Colorado Sports Hall of Fame historian David Plati has compiled nearly 2,000 memorable sporting moments in Centennial State sports history. Here are memorable dates in football from September 1 through September 6.
September 1, 1984. The Fisher DeBerry Era at the Air Force Academy got underway with a 34-16 win over San Diego State at Falcon Stadium. In 23 seasons at the helm of the Falcons (17 winning seasons), he compiled a 169-109-1 record, and in 2011, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
September 1, 2013. Mike MacIntyre is only the second head coach at CU to win his first game since 1932, as the Buffaloes upended Colorado State, 41-27, at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Rick Neuheisel won his first game in 1995, and he was the first since William Saunders in 1932; the 10 in between had lost their openers.
September 2, 1989. Future College Football Hall of Fame coach Earle Bruce, after coaching Ohio State for nine seasons and Iowa State for six before that, made his debut as Colorado State’s head coach. His opener was a tough one, as the Rams traveled to unranked Tennessee and lost to the Volunteers, 17-14. CSU would finish 5-5-1 in his first season; Tennessee finished as the No. 5 team in the nation with an 11-1 mark, with the Rams one of the toughest games the Volunteers had all season.
September 2, 1995. Rick Neuheisel became the first head coach at CU to win his first game since 1932, as the Buffaloes destroyed No. 21 Wisconsin in Madison, 43-7. Koy Detmer completed 17-of-24 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns, with Phil Savoy catching eight of those for 107 yards and Rae Carruth four for 100 and two TD’s. Since William Saunders’ team beat Colorado Mines, 31-0, on Oct. 1, 1932, the next 10 CU head coaches lost their first game.
September 2, 2023. Much-ballyhooed Deion Sanders makes his debut as head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes, who were 20½-point underdogs at TCU. In a wild affair, the Buffaloes rallied for a 45-42 win, only the third time in CU history the Buffs won with a larger point spread against the opponent.
September 3, 1986. University of Colorado graduate Chris Fowler became the first Coloradoan with a real presence on seven-year-old ESPN, hosting the debut episode of Scholastic Sports America. The first athlete he profiled was running back Emmitt Smith, then a senior at Escambia High School in Pensacola, Fla. (he would later be named by many as the national player of the year). Fowler, who had internships at two Denver TV stations that led to his ESPN hiring, hosted the show for two years before transitioning into a sideline reporter for college football games and then eventually as the host of College GameDay.
September 3, 1988. Colorado Mines’ Rod Beauchamp is the first college player (in any Division) to score a defensive two-point conversion in the first season with the new rule; he scooped up the ball after the Hastings center snapped the ball over the holder’s head and raced 87 yards for the points. Those were Mines’ only points in the 36-2 home loss.
September 3, 2011. Colorado State defensive lineman Nordly Capi forced four fumbles in the Rams’ 14-10 season-opening win in Albuquerque. He forced seven on the season, tied for second-most in the NCAA.
September 4, 1989. Sophomore Darian Hagan made his debut at quarterback, replacing the cancer-stricken Sal Aunese. And with CU ranked No. 14 in the preseason Associated Press poll, its first ranking to open the season since holding the No. 12 spot in 1977, he felt the added pressure. He admitted postgame that he had “butterflies” in his stomach, but they all went away after the second play of the game, when he sprinted 75 yards to the Texas 2-yard line, setting up CU’s first score in a 27-6 Labor Day night win over the Longhorns.
September 4, 199-. Colorado State evened the Rocky Mountain Showdown series in Denver with a 41-14 win over Colorado, spoiling the debut of CU head coach Gary Barnett and also ending an eight-game losing streak to the Buffaloes. Kevin McDougal carried 22 times for 190 yards with two touchdowns to lead the CSU attack, as the Rams got on the scoreboard just 5:50 into the game on a 54-yard interception return for a score by linebacker Rick Crowell. CSU forced six CU turnovers and sacked Buff quarterbacks nine times. The postgame was marred by the police using tear gas to break up rowdy fans, mostly students.
September 4, 2002. Olympic mogul skier Jeremy Bloom made his debut in a Colorado football uniform in the Buffaloes’ 19-14 loss to Colorado State at Invesco Field at Mile High. He scored a touchdown on his first collegiate touch – a 75-yard punt return to open the fourth quarter. CU rallied to take a 14-13 lead later in the quarter, but a Bradlee Van Pelt 23-yard TD run with 6:20 to play put the Rams up for good.
September 4, 2004. After coming in for relief duty for two years behind Bradlee Van Pelt, Colorado State junior quarterback Justin Holland nearly led the Rams to an upset over CU in Boulder. In the 27-24 loss, he completed 29-of-41 passes for 403 yards and two touchdowns.
September 4, 2009. The longest field goal in state history (high school, college or pro) was made on a free kick prior to halftime: Legacy’s Kip Smith kicked a 67-yard field goal in a 29-7 win over Mountain Range. The old best had been 64 yards; observers said Smith’s kick might have been good from 72 yards.
September 5, 1992. In his first collegiate start, CU sophomore quarterback Kordell Stewart completed 21-of-36 passes for 409 yards and four touchdowns in the Buffaloes’ 37-17 win over Colorado State in Boulder. He had 430 yards of total offense overall.
September 5, 1998. The birth of the “Rocky Mountain Showdown” took place as CU and CSU played their first of 19 games in Denver, at the old Mile High Stadium. ESPN was on hand to televise Colorado’s 42-14 win over the Rams. The last of the Denver series was played in 2019; the Buffaloes won 13 of the 19 games.
September 5, 2015. The first game in Colorado Mines’ renovated stadium, which was dedicated on this day and renamed Marv Kay Stadium, after the school’s longtime coach and athletic director. The oldest stadium west of the Mississippi, it cost $26.3 million to renovate and has a seating capacity of 4,090. Mines quarterback Justin Dvorak throws eight touchdown passes (to six different receivers) in a 63-28 win over South Dakota Mines in Golden.
September 6, 1986. Colorado State records its first win over rival Colorado since 1958 with a 23-7 win in Boulder. The Rams took advantage of six CU turnovers with Steve Bartalo rushing for 145 yards and a touchdown. CSU built a 23-0 lead by the end of the third quarter, and CU avoided being shut out, scoring with 29 seconds left in the game. CU was coming off its first winning season since 1978 and had high aspirations; CSU was 5-7 the previous year, and the win was the impetus for the Rams’ first winning season since 1980. Colorado would lose its next three by a combined 10 points before rallying to win six Big Eight games, as both finished 6-5 in the ’86 regular season.
September 6, 2008. After being dormant since 1984, the Southern Colorado football program (renamed Colorado State University Pueblo) won its first game, a 24-13 victory over Panhandle State. A crowd of 9,897 packed USC’s ThunderBowl to witness history; alumnus John Wristen was the team’s head coach, and he resurrected the program, which just six years later won the NCAA Division II title.
