2001 Colorado Buffaloes football team

2001 Big 12 Conference football standings

	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

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.

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.

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

Fresno State at Colorado

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

No. 24 Colorado State vs. Colorado

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

San Jose State at Colorado

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

Kansas at Colorado

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

Colorado at No. 12 Kansas State

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

^[1]

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

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

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]

Colorado at No. 9 Texas

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

No. 25 Colorado at Oklahoma State

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

Missouri at No. 25 Colorado

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

No. 21 Colorado at Iowa State

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

No. 2 Nebraska at No. 14 Colorado

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)

^[3][4]

No. 3 Texas vs. No. 9 Colorado

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

^[5][6]

No. 3 Colorado vs. No. 2 Oregon

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

^[7]

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

• 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