Colorado and KSU once lived in CFB's basement, but now hit pivotal moment in new era

The Buffs and Wildcats fight to stay in the playoff picture as conference foes

Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

The Buffs are coming off a bye, the college football world is aware of the Heisman worthiness of two-way star Travis Hunter and the talented Kansas State Wildcats roll into Folsom Field for a late-night affair.

Once again a national FOX television audience will have a chance to see if the 2024 edition is more than a passing fancy, literally and figuratively. This is indisputable. The sellout crowd at the foot of the Flatirons will be juiced, literally and figuratively. Games under the lights in Boulder? A hostile environment for CU opponents and a party environment for the Buff faithful. Considering the late start? It would be fun to man a Breathalyzer at the gates. Well, on second thought, maybe not.

The Kansas State story is an interesting one. I can vividly remember a Sports Illustrated cover story of long ago, 1989. It was the magazine’s “College Football Preview” edition that proclaimed the school in Manhattan was the “Worst program in college football.”

Sports Illustrated archives

Sports Illustrated archives

Sports Illustrated archives

There was a good reason for such a designation. In the article, recently hired KSU head coach Bill Snyder joked, “There is only one school in the nation that has lost 500 games. This is it and I get to coach it.”

Things have changed for the Purple Pride. As the former “Buff Guy” for Denver’s Channel 4, I’ll never forget interviewing Snyder as the Wildcats rookie head coach returned to the field after halftime in 1989. Those sideline interviews with coaches can be a little dicey. More than once former CU Hall of Fame coach Bill McCartney barked, “That’s the dumbest question I’ve ever heard” before storming off into the locker room to exhort his team. Few coaches enjoy these brief chats.

I always interviewed the CU coach when the Buffs left the field and then interviewed the opposing mentor once teams returned after the break. In 1989? The One Heartbeat season? Talented Colorado was routing the Wildcats. As a reporter, you’re always trying to find a good question with a hook that might elicit a decent response. The task is more difficult with an opposing coach who doesn’t know you and, in this case, has more pressing concerns than visiting with a talking head.

During halftime, your correspondent was searching for a decent question. Then it hit me. In the 1970’s Snyder was an assistant coach at a small college in north Texas called Austin College. How do I know that? My old high school football coach, Vance Morris, was also on the staff. I had met Snyder while visiting Morris. Snyder was the football offensive coordinator and swim coach for the small private liberal arts college.

Fast forward to 1989, Snyder is jogging back on the field after halftime. The Buffs are hammering the Wildcats, final score 59-11, and what awaits him? An unknown reporter from Denver. I tried to explain in quick fashion a connection to him in a lame attempt to make Snyder more comfortable. My effort failed miserably. Much like the St. Joseph, Missouri native’s first KSU team that finished 1-10. The Buffs, in honor of their fallen leader Sal Aunces, finished 11-0 before losing to Notre Dame for the national championship in the Orange Bowl.

Zip forward to 2024. 18th-ranked Kansas State has become a respected college football power.. The 85-year-old Snyder is still an ambassador for KSU, a Hall of Fame coach and the remodeled stadium in Manhattan is called “Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium.”

CU athletic director Rick George was around then as the Buffs recruiting coordinator. What Snyder pulled off in the “Little Apple?” George is trying with the hiring of Deion Sanders to resurrect the fortunes of a once-proud Colorado program.

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The tables have been reversed. K-State is respected. The Buffs are looking to regain that admired trait.

Late night in Boulder, a national television audience and boisterous Buff fanatics. Bill Snyder was a gentleman long ago despite the whipping the powerful Buffaloes were administering. CU fans hope current coach Chris Klieman experiences a similar moment. A despised halftime interview not enjoyable for him but sure delightful for Colorado faithful desperately wanting to believe things truly have changed.