 So James Kidd WR 10 Sr Kordell Stewart QB y 12 Sr Michael Westbrook WR y 14 So Koy Detmer QB y 19 Jr Rashaan Salaam RB y 21 So Rae Carruth WR y 26 Fr Herchell Troutman RB 64 Jr Bryan Stoltenberg C y 80 Fr Phil Savoy WR y 88 Sr Christian Fauria TE y 6 Jr T. J. Cunningham FS y 16 So Matt Russell LB y 46 Sr Ted Johnson LB y 47 Sr Chris Hudson CB y Chris Hudson (American football) 92 Jr Shannon Clavelle DT y 93 Sr Darius Holland DT y 17 Jr Neil Voskeritchian K 21 Sr Ron Mayer P http://cubuffs.com/roster.aspx?roster=258&path=football *Bill McCartney Elliot Uzelac – Offensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz – Defensive coordinator Rick Neuheisel – Assistant coach Chuck Heater – Defensive backs Ben Gregory – Running backs Awards and honors Chris Hudson, Jim Thorpe Award Rashaan Salaam, Doak Walker Awardhttp://football.about.com/cs/history/a/doakwalkeraward.htm Who Has Rushed for over 2,000 Yards in a Season? 2009-01-19 2007-12-01 https://web.archive.org/web/20071201195020/http://football.about.com/cs/history/a/doakwalkeraward.htm dead Rashaan Salaam, Heisman Trophyhttp://www.heisman.com/winners/hsmn-winners.html Heisman.com - Heisman Trophy 2007-04-16 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090916003323/http://www.heisman.com/winners/hsmn-winners.html 2009-09-16 Rashaan Salaam, Walter Camp Awardhttp://collegefootball.about.com/od/collegefootballawards/a/award-camp.htm Football 2009-01-19 2011-07-07 https://web.archive.org/web/20110707074829/http://collegefootball.about.com/od/collegefootballawards/a/award-camp.htm dead Players drafted in the 1995 NFL draft Player Position Round Pick NFL club Michael Westbrook Wide receiver14 Washington Redskins Rashaan Salaam Running back 1 21 Chicago Bears Christian Fauria Tight end 239 Seattle Seahawks Ted Johnson Linebacker257 New England Patriots Kordell Stewart Quarterback260 Pittsburgh Steelers Darius Holland Defensive tackle365 Green Bay Packers Chris Hudson Defensive back371 Jacksonville Jaguars Derek West Tackle 5149 Indianapolis Colts Shannon Clavelle Defensive end6185 Buffalo Bills https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1995.htm dead https://web.archive.org/web/20071221063800/http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1995.htm 2007-12-21 1995 NFL draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com Pro-Football-Reference.com References Colorado Category:Colorado Buffaloes football seasons Category:Fiesta Bowl champion seasons Colorado Buffaloes football