1972 Colorado Buffaloes football
Gator Bowl, L 3–24 vs. Auburn
ConferenceBig Eight Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. T–14
APNo. 16
Record8–4 (4–3 Big 8)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorKay Dalton (1st season)
Offensive schemeSlot-I triple option
Defensive coordinatorDan Radakovich (1st season)
Base defense4–4
MVPJohn Stearns
Captains
Home stadiumFolsom Field
Seasons
← 1971
1973 →
1972 Big Eight Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Oklahoma $ 6 – 1 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. 4 Nebraska $ 5 – 1 – 1 9 – 2 – 1
No. 16 Colorado 4 – 3 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Oklahoma State 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Missouri 3 – 4 – 0 6 – 6 – 0
Iowa State 2 – 4 – 1 5 – 6 – 1
Kansas 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Kansas State 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • The Big 8 Conference mandated Oklahoma forfeits in three conference games, giving Nebraska the title. Oklahoma reverted this record at a later date; hence, both Oklahoma[1] and Nebraska[2] claim this title.
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1973 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado in the Big Eight Conference during the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. Led by tenth-year head coach Eddie Crowder, the Buffaloes were 8–3 in the regular season (4–3 in Big 8, tied for third), and played their home games on campus at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado.

In the Gator Bowl, Colorado fell to sixth-ranked Auburn to finish at 8–4,[3] and dropped to sixteenth in the final AP poll.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 9California*No. 2
W 20–1050,751
September 16Cincinnati*No. 2
  • Folsom Field
  • Boulder, CO
W 56–1450,171
September 23at Minnesota*No. 3
W 38–642,703
September 30at Oklahoma StateNo. 3
L 6–3138,500
October 7at Kansas StateNo. 12
W 38–1740,000
October 14No. 18 Iowa StatedaggerNo. 13
  • Folsom Field
  • Boulder, CO
W 34–2251,668
October 21No. 2 OklahomaNo. 9
  • Folsom Field
  • Boulder, CO
ABCW 20–1452,022
October 28at MissouriNo. 7
L 17–2055,550
November 4No. 3 NebraskaNo. 15
ABCL 10–3352,128
November 11KansasNo. 16
  • Folsom Field
  • Boulder, CO
W 33–850,151–50,304
November 18at Air Force*No. 15
W 38–747,191
December 30vs. No. 6 Auburn*No. 13
ABCL 3–2471,114[4]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[5][6][7]

Roster

Rankings

Main article: 1972 NCAA University Division football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213Final
AP2 (13)2 (12)3 (7)3 (5)12139715161513131316
Coaches2 (4)3 (6)3 (4)3 (1)16161071416 т15131314 тNot released

Game summaries

Oklahoma

#2 Oklahoma at Colorado
1 234Total
Oklahoma 0 707 14
• Colorado 0 0146 20
Scoring summary
2OKLARobertson 17 yard run (Fulcher kick)OKLA 7-0
3COLCampbell 43 yard run (kick failed)OKLA 7-6
3COLKeyworth 6 yard pass from Johnson (Matthews run)COL 14-7
4COLLima 33 yard field goalCOL 17-7
4COLLima 33 yard field goalCOL 20-7
4OKLAPruitt 10 yard pass from Robertson (Fulcher kick)COL 20-14

References

  1. ^ "2018 Media Guide" (PDF). soonersports.com. Oklahoma Athletics. p. 6. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  2. ^ "2018 Media Guide" (PDF). huskers.com. Nebraska Athletics. p. 206. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  3. ^ "Auburn clips Colorado; East victor". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 31, 1972. p. 1B.
  4. ^ "Auburn's Tigers rip Colorado's Buffs 24–3". The Selma Times-Journal. December 31, 1972. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "1972 Colorado Buffaloes Schedule and Results". College Football @ Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  6. ^ "1972 Football Schedule". University of Colorado Boulder. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  7. ^ "Colorado Football 2023 Record Book" (PDF). University of Colorado Boulder. p. 41. Retrieved October 23, 2023.


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