1994 Colorado Buffaloes football team

1994 Colorado Buffaloes football
Fiesta Bowl champion
Fiesta Bowl, W 41–24 vs. Notre Dame
ConferenceBig Eight Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 3
APNo. 3
Record11–1 (6–1 Big 8)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorElliot Uzelac (2nd season)
Offensive schemeMultiple one-back
Defensive coordinatorMike Hankwitz (7th season)
Base defense5-2
Home stadiumFolsom Field
Seasons
← 1993
1995 →
1994 Big Eight Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Nebraska $ 7 0 0 13 0 0
No. 3 Colorado % 6 1 0 11 1 0
No. 19 Kansas State 5 2 0 9 3 0
Oklahoma 4 3 0 6 6 0
Kansas 3 4 0 6 5 0
Missouri 2 5 0 3 8 1
Oklahoma State 0 6 1 3 7 1
Iowa State 0 6 1 0 10 1
  • $ – Bowl Coalition representative as champion
    % – Bowl Coalition at-large representative
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1994 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado at Boulder in the 1994 college football season. The Buffaloes offense scored 439 points while the defense allowed 235 points. The team was led by head coach Bill McCartney.

The Buffaloes' only loss of the season came on the road against eventual consensus national champion Nebraska. Colorado, ranked #2 at the time, was in line to play for the national title as part of the Bowl Coalition. They were leapfrogged in the polls by the Cornhuskers, who had been ranked #3, and finished the regular season ranked #4.

The Buffaloes competed in the 1995 Fiesta Bowl, which they won 41–24 over unranked Notre Dame.

The problem of scheduling bowl match-ups for top-ranked teams led to the dissolution of the Bowl Coalition and the creation of the Bowl Alliance (#2 ranked Penn State was not eligible as a member of the Big Ten Conference to play the #1 ranked team). Notre Dame, playing as an independent, had its own agreement with the Bowl Coalition, which allowed the Fiesta Bowl to choose them as an at-large opponent over more highly ranked teams.