By Mike Pearson
FightingIllini.com
To tell the complete story about Illinois's massive upset against eventual national champion Colorado in 1990, one must turn the dial back to one year before.
Labeled by the local media as the biggest game at Colorado in a decade, odds makers labeled the '89 battle at Boulder's Folsom Field as a "pick 'em" match-up between Coach John Mackovic's 10th-ranked Fighting Illini (1-0) and Coach Bill McCartney's No. 8 Buffaloes (2-0). It turned out to be anything but even. With teammate Sal Aunese sitting in a private box, just one week away from dying from terminal stomach cancer, the talented and spirited Colorado squad scored early and often, running away from the Illini with a 38-7 victory.
"We were warming up and some of the (Colorado) fans were throwing oranges down on the field," remembered Illini wide receiver Shawn Wax. "Of course, back then, the Big Eight winner would always play in the Orange Bowl. Then they brought out the dang Buffalo ("Ralphie") and that was intimidating. Then they ran a trick play early and just never let up. And whenever they had a big play, the P.A. announcer would announce the player's name. 'That was a 63-yard pass to J.J. Flannigan!' And the whole crowd would yell 'J.J. Flannigan!' Afterwards, we had nightmares hearing some of those names."
Mackovic remembered the Buffalo fans for a completely different reason.
"It was early in the game. We had the ball and we were moving down around the 10 or 15 yard line," Mackovic said. "We were right in front of their student section and they started making all this loud noise. Jeff (George) looked over at me and I just shook my head no. He knew what I meant; don't go to the line of scrimmage. The referee went to Jeff and said, 'just go up there and call a play and they'll quiet down.'
"He looked over to me and I said no. So the referee came over to me and said 'you need to tell your quarterback to just run a play.' I said 'no, I'm not telling him that. You tell the crowd to quiet down so that he can call the play.' He said "I can't make them do that.' I said 'well, you need to because we have a right to run the play.' He said 'I'm not going to do that.' So he penalized us for delay of game. Now the crowd is really fired up. Jeff looked over at me and I shook my head no. Finally, the referee stepped in and waved his hands like 'will you please quiet down a little?'
Fast forward to September 15, 1990. This time Champaign's Memorial Stadium was the scene. Brent Musburger and Dick Vermeil were in the ABC-TV booth and revenge was on the minds of the Illini players.
"The '89 Colorado game left a sour taste in our mouth," said linebacker Darrick Brownlow. "They absolutely beat us down in Colorado. It was just one of those games that you really wanted to win. (Tailbacks Eric) Bienemy and (J.J.) Flanigan and (quarterback Darian) Hagan, Kanavis McGhee and Alfred Williams, and all those guys. They were good guys, but we wanted to beat 'em. They had star power. This time they were coming to Champaign and it was our shot. From day one in the summer, we were working and gearing toward this game."
Like his teammate, Wax also had the Colorado game circled in his mind.
"We wanted revenge," Wax said. "We felt we were a better team than how we showed up out in Colorado."
The No. 11 Buffaloes, however, had other plans, building a 14-point lead (17-3) through the first 17 minutes. Late in the second period, quarterback Jason Verduzco finally built a fire under the Illini offense. UI's 71-yard scoring drive was highlighted by a huge 17-yard reception on fourth-and-15 by Wax, then was capped by an eight-yard touchdown pass to Elbert Turner. That narrowed the halftime margin to 17-10.
Ten minutes into the second half, Illini linebacker Romero Brice blocked Colorado's 43-yard field goal attempt, giving the ball back to Illinois. Howard Griffith burst off left tackle for 45 yards, then Verduzco hit tight end Jeff Finke for a 12-yard gainer.
When Wax made a sensational one-handed catch in the left corner of the south end zone to tie the score, the 64,000-plus Illini fans felt the momentum shifting in Illinois's favor. Wax admitted that he couldn't contain his enthusiasm.
"I jumped up on the restraining wall and kind of led the crowd like I was conducting an orchestra," Wax recalled. "Nowadays, you'd get a 15-yard penalty and maybe be thrown out of the game."
Colorado bounced back quickly, taking advantage of a 65-yard punt to the UI 1 by All-America punter Tom Rouen. On second down, blitzing CU linebacker Greg Biekert corralled Griffith in the end zone for a safety. A second Buffalo field goal built CU's lead to 22-17 with just 12:44 remaining in the game.
Both teams punted on their next two possessions. That's when Illinois took over on its own 37 with just 3:59 left. A combination of runs by Griffith and Wagner Lester, plus a series of short completions by Verduzco to Jeff Finke, Steve Mueller, Griffith and Lester, set up a first-and goal for Illinois. Griffith dove over left tackle for the go-ahead touchdown, but a failed two-point PAT left Illinois ahead by just one point, 23-22, with a minute and 18 second left on the clock.
Brownlow, Moe Gardner, Henry Jones and the rest of the Illini defensive unit stymied Colorado on its last-gas attempt and victory belonged to the Illini.
"As far as revenge games go," said Wax, "that was the best one I ever participated in. That was awesome."
"We put our money where our mouth was and laid it all out on the line," echoed Brownlow.
It turned out to be the only time Colorado would lose all season. After falling at Illinois, the Buffaloes notched nine consecutive regular-season victories, including a 29-22 win at No. 22 Texas, a 20-14 victory versus No. 12 Washington, a controversial "fifth down" triumph at Missouri, a 32-23 win against No. 22 Oklahoma, and a 27-12 victory at No. 3 Nebraska. Following a 10-9 win over No. 5 Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, pollsters handed Colorado its first national championship.
"That was a pretty special game for our guys," Mackovic said. "We knew Colorado had a great team. Turns out they had a national championship team."
