1996 Colorado Buffaloes football team

1996 Colorado Buffaloes football
Holiday Bowl champion
Holiday Bowl, W 33–21 vs. Washington
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Division	North Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 8
AP	No. 8
Record	10–2 (7–1 Big 12)
Head coach	Rick Neuheisel (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Karl Dorrell (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	A. J. Christoff (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3
MVPs	Rae Carruth Matt Russell
Captain	Game captains
Home stadium	Folsom Field
Seasons ←  1995 1997  →

1996 Big 12 Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
North Division
No. 6 Nebraska x%		8	–	0					11	–	2
No. 8 Colorado		7	–	1					10	–	2
No. 17 Kansas State		6	–	2					9	–	3
Missouri		3	–	5					5	–	6
Kansas		2	–	6					4	–	7
Iowa State		1	–	7					2	–	9
South Division
No. 23 Texas x$		6	–	2					8	–	5
Texas Tech		5	–	3					7	–	5
Texas A&M		4	–	4					6	–	6
Oklahoma		3	–	5					3	–	8
Oklahoma State		2	–	6					5	–	6
Baylor		1	–	7					4	–	7
Championship: Texas 37, Nebraska 27
x – Division champion/co-champions $ – Bowl Alliance representative as champion % – Bowl Alliance at-large representative Rankings from AP Poll

The 1996 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado at Boulder as a member of the North Division of the newly-formed Big 12 Conference during the 1996 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by second-year head coach Rick Neuheisel, the Buffaloes compiled an overall record of 10–2 in a mark of 7–1 in conference play, placing second in the Big 12 North. Colorado was invited to the Holiday Bowl, where the Buffalos defeated Washington. The team played home games at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado.

With the bowl victory, Colorado recorded its third straight 10-win season for the first time in program history.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	1:30 pm	Washington State *	No. 5	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	ABC	W 37–19	51,481
September 7	7:00 pm	at Colorado State *	No. 5	Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO (Rocky Mountain Showdown)	ESPN2	W 48–34	36,371
September 14	1:30 pm	No. 11 Michigan *	No. 5	Folsom Field Boulder, CO ( College GameDay )	ABC	L 13–20	53,788
September 28	1:30 pm	at Texas A&M	No. 12	Kyle Field College Station, TX	ABC	W 24–10	74,339
October 12	8:00 pm	Oklahoma State	No. 10	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	Fox	W 35–13	53,005
October 19	10:30 am	at Kansas	No. 9	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	FSN	W 20–7	48,500
October 26	1:30 pm	Texas	No. 8	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	ABC	W 28–24	51,100
November 2	12:00 pm	at Missouri	No. 7	Faurot Field Columbia, MO	PPV	W 41–13	34,440
November 9	12:30 pm	Iowa State	No. 7	Folsom Field Boulder, CO		W 49–42	49,662
November 16	5:00 pm	No. 9 Kansas State	No. 6	Folsom Field Boulder, CO (rivalry)	FX	W 12–0	53,550
November 29	12:30 pm	at No. 4 Nebraska	No. 5	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	ABC	L 12–17	75,695
December 30	6:00 pm	vs. No. 13 Washington *	No. 8	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, CA (Holiday Bowl)	ESPN	W 33–21	54,749
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

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Roster

1996 Colorado Buffaloes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 14 Koy Detmer Sr WR 21 Rae Carruth Sr G 62 Chris Morgan  Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class SS 6 Ryan Black Jr LB 16 Matt Russell Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Rick Neuheisel Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

References

1. "1996 Colorado Buffaloes Schedule and Results". College Football @ Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference . Retrieved April 26, 2025.
2. "1996 Football Schedule". University of Colorado Boulder . Retrieved April 26, 2025.
3. "Colorado Football 2024 Record Book" (PDF). University of Colorado Boulder. p. 66. Retrieved April 26, 2025.