1971 Colorado Buffaloes football team

1971 Colorado Buffaloes football
1971 Colorado Buffaloes football
Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl champion
Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, W 29–17 vs. Houston
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 7
AP	No. 3
Record	10–2 (5–2 Big 8)
Head coach	Eddie Crowder (9th season);
Defensive coordinator	Jerry Claiborne (1st season)
MVP	Cliff Branch
Captains	Brian Foster; Bill Kralicek; Herb Orvis;
Home stadium	Folsom Field

1971 Big Eight Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 1 Nebraska $	7	–	0	–	0	13	–	0	–	0
No. 2 Oklahoma	6	–	1	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
No. 3	5	–	2	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
Iowa State	4	–	3	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Kansas State	2	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Oklahoma State	2	–	5	–	0	4	–	6	–	1
Kansas	2	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Missouri	0	–	7	–	0	1	–	10	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1971 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado at Boulder in the Big Eight Conference during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. Led by ninth-year head coach Eddie Crowder, the Buffaloes were 9–2 in the regular season (5–2 in Big 8, third),^[3]^[4] and played their home games on campus at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado.

Invited to the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl against host Houston, seventh-ranked Colorado defeated the #15 Cougars 29–17 to finish at 10–2,^[5] outscoring their opponents 320–220. The Buffs climbed to third in the final AP poll, behind Nebraska and Oklahoma, also of the Big Eight (and their only two losses, both on the road).^[6]

Colorado's next bowl win came nineteen years later. This was the first season of artificial turf at Folsom Field; natural grass returned 28 years later in 1999.

In his only season in Boulder, Jerry Claiborne was the defensive coordinator,^[2] previously the head coach for a decade at Virginia Tech.^[1] He left to become head coach at Maryland for a decade, then at his alma mater Kentucky for eight years.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 11		at No. 9 LSU*		Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA		W 31–21	70,099	^[7]
September 18		Wyoming*	No. 12	Folsom Field Boulder, CO		W 56–13	40,729
September 25		at No. 6 Ohio State*	No. 10	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 20–14	85,538	^[8]
October 2		Kansas State	No. 6	Folsom Field Boulder, CO (rivalry)		W 31–21	47,740
October 9		at Iowa State	No. 5	Clyde Williams Field Ames, IA		W 24–14	31,535
October 16		at No. 2 Oklahoma	No. 6	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		L 17–45	61,826
October 23		Missouri	No. 11	Folsom Field Boulder, CO		W 27–7	45,129
October 30		at No. 1 Nebraska	No. 9	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	ABC	L 7–31	67,776
November 6		at Kansas	No. 13	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS		W 35–14	35,299
November 13		Oklahoma State	No. 12	Folsom Field Boulder, CO		W 40–6	40,211
November 20	1:30 p.m.	Air Force*	No. 10	Folsom Field Boulder, CO		W 53–17	46,362
December 31		vs. No. 15 Houston*	No. 7	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX (Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl)	ABC	W 29–17	54,720	^[9]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

^[10]^[11]^[12]

Game summaries

Ohio State

Colorado Buffaloes at Ohio State Buckeyes

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Colorado	6	7	0	7	20
Ohio St	0	0	0	14	14

at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Date: September 25, 1971
Game time: 1:30 p.m.
Game weather: Cloudy, 64 °F (18 °C)
Game attendance: 85,586
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

COL – Ken Johnson 6-yard run (kick failed), 6:51. Colorado 6–0. Drive: 10 plays, 71 yards.

Second quarter

COL – Cliff Branch 68-yard punt return (J.B. Dean kick), 10:49. Colorado 13–0.

Fourth quarter

OSU – Don Lamka 1-yard run (Fred Schram kick), 4:28. Colorado 13–7. Drive: 7 plays, 43 yards.
COL – Ken Johnson 39-yard run (J.B. Dean kick), 3:30. Colorado 20–7. Drive: 3 plays, 45 yards.
OSU – Rick Middleton 14-yard pass from Don Lamka (Fred Schram kick), 2:11. Colorado 20–14. Drive: 5 plays, 77 yards.

Top passers

COL – Ken Johnson – 4/9, 97 yards, 2 INT
OSU – Don Lamka – 20/33, 255 yards, TD

Top rushers

COL – Charlie Davis – 18 rushes, 135 yards
OSU – Don Lamka – 23 rushes, 60 yards, TD

Top receivers

COL – Willie Nichols – 2 receptions, 61 yards
OSU – Dick Wakefield – 11 receptions, 172 yards

Oklahoma State

Charles Davis 342 rush yards (conference record)^[13]

Roster

1971 Colorado Buffaloes football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
RB	`8`	Rich Bland
WR	`23`	Cliff Branch	Sr
WR	`42`	Larry Brunson
TE	`89`	J. V. Cain	So
RB	`26`	Charlie Davis
QB	`10`	Joe Duenas
OL	`77`	Greg Horton
RB		Jon Keyworth
OL	`63`	Bill Kralicek
OL	`61`	Chuck Mandrill
RB	`41`	Bo Matthews	So
OL	`50`	Bill McDonald
QB	`7`	Ken Johnson
TE	`82`	Bob Masten
WR		S. Mendez
WR	`39`	Willie Nichols
RB	`32`	John Tarver
RB		L. Thomas
WR		Marv Whitaker
OL	`79`	Jake Zumbach

Defense

Pos.	#	Name
DL	`85`	Stu Aldrich
DB	`16`	Cullen Bryant
LB	`64`	Lenny Ciufo
DL	`73`	Mark Cooney
LB	`51`	Billie Drake
DB	`18`	Brian Foster
LB	`15`	Randy Geist
DL	`49`	Chris Havens
DL		Rick Kay
LB	`71`	Bud Magrum
LB	`58`	Dave Orvis
DT	`88`	Herb Orvis
DB	`27`	Lorne Richardson
DL	`55`	John Stavely
DB		John Stearns
DL		Carl Taibi

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K		J.B. Dean

Head coach

Eddie Crowder (9th year)

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Jerry Claiborne (DC)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

^[14]

NFL draft

Two Buffaloes were selected in the 1972 NFL draft

Player	Position	Round	Overall	Franchise
Herb Orvis	Defensive tackle	1	16	Detroit Lions
Cliff Branch	Wide receiver	4	98	Oakland Raiders

References

^ ^a ^b "Colorado hires Claiborne". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). UPI. January 23, 1971. p. 17.
^ ^a ^b "Crowder quits as Buff coach". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 23, 1973. p. 5C.
^ "Buffs, Cyclones eye bowl bids". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). November 19, 1971. p. 13.
^ "Colorado dumps Air Force, 53-17". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 21, 1971. p. 5B.
^ "Buffs triumph as Texan stars". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 1, 1972. p. 2B.
^ "Huskers solid No. 1". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. Associated Press. January 4, 1972. p. 20.
^ "Buff sophomore riddles LSU". The Sunday Oklahoman. September 12, 1971. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ John Hannen (September 26, 1971). "Colorado Thumps Bucks: OSU Home-Field Streak Ends". The Blade. Toledo, Ohio. pp. E1, E5 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Stearns' daring run ignites Buffs, 29–17". Omaha World-Herald. January 1, 1972. Retrieved April 10, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1971 Colorado Buffaloes Schedule and Results". College Football @ Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
^ "1971 Football Schedule". University of Colorado Boulder. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
^ "Colorado Football 2023 Record Book" (PDF). University of Colorado Boulder. p. 40. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
^ "Buffs roll past Oklahoma State." Eugene Register-Guard. 1971 Nov 14. Retrieved 2021-Dec-06.
^ "Probable starters for CU-KU battle". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). November 5, 1971. p. 13.

[chcla-1] "Colorado hires Claiborne". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). UPI. January 23, 1971. p. 17.

[cqabc-2] "Crowder quits as Buff coach". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 23, 1973. p. 5C.

[cyebf-3] "Buffs, Cyclones eye bowl bids". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). November 19, 1971. p. 13.

[codumpaf-4] "Colorado dumps Air Force, 53-17". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 21, 1971. p. 5B.

[btrim-5] "Buffs triumph as Texan stars". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 1, 1972. p. 2B.

[hsnmbron-6] "Huskers solid No. 1". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. Associated Press. January 4, 1972. p. 20.

[7] "Buff sophomore riddles LSU". The Sunday Oklahoman. September 12, 1971. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

[8] John Hannen (September 26, 1971). "Colorado Thumps Bucks: OSU Home-Field Streak Ends". The Blade. Toledo, Ohio. pp. E1, E5 – via Newspapers.com.

[9] "Stearns' daring run ignites Buffs, 29–17". Omaha World-Herald. January 1, 1972. Retrieved April 10, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[10] "1971 Colorado Buffaloes Schedule and Results". College Football @ Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 23, 2023.

[11] "1971 Football Schedule". University of Colorado Boulder. Retrieved October 23, 2023.

[12] "Colorado Football 2023 Record Book" (PDF). University of Colorado Boulder. p. 40. Retrieved October 23, 2023.

[13] "Buffs roll past Oklahoma State." Eugene Register-Guard. 1971 Nov 14. Retrieved 2021-Dec-06.

[ldjw-14] "Probable starters for CU-KU battle". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). November 5, 1971. p. 13.

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Colorado Buffaloes football
Venues	Campus fields (1890–1901) Gamble Field (1901–1924) Folsom Field (1924–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Colorado State: Rocky Mountain Showdown Kansas State Nebraska Utah: Rumble in the Rockies
Culture & lore	Ralphie the Buffalo "CU Fight Song" "Golden Buffalo" Marching band Fifth Down Game Miracle at Michigan Coach Prime
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees
Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold