2001 Colorado Buffaloes football team

The 2001 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado at Boulder during the 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team played their home games at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado. They participated in the Big 12 Conference in the North Division. They were coached by head coach Gary Barnett. Colorado won the Big 12 Championship Game for the first time and secured its first BCS bowl berth. Colorado has not won the Big 12 since.

2001 Colorado Buffaloes football
Big 12 champion Big 12 North co-champion
Big 12 Championship Game, W 39–37 vs. Texas
Fiesta Bowl, L 16–38 vs. Oregon
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Division	North Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 9
AP	No. 9
Record	10–3 (7–1 Big 12)
Head coach	Gary Barnett (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Shawn Watson (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Co-defensive coordinators	Tom McMahon (3rd season) Vince Okruch (3rd season)
Base defense	Multiple 4–3
MVP	Daniel Graham
Captains	Justin Bannan Andre Gurode Michael Lewis John Minardi
Home stadium	Folsom Field
Seasons ← 2000 2002 →

2001 Big 12 Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
North Division
No. 9 Colorado xy$		7	–	1					10	–	3
No. 8 Nebraska x%		7	–	1					11	–	2
Iowa State		4	–	4					7	–	5
Kansas State		3	–	5					6	–	6
Missouri		3	–	5					4	–	7
Kansas		1	–	7					3	–	8
South Division
No. 5 Texas xy		7	–	1					11	–	2
No. 6 Oklahoma		6	–	2					11	–	2
Texas Tech		4	–	4					7	–	5
Texas A&M		4	–	4					8	–	4
Oklahoma State		2	–	6					4	–	7
Baylor		0	–	8					3	–	8
Championship: Colorado 39, Texas 37
$ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 26	6:00 pm	Fresno State*		Folsom Field Boulder, CO (Jim Thorpe Classic)	ESPN2	L 22–24	47,762
September 1	1:30 pm	vs. No. 24 Colorado State*		Invesco Field at Mile High Denver, CO (Rocky Mountain Showdown)	ABC	W 41–14	75,022
September 8	1:30 pm	San Jose State*		Folsom Field Boulder, CO		W 51–15	40,338
September 22	1:30 pm	Kansas		Folsom Field Boulder, CO		W 27–16	47,495
October 6	10:30 am	at No. 12 Kansas State		KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS (rivalry)	FSN	W 16–6	51,101
October 13	1:30 pm	No. 25 Texas A&M	No. 20	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	PPV	W 31–21	49,521
October 20	1:30 pm	at No. 9 Texas	No. 14	Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX	ABC	L 7–41	83,156
October 27	6:00 pm	at Oklahoma State	No. 25	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	FSN	W 22–19	41,070
November 3	1:00 pm	Missouri	No. 25	Folsom Field Boulder, CO		W 38–24	45,942
November 10	6:00 pm	at Iowa State	No. 21	Jack Trice Stadium Ames, IA	FSN	W 40–27	39,204
November 23	1:30 pm	No. 2 Nebraska	No. 14	Folsom Field Boulder, CO (rivalry)	ABC	W 62–36	53,790
December 1	7:00 pm	vs. No. 3 Texas	No. 9	Texas Stadium Irving, TX (Big 12 Championship Game)	ABC	W 39–37	65,675
January 1	2:30 pm	vs. No. 2 Oregon*	No. 3	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ (Fiesta Bowl)	ABC	L 16–38	74,118
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

Note: Colorado was scheduled to play at Washington State on September 15 but the game was canceled due to the September 11 attacks.

Rankings

Further information: 2001 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	20	14	25	25	21	15	14	9	4	3	9
Coaches	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	17	—	25	20	16	14	10	5	3	9
BCS	Not released								—	—	—	14	15	7	4	3	Not released

Game summaries

Fresno State

Fresno State at Colorado

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Bulldogs	14	7	0	3	24
Buffaloes	0	13	3	6	22

• Date: August 26
• Location: Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado
• Game start: 6:06 pm MDT
• Elapsed time: 3:30
• Game attendance: 47,762
• Referee: Chuck McFerrin
• TV announcers (ESPN2): Dave Barnett, Mike Golic, Bill Curry, Jimmy Dykes

• Source: Box score

    

Scoring summary

1	6:23	FS	David Carr 1-yard run (Asen Asparuhov kick)	FSU 7–0
	3:34	FS	Paris Gaines 1-yard run (Asen Asparuhov kick)	FSU 14–0
2	6:03	COL	Roma Hollowell 77-yard punt return (Pat Brougham kick)	FSU 14–7
	1:58	FS	Marque Davis 21-yard pass from David Carr (Asen Asparuhov kick)	FSU 21–7
	0:56	CU	John Minardi 8-yard pass from Craig Ochs (kick blocked)	FSU 21–13
4	12:29	FS	Asen Asparuhov 43-yard field goal	FSU 24–16
	7:51	CU	John Minardi 16-yard pass from Craig Ochs (pass failed)	FSU 24–22

See also: 2001 Fresno State Bulldogs football team

vs. No. 24 Colorado State

No. 24 Colorado State vs. Colorado

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 24 Rams	7	0	0	7	14
• Buffaloes	14	3	14	10	41

• Date: September 1
• Location: Invesco Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado
• Game start: 3:30 MST
• Game attendance: 75,022
• TV announcers (ABC): Terry Gannon, Reggie Rivers

See also: 2001 Colorado State Rams football team and Rocky Mountain Showdown

San Jose State

San Jose State at Colorado

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Spartans	0	9	0	6	15
• Buffaloes	21	14	9	7	51

• Date: September 8
• Location: Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado
• Game attendance: 40,338

• Source: Box score

See also: 2001 San Jose State Spartans football team

Kansas

Kansas at Colorado

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Jayhawks	3	10	0	3	16
• Buffaloes	10	0	3	14	27

• Date: September 22
• Location: Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado
• Game start: 1:32 pm MDT
• Elapsed time: 3:15
• Game attendance: 47,495

• Source: Box score

See also: 2001 Kansas Jayhawks football team

at No. 12 Kansas State

Colorado at No. 12 Kansas State

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Buffaloes	7	0	6	3	16
No. 12 Wildcats	0	0	0	6	6

• Date: October 6
• Location: KSU Stadium, Manhattan, Kansas
• Game start: 12:30 CDT
• Game attendance: 51,101
• TV announcers (FSN): Drew Goodman, Dave Lapham, Jim Knox

• Source: Box score

See also: 2001 Kansas State Wildcats football team

^[1]

No. 25 Texas A&M Aggies

No. 25 Texas A&M at No. 20 Colorado

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 25 Aggies	0	14	0	7	21
• No. 20 Buffaloes	3	11	3	14	31

• Date: October 13
• Location: Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado
• Game attendance: 49,521

See also: 2001 Texas A&M Aggies football team

Playing as a ranked team and clinging to a 3-point lead in the final minute of play, the Buffs forced a fumble and returned it for a touchdown to close out a win over a second straight ranked opponent.^[2]

at No. 9 Texas

Colorado at No. 9 Texas

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Buffaloes	0	7	0	0	7
• No. 9 Longhorns	7	17	10	7	41

• Date: October 20
• Location: Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, Texas
• Game start: 3:30 CDT
• Game attendance: 83,156
• TV announcers (ABC): Sean McDonough, Ed Cunningham, Leslie Gudel

• Source: Box score

See also: 2001 Texas Longhorns football team

at Oklahoma State

No. 25 Colorado at Oklahoma State

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 25 Buffaloes	7	0	7	8	22
Cowboys	0	16	3	0	19

• Date: October 27
• Location: Lewis Field, Stillwater, Oklahoma
• Game start: 7:00 CDT
• Game attendance: 41,070
• TV announcers (FSN): Joel Meyers, James Lofton, Eric Clemons

• Source: Box score

See also: 2001 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team

Missouri

Missouri at No. 25 Colorado

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	0	14	7	3	24
• No. 25 Buffaloes	0	17	14	7	38

• Date: November 4
• Location: Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado
• Game attendance: 45,942

See also: 2001 Missouri Tigers football team

at Iowa State

No. 21 Colorado at Iowa State

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 21 Buffaloes	10	13	7	10	40
Cyclones	14	0	0	13	27

• Date: November 10
• Location: Jack Trice Stadium, Ames, Iowa
• Game attendance: 39,024

• Source: Box score

See also: 2001 Iowa State Cyclones football team

No. 2 Nebraska

No. 2 Nebraska at No. 14 Colorado

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 2 Cornhuskers	3	20	7	6	36
• No. 14 Buffaloes	28	14	0	20	62

• Date: November 23
• Location: Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado
• Game attendance: 53,790
• TV announcers (ABC): Brent Musburger (Play–by–play), Gary Danielson (Color), & Jack Arute (Sideline)

           

Scoring summary

1	13:00	COL	Bobby Purify 39-yard run (Brougham kick)	COL 7–0
	12:03	COL	Daniel Graham 21-yard pass from Bobby Pesavento (Brougham kick)	COL 14–0
	5:45	COL	Bobby Pesavento 1-yard run (Flores kick)	COL 21–0
	3:31	Neb	Josh Brown 28-yard field goal	COL 21–3
	1:50	COL	Chris Brown 11-yard run (Flores kick)	COL 28–3
2	12:21	COL	Chris Brown 1-yard run (Flores kick)	COL 35–3
	9:37	Neb	Steve Kriewald 25-yard run (Brown kick)	COL 35–10
	6:03	Neb	Dahrran Diedrick 32-yard run (two-point conversion failed)	COL 35–16
	3:19	COL	Chris Brown 36-yard run (Flores kick)	COL 42–16
	2:53	Neb	Dahrran Diedrick 1-yard run (Brown kick)	COL 42–23
3	4:17	Neb	Eric Crouch 6-yard run (Brown kick)	COL 42–30
4	12:50	COL	Chris Brown 1-yard run (Flores kick)	COL 49–30
	11:38	COL	Chris Brown 13-yard run (kick failed)	COL 55–30
	9:41	COL	Chris Brown 8-yard run (Flores kick)	COL 62–30
	7:30	Neb	Eric Crouch 6-yard run (two-point conversion failed)	COL 62–36

See also: 2001 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team and Colorado–Nebraska football rivalry

^[3][4]

vs. No. 3 Texas (Big 12 Championship Game)

No. 3 Texas vs. No. 9 Colorado

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 3 Longhorns	7	10	3	17	37
• No. 9 Buffaloes	7	22	7	3	39

• Date: December 1
• Location: Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
• Game start: 7:07 pm
• Elapsed time: 3:31
• Game attendance: 65,675
• Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C), Partly cloudy, Wind S 8 mph (13 km/h)
• Referee: John Laurie
• TV announcers (ABC): Brent Musburger, Gary Danielson, & Jack Arute

• Source: Big 12 game summary

          

Scoring summary

1	9:56	TEX	Cedric Benson 5-yard run (Dusty Mangum kick)	TEX 7–0
	2:21	COL	Chris Brown 10-yard run (Jeremy Flores kick)	Tied 7–7
2	14:24	COL	Jeremy Flores 39-yard field goal	COL 10–7
	11:36	COL	Chris Brown 1-yard run (Jeremy Flores kick failed)	COL 16–7
	5:49	TEX	Dusty Mangum 50-yard field goal	COL 16–10
	3:48	COL	Daniel Graham 22-yard pass from Bobb Pesavento (Bobb Pesavento pass failed)	COL 22–10
	2:32	COL	Medford Moorer 64-yard interception return (Jeremy Flores kick)	COL 29–10
	1:47	TEX	B. J. Johnson 79-yard pass from Major Applewhite (Dusty Mangum kick)	COL 29–17
3	11:32	COL	Chris Brown 11-yard run (Jeremy Flores kick)	COL 36–17
	7:32	TEX	Dusty Mangum 26-yard field goal	COL 36–20
4	13:42	TEX	Dusty Mangum 38-yard field goal	COL 36–23
	9:10	TEX	Roderick Babers 54-yard interception return (Dusty Mangum kick)	COL 36–30
	1:58	COL	Jeremy Flores 43-yard field goal	COL 39–30
	0:31	TEX	B. J. Johnson 1-yard pass from Major Applewhite (Dusty Mangum kick)	COL 39–37

See also: 2001 Texas Longhorns football team and 2001 Big 12 Championship Game

^[5][6]

vs. No. 2 Oregon (Fiesta Bowl)

No. 3 Colorado vs. No. 2 Oregon

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 3 Buffaloes	7	0	0	9	16
• No. 2 Ducks	7	14	7	10	38

• Date: January 1
• Location: Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona
• Game start: 5:00 p.m. PST
• Game attendance: 74,118
• TV announcers (ABC): Brent Musburger, Gary Danielson, & Jack Arute

Scoring summary

1	6:26	COL	Brandon Drumm 1-yard run (Brougham kick)	COL 7–0
1	3:48	ORE	Keenan Howry 28-yard pass from Joey Harrington (Siegel kick)	Tied 7–7
2	3:13	ORE	Samie Parker 79-yard pass from Harrington (Siegel kick)	ORE 14–7
2	2:29	ORE	Onterrio Smith 6-yard pass from Harrington (Siegel kick)	ORE 21–7
3	12:33	ORE	Maurice Morris 49-yard run (Siegel kick)	ORE 28–7
4	12:03	ORE	Jared Siegel 47-yard field goal	ORE 31–7
4	9:38	ORE	Justin Peelle 4-yard pass from Harrington (Siegel kick)	ORE 38–7
4	5:47	COL	Flores 39-yard field goal	ORE 38–10
4	0:18	COL	Daniel Graham 4-yard pass from Ochs (kick failed)	ORE 38–16

Main article: 2002 Fiesta Bowl

See also: 2001 Oregon Ducks football team

^[7]

Roster

2001 Colorado Buffaloes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 22 Chris Brown So WR 81 Jason Burianek Jr WR 14 Cedric Cormier Sr FB 33 Brandon Drumm Jr TE 89 Daniel Graham Sr G 65 Andre Gurode (C) Sr WR 5 Roman Hollowell Sr RB 21 Marcus Houston So RB 27 Cortlen Johnson Sr C 78 Wayne Lucier Jr WR 2 John Minardi (C) Sr QB 1 Craig Ochs So QB 4 Bobby Pesavento Sr RB 42 Bobby Purify So	Defense Pos. # Name Class DT 97 Justin Bannan (C) Sr DE 99 Tyler Brayton Jr DE 96 James Weingardt Jr DT 94 DeAndre Fluellen So DE 30 Marques Harris So LB 43 Joey Johnson Jr SS 31 Michael Lewis (C) Sr DE 60 Matt McChesney So FS 9 Robbie Robinson Sr CB 26 Roderick Sneed Jr CB 4 Donald Strickland Jr LB 54 Sean Tufts So LB 16 Drew Wahlroos Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 25 Pat Brougham Jr K 3 Jeremy Flores Sr P 8 Mark Mariscal Jr	Head coach Gary Barnett Coordinators/assistant coaches Shawn Watson – Offensive coordinator Tom McMahon – Co-defensive coordinator Vince Okruch – Co-defensive coordinator Vance Joseph Graduate assistant Eric Bieniemy – Running backs Jon Embree – Wide receivers, kicking Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

Awards and honors

• Daniel Graham, TE – John Mackey Award, Consensus First-team All-American
• Andre Gurode, G – Consensus First-team All-American
• Gary Barnett – Big 12 Coach of the Year

See also: 2001 All-Big 12 Conference football team and 2001 College Football All-America Team