Thread: The 1990 Colorado Buffalos and a possible fix at the end?

Before i get into what i was listening to today on sports talk radio in Baltimore i want to give a little back story of what i witnessed with this game vs Notre Dame.

I was attending a party with some friends and they had the game on. Although at that time was not a college sports fan living in Colorado i naturally was going to pull for them to win. I had heard about the 5 downs vs Missouri during the season but it didnt sway me none. Long story short, as the game got near the end all the talk was of course about Rocket Ishmail and is punt return ability.

When Rocket started taking it back i got a huge pit in my stomach until i saw there was a flag. Of course, the rest is history there as the Buffs would go on to win the national championship.

Fast forward to this morning listening to the local sports channel the guest they had on (apparently a guy who also covers Denver sports) and they began talking about Deon Sanders and the Buffs. But one of the DJ's mentioned if they guest had heard about the official who ended up throwing the flag on the punt return and how he was snubbed before the game when trying to get an autograph from Ishmail.

Apparently the ref had begged and begged for Rocket to give him one but i dont think that he did if i recall the conversation i was hearing right then and there. But guest commentator had not heard that story before but the DJ said that it was indeed a fact and of course the other DJ was like "ooooooh, controversy" as if the flag was some sort of retaliation for the autograph snub.

Never the less, i tried looking up any information on it and cant find anything in reference to that story or even Ishmail mentioning it. Since i wasnt the biggest college fan back then do you guys recall anything of the sorts ever coming up?


Here is the play for those that never witnessed it. Great return by Rocket but i was really glad that CU won. The other interesting thing that i never knew about that team was that Vance Joseph (yes that one) was a backup QB on that team. I knew about Williams, Bieniemy, and Pritchard but didnt know about Chad Brown and Joseph being on that team. Thats pretty wild.

FTR- I think it is definitely a penalty but its still controversial to this day but the "supposed" added information regarding the ref and Ishmael is interesting none the less.

Never heard of that. Interesting though. I've seen worse calls made.

You forgot to mention Rouen too

They were also a co-Champion, IIRC.

Originally Posted by BroncoJoe

Never heard of that. Interesting though. I've seen worse calls made.

You forgot to mention Rouen too

They were also a co-Champion, IIRC.

Who did they tie with? Nebraska? Miami?

Originally Posted by Northman

Who did they tie with? Nebraska? Miami?

Georgia Tech.

The 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with a split national championship and the ensuing controversy helped lead to the creation of the Bowl Coalition, a precursor to the Bowl Championship Series. The national title was split between the Colorado Buffaloes and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The Buffaloes (11–1–1) took the AP poll while the Yellow Jackets (11–0–1) took the UPI Coaches poll by one vote over Colorado, 847 to 846. During the season Colorado had a particularly controversial victory over Missouri in what would later be known as the "Fifth Down Game".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_N...ootball_season

I can't believe for so long the way they determined national champion in the NCAA was media polls, and half the time there was more than 1 champion. Literally the lamest way to decide a season.

The 1990 edition of the University of Colorado football team accomplished two of the biggest "firsts" in its storied history. The Buffaloes played the nation's toughest schedule and posted an 11-1-1 record overall, with the win over Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl cementing the school's first national championship. For the second straight year, CU logged a 7-0 record in league play, marking the first time that the Buffs had claimed the Big Eight Conference title in back-to-back years.

Colorado had flirted with the national championship just one season earlier, owning an 11-0 regular season record and entering the Orange Bowl ranked as the the nation's No. 1 team. The 21-6 loss to Notre Dame, however, ended CU's dream season and the Buffs finished No. 4 in the national polls. Little did anyone know at the time that the Buffaloes would have the chance to redeem themselves.

Questions prior to the start of the 1990 season included, "What do you do for an encore?" and "Is Colorado for real or was last season a fluke?" Coach Bill McCartney didn't set winning the national championship as the team goal; winning back-to-back Big Eight titles was what he wanted his men to aim for. Shooting for all the marbles includes too many variables that are out of the team's control, while one holds its own destiny in pursuit of the league title. McCartney was not the kind to set a national title as goal anyway.

In the Associated Press preseason poll, the Buffs were ranked No. 5; their first opponent, Tennessee in the Disneyland Pigskin Classic, was ranked No. 8.

rest - https://cubuffs.com/sports/2005/2/22/110489.aspx