Plati-'Tudes Shorts: Top Game 4's

Plati-'Tudes Short No. 4 ... The fourth installment of CU's best or most exciting football games in its history as to when they occurred in week four of any season. We're running these over the next three months on our "Throwback Thursdays" -- many are obvious, a few obscure, and no doubt some up for debate. The best game fours in our history in my humble opinion:

GAME 4's

#1—1990: Colorado 29, Texas 22 at Austin.
One of the key points in CU's national championship run, things hadn't gone CU's way after its stellar '89 run. A tie with Tennessee in the Disneyland Pigskin Classic, a last-minute win over Stanford and a 1-point loss at Illinois had the Buffs at 1-1-1 a quarter of the way through the season, not to mention dropping from a preseason ranking of fifth down to No. 20. Texas, ranked 22nd, jumped to a 7 -0 lead, but the Buffs rallied to lead 14-13 at halftime. The Longhorns dominated the third quarter (119-11 in yardage) and scored a TD, though missed the two-point conversion and took a 19-14 lead into the final stanza. What transpired between the quarter break turned into CU lore: as the defense was lumbering down to the other side of the field with Texas facing a 2nd-and-5 at the CU 6, Eric Bieniemy and the entire offense cut their teammates off and proceeded to provide inspiration seldom matched before or since. When play resumed, Chad Brown stuffed UT back Adrian Walker for a 1-yard game, and on third down, Deon Figures broke up a pass intended for Kerry Cash in the end zone. Texas was forced to go for a field goal and led, 22-14, with 14:12 to play. Bieniemy capped a nine-play drive with a 4-yard TD run, but CU missed the two-pointer and trailed, 22-20 (10:10 remaining). CU forced UT into a three-and-out, with Dave McCloughan, who would lead the nation in punt returns, scooting 31 yards to set the Buffs up at the Texas 35. Bieniemy again capped the drive with a 2-yard score and CU retook the lead at 27-22 with 5:57 left. UT drove to the CU 40, where quarterback Peter Gardere was sacked on fourth down by Garry Howe. CU burned up most of the clock, and Tom Rouen pinned UT deep at its own 3. Alfred Williams sacked Gardere in the end zone for a safety and a UT onside kick attempt was recovered by George Hemingway to seal the win, the first of what would be a season-ending 10 in a row that propelled the Buffaloes to the national championship. Bieniemy ran for 99 yards and three touchdowns, with Hemingway adding 76 on just seven tries.

Runner-Up—1989: Colorado 45, Washington 28 at Seattle.
Following an emotional week after quarterback Sal Aunese passed away on Saturday, Sept. 23 due to complications from stomach cancer (when CU had a bye; over 2,000 people including the full team attended a memorial service for him the following Monday on campus at Macky Auditorium), the Buffs roll into Washington and blowout the No. 21 Huskies, 45-28. Colorado used the win to rise to No. 3 in the nation, leading 38-6 entering the fourth quarter (after spotting UW a 3-0 lead, CU scored 38 points in the next 30 minutes). The Buffaloes gained 420 yards rushing as Eric Bieniemy and J.J. Flannigan combined for 167 of those and three scores as 11 different ball carriers combined to help CU average a whopping 7.0 yards per attempt. Alfred Williams had 14 tackles and Bruce Young 10 tackles and two interceptions to lead the defense, as CU forced four turnovers to constantly stall the UW offense. The Husky athletic department was first class all the way, providing a moment of silence for Aunese prior to kickoff; it led to one of the most iconic photos in school history, the entire team kneeling and pointing to the sky for their fallen comrade.

Honorable Mention—2002: Colorado 31, UCLA 17 at Pasadena.
A week after losing at home to No. 17 Southern Cal, 40-3, on national television (ABC), the Buffs had another national affair on ABC, but on the road at No. 20 UCLA. The USC loss dropped CU out of the polls, and the network wasn't overly excited that it had the Buffaloes two weeks in a row. After a scoreless first quarter, UCLA jumped out in front 7-0 on the first play of the second, but that's when Colorado got its wakeup call; Chris Brown would rush for 188 yards and three touchdowns, his first from 19 yards out to tie the game a little over a minute later. That ignited a 31-3 run over the next 35 minutes and would be the first of eight wins in nine games for the Buffaloes. Patrick Brougham made good on three field goal tries, the first two netting CU a 13-7 lead. A key play turned the game in CU's favor for the duration: after a Kory Mossoni interception set CU up at UCLA's 41-yard line, a trick play saw Barry Kunkel connecting on a throwback pass to quarterback Robert Hodge for a 29-yard gain. Two plays later, Brown scored and the game was essentially in the bag. Donald Strickland led the defense with six tackles (five solo) and three pass deflections.

Week 4?? top games are all road games against future conference opponents. @DavidPlati's picks his top ?? https://t.co/jLidVqEg74

Which one stands out the most to you? ???????
— Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) May 7, 2020

Related Videos