September 23, 1995 – #7 Colorado 29, #3 Texas A&M 21
The eyes of the college football world were fixed on Boulder this particular Saturday, when two of the winningest programs of the 1990s met for the very first time in a non-conference battle that was as big as they come. College GameDay, which had only recently started visiting college campuses, came to CU for the first time. ABC had the legendary Keith Jackson on the call, and a new Folsom Field record crowd of 53,849 filled the stands. Earlier in the week, a freak early snowstorm had blanketed the front range, but by gametime it was perfect fall weather in Boulder.
A&M was the class of the soon-to-be-defunct Southwest Conference; having finished with a 10-0-1 record in 1994. The Buffs, under new head coach Rick Neuheisel, started the ‘95 season with demolitions of Wisconsin, Colorado State, and Northeast Louisiana to climb up to #7 in the polls. The Aggies were ranked third nationally, and had a Heisman trophy favorite in running back Leeland McElroy. The hype couldn’t have been bigger, and the game couldn’t have started any worse for the Buffs.
CU quarterback Koy Detmer was strip-sacked early in the first quarter and a pile of Aggies fell on the ball in the end zone for a touchdown to make it 7-0. Later in the first, Detmer tore his ACL while pivoting on Folsom’s artificial turf. One of the nation’s leading passers was lost for the season, and the Buffs had to turn to untested backup John Hessler.
The Colorado kid was up to the challenge, rushing for a score to put the Buffs ahead early in the second, and throwing a perfect deep ball to set up his second rushing touchdown of the quarter, which gave CU a 17-7 lead.
The game continued to seesaw back and forth, and the Aggies held a 21-20 advantage entering the fourth quarter. Hessler led CU down the field for what turned out to be the game winning score early in the fourth; tossing his first collegiate touchdown pass to Tennyson McCarty with 14:28 remaining in the game.
McElroy and A&M’s vaunted rushing attack never really got going, and the Buff defense held the Aggie offense to just two touchdowns. The 29-21 victory vaulted CU up to #4 in the AP Poll, and Hessler was named Big 8 Offensive Player of the Week. It was a big-time win by a big-time program in a big-time game.
