# 1994 Colorado Buffaloes football team

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 FieldBoulder, CO | | W 48–13 | 48,114 |
| September 17 | 7:45 pm | No. 10 Wisconsin* | No. 7 | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | ESPN | W 55–17 | 53,457 |
| September 24 | 1:30 pm | at No. 4 Michigan* | No. 7 | Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI (Miracle at Michigan) | ABC | W 27–26 | 106,427 |
| October 1 | 1:30 pm | at No. 16 Texas* | No. 5 | Texas Memorial StadiumAustin, TX | ABC | W 34–31 | 77,809 |
| October 8 | 12:00 pm | at Missouri | No. 5 | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO | PSN | W 38–23 | 38,901 |
| October 15 | 7:30 pm | No. 22 Oklahoma | No. 4 | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | ESPN | W 45–7 | 53,199 |
| October 22 | 5:30 pm | No. 19 Kansas State | No. 2 | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO (rivalry) | ESPN | W 35–21 | 52,955 |
| October 29 | 1:30 pm | at No. 3 Nebraska | No. 2 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE (rivalry, College GameDay) | ABC | L 7–24 | 76,131 |
| November 5 | 12:00 pm | Oklahoma State | No. 7 | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | | W 17–3 | 51,059 |
| November 12 | 12:00 pm | at Kansas | No. 7 | Memorial StadiumLawrence, KS | PSN | W 51–26 | 35,000 |
| November 19 | 12:00 pm | Iowa State | No. 7 | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | PSN | W 41–20 | 46,113 |
| January 2 | 2:30 pm | vs. Notre Dame* | No. 4 | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ (Fiesta Bowl) | NBC | W 41–24 | 73,968 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Mountain time ||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | 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

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Indians | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
| • No. 8 Buffaloes | 7 | 21 | 14 | 6 | 48 |
* Rashan Salaam 24 Rush, 184 Yds

### Michigan

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

### Nebraska

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

### Fiesta Bowl

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

## 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 |

## Awards and honors

* Chris Hudson, Jim Thorpe Award
* Rashaan Salaam, Doak Walker Award
* Rashaan Salaam, Heisman Trophy
* Rashaan Salaam, Walter Camp Award