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NU Plays Colorado for the First Time
in Nearly Fifty Years
Northwestern
Football will end its home era at Martin Stadium this Saturday by
playing Colorado for the first time since 1978. The teams have only
played twice so far, splitting the series at one win each.
Here is a look at the previous two games in this series.
1951
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This
was Northwestern's season opener, and it was an important occasion: NU
was celebrating the school's centennial. The game's program cover
featured the NU centennial medallion.
Visiting Colorado, however, had already played a game, beating Colorado
State 28-13 the week before. The Buffalos were a veteran team and were
slight favorites.
A crowd of 45,000 watched as the young NU squad wasted no time securing
a lead, moving 78 yards in four plays during its first drive, leading
to a Robert Burson touchdown pass to Joe Collier. Colorado soon fumbled
on its own 38 yard-line, leading to another Wildcat touchdown.
The Buffalos eventually found the endzone in the third quarter, but the
'Cats notched another pair of touchdowns, leading Colorado 28-7 going
into the final quarter. The teams traded scores, and Northwestern came
away with a 35-14 victory.
The win was the fist of four straight victories for NU, which led to the 'Cats getting ranked in the AP Top 20 for two weeks.
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The Chicago Tribune helpfully pointed out the location of the fumbled ball,
after Colorado coughed it up in the first quarter.
1978
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Unfortunately,
the last time NU faced Colorado, the 'Cats were in the downward spiral
of the program's Dark Age period, and 1978 through 1982 represented the
worst stretch of that period. NU won very few games in this era, and
Colorado wasn't to be an exception.
The Wildcats opened the 1978 season with a brutal 0-0 tie at Illinois--
this was the program's high point for the year. NU lost two more Big
Ten games before taking a non-conference stretch, beginning with a trip
to Colorado. The Buffalos were 3-0 when they hosted NU, having easily
beaten Oregon, Miami, and San Jose State. Oddsmakers crowned Colorado
28-point favorites.
During the first half, it looked like NU might make a game of it. The
'Cats nursed a 7-7 tie until just ten seconds before halftime, when
Colorado punched in its second touchdown.
The game was all Colorado from there: the Buffalos employed their depth in the second half and overpowered NU, 55-7.
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