Folsom's Greatest Games: Methodology

Every list is subjective. I attended a few of these games, and my firsthand experience will inevitably color the way I feel about them. Recency bias is also a huge challenge when compiling a list that dates back before the memory of any living CU fan.

We are fortunate to have detailed firsthand accounts from former CU Sports Information Director Fred Casotti of his favorite games from 1947 to 1971, and Stuart Whitehair of CU at the Game covers everything from 1980 to the present. There is nothing in as much detail for the period of 1972-1979, but Casotti wrote about those games as well in his books. For games from before 1947, we only have newspaper articles and box scores.

It’s also difficult not to be biased in favor of games with surviving television broadcasts, which are the next best thing to being there in person. There are precious few surviving TV broadcasts of CU games from before the 1980s. We can imagine how loud it must have been inside Folsom when the Buffs came back from a 19-point deficit in the fourth quarter against Kansas in 1961, but imagining is all we can do. Recently the CU football YouTube channel has blessed us with the silent coach’s film of many very old CU games, and if you watch them closely enough you can see moments of the crowd going crazy and the players jubilantly celebrating. It’s not as good as seeing and hearing, but it’s a window into those games that we didn’t have previously.

In an effort to be as objective as possible, these are the four main criteria I’m using to determine this list. Just like the College Football Playoff committee, I have prioritized some aspects over others where convenient. 

From a pure football perspective, how exciting was the game? This criterion is biased towards high scoring games featuring multiple lead changes, or big comebacks, which tends to hurt older games. Newspaper articles from the past describe 0-0 ties or 3-0 victories as tense, thrilling contests. Our modern sensibilities are tough to overcome here.

What were the emotional stakes of the game? Was this a rivalry game? Two teams with bad blood? Were there any other outside factors that made the result particularly sweet?

What were the conference or national implications of the result? Was either team in contention for a conference or national title? Was either team undefeated or ranked highly in the polls? How late in the season did the game happen? This criterion is inherently biased in favor of games from after CU’s 1948 move to the Big 8, which brought with it a higher level of competition and national recognition.

What lasting effects, if any, did the game have? Several of the games on this list were followed by disappointing finishes to the season. Games that actually did mark a turning point for the program, like Oregon in 1985, will be given some special consideration. The 2007 Oklahoma upset – as well as other glorious moments that didn’t end up mattering as much in the long run as we thought they would – won’t get that benefit.