Folsom's Greatest Games #10 - Colorado vs. Illinois 1989

September 16, 1989 #8 Colorado 38, #10 Illinois 7

There will never be another season in Boulder like 1989. Playing through the tragedy of the illness and death of Sal Aunese, their starting quarterback the previous two seasons, the Buffs were a team on a mission.

Stacked with talent and unified in their focus, they blitzed through a daunting schedule with machine-like ease – winning ten of the games in their 11-0 regular season by 17 points or more, en route to the first number-one ranking in school history. This remarkable story that would capture the nation’s attention was only just beginning when they took the field for their third game of the season. 

CU had looked impressive in their first two games against Texas and CSU, but the 10th-ranked Illini would be their first major test. In their season opener, the men from Champaign had shocked 5th-ranked USC in the Coliseum, which set up the first top-10 clash at Folsom Field since 1972. Jim Nantz and CBS were on hand to bring the game to a national audience. Were these Buffs for real? You bet they were. 

Watching from a box in the Flatirons Club, Sal Aunese saw his final CU game before his death one week later. After receiver Jeff Campbell caught a long pass on the third play of the game, he pointed to Sal. It was clear to everyone that this team was playing for more than just themselves. On their first three drives of the game, the Buffs scored touchdowns.

Eric Bieniemy connected on a 48-yard halfback pass to MJ Nelson for CU’s second score, and JJ Flannigan ran 45 yards for their third – making it 21-7 after one quarter of play. Illinois never threatened the lead.

Future NFL quarterback Jeff George, who had called the Buffs an “average” team earlier in the week, was mostly helpless against the CU defense, and in his petulant frustration he begged the referees to quiet the Folsom crowd. In those days there were still antiquated rules stating that the home team could be assessed a penalty if the crowd was too loud for the visiting quarterback to hear the signals in his headset.

Each time Jeff appealed to the refs, the crowd grew louder. He complained six times, which almost matched the number of points scored by his offense that day. Alfred Williams, Kanavis McGhee and the rest of the CU line were in the Illinois backfield all afternoon making George’s life very unpleasant. By the fourth quarter, the backups were in for both teams.

Illinois lost just one other game in 1989. They were an excellent football team, and the Buffs obliterated them by 31 points – out-gaining the Illini 475 to 193. CU played the entire 1989 season in tribute to Sal Aunese, but this was the final time they were able to play for him in person. As the fourth quarter drew to a close, CBS named Aunese their “player of the game”. After watching the inspired performance by his teammates it was hard to argue with their decision.

Links:
YouTube video of the game
CU at the Game recap