The 1986 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...

in the Big Eight Conference during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by fifth-year head coach

Bill McCartney William Paul McCartney (born August 22, 1940) is a former American football player and coach and the founder of the Promise Keepers men's ministry. He was the head coach at the University of Colorado Boulder for thirteen seasons (1982–1994), ...

, Colorado opened with four losses, but finished the regular season at 6–5 (6–1 in Big 8, second). It was their best conference record in a quarter century, and they were invited to the

Bluebonnet Bowl The Bluebonnet Bowl was an annual college football bowl game played in Houston, Texas. A civic group was appointed by the Houston Chamber of Commerce Athletics Committee in 1959 to organize the bowl game. It was held at Rice Stadium from 19 ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

on New Year's Eve. The Buffaloes were upset 23–7 in the opener by intrastate rival Colorado State, but defeated

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

for the first time in nineteen years, and the first time in Boulder since

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

Schedule

:2010 Colorado football information guide

Roster

Staff

HC:

Ast:

Lou Tepper Lou Tepper (born September 7, 1945) is a former American football coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 1991 to 1996, the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, from 2000 to 2005, and In ...

(AHC/DC/ILB),

Gerry DiNardo Gerard Paul DiNardo (born November 10, 1952) is a former American football player and coach. He played college football as a guard for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish where he was selected as an All-American in 1974. DiNardo served as the head f ...

(OC/TE),

Gary Barnett Gary Lee Barnett (born May 23, 1946) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Fort Lewis College (1982–1983), Northwestern University (1992–1998), and the University of Colorado at Boulder (1999–2005), ...

(QB/FB), Steve Bernstein (DB),

Mike Hankwitz George Michael Hankwitz (born December 14, 1947) is a former American football coach and player. He was the defensive coordinator at Northwestern University, a position he had held from 2008 to 2020. Hankwitz has twice served as an interim he ...

(OLB), Steve Logan (RB), Oliver Lucas (WR),

Les Miles Leslie Edwin Miles (born November 10, 1953) is a former American football coach. He most recently served as the head coach at Kansas. His head coaching career began with the Oklahoma State Cowboys, where he coached from 2001 to 2004. Following t ...

(OL),

Ron Vanderlinden Ron Vanderlinden is a retired American college football coach. Vanderlinden was most recently the linebackers coach at Air Force. He served as the head football coach at the University of Maryland, College Park from 1997 to 2000. Vanderlinden i ...

(DL)

Game summaries

Nebraska

The fans tore down the goal posts as the Buffaloes defeated Nebraska for the first time since 1967, breaking a streak of 18 losses to the Huskers, and the first win in Boulder over NU since 1960. "This is a moment in our program we'll always cherish", said Colorado

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

. "Up to this point I don't think we've beaten a great team. We did today. And I think we have a rivalry now."

Oklahoma State

References

External links

Sports-Reference
– 1986 Colorado Buffaloes

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

Colorado Buffaloes football seasons Colorado Buffaloes football {{Colorado-sport-team-stub