1956 Colorado Buffaloes football team

1956 Colorado Buffaloes football
Orange Bowl champion
Orange Bowl, W 27–21 vs. Clemson
Conference	Big Seven Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 18
AP	No. 20
Record	8–2–1 (4–1–1 Big 7)
Head coach	Dallas Ward (9th season)
Captain	Game captains
Home stadium	Folsom Field

1956 Big Seven Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Oklahoma $	6	–	0	–	0			10	–	0	–	0
No. 20 Colorado	4	–	1	–	1			8	–	2	–	1
Missouri	3	–	2	–	1			4	–	5	–	1
Nebraska	3	–	3	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Kansas	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	6	–	1
Kansas State	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Iowa State	0	–	6	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1956 Colorado Buffaloes football team was an American football team that represented the University of Colorado in the Big Seven Conference during the 1956 college football season. Led by ninth-year head coach Dallas Ward, the Buffaloes compiled and overall record of 8–2–1 with a mark of 4–1–1 in conference play, placing second in the Big 7. The team played its home games on campus at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado.

Colorado was runner-up in the conference to undefeated Oklahoma, whose winning streak had reached 40 games and who declared the consensus national champion.^[1][2] The Sooners did not play in a bowl game due to the Big Seven's no-repeat rule;, so Colorado was invited to the Orange Bowl in Miami, and defeated Clemson, 27–21.^[1][3][4]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 22	Oregon*		Folsom Field Boulder, CO		L 0–35	40,500
September 29	Kansas State		Folsom Field Boulder, CO (rivalry)		W 34–0	21,000
October 6	at Kansas		Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS		W 26–25	20,000
October 13	Colorado A&M*		Folsom Field Boulder, CO (rivalry)		W 47–7	21,000	[5]
October 20	at Iowa State		Clyde Williams Field Ames, IA		W 52–0	16,000
October 27	Nebraska		Folsom Field Boulder, CO (rivalry)		W 16–0	45,500
November 3	No. 1 Oklahoma		Folsom Field Boulder, CO	NBC	L 19–27	47,000
November 10	at Missouri	No. 18	Memorial Stadium Columbia, MO		T 14–14	25,807
November 17	at Utah*		Ute Stadium Salt Lake City, UT (rivalry)		W 21–7	9,773
November 24	at Arizona*	No. 20	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ		W 38–7	12,000
January 1	vs. No. 19 Clemson*	No. 20	Burdine Stadium Miami, FL (Orange Bowl)		W 27–21	72,552	[6]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[7][8][9]

References

1. Miller, Norman (December 4, 1956). "Oklahoma voted grid champion in final AP and UP polls". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). United Press. p. 23.
2. "Oklahoma wins 40th in a row". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 2, 1956. p. 1, sports.
3. "It's Bowl Day today in U.S." Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 1, 1957. p. 10.
4. "Buffs top Clemson, 27 to 21". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 2, 1957. p. 15.
5. Smelser, Dick (October 14, 1956). "Buffs Thump Aggies, 47–7". Fort Collins Coloradoan. p. 14.
6. "Buffs falter, fight back". The Kansas City Times. January 2, 1957. Retrieved January 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "1956 Colorado Buffaloes Schedule and Results". College Football @ Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
8. "1956 Football Schedule". University of Colorado Boulder. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
9. "Colorado Football 2023 Record Book" (PDF). University of Colorado Boulder. p. 25. Retrieved October 23, 2023.