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Top games by decade

Unleash Hell

Well-Known Member
Trying to make the football season get here faster, so I will try to start some hopefully good stuff to discuss and debate.

Top 10 wins per decade, here's mine and then discuss/make your own.

I am not doing before the 70's because I don't know much about that time, or enough anyway to do a list.

70's

10. 1972 #13 CU 34 #18 Iowa St. 22

9. 1978 CU 28 @ #13 Mizzou 27

8. 1975 # 10 CU 24 #17 Kansas 21

7. 1975 #12 CU 31 #10 Missou 20

6. 1976 #19 CU 42 #13 Oklahoma 31

5. 1972 #9 CU 20 #2 Oklahoma 14. CU has had better luck against OU than NU historically.

4. 1971 Bluebonnet Bowl #7 CU 29 #15 Houston 17. ended a 10 win season and #3 finish nationally behind Nebraska and Oklahoma.

3. 1971 #10 CU 20 @ #6 Ohio St. 14. Stunner in Columbus, CU is now for real.

2. 1971 CU 31 @ #9 LSU 21. Started the great run in '71.

1. 1970 #18 CU 41 #4 Penn St. 13. Ended Penn States 23 game winning streak.


80's

10. 1988 CU 27 CSU 23. Last minute come from behind TD from Pritchard.

9. 1988 CU 24 @ #19 Iowa 21. Big road win for Mac.

8. 1989 #14 CU 27 Texas 6. Hagan's debut as starter. Didn't dissapoint.

7. 1985 CU 21 Oregon 17. The sack of Miller to end a last second duck threat.

6. 1985 CU 14 @ Arizona 13. Mac's first big road win.

5. 1989 #5 CU 45 @ #21 Washington 28. 1st game after Sal died.

4. 1989 #8 CU 38 #10 Illinois 7. The last game before Sal died. "George is a pussy".

3. 1989 #3 CU 20 @ Oklahoma 3 Mac's 1st win over OU.

2. 1989 #2 CU 27 #3 Nebraska 21. Biggest game ever in Boulder!

1. 1986 CU 20 #3 Nebraska 10 The game that turned things around.

90's

10. 1994 #7 CU 55 #10 Wisconsin 17. Didn't seem like a top 10 matchup.

9. 1994 #4 CU 45 #22 Oklahoma 7. Salaam and buffs destroy Sooner pride

8. 1995 #4 CU 38 @ #10 Oklahoma 17. The * game.:lol:

7. 1990 #20 CU 20 #12 Washington 14. Figures endzone INT to seal it.

6. 1990 #20 CU 29 @ #22 Texas 22. Buffs were 1-1-1 and had to go to Austin.

5. 1995 Fiesta Bowl #4 CU 41 Notre Dame 24. Mac goes out with a bang!

4. 1995 #7 CU 29 #3 Texas A&M 21. Aggies thought they had a national championship team and heisman runningback until this game was over.

3. 1994 #7 CU 27 @ #4 Michigan 26. The Catch!

2. 1990 #9 CU 27 @ #2 Nebraska 12. First win in Lincoln since 1967.

1. 1991 Orange Bowl #1 CU 10 #4 Notre Dame 9. Not a great overall game, but it gave us our 1st and only national championship.

Honarable mention
1990 #10 CU 32 #22 Oklahoma 23
1991 #22 CU 34 @ #12 Oklahoma 17
1996 #6 CU 12 #9 Kansas St. 0
1996 #8 CU 33 #13 Washington 21
1994 #5 CU 34 @ #16 Texas 31 (thanks Boulder Buff)


00's

10. 2001 CU 41 #24 CSU 14. Buffs coming off stunning loss to Fresno, and two straight losses to Rams.

9. 2004 CU 26 @ Nebraska 20. Ahh shucks, no bowl for the huskers!

8. 2001 CU 16 @ #12 Kansas St. 6. Ended KSU's recent dominance of buffs.

7. 2007 CU 65 Nebraska 51. High scoring action in the cold.

6. 2004 CU 27 CSU 24. The game after the scandelous off season and the goal line stop.

5. 2002 #13 CU 28 @ Nebraska 13. Huskers couldn't pay us back from 2001.

4. 2002 CU 35 #13 Kansas St. 31. Big play Saturday.

3. 2007 CU 27 #3 Oklahoma 24. Hawks biggest win to date.

2. 2001 #9 CU 39 #3 Texas 37. 1st and only Big 12 title.

1. 2001 #14 CU 62 #2 Nebraska 36. The game that started Nebraska's slide that they have still yet to fully recover from.

Honarable mention
2002 CU 31 @ #20 UCLA 17
2003 CU 42 #23 CSU 35
2005 #25 CU 41 Mizzou 12
2006 CU 30 Texas Tech 6
2007 CU over Texas Tech
2008 CU 38 CSU 17
 
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Which game was most important in creating long-term success? ie, what was the game that really made the program take off? Do you see any similarities between our team now, and the personality of the team back than?
 
Which game was most important in creating long-term success? ie, what was the game that really made the program take off? Do you see any similarities between our team now, and the personality of the team back than?

We historically have great runs. We had a real good run in the late 60's-mid 70's. And then of course late 80's-mid 90's. With this pattern it seems we have a great run every twenty years or so, the last real great one started in the late 80's. We are now in the late '00's. Hmmmmm.:smile2:

I do see some similarities with attitudes and recruits now as to the late 80's/ We will see.

The turning point for Mac was the 20-10 win over NU in '86, Hawk had a similar win against OU. We will see in time if Hawk can have some of the success that Mac did.
 
6. 1976 #19 CU 42 #13 Oklahoma 31

this was my first game at Folsom. i was 5. thanks Dad!

good list at first glance.

Hawk beating OU in 07 was a big upset, but we hadn't beaten NU in FOREVER in 86. we're prolly .500 or maybe better against OU in the last 20 years...so, despite the elation, that one lacked the grudge/monkey off the back factor for Mac, for CU, for everyone as 86, to me.
 
hard to argue with many of those Leash. I think for excitement, the win over Stanford in 1990 was worthy of an honorable mention. EB diving into the end zone to seal the victory...
 
hard to argue with many of those Leash. I think for excitement, the win over Stanford in 1990 was worthy of an honorable mention. EB diving into the end zone to seal the victory...

if i recall, one of Stanford's WR's drops a sure TD pass in the South EZ late in that one.
 
317 yards i think, so yep lol. There was also a crazy stat in that game, Texas was like 251-0 when they scored 20 points or more at home until that day.
 
Overall, I like the rankings Leash. I think the 2002 game against UCLA deserves to be top 10 though. That game saved the season.
 
Overall, I like the rankings Leash. I think the 2002 game against UCLA deserves to be top 10 though. That game saved the season.


true, that was right after the game when SC just destroyed us in our house. I think that was the season when Carroll got SC back on the elite map as well. It was Caroll coaching then wasn't it?
 
We historically have great runs. We had a real good run in the late 60's-mid 70's. And then of course late 80's-mid 90's. With this pattern it seems we have a great run every twenty years or so, the last real great one started in the late 80's. We are now in the late '00's. Hmmmmm.:smile2:

I do see some similarities with attitudes and recruits now as to the late 80's/ We will see.

The turning point for Mac was the 20-10 win over NU in '86, Hawk had a similar win against OU. We will see in time if Hawk can have some of the success that Mac did.

No question about it, but I also think the '85 win over Oregon was the first, smaller turning point because this was the first time under his tenure that the team showed some real hope and promise of getting out of the doldrums of college football.
 
true, that was right after the game when SC just destroyed us in our house. I think that was the season when Carroll got SC back on the elite map as well. It was Caroll coaching then wasn't it?

yes. Carson Palmer's SR year. they could have named the score. they convert a 4th and 11 or something on their first or second drive for about a 30 yard TD. we blitz off the corner, Palmer tosses it over our guy and their back goes the distance down the east boundary into the south endzone. ball-game. i'd say by the end of the year that SC team was as good as anybody in the country. they destroyed a pretty good Iowa team (probably Ferentz's best) in the Orange Bowl. it was an asskicking.

that UCLA game was interesting. they had big WR's we couldn't cover but they didn't use them at all until late in the game. much like the FSU game in Boulder to some degree....except CU wins.
 
is that the UCLA game when they dominated us and we still won? seemed like our qb got killed every play.
 
true, that was right after the game when SC just destroyed us in our house. I think that was the season when Carroll got SC back on the elite map as well. It was Caroll coaching then wasn't it?

Yep. That was the year USC killed Iowa in one of the BCS bowls and they have been rolling ever since.

We really needed that win after USC smoked us. We had already lost Ochs and we were sitting at 1-2 after starting the season in the top 10. That UCLA set us up for the rest of the season-basically just give the ball to Brown and Purify.:thumbsup:
 
is that the UCLA game when they dominated us and we still won? seemed like our qb got killed every play.

I thought we dominated the line of scrimmage against UCLA. If I recall correctly, Brown had a huge game rushing.

Yep. That was the year USC killed Iowa in one of the BCS bowls and they have been rolling ever since.

We really needed that win after USC smoked us. We had already lost Ochs and we were sitting at 1-2 after starting the season in the top 10. That UCLA set us up for the rest of the season-basically just give the ball to Brown and Purify.:thumbsup:

Yep, give it to our good backs and have our good line and Drumm block for them cause Robert Hodge couldn't do much.
 
Im talking about when we played them in Boulder and won like 19-14 or something.

road game at UCLA was in 02-03, CU 31-14.

home was 03-04, CU 16-14.

i got confused up above talking about the home game but not making a distinction between the road game "saving the season" and the next year with the Bruins in Boulder. the latter wasn't a great year. which is to say, i was talking about the home game in the context of other posters talking about the roadie after the USC game in Boulder. so, i think maybe i gave the bum steer.
 
The '94 game against Texas has to at least be honorable mention IMO. Salaam was an animal that game.

Yep, and CU was the first game on the intro to college gameday again.

Btw, what was the name of the 6-5 230 wr for texas that year?
 
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