Houston Bowl Notes

QUICKLY... CU snaps a short two-game bowl losing streak with its 33-28 win over UTEP in the EV1.Net Houston Bowl... In the process, CU wins the first game in the series between the two and is now 31-28-1 in first games against current Division I-A opposition (UTEP drops to 16-37)... Colorado wore white jerseys with gold pants in a bowl game for the first time since the '86 Bluebonnet Bowl (when the Buffs lost to future Big 12 rival Baylor, 21-9)... The Big 12 North finishes 2-0 in bowl games, it's now up to the South to add to the total (five games remain).

SCORING STREAKS. Colorado has scored in 34of its last 39 bowl quarters, dating back to the '93 Fiesta; Oregon (three quarters) and Wisconsin (two) are the only teams to shut CU out in a quarter in that span. CU added to its school record consecutive games scoring streak, as the Buffs have now scored in 197 straight games dating back to a 7-0 loss at Nebraska in 1988. That streak is the sixth longest in the nation and the longest in the Big 12 (Nebraska is second at 113). CU has now scored in all 26 of its bowl games in its history.

FIELD GOAL STREAK. Dating back to Colorado's 26-20 win at Nebraska, CU's five scores all came via Mason Crosby field goal from the end of the first half in that game through the first score in the first quarter today.

OBSCURE '04 TRENDS... In Colorado's eight wins this year, the Buffaloes scored in 28 of 32 quarters; in the five losses, it scored in just nine of 20 (and was shutout in the overtime loss at Texas A&M)... Colorado was 7-1 when it owned the advantage in starting field position, 1-4 when it did not (CU started at its 33 on average today, UTEP at its 21)... The Buffs had ran more plays than the opponent in just one game prior to today (Oklahoma State); C U had 77 to 69 by the Miners.

BOWL TRENDS... Colorado is 12-14 all-time in its 26 bowl appearances. Here's a look at some updated won-lost trends:

u versus unranked teams 3-5

u when gaining 400-plus yards (2-0 with 500+) 5-0

u when allowing 100 or fewer rushing yards 5-0

u when allowing 300 or fewer total yards 5-5

u when scoring 20-plus points 11-4

u when scoring 30-plus points 9-0

u when scoring first 10-6

u when trailing at halftime 3-8

u with two or fewer turnovers (2-0 with zero) 8-7*

*?CU's other bowl game with no turnovers was the 1995 Fiesta (41-24 win over Notre Dame).

LOOOOOOOONG... The 78-yard pass from Joel Klatt to Joe Klopfenstein early in the fourth quarter was the longest on two fronts: first, it topped the longest previous in CU bowl play, a 76-yard TD throw from Koy Detmer to Rae Carruth in the 1996 Holiday Bowl; and second, it was the longest reception by a tight end in Colorado history (the old TE best was a 68-yard reception by Jon Embree in 1986; opponent can't be determined from the guide).

IN TEXAS... Colorado is now 13-15 in the state of Texas, snapping a 5-game losing streak in the Lone Star State. CU is now 3-3 all-time in Houston and is 4-4 in bowl games in the confines of the Texas border (2-2 Bluebonnet, 1-0 Houston, 1-1 Cotton, 0-1 Alamo).

PURIFY IN ELITE COMPANY... Senior TB Bobby Purify finished fourth all-time at CU in combined regular season and bowl game rushing yards with 3,115 (note: CU does not add bowl stats into regular season stats). A look at the top five combined rushing seasons at Colorado:

CU COMBINED RUSHING Reg. Bowl Total

Player Seasons Yards Yards Yards

Eric Bieniemy.................. 1987-90 3,940 296 4,136

Rashaan Salaam............ 1992-94 3,057 218 3,275

Charlie Davis.................. 1971-73 2,958 214 3,172

Bobby Purify................ 2000-04 3,016 99 3,115

Chris Brown................... 2001-02 2,690 127 2,817

HOLIDAYS ARE FOR GIVING: NOT!... When it comes to turnovers, that is. In Gary Barnett's tenure as head coach (75 games), CU is plus-40 in turnover margin in 42 wins and minus-30 in 33 losses. This year, the Buffs were at plus-6 in their eight wins and minus-5 in the five defeats.

INJURIES... CU trainers reported no significant injuries; if there were a game in a week, everyone would have played.

MASON CROSBY (4-6 FG/26,54,40wr,37,42wr,20)... He set a school record for the longest field goal in Colorado bowl history when he nailed a 54-yarder in the second quarter (it was also a Houston Bowl record). That was his sixth of the season of 50 yards or longer, the most in the NCAA this year (Ohio State's Mike Nugent has five; he plays this evening). The old bowl best was a 49-yard kick by Mitch Berger against Fresno State in the '93 Aloha.

? Crosby set a CU bowl game record for the most field goals in a game with four; the old mark of three was set by Jeremy Aldrich against Oregon in the 1998 Aloha Bowl; Aldrich holds the career bowl record with seven; Crosby is now second with his four.

? Crosby is 16-of-16 from 40 yards and in during the regular season; he made a 17th straight before finally missing one in that range (from 40 yards) at the end of the first half. Record book-wise, the miss won't count against him as CU does not merge bowl games into regular season statistics.

LINER NOTES... Assorted liner notes from today's game:

? TB Hugh Charles (7-51, 1 TD). He came into the game with just 49 rushing yards for the season, but early in the second quarter, he posted his career-long run (37 yards) and scored his first collegiate touchdown.

? TE Joe Klopfenstein (5-134, TD). In addition to the note in the left column, he had his first 100-yard career receiving game. His previous long grab had been 48 yards before today's 78 yard catch and run.

? QB Joel Klatt (33-24-0, 333, 2 TD). This was the fifth 300-yard game of his career, and the sixth fourth quarter comeback as well.

? Net Punting Champs. Colorado will win the 2004 NCAA Net Punting crown; led by junior John Torp, the Buffs owned a 42.7 average for 72 punts (47.3 today for four kicks). The NCAA started to include bowl stats in 2002 to declare stat champions, and CU would have to have had a bad day to lose it. CU is the first team to win five punting crowns; BYU (second this year at 41.14), Georgia and Ohio State have won four.

Miscellaneous Stats

Colorado UTEP

Time Spent In The Lead............. 11:10 42:22

Average On First Down.............. 36/7.5 31/6.9

Rush/Avg. ............................. 24/5.2 14/1.1

Pass/Avg. ............................. 12/12.1 17/11.7

Third Downs............................. 4-15 5-13

3rd & 10 or less...................... 4-12 2-8

3rd & 11 or more..................... 0-3 3-5

Avg. Yards To Go...................... 8.6 8.0

Yards Gained On 3rd Down........ 56 72

Colorado UTEP

Poss./Avg Field Position............ 14/C33 14/T21

Drives Started At/Inside 20.... 2 (0/2) 10 (8/2)

Three Plays & Out.................. 2 5

Yards By Quarter: 1st............... 81 137

2nd............... 115 78

3rd................ 96 100

4th............... 198 47

CoMEBACK... Colorado rallied from 11 points down (3-14), its second largest comeback in the postseason. The Buffs trailed Washington 14-0 before rallying to win the 1996 Holiday Bowl, 33-21.

SECOND HALF... The Buffs outgained UTEP by exactly two-to-one (294-147) in the second half, in addition to forcing all three UTEP turnovers (converting into 10 points).

BARNETT... Gary Barnett tops off his sixth season in Boulder with an 8-5 record, improving to 42-33 overall, the second most he has been over .500 (he was 31-21 at one point). He is now 77-78-2 in 15 years as Division I-A head coach.

BOWL WINS OVER LAST 15 YEARS... Colorado moved into sole possession of fourth when it comes to the most bowl wins since the 1990 season. Miami (9-4), Florida State (9-5) and Michigan (9-5) lead the way, followed by the Buffs (8-4); Tennessee (7-7) could pull even with CU as it faces Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl.

Colorado University Athletics

CU COMBINED RUSHING Reg. Bowl Total

Player Seasons Yards Yards Yards

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Players Mentioned

Hugh Charles

Mason Crosby

Joel Klatt

Joe Klopfenstein

Bobby Purify

John Torp

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