Folsom's Greatest Games #4 - Colorado vs. Nebraska 1986

October 25, 1986 – Colorado 20, #3 Nebraska 10

For CU fans of a certain age, nothing will ever top this game. Not the 1989 “Game of the Century”, not 62-36, not even the Miracle in Michigan. Because these fans had been born, raised, and sent off to college without CU ever having beaten Nebraska in their lifetimes. Some as old as their mid-twenties had no memory of such an occurrence, and had suffered as students through Big Red blowouts like 1982 – when Folsom Field was half red and the Buffs wore powder blue.

Others were old enough to remember a time when CU and Nebraska were equals, and then had to watch the Huskers become a superpower in the early 1970s – dealing demoralizing defeats to strong CU teams in 1971, 1972 and 1975. Even when CU went to the Orange Bowl in 1976, they still couldn’t beat Nebraska. 

Big Red walked into Folsom Field on October 25, 1986 ranked in the top five, which was practically a given in those days. The third-ranked Huskers were 6-0 and on their way to another 10-win season and a #5 national finish. The Buffs, on the other hand, were 2-4 after a disastrous non-conference slate and a two-game win streak to open conference play. Despite the four early losses, CU still had everything to play for – a bowl bid, and even the Big 8 title were still in play. 

1985 had been CU’s first winning season in seven years, and Bill McCartney couldn’t afford not to capitalize on that momentum. In week four, the Buffs had narrowly missed knocking off #10 Arizona at Folsom. This was another chance to gain national recognition, and it was against CU’s most hated foe. 

When he arrived on campus in 1982, McCartney had unilaterally declared Nebraska to be the Buffs’ arch-rivals. No one from Nebraska seemed to notice or care, and the choice even drew some eye rolls in Boulder. But the Buffs had played the Huskers close in both 1984 and 1985 – proving they belonged on the same field. Moral victories are not, however, the stuff rivalries are made of. In order for CU to be taken seriously, they had to win. 

After the teams felt each other out for the first ten minutes of the game – neither one advancing into the red zone – diminutive freshman walk-on Jeff Campbell threw the first haymaker of the afternoon for the Buffs. He took a pitch from Mark Hatcher on a reverse and sped around the left of Nebraska’s line. With one man to beat he faked an inside move that caused the defender to bite just hard enough that he wasn’t able to bring Campbell down until the ball was across the goal line. The 40-yard touchdown put the Buffs up 7-0 and injected a firm sense of belief into CU fanbase. 

Still, the Buffs had scored first the year before in Lincoln and then failed to add any more points as the Huskers came back for a 17-7 victory. It seemed only a matter of time before Nebraska equalized. On this day, however, the script was different. NU shot themselves in both feet with an interception and a fumble in CU territory during the second quarter, and the Buffs added an impressive 57-yard field goal from Dave DeLine to lead 10-0 at halftime. Not even a CU fumble deep in their own territory could help the Huskers, who went nowhere with the ball before missing a field goal just before the half.

Was the streak really about to end? On their first drive of the second half, the Buffs marched down the field and had a 1st-and-10 from the Nebraska 16. Then CU’s Anthony Weatherspoon fumbled, and the Huskers pounced on it. In the stadium, longtime fans felt the familiar dread creeping back in. Surely Big Red wouldn’t waste another golden opportunity to get back in the game. The Buffalo defense had other plans – forcing a fumble of their own to immediately regain possession.

However, CU was unable to add to their lead and, when Mark Hatcher fumbled deep Buffs territory late in the third, Nebraska finally broke through to cut the lead to three points. The 15,000 red-suited fans in the stadium erupted and released the balloons they had been holding (for much longer than expected) until the first Husker touchdown. The vibes were bad. 

Still clinging to that 10-7 lead on the first play of the game’s final quarter, Bill McCartney – a notoriously conservative play-caller in those days – dialed up a halfback pass on first down from his own 48. OC Oliver took the pitch from Hatcher and found Lance Carl wide open behind the NU defense. Oliver hit him in stride at the 15 and Carl walked in for a seismic touchdown that gave the Buffs breathing room once more. It was 17-7. 

That ten-point cushion didn’t last long. The game was opening up now and Nebraska quickly drove the ball deep into CU territory and came within a dropped pass of cutting the margin to three again. They settled for a field goal to make it 17-10, and the pressure was right back on the Buffs. Mark Hatcher responded by hitting Jon Embree for 29 yards to get CU into Nebraska territory on their next drive. Jeff Campbell gained another 17 on the same play he had scored on in the first quarter, which set up another field goal by DeLine to stretch the lead to 20-10 with 7:44 remaining. 

Nebraska mounted one more threat – driving to the Colorado 34 before a Barry Remington interception with 3:14 to play truly put the game on ice and sent the “red flood” heading to their cars. Today really was the day.

The CU student section was so excited that they actually stormed the field and tore down the goal post in the south end zone before the clock had fully run out. After some awkwardness while the field was cleared for a final kneel-down, a celebration 19 years in the making could finally begin. And what a celebration it was! Tim Mimick of the Colorado Springs Gazette wrote: “After a lengthy slumber, delirium had its day.” The players themselves helped tear down the other goal posts on the north end of the stadium. 

In the locker room, McCartney crowed “This is as sweet as it gets!” and in the postgame presser he boldly declared “I think we have a rivalry now.” He was right. In the opposing locker room, Nebraska’s Broderick Thomas swore that, as long as he was with Nebraska, “Colorado will never ever beat us again.” CU running back Mike Marquez sneered back that “Nebraska lost twice. They lost the game, and they have to go back to Nebraska.” Thus the seeds of a true rivalry had been planted where once there had only been McCartney’s dream.

The 1986 Buffs went on to post an impressive 6-1 Big 8 record. If their close non-conference defeats had gone differently, we might look back on this as one of the greatest CU teams ever. Even so, a season that seemed like regression to a losing mean for its first four games actually improved on 1985’s success. It was obvious Bill McCartney was building a serious program in Boulder, and this game against Nebraska was Exhibit A. 

More than any practical impact on the program, this was a hugely cathartic moment for every single CU fan. They finally had the big red monkey off their backs. After the game was over, Lance Carl said “I’ve had people I don’t even know come up to me and say, ‘Thank you, thank you.’”

If you want a more detailed look at what it meant to people, I highly recommend you read Stuart Whitehair’s CU at the Game recap, which is linked below. He was there and he’ll make you feel like you were too.

Links:
Condensed game on YouTube
CU at the Game recap