1962 Colorado Buffaloes football team

The 1962 Colorado Buffaloes football team was an American football team that represented the University of Colorado in the Big Eight Conference during the 1962 NCAA University Division football season. Led by William E. Davis in his only season as head coach, the Buffaloes compiled an overall record of 2–8 with a mark of 1–6 in conference play, placing seventh in the Big 8.

1962 Colorado Buffaloes football
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Record	2–8 (1–6 Big 8)
Head coach	William E. Davis (1st season)
MVP	Ken Blair
Captain	Ken Blair
Home stadium	Folsom Field
Seasons ← 1961 1963 →

1962 Big Eight Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 8 Oklahoma $	7	–	0	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Missouri	5	–	1	–	1			8	–	1	–	2
Nebraska	5	–	2	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
Kansas	4	–	2	–	1			6	–	3	–	1
Iowa State	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Oklahoma State	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Colorado	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
Kansas State	0	–	7	–	0			0	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

At the time, it was the worst record in the program's history; Davis' resignation was announced shortly after the 34–10 upset of Air Force in the season finale.^[1]

Earlier in the year in March, previous head coach Sonny Grandelius was fired by the university regents for recruiting violations, primarily due to the operation of a slush fund for players and families.^[2][3] Ten days later, alumni director Davis was hired as the interim head coach;^{[4][5][6][7][8]} he had no collegiate coaching experience, just five years as a high school head coach.^[4][6][7]

A month later, the NCAA put the CU football program on probation for two years; because the university began the investigation and took action, the penalties were relatively light.^[9][10][11]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 22	at Utah*	Ute Stadium Salt Lake City, UT (rivalry)	L 21–37	25,878	^[12]
September 29	Kansas State	Folsom Field Boulder, CO (rivalry)	W 6–0	35,000
October 6	at Kansas	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	L 8–35	32,000	^[13]
October 13	at Oklahoma State	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	L 16–36	25,000
October 20	at Iowa State	Clyde Williams Field Ames, IA	L 19–57	19,500
October 27	Nebraska	Folsom Field Boulder, CO (rivalry)	L 6–31	35,500
November 3	Oklahoma	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	L 0–62	24,500
November 10	at No. 7 Missouri	Memorial Stadium Columbia, MO	L 0–57	42,500
November 17	at Texas Tech*	Jones Stadium Lubbock, TX	L 12–21	10,000
November 24	Air Force*	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	W 34–10	21,000	^[14]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[15][16][17]

Coaching staff

• Dallas Ward (defense)
• Bob Beckett (line)
• Paul Cantwell (ends)
• Ed Farhat (secondary)
• Jim Smith (backs)
• Don Stimack (freshmen)

References

1. "Davis resignation told following win". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 25, 1962. p. 6B.
2. "Colorado fires football coach". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 18, 1962. p. 4B.
3. "Regents fire Buff's coach Grandelius". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 18, 1962. p. 1, sports.
4. "Alum chief is Buff coach, players threaten a revolt". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. March 27, 1962. p. 9.
5. "Alumni leader new Colorado football coach". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. March 28, 1962. p. 8.
6. "Davis named grid coach at Colorado". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 28, 1962. p. 2B.
7. Meakins, Gene (March 28, 1962). "Colorado coach seeks team support". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). UPI. p. B7.
8. "Colorado Football Media Guide" (PDF). Retrieved January 9, 2007.
9. "Colorado given a 2-year slap by ruling body". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. April 28, 1962. p. 9.
10. "NCAA puts Colorado on probation". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. April 28, 1962. p. 1B.
11. "Colorado put on probation, patted on back". Bend Bulletin. (Oregon). UPI. April 28, 1962. p. 2.
12. "Rosters". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). September 22, 1962. p. A3.
13. "Jays open loop season against CU here Saturday". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). (depth chart). October 5, 1962. p. 12.
14. "Colorado stuns Air Force, 34-10". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 25, 1962. p. 9.
15. "1962 Colorado Buffaloes Schedule and Results". College Football @ Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
16. "1962 Football Schedule". University of Colorado Boulder. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
17. "Colorado Football 2023 Record Book" (PDF). University of Colorado Boulder. p. 31. Retrieved October 23, 2023.