The 2005 Champs Sports Bowl was the 16th edition to the

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

bowl game and was played on December 27, 2005, featuring the Clemson Tigers and the

Colorado Buffaloes The Colorado Buffaloes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Colorado. The university sponsors 17 varsity sports teams. Both the men's and women's teams are called the Buffaloes (Buffs for short) or, rarely, the Golden Buffalo ...

. James Davis, the Clemson Running back was the Most Valuable Player of the game.

Background

The Buffaloes were 7–2 at one point, losing only to #12 Miami and #2 Texas. The Colorado Buffaloes were champions of the Big 12 North Division, and they faced off against Texas in the Big 12 Championship game. They were soundly defeated in the Big 12 Championship game by eventual BCS Champion Texas 70–3. Texas would go on to win the BCS Championship in the

2006 Rose Bowl The 2006 Rose Bowl Game, played on January 4, 2006 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, was an American college football bowl game that served as the BCS National Championship Game for the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. It featured ...

. Barnett had survived a recruiting scandal and a suspension following derogatory remarks about a female kicker,

Katie Hnida Katharine Anne Hnida (; born May 17, 1981) is a former American football player who became the first woman to score in an National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA Division I-A game, college football's highest level. She accomplished this as ...

, who claimed she was raped by a teammate in 2000. But the losses to Miami, Iowa State, Nebraska and the second Texas drubbing ultimately led to his forced resignation. Three weeks prior to the game, Colorado head coach Gary Barnett resigned and so the Buffalos were coached by defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz against Clemson.No. 23 Clemson 19, Colorado 10
Associated Press - hosted at USATODAY.COM, December 27, 2005 Meanwhile, Clemson began their season with a win over #17 Texas A&M at home, with a win over Maryland the following week. However, they lost their next three games (including one over #13 Miami) before a win over NC State righted the ship. They lost only once more to Georgia Tech for the rest of the year, closing out the year with wins over #17 Florida State and #19 South Carolina. They finished in 2nd place in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

Atlantic Division to Florida State and Boston College, the latter who Clemson had lost to during the skid. This game was a rematch of the

1957 Orange Bowl The 1957 Orange Bowl was a college football bowl game between the Clemson Tigers and the Colorado Buffaloes. It was played on New Year's Day in Miami, Florida. Background Colorado was the runner-up in the Big Seven Conference in 1956; they pla ...

Game summary

Clemson scored first with a 26 yard field goal by Jad Dean, making it 3–0 Clemson in the opening moments. Colorado's Mason Crosby answered with a 36 yard field goal, tying it at 3. Clemson's Jad Dean kicked another field goal, an 18 yarder, giving Clemson a 6–3 lead. That score held up at half-time. In the third quarter, quarterback

Charlie Whitehurst Charles David Whitehurst Jr. (born August 6, 1982), is a former American football quarterback who played college football at Clemson, and was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the third round (81st overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft. Nicknamed ...

scored on a 5 yard touchdown run, increasing the lead to 13–3. In the fourth quarter, Brian White threw a 2 yard touchdown pass to

Quinn Sypniewski Quinn Brian Sypniewski ip-New-ski(born April 14, 1982) is a former American football tight end. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He is a graduate of Johnston, Iowa High School and played college f ...

, cutting the margin to 13–10. James Davis added a 6 yard touchdown run to make the final margin 19–10, Clemson.

Scoring summary

Aftermath

Colorado made just one more bowl appearance in the decade, in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, which they also lost. They have not won a bowl game since

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

. Clemson went to four more bowl games in the decade.

References

Bibliography

*University of Colorado Buffaloes football media guide (PDF copy available a
http://www.cubuffs.com

External links

Hosted at USATODAY.com {{Colorado Buffaloes bowl game navbox Champs Sports Bowl Pop-Tarts Bowl Clemson Tigers football bowl games Colorado Buffaloes football bowl games American football in Orlando, Florida December 2005 sports events in the United States Champs Sports Bowl 2000s in Orlando, Florida