BOULDER — Technically, Colorado’s road to a bowl game down the stretch of this very trying season looks like this: Win, win, win, win. It would put the Buffaloes at seven wins, removing any doubt that may come with a bowl-eligible six.
The good thing about viewing things through a technical lens is it removes emotion from the equation. And that’s a good thing, given the state of things around the football program these days.
Still, the ability to qualify for a bowl game is keeping Colorado’s players going, when, at least going into today’s game at Kansas, it seems most everything is falling apart around them. Colorado enters this game on a four-game losing streak after starting 3-1.
The Big 12 has tie-ins with eight bowl games this season.
“We’ve still got something worth practicing for,” running back Rodney Stewart said. “We come out every day saying, ‘We gotta get there, we gotta get there.’ I haven’t been to a bowl game since I’ve been here, so we’re just trying to work hard and I’m trying to finally get a shot to play in one.”
Added senior wide receiver Scotty McKnight: “The coaches have talked to us about that. They do a good job of keeping us tuned in and letting us know what we’re playing for, and the different bowl games that are out there and just giving you a tangible goal to look to. So that’s good.
“It kind of gives you a little bit of a fresh start, not all the way. But definitely working to play for a bowl game and realizing it’s a realistic goal, it gives you something to play for.”
The Buffs have gone 1-3 against Kansas the last four years.
Both teams are struggling. And as Colorado players have noted this week, both teams — winless in the Big 12 — are looking at the contest as an opportunity to get on track.
“Having something to play for is very, very important,” CU quarterback Cody Hawkins said. “Just because the most intriguing thing about a bowl game is that’s something that really has to do with you and your guys. It’s a great time that you can spend with each other.
“You get 15 more practices, and for some guys it will be the last time they will ever get to play football again. So that’s extending what you’ve been dreaming about doing your whole life for another month or so. So that’s an awesome opportunity.”
The Buffs are doing whatever they can to keep spirits high, and having something to attain has helped.
“The past is the past. You’ve got to get over it and look to the brighter side of life,” Stewart said. “We’ve still got four games, four winnable games. We’ve just got to put our minds together, come to practice and work hard every day so we can get those wins.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
Remembering Kansas
Sept. 18, 1999: Colorado 51, Kansas 17
With CU leaving the Big 12 after this season, The Denver Post looks back at the Buffs’ conference opponents.Yes, there was a time when Colorado could score a bundle of touchdowns and also consistently kick field goals.
On the ground, through the air and by the foot, the Buffaloes crushed visiting Kansas 51-17 to give new CU coach Gary Barnett his first Big 12 victory.
Entering the game, Colorado fans were still unsure of the 1999 Buffs and of Barnett. CU had opened the season with a stunning 41-14 loss to Colorado State at old Mile High Stadium. Not much was learned the following week in a 63-35 home laugher over outmanned San Jose State, so all eyes were on the conference matchup with the Jayhawks, who had upset a Rick Neuheisel-coached CU team the previous year.
Kansas never had a chance this time. With quarterback Mike Moschetti throwing for two touchdowns, the Buffs raced to a 30-3 halftime lead and were never threatened. Moschetti finished 17-of-22 passing for 216 yards and the two TDs before leaving with a minor knee injury.
When CU’s drives bogged down, it was no problem. Place-kicker Jeremy Aldrich set a school record with five field goals, and none was a chip shot. The 3-pointers ranged in distance from 40 to 49 yards, the latter a career best.
A 96-yard fumble return for a touchdown by cornerback Ben Kelly with 12:17 remaining in the fourth quarter gave CU 50 or more points in back-to-back games for only the third time in the program’s history and the first time since 1923.
The Buffs would finish the season with a 7-5 record, including a 62-28 victory over Boston College in the Bowl in Tucson. There were some ups and downs, but all in all a solid beginning for a new head coach.
Tom Kensler, The Denver Post
THE SERIES
Overall: CU leads 42-24-3. In Boulder: CU leads 24-9 (1-0 in Denver). In Lawrence: CU leads 17-15-3.
