1994 Colorado Buffaloes football
Fiesta Bowl champion
Fiesta Bowl, W 41–24 vs. Notre Dame
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 3
AP	No. 3
1994 record	11–1 (6–1 Big 8)
Head coach	Bill McCartney (13th season)
Offensive coordinator	Elliot Uzelac (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple one-back
Defensive coordinator	Mike Hankwitz (7th season)
Base defense	5-2
Home stadium	Folsom Field (Capacity: 51,748)
Seasons ← 1993 1995 →

1994 Big Eight Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 1 Nebraska $	7	–	0	–	0	13	–	0	–	0
No. 3 Colorado %	6	–	1	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
No. 19 Kansas State	5	–	2	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
Oklahoma	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	6	–	0
Kansas	3	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Missouri	2	–	5	–	0	3	–	8	–	1
Oklahoma State	0	–	6	–	1	3	–	7	–	1
Iowa State	0	–	6	–	1	0	–	10	–	1

$ – Bowl Coalition representative as champion % – Bowl Coalition at-large representative Rankings from AP Poll

The 1994 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado at Boulder in the 1994 college football season. The Buffaloes offense scored 439 points while the defense allowed 235 points. The team was led by head coach Bill McCartney.

The Buffaloes' only loss of the season came on the road against eventual consensus national champion Nebraska. Colorado, ranked #2 at the time, was in line to play for the national title as part of the Bowl Coalition. They were leapfrogged in the polls by the Cornhuskers, who had been ranked #3, and finished the regular season ranked #4.

The Buffaloes competed in the 1995 Fiesta Bowl, which they won 41–24 over unranked Notre Dame.

The problem of scheduling bowl match-ups for top-ranked teams led to the dissolution of the Bowl Coalition and the creation of the Bowl Alliance (#2 ranked Penn State was not eligible as a member of the Big Ten Conference to play the #1 ranked team). Notre Dame, playing as an independent, had its own agreement with the Bowl Coalition, which allowed the Fiesta Bowl to choose them as an at-large opponent over more highly ranked teams.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	12:00 pm	NE Louisiana*	No. 8	Folsom Field Boulder, CO		W 48–13	48,114
September 17	7:45 pm	No. 10 Wisconsin*	No. 7	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	ESPN	W 55–17	53,457
September 24	1:30 pm	at No. 4 Michigan*	No. 7	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (Miracle at Michigan)	ABC	W 27–26	106,427
October 1	1:30 pm	at No. 16 Texas*	No. 5	Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX	ABC	W 34–31	77,809
October 8	12:00 pm	at Missouri	No. 5	Faurot Field Columbia, MO	PSN	W 38–23	38,901
October 15	7:30 pm	No. 22 Oklahoma	No. 4	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	ESPN	W 45–7	53,199
October 22	5:30 pm	No. 19 Kansas State	No. 2	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	ESPN	W 35–21	52,955
October 29	1:30 pm	at No. 3 Nebraska	No. 2	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry) (College GameDay)	ABC	L 7–24	76,131
November 5	12:00 pm	Oklahoma State	No. 7	Folsom Field Boulder, CO		W 17–3	51,059
November 12	12:00 pm	at Kansas	No. 7	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	PSN	W 51–26	35,000
November 19	12:00 pm	Iowa State	No. 7	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	PSN	W 41–20	46,113
January 2	2:30 pm	vs. Notre Dame*	No. 4	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ (Fiesta Bowl)	NBC	W 41–24	73,968
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

Roster

1994 Colorado Buffaloes football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`1`	Vance Joseph	Sr
WR	`2`	James Kidd	So
QB	`10`	Kordell Stewart	Sr
WR	`12`	Michael Westbrook	Sr
QB	`14`	Koy Detmer	So
RB	`19`	Rashaan Salaam	Jr
WR	`21`	Rae Carruth	So
RB	`26`	Herchell Troutman	Fr
C	`64`	Bryan Stoltenberg	Jr
WR	`80`	Phil Savoy	Fr
TE	`88`	Christian Fauria	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
FS	`6`	T. J. Cunningham	Jr
LB	`16`	Matt Russell	So
LB	`46`	Ted Johnson	Sr
CB	`47`	Chris Hudson	Sr
DT	`92`	Shannon Clavelle	Jr
DT	`93`	Darius Holland	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`17`	Neil Voskeritchian	Jr
P	`21`	Ron Mayer	Sr

Head coach

Bill McCartney

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Elliot Uzelac – Offensive coordinator
Mike Hankwitz – Defensive coordinator
Rick Neuheisel – Assistant coach
Chuck Heater – Defensive backs
Ben Gregory – Running backs

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

Rankings

Main article: 1994 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	8	8	7	7	7	5 (1)	5 (3)	4 (4)	2 (15)	2 (16)	7	7	7	6	5	4	3
Coaches	7		7	7	7	5 (1)	5 (1)	4 (1)	3 (9)	3 (9)	7	7	7	7	5	5	3

Season summary

Northeast Louisiana

Northeast Louisiana at Colorado

	1	2	3	4	Total
Indians	3	3	0	7	13
• No. 8 Buffaloes	7	21	14	6	48

Date: September 3
Location: Folsom Field
Game attendance: 48,114

Scoring summary

Q1	NLU	Miller 36 yard field goal	NLU 3–0

Q1	COL	Salaam 1 yard run (Voskeritchian kick)	COL 7–3

Q2	NLU	Miller 43 yard field goal	COL 7–6

Q2	COL	Salaam 9 yard run (Voskeritchian kick)	COL 14–6

Q2	COL	Stewart 6 yard run (Voskeritchian kick)	COL 21—6

Q2	COL	Kidd 44 yard pass from Stewart (Voskeritchian kick)	COL 28–6

Q3	COL	Stewart 58 yard run (Voskeritchian kick)	COL 35–6

Q3	COL	Salaam 15 yard run (Voskeritchian kick)	COL 42–6

Q4	COL	Troutman 13 yard run (kick failed)	COL 48–6

Q4	NLU	S. Williams 10 yard pass from Philyaw (Miller kick)	COL 48–13

Rashan Salaam 24 Rush, 184 Yds

^[1]

Wisconsin

Michigan

Colorado at Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 7 Buffaloes	7	7	0	13	27
No. 4 Wolverines	0	9	17	0	26

Date: September 24
Location: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Game attendance: 106,427
TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson, Bob Griese, and Lynn Swann

Scoring summary

1		COL	Rashaan Salaam 2-yard run (Voskeritchian kick)	COL 7–0

2	11:34	MICH	Remy Hamilton 33-yard field goal	COL 7–3
	7:54	COL	Michael Westbrook 27-yard pass from Kordell Stewart (Voskeritchian kick)	COL 14–3
	1:14	MICH	Tim Biakabutuka 4-yard run (pass failed)	COL 14–9

3	10:43	MICH	Tyrone Wheatley 6-yard run (Hayes pass from Collins)	MICH 17–14
	7:40	MICH	Hamilton 20-yard field goal	MICH 20–14
	2:43	MICH	Amani Toomer 65-yard pass from Todd Collins (run failed)	MICH 26–14

4	2:16	COL	Rashaan Salaam 2-yard run (Voskeritchian kick)	MICH 26–21
4	0:00	COL	Westbrook 64-yard pass from Stewart	COL 27–26

Main article: Miracle at Michigan

The Miracle at Michigan refers to the final play that occurred during the game played on September 24, 1994, between the Colorado Buffaloes and the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The game was decided on Colorado quarterback Kordell Stewart's 64-yard Hail Mary pass to Michael Westbrook, which gave the play its name.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

Texas

Missouri

Oklahoma

Kansas State

Nebraska

Colorado at Nebraska

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 2 Buffaloes	0	0	7	0	7
• No. 3 Cornhuskers	7	10	7	0	24

Date: October 29
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 76,131

Scoring summary

1		NEB	Cory Schlesinger 14-yard run (Tom Sieler kick)	NEB 7–0

2	9:01	NEB	Sieler 24-yard field goal	NEB 10–0
2	0:36	NEB	Clinton Childs 2-yard run (Sieler kick)	NEB 17–0

3	10:42	NEB	Eric Alford 30-yard pass from Brook Berringer (Sieler kick)	NEB 24–0
3	1:06	COL	Rashaan Salaam 6 run (Neil Voskeritchian kick)	NEB 24–7

Oklahoma State

Kansas

Iowa State

Fiesta Bowl

Colorado vs. Notre Dame

	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 4 Buffaloes	10	21	3	7	41
Fighting Irish	3	7	7	7	24

Date: January 2
Location: Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona
Game attendance: 73,968

Players drafted in the 1995 NFL Draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL Club
Michael Westbrook	Wide Receiver	1	4	Washington Redskins
Rashaan Salaam	Running Back	1	21	Chicago Bears
Christian Fauria	Tight End	2	39	Seattle Seahawks
Ted Johnson	Linebacker	2	57	New England Patriots
Kordell Stewart	Quarterback	2	60	Pittsburgh Steelers
Darius Holland	Defensive Tackle	3	65	Green Bay Packers
Chris Hudson	Defensive Back	3	71	Jacksonville Jaguars
Derek West	Tackle	5	149	Indianapolis Colts
Shannon Clavelle	Defensive End	6	185	Buffalo Bills

^[7]

Awards and honors

References

^ Ocala Star-Banner. 1994 Sep 04. Retrieved 2018-Nov-17.
^ "On the Wing of a Prayer, Colorado Shocks Michigan". The New York Times. September 25, 1994. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
^ "COLORADO STUNS MICHIGAN: MIAMI'S STREAK ENDS". The Washington Post. September 25, 1994. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
^ "Colorado Rides on Stewart's Rocket". Los Angeles Times. September 25, 1994. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
^ "'I Just Heaved It'". Sports Illustrated. October 3, 1994. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
^ "Joy and pain: The Miracle at Michigan". ESPN. September 23, 2014. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
^ "1995 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on 2007-12-21.
^ "Who Has Rushed for over 2,000 Yards in a Season?".
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-09-16. Retrieved 2007-04-16.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Football".

v t e Colorado Buffaloes football
Venues	Campus fields (1890–1901) Gamble Field (1901–1924) Folsom Field (1924–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Colorado State: Rocky Mountain Showdown Nebraska Utah: Rumble in the Rockies
Culture & lore	Ralphie the Buffalo "CU Fight Song" "Golden Buffalo" Marching band Fifth Down Game (1990) Miracle at Michigan
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees
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National championship seasons in bold