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The 1971 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the
University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a Public university, public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a Federated state, state, it is the fla ...
in the
Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored American football, football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate ...
during the
1971 NCAA University Division football season The 1971 NCAA University Division football season saw Coach Bob Devaney's Nebraska Cornhuskers repeat as national champions. Ranked a close second behind Notre Dame in the preseason poll, Nebraska moved up to first place the following week, rem ...
. Led by ninth-year head coach
Eddie Crowder Eddie Crowder (August 26, 1931 – September 9, 2008) was an American football player and coach. He was an All-American quarterback (QB) and Safety (American football position), safety at the Oklahoma Sooners football, University of Oklahoma (OU) ...
, the Buffaloes were 9–2 in the regular season (5–2 in Big 8, third), and played their home games on campus at
Folsom Field Folsom Field is an outdoor college football stadium located on the campus of the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado. It is the home field of the Colorado Buffaloes of the Big 12 Conference. Opened in 1924, the horseshoe-shaped s ...
in
Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...
. Invited to the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl against host
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, seventh-ranked Colorado defeated the #15 Cougars 29–17 to finish at 10–2, outscoring their opponents 320–220. The Buffs climbed to third in the final AP poll, behind
Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...
and
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
, also of the Big Eight (and their only two losses, both on the road). Colorado's next bowl win came nineteen years later. This was the first season of
artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass, used in sports arenas, residential lawns and commercial applications that traditionally use grass. It is much more durable than grass and easily maintained wi ...
at Folsom Field; natural grass returned 28 years later in
1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
. In his only season in Boulder,
Jerry Claiborne Jerry David Claiborne (August 26, 1928 – September 24, 2000) was an American college football player and coach. He was the head football coach at Virginia Tech (1961–1970), the University of Maryland, College Park (1972–1981), and his alma ...
was the
defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...
, previously the head coach for a decade at
Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...
. He left to become head coach at
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
for a decade, then at his alma mater
Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
for eight years.


Schedule


Game summaries


Ohio State


Oklahoma State

* Charles Davis 342 rush yards (conference record)"Buffs roll past Oklahoma State." Eugene Register-Guard. 1971 Nov 14. Retrieved 2021-Dec-06.


Roster


NFL Draft

Two Buffaloes were selected in the
1972 NFL draft The 1972 NFL draft was the 37th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft was held on February 1 and 2 at the Essex House in New York City, New York. With the first overal ...


References

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
Colorado Buffaloes football seasons Bluebonnet Bowl champion seasons
Colorado Buffaloes football The Colorado Buffaloes football program represents the University of Colorado Boulder in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level, and is a member of the Big 12 Conference. The team was a charter member of the Big 12 before leaving to jo ...
Long stubs with short prose {{Colorado-sport-team-stub