2008 Colorado Buffaloes football team

American college football season August 2023 December 2025 football 2008 Colorado Buffaloes Big 12 Conference North Big 12 5–7 2–6 Dan Hawkins 3rd Mark Helfrich 3rd Multiple Ron Collins 3rd 4–3 Cover 2 Folsom Field File:Big12-Uniform-CU-2007-2008.png The 2008 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado at Boulder in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Dan Hawkins and played their home games in Folsom Field. Schedule 2008 AP Mountain August 31http://www.cubuffs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=600&ATCLID=1455300 CU-CSU Moving To Sunday Aug. 31 University of Colorado–Boulder Department of Athletics April 30, 2008 April 30, 2008 5:30 pm w y y Colorado State Invesco Field at Mile High Denver, CO Rocky Mountain Showdown FSN 38–17 69,619 September 6 1:30 pm w y Eastern Washington Folsom Field Boulder, CO 31–24 46,417 https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-herald-colorado-rallies-for-victory/178602366/ Star-Herald Colorado rallies for victory against Eastern Washington September 7, 2008 August 10, 2025 Newspapers.com September 18WVU Game Moved to a Thursday http://buffzone.com/news/2008/feb/26/cu-sports-wvu-game-moved-to-a-thursday/ Daily Camera Boulder February 26, 2008 February 26, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080228061749/http://www.buffzone.com/news/2008/feb/26/cu-sports-wvu-game-moved-to-a-thursday/ February 28, 2008 6:30 pm w y West Virginia 21 Folsom Field Boulder, CO ESPN 17–14 OT 51,883 September 27 1:30 pm l y y Florida State Jacksonville Municipal Stadium Jacksonville, FL River City Showdown ABC, ESPN 21–39 46,716 October 4 5:00 pm l y Texas 5 Folsom Field Boulder, CO FSN 14–38 53,927 October 11 10:30 am l y Kansas 16 Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS ESPN2 14–30 49,566 October 18 5:00 pm w Kansas State Folsom Field Boulder, CO rivalry FSN 14–13 52,099 October 25 5:30 pm l y Missouri 16 Faurot Field Columbia, MO FSN 0–58 68,349 November 1 12:00 pm l y Texas A&M Kyle Field College Station, TX 17–24 78,121 November 8 12:30 pm w Iowa State Folsom Field Boulder, CO Versus 28–24 46,440 November 15 6:00 pm l Oklahoma State 11 Folsom Field Boulder, CO ABC 17–30 46,092 November 28 1:30 pm l y Nebraska Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE rivalry ABC 31–40 85,319 Preseason Riar Geer was suspended from all football-related activities after being arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault and harassment on March 15, 2008.Another Buff Football Player Arrested Heath Urie http://www.buffzone.com/news/2008/mar/16/second-arrest-for-buffs/ Daily Camera Boulder March 16, 2008 March 16, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080320201858/http://www.buffzone.com/news/2008/mar/16/second-arrest-for-buffs/ March 20, 2008 This was less than 24 hours after Lynn Katoa was arrested March 14, 2008 on suspicion for assault at a party on February 16, 2008. This now makes four football players that have had charges brought against them this year. On January 19, 2008, Kai Maiava was ticketed with underage possession and consumption of alcohol and Nate Vaiomounga was charged the same night for criminal mischief under $500. Vaiomounga was also charged February 16, 2008 with underage possession and consumption of alcohol for a separate incident. On April 13, 2008, Jake Duren was arrested for first-degree criminal trespass and kicked off the team 4 hours later.http://buffzone.com/news/2008/apr/13/cu-linebacker-arrested-sacked-team/ Buff Arrested, Sacked from Team April 13, 2008 April 14, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080502093333/http://www.buffzone.com/news/2008/apr/13/cu-linebacker-arrested-sacked-team/ May 2, 2008 Durin was found bloody and passed out after police followed a blood trail from a broken car window to him in the Smiley Court family residence hall where he did not live. Spring practice The Spring game was April 19, 2008. On the day before, Colorado was one of twenty schools competing in a Gridiron Bash where the Counting Crows will perform.Buffs Hosting Gridiron Bash Kyle Ringo http://www.buffzone.com/news/2008/jan/25/buffs-hosting-gridiron-bash/ Daily Camera Boulder January 25, 2008 February 6, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080128134433/http://www.buffzone.com/news/2008/jan/25/buffs-hosting-gridiron-bash/ January 28, 2008 The event was canceled weeks before hand due to NCAA rules on student athlete benefits.http://buffzone.com/news/2008/mar/31/cu-msl-cancel-gridiron-bash/ CU, MSL cancel Gridiron Bash March 31, 2008 March 31, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080407055513/http://buffzone.com/news/2008/mar/31/cu-msl-cancel-gridiron-bash/ April 7, 2008 Former Colorado head coach Bill McCartney issued a challenge to Buffalo fans and students to fill Folsom Field for the spring game during a luncheon about CU football recruiting.McCartney: Fill Folsom This spring Kyle Ringo http://www.buffzone.com/news/2008/feb/08/mccartney-fill-folsom-this-spring/ Daily Camera Boulder February 9, 2008 March 16, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080213153244/http://www.buffzone.com/news/2008/feb/08/mccartney-fill-folsom-this-spring/ February 13, 2008 Filling the stadium would make a statement of support from the community that should help with recruiting. Filling the stadium with 50,000 or more fans would be a huge contrast to past season that have estimated the attendance at the spring game at 6,000 or less. Actual attendance was 17,800, a record for spring game.Buffs Enjoy Record Crowd at Spring Game Erich Schubert http://www.cubuffs.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=600&ATCLID=1443606 CUBuffs.com April 19, 2008 April 21, 2008 June 6, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110606161940/http://www.cubuffs.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=600&ATCLID=1443606 dead Awards George Hypolite Lombardi Award watchlistHypolite Makes Preliminary Lombardi Watch List http://buffzone.com/news/2008/mar/11/college-football-hypolite-makes-preliminary-list/ March 11, 2008 March 11, 2008 Daily Camera Boulder https://web.archive.org/web/20080320201842/http://www.buffzone.com/news/2008/mar/11/college-football-hypolite-makes-preliminary-list/ March 20, 2008 Lott Trophy watchlistBuffs Short-Handed at LB Kyle Ringo http://buffzone.com/news/2008/apr/05/buffs-short-handed-at-lb/ Daily Camera Boulder April 5, 2008 April 7, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080408095422/http://www.buffzone.com/news/2008/apr/05/buffs-short-handed-at-lb/ April 8, 2008 Outland Trophy watchlistMore Hype for Hypolite Kyle Ringo http://buffzone.com/blogs/buffzone-sports/2008/apr/18/hype/ Daily Camera Boulder April 18, 2008 April 21, 2008 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20080906141333/http://www.buffzone.com/blogs/buffzone-sports/2008/apr/18/hype/ September 6, 2008 Game summaries Colorado State Buffaloes 0 21 10 7 Rams 0 14 3 0 The 2008 Qwest Rocky Mountain Showdown was played at Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver. External link: https://web.archive.org/web/20070827084821/http://www.qwestrockymountainshowdown.com/ Eastern Washington Eagles 7 14 0 3 Buffaloes 0 7 7 17 West Virginia 2008 West Virginia Mountaineers football team Mountaineers 7 0 7 0 0 Buffaloes 14 0 0 0 3 Florida State 2008 Florida State Seminoles football team Buffaloes 7 0 0 14 Seminoles 7 12 6 14 Texas 2008 Texas Longhorns football team #5 Texas 14 7 14 3 Colorado 0 0 7 7 The morning of the game, sports books favored Texas by 13 points.http://www.vegas.com/gaming/sportsline_ncaaf.html Gambling - NCAA football Vegas.com Vegas.com, LLC October 4, 2008 October 4, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081002231435/http://www.vegas.com/gaming/sportsline_ncaaf.html October 2, 2008 live The weather forecast called for a game-time temperature of 64 °F °C and a 30% chance of rain, with isolated thunderstorms.http://www.weather.com/weather/hourbyhour/USCO0038?from=36hr_fcstHourLink_undeclared Hour-by-Hour Forecast for Boulder, CO October 4, 2008 Weather.com October 4, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081013072858/http://www.weather.com/weather/hourbyhour/USCO0038?from=36hr_fcstHourLink_undeclared October 13, 2008 live The Longhorns won 38–14. Kansas 2008 Kansas Jayhawks football team Buffaloes 7 0 7 0 Jayhawks 0 9 7 14 Heading into the game against Colorado, Kansas was ranked #15 in the Coaches Poll. This made the 17th consecutive week that Kansas was ranked in the Top 25 (dating back to 2007), a school record. Before the start of the game Kansas Coach Mark Mangino asked the KU student section to refrain from an expletive kickoff chant that has become a student tradition. Despite Mangino's plea, the student section yelled the chant louder than ever. Colorado scored first with an 11-yard Cody Hawkins touchdown pass. Colorado got the ball back soon thereafter, but Hawkins threw an interception inside the red zone and the Kansas defense prevented another Colorado score. Kansas first got on the board with a Jake Sharp touchdown run in the 2nd Quarter. On Colorado's next possession, Hawkins was sacked for a 17-yard loss and a safety to give Kansas its first lead. Once again Kansas came out and played much better in the second half. In the second half Todd Reesing passed for his only touchdown to Dezmond Briscoe and Sharp rushed for two more touchdowns. Sharp's first start of the season was successful as he rushed for 118 yards on 31 carries and for 3 touchdowns. Sharp's performance was by far the best of any Kansas running back through the first 6 games of the season. Reesing had his most accurate game of the season, completing 27 of 34 passes for 256 yards and 1 touchdown. Wide receiver Kerry Meier had 9 receptions for 94 yards. A few hours after the Kansas win, the only other undefeated North team in Big 12 play, Missouri, lost to Oklahoma State. Kansas stood atop the Big 12 North with a record of 2–0. Kansas State 2008 Kansas State Wildcats football team Wildcats 6 0 7 0 Buffaloes 0 14 0 0 Going into the game, K-State had beaten Colorado two years in a row, including a win in Boulder in 2006. Colorado was favored by 3½. Colorado leads the all-time series 43-19-1. The Colorado Buffaloes found an answer to their quarterback troubles, turning to freshman Tyler Hansen, who sparked them to a 14-13 win. Cody Hawkins, the son of Buffs coach Dan Hawkins, was benched and switched offensive series with Tyler Hansen. Although Hawkins mostly handed off to Rodney Stewart (29 carries for 141 yards), he also hit J.R. Smith for 22 yards on third-and-15 from his own 29 on the drive. His fourth-and-4 pass to Smith, however, fell incomplete and Kansas State took over at its own 31 with 59 seconds remaining. Josh Freeman's fourth-down desperation heave to Brandon Banks at the Buffs’ 20-yard line was broken up by free safety Ryan Walters on the last play of the game. Hansen finished a modest 7-of-14 for 71 yards with one touchdown and one interception, but he also ran 19 times for 86 yards, bringing a dimension that Hawkins doesn’t have. Hawkins was 6-of-11 for 35 yards. Trailing 6-0 and in need of a spark to break out of their monthlong slump, Hansen entered the game and promptly fumbled his first snap out of bounds. But on third-and-12 from his 28, Hansen gained 13 yards on a draw play and suddenly the Buffs, who snapped a three-game skid, had the momentum. He drove them to the Kansas State 4, where Hawkins re-entered and handed off to Stewart, who ran into the end zone to give Colorado a 7-6 lead. The next time Hansen drove the Buffs downfield, Hawkins stayed on the sideline and Hansen hit Scotty McKnight with a 21-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline for a 14-6 lead. Brooks Rossman kicked field goals of 37 and 53 yards but was wide right from 47 yards and wide left from 42 in the first half. The Wildcats pulled to 14-13 when Freeman scored untouched on 17-yard keeper early in the third quarter. Colorado had a chance to pad its slim lead but Aric Goodman's 47-yard field goal try sailed wide right at the last moment. Goodman's 48-yard attempt in the first half was blocked by Ian Campbell, Kansas State's seventh block in seven games, best in the nation.Colorado NotesJune 2017 InternetArchiveBot yes Missouri 2008 Missouri Tigers football team Buffaloes 0 0 0 0 #16 Tigers 21 13 14 10 The Tigers won their 600th game since their inception in 1890, in an overwhelming 58-0 shutout of the Buffaloes in the Tigers' Homecoming game at Faurot Field rolling up 491 total offensive yards. Chase Daniel passed for 302 yards, and the runners ran for another 189 yards. Daniel was 31-for-37 throwing five touchdowns, intercepted once. Jeremy Maclin had 11 pass receptions for 134 yards with two touchdowns. The defense was outstanding, holding Colorado to a mere 41 net yards rushing and 158 passing for only 199 total offensive yards.Missouri Tigers vs. Colorado Buffaloes, Oct. 25 Box Score Texas A&M 2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team Buffaloes 7 3 0 7 Aggies 0 3 21 0 Coming into the game, the Aggies had held a 2–5 overall record against the Colorado Buffaloes. Of the three games that were played at Kyle Field, the Aggies had only won the 2004 contest.http://www.aggieathletics.com/sports/football/history/opp/ All-Time Standing with 123 Foes Texas A&M Athletics January 29, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080128173615/http://www.aggieathletics.com/sports/football/history/opp/ January 28, 2008 In the preseason, the Buffaloes acquired Darrell Scott, who was ranked the best running back in the 2008 recruiting class by Rivals.com.http://colorado.rivals.com/viewrank.asp?ra_key=1821 Rivals.com running backs 2008 November 22, 2008 https://archive.today/20120707052815/http://colorado.rivals.com/viewrank.asp?ra_key=1821 July 7, 2012 dead mdy-all In their previous game, the Buffaloes suffered a 58–0 shutout at the hands of No. 16 Missouri. Both teams bought an even matchup to the field, with Colorado fielding an offense that had scored 19 points per game, whereas A&M's scoring defense had allowed 35 points per game. The Aggie defense had given up a total of 1,584 in their past three games against Iowa State, Texas Tech, and Kansas State.A&M Defense Aims to Improve vs. Colorado Today Brent Zwerneman http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/6089201.html San Antonio Express-News November 1, 2008 November 22, 2008 A&M was favored to win by 3.5 points.http://www.thedenverchannel.com/sports/17830132/detail.html Colorado (4-4) At Texas A&M (3-5) November 22, 2008 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20110606141349/http://www.thedenverchannel.com/sports/17830132/detail.html June 6, 2011 Iowa State Cyclones 3 7 7 7 Buffaloes 0 0 13 15 2008 Iowa State Cyclones football team Highlights: Colorado trailed 24-13 with 10 minutes left in the game. The final play the Colorado defense stopped Iowa State running back Alexander Robinson with a 2-yard loss on CU's 1-yard line. Cody Hawkins replaced QB Tyler Hansen in the second half. Hawkins threw for 226 yards. Kicker Aric Goodman missed two field goals and had a blocked kick.OSU: Know the Foe M. Doyle Tulsa World November 10, 2008 B6 Oklahoma State 2008 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team Cowboys 6 7 14 3 Buffaloes 0 3 7 7 Nebraska 2008 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team Buffaloes 14 10 7 0 Cornhuskers 14 10 3 13 Coaching staff thumb|right|Dan Hawkins Name2008 Coaching Staff Position Yearsat CU Alma mater (year) Dan Hawkins Head coach 2 University of California, Davis (1984) Brian Cabral LinebackersAssociate head coachCabral Promoted to Associate head coach David Plati http://www.cubuffs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=600&ATCLID=1384809 CUBuffs.com February 7, 2008 February 8, 2008 19 University of Colorado at Boulder (1978) Ron Collins Defensive coordinator 2 Washington State University (1987) Mark Helfrich Offensive coordinatorQuarterbacks 2 Southern Oregon University (1996) Jeff Grimes Offensive line 1 University of Texas at El Paso (1991) Eric Kiesau Passing Game CoordinatorReceivers 2 Portland State University (1996) Romeo Bandison Defensive line 2 University of Oregon (1994) Greg Brown Secondary 5(1991–93) University of Texas at El Paso (1980) Darian Hagan Running backs 3 University of Colorado at Boulder (1991) Kent Riddle Tight endsSpecial teams 2 Oregon State University (1991) Mark Nolan Recruiting coordinator 2 Willamette University (1995) Jashon Sykes Recruiting coordinator 2 University of Colorado at Boulder (2002) Roster Kai Maiava, who was a freshman All-Big 12 offensive linemen in 2007, and switched to the fullback position in the offseason, decided to leave the team after the 2008 spring semester.Fullback Maiava is Leaving CU B. G. Brooks http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/apr/23/fullback-maiava-is-leaving-cu/?partner=yahoo_headlines Rocky Mountain News April 23, 2008 April 24, 2008 His reasons did not include the position switch, but for family issues. He transferred to UCLA. Recruiting National Signing Day was on February 6, 2008 and Colorado signed high school athletes from around the country. Key recruit was five-star running back Darrell Scott of Ventura, California. Scott is the highest rated recruit heading to Colorado since Marcus Houston of Denver came to Boulder as part of the 2000 class. yes 2008 Chance Blackmon WR Tatum, Texas Tatum HS 6 3 180 4.54 15px 3 3 74 Curtis Cunningham DT Littleton, Colorado Columbine HS 6 2 263 4.9 15px 3 3 76 Ryan Dannewitz OL San Jacinto, California San Jacinto Senior HS 6 6 270 5.5 15px 3 3 40 Ryan Deehan TE Poway, California Poway HS 6 4 229 4.77 15px 3 4 78 Vince Ewing DB Carlsbad, California Carlsbad HS 6 1 195 4.68 15px 2 2 68 Bryce Givens OL Denver, Colorado Mullen HS 6 6 261 5.15 15px 4 4 78 Tyler Hansen QB Temecula, California Chaparral HS 6 1 190 4.68 15px 2 3 40 Stephen Hicks DB Whitehouse, Texas Whitehouse 5 11 180 4.47 15px 3 3 40 Lynn Katoa LB Salt Lake City, Utah Cottonwood HS 6 2 220 4.6 15px 5 4 80 Patrick Mahnke DB Highlands Ranch, Colorado Mountain Vista HS 6 2 187 4.61 15px 2 3 73 Jon Major LB Parker, Colorado Ponderosa HS 6 4 228 4.54 15px 4 4 81 Shaun Mohler LB Costa Mesa, California Orange Coast College 6 3 225 4.6 15px 4 4 JC Will Pericak LB Boulder, Colorado Boulder HS 6 4 244 4.84 15px 3 3 68 Darrell Scott RB Ventura, California St. Bonaventure HS 6 0 204 4.4 15px 5 5 89 Rodney Stewart RB Columbus, Ohio Brookhaven HS 5 7 173 4.4 15px 1 2 40 Max Tuioti-Mariner OL Corona, California Corona Senior HS 6 4 295 5 15px 3 4 80 Paul Vigo ATH New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick HS 6 1 188 4.5 15px 2 2 66 Ryan Wallace TE Bowling Green, Kentucky 6 4 223 4.8 15px 3 3 74 yes 2008 Colorado 2008 Football Commitments 2008 Colorado Recruits 2008 Colorado colorado 73 38 yes Statistics Team http://www.cubuffs.com/pdf4/356165.pdf Final 2008 University of Colorado Buffalo Football Statistics December 7, 2008 PDF University of Colorado Boulder, Colorado 1–2 https://web.archive.org/web/20090127024242/http://www.cubuffs.com/pdf4/356165.pdf January 27, 2009 dead mdy-all Team Opp Scoring 242 351   Points per game     First downs 226 249   Rushing 100 116   Passing 112 116   Penalty 14 17 Total offense (yards) 3,822 4,579   Avg per play 4.53 5.48   Avg per game 318.5 381.6 Fumbles lost 33-10 16-8 Penalties – yards 65-516 67-592   Avg per game     Team Opp Punts – yards 64-2,535 58-2,433   Avg per Punt 39.6 42.0 Time of possession/game 28:57 31:03 3rd down conversions 68-161 66-168 4th down conversions 18-25 6-15 Touchdowns scored     Field goals – attempts – long     PAT – attempts     Attendance 296,858 328,071   Games/Avg per game 6/49,476 5/64,614 Scores by quarter Colorado 49 58 55 77 Opponents 85 96 103 67 Offense Rushing Name GP-GS Att Gain Loss Net Avg TD Long Avg/G Rodney Stewart 9 132 669 47 622 4.71 2 22 69.1 Darrell Scott 11 87 364 21 343 3.94 1 42 31.2 Tyler Hansen 5 63 322 61 261 4.14 0 24 52.2 Demetrius Sumler 12 63 266 15 251 3.98 4 36 20.9 Josh Smith 12 12 60 28 32 2.67 0 24 2.7 Kevin Moyd 12 7 34 4 30 3.33 0 21 2.5 Jason Espinoza 2 1 5 0 5 5.00 0 5 2.5 Cody Crawford 12 1 2 0 2 2.00 0 2 0.2 Scotty McKnight 12 2 5 3 2 1.00 0 5 0.2 Patrick Williams 12 2 2 0 2 1.00 0 1 0.2 Matt Ballenger 2 7 16 23 -7 -3.50 0 11 -3.5 Cody Hawkins 12 57 150 173 -23 -0.04 3 19 -1.9 TEAM - 5 0 26 -26 - - -1 - Total                   Opponents                   Passing Name GP-GS Effic Att-Cmp-Int Pct Yds TD Lng Avg/G Cody Hawkins 12   320-183-10 57.2 1892 17 68   Tyler Hansen 5   65- 34- 4 52.3 280 1 29   Matt Ballenger 2   12- 8- 0 66.7 118 1 28   Scotty McKnight 12   3- 1- 0 33.3 38 0 28   TEAM -   4- 0- 0 0.0 0 - -   Total                 Opponents                 Receiving Name GP-GS No. Yds Avg TD Long Avg/GScotty McKnight 12 46 519 11.3 5 37 43.3Josh Smith 12 29 387 13.3 3 44 32.3 Patrick Williams 12 30 322 10.7 2 36 26.8 Cody Crawford 12 31 269 8.7 2 19 22.4 Riar Geer 10 13 183 14.1 2 68 18.3 Demetrius Sumler 12 18 167 9.3 0 40 13.9 Patrick Devenny 12 14 116 8.3 2 14 9.7 Darrell Scott 11 9 105 11.7 0 38 9.5 Jake Behrens 12 12 75 6.3 2 13 6.3 Ryan Deehan 12 5 61 12.2 1 25 5.1 Kendrick Celestine 2 5 46 9.2 0 35 23.0 Rodney Stewart 9 7 43 6.2 0 10 4.8 Maurice Cantrell 12 4 21 5.3 0 7 1.8 Steve Melton 8 2 15 7.5 0 8 1.9 Kevin Moyd 12 1 -1 -1.0 0 -1 -0.1 Total               Opponents               Defense Name GP Tackles Sacks Pass defense Interceptions Fumbles Blkdkick Solo Ast Total TFL-yds No-yds BrUp QBH No.-yds Avg TD Long Rcv-yds FF Total Special teams Name Punting Kickoffs No. Yds Avg Long TB FC I20 Blkd No. Yds Avg TB OB Total Name Punt returns Kick returns No. Yds Avg TD Long No. Yds Avg TD Long Total References Colorado Category:Colorado Buffaloes football seasons Colorado Buffaloes football