Colorado Sports Hall of Fame historian David Plati has located 2,000 moments in Centennial State sports history. Here are memorable dates in collegiate football from September 22 through September 29.
September 22, 1962 – The inaugural game at Falcon Stadium saw Air Force shut out Colorado State, 34-0. The stadium, built against the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, cost $3.5 million and had a seating capacity of 40,828; temporary bleachers were installed for the opener so 41,380 could attend the first-ever game, which saw the Falcons outgain the Rams, 471-95. At 6,621 feet in elevation, it’s the second-highest stadium in the country behind Wyoming.
September 22, 1973 – In his second collegiate game and his first start, CU freshman Billy Waddy rushed for 202 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries in the Buffaloes’ 28-25 win at Wisconsin. He scored on a 76-yard run early in the third quarter that put CU up 21-7 and then scored the game-winner – a 17-yard spurt – with 2:26 remaining.
September 22, 2001 – Dayven Johnston caught 14 passes for 244 yards – five four-yard touchdowns – in Colorado Mines’ 52-45 overtime win at Fort Hays State.
September 23, 1932 – In the first collegiate night football game played in the state, Northern Colorado (then known as Colorado Teachers College) beat Fort Hays State, 7-0. Frank Sullivan scored the only touchdown of the game late in the fourth quarter, with Charles Kintz adding the point after.
September 23, 1995 – ESPN’s College Game Day makes its first appearance in Colorado, headquartering in Boulder for the game between No. 7 Colorado and No. 3 Texas A&M. It was just the ninth time the show was taken on the road, the second time featuring CU; the sixth time was in Lincoln the year before when the No. 2 Huskers beat the Buffs, 24-7. This time around, the Buffs beat Texas A&M, 29-21. Through 2024, a CU game was featured seven times (six in the first 28 roadies but not again until 2023, when on Sept. 16, it was CSU’s first game with it featured as an opponent).
September 24, 1994 – The “Miracle in Michigan” was deemed the play of the year in all of sports, winning an ESPY, and was one of the top plays in college football in the 20th Century as Colorado beat Michigan as time ran out, 27-26. With over 106,000 screaming spectators, CU quarterback Kordell Stewart dropped back to pass and launched a pass over 70 yards in the air that Blake Anderson tipped at the goal line, and Michael Westbrook hauled it in the end zone. The “Hail Mary” was made possible by Rashaan Salaam, who made a key block to buy Stewart time to throw what amounted to a 64-yard play in the books.
September 24, 2005 – Not much went Colorado’s way in a 23-3 loss at Miami-Fla., but the one bright spot for the Buffaloes came early in the fourth quarter, when Mason Crosby scored CU’s only points on a 58-yard field goal, setting the record for the longest field goal without a tee at sea level that eventually would be matched but not bettered until 2024.
September 25, 1971 – Two weeks after upsetting LSU on the road (and whooping up on Wyoming in Boulder in the first-ever game on Astroturf at Folsom Field), the Buffs topped that performance, defeating No. 6 Ohio State in Columbus, 20-14. CU, now No. 10 in the nation, was led by Charlie Davis, who rushed for 135 yards, and Ken Johnson, who rushed for 84 yards, as both scored September touchdowns on offense, while Cliff Branch’s 68-yard punt return for a TD gave CU a 13-0 halftime lead that was never seriously threatened. The two road wins over top 10 teams (in 14 days) remain among the greatest accomplishments in college football history.
September 26, 1970 – The Colorado Buffaloes ended Penn State’s 34-game unbeaten streak in dramatic fashion, routing the Nittany Lions 41-13 at Folsom Field; it also ended their 23-game winning streak. The Buffaloes led 20-7 at halftime and took full command after Cliff Branch opened the second half with a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. CU linebacker Phil Irwin graced the cover of Sports Illustrated the following week on its October 5 issue, the first Buff football player ever to do so.
September 26, 1986 – Cory Davis of South Park High School rushed for the third-most yards in a single game in national high school history at the time, 567 on 33 carries (with six touchdowns) in a 60-44 win over Cripple Creek-Victor. The national record of 608 would have easily fallen had three additional runs by Davis of 80, 87, and 52 yards not been nullified by penalties. The 567 yards is still second-most in state history.
September 27, 1969 – After losing all five home games in 1968 in its brand-new Hughes Stadium, Colorado State recorded its first win in the new digs, blasting Wichita State, 50-21. CSU would go 3-1 in its second year at Hughes.
September 27, 2018 – Fairview’s Aidan Atkinson completed 32-of-50 passes for 687 yards and nine touchdowns in a 67-33 win over Legacy (still the most passing yards in an upper-class game (5A) in state high school history.
September 28, 196 – The first game was played at Hughes Stadium, completed just weeks earlier at a cost of $2.8 million. Before 22,105 in attendance, North Texas State upset Colorado State, 17-12. Hughes would be the Rams’ home through 2016 (49 seasons).
September 29, 1905 – Colorado College lost its season opener in football to Colorado Springs High School, 6-0, but two players on the Tigers were the first to break the color barrier in the state in any intercollegiate competition. Charles Jackson and Fred Roberts, both African Americans, were members of CC’s 5-2-1 football team that historic season. (The six points scored by CSHS were the only points CC allowed all season.)
September 29, 1956 – After posting a 4-4 record playing freshman teams, the Air Force Academy played its first varsity game against a Division I opponent, winning 46-0 at the University of San Diego. Larry Thomson scored two touchdowns and made two PAT kicks as coach Buck Shaw used every player on the trip.
September 29, 1973 – In Northern Colorado’s 48-14 win over visiting Fort Hays State, the Bears’ Mike Pierce intercepted four passes, doubling the school record. He returned the four for 86 yards and set up two UNC scores.
September 29, 2005 – The longest-tenured sportswriter in Colorado history, Frank Haraway, passed away at the age of 88. As the late Irv Moss wrote in his tribute in the Denver Post, “If there was a Denver Bears baseball game being played or the University of Colorado football team was in action, everyone knew where to find Frank Haraway.” An inspiration to many, having been crippled for life due to childhood tuberculosis, he was a Denver media icon who worked at the Post for 44 years until he retired in 1982.
September 29, 2007 – No. 3 Oklahoma had just 182 yards of offense but had turned two interceptions into 14 points and held a 24-7 lead over Colorado in Boulder. Things started to swing the other way late in the quarter; Kevin Eberhart’s 41-yard field goal cut the lead to 24-10, and 10 seconds into the fourth quarter, Cody Hawkins hit Tyson DeVree with a 4-yard TD pass on fourth down to pull CU to within 24-17. The Buffs recovered a muffed punt on the OU 16, and Hawkins connected with Dusty Sprague on a 15-yard scoring pass, and the game was tied with 4:05 left. The Buff defense forced a three-and-out, and Chase McBride returned the Sooner punt 31 yards to midfield. Six plays later, Eberhart nailed a 45-yard field goal as time ran out, giving CU a 27-24 win.
