What Happened Last Time Between Houston Cougars and Colorado Buffaloes?

The Houston Cougars and Colorado Buffaloes have met just once before.

Sep 6, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman (1) attempts a pass during the first quarter against the Rice Owls at Rice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The landscape of college football has changed drastically due to conference realignment over the past few years, but arguably no conference - certainly not among the Power Four, at least - looks more different than the Big 12.

After Oklahoma and texas announced their departure for the SEC in 2021, the Big 12 had to scramble just to keep itself afloat. So, the conference added eight new teams over the next couple of years, with four of them joining in 2023 and the other four joining in 2024.

As a result, however, many of the conference's teams are still getting to know each other. Two of those teams are the Houston Cougars, who joined in 2023 from the American, and the Colorado Buffaloes, who re-joined in 2024 from the Pac-12. However, it's not just that these two new conference foes haven't seen each other in a few years, more like a few decades.

Houston Cougars, Colorado Buffaloes Set for First Meeting in 54 Years

Sep 6, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders before the game against the Delaware Fightin Blue Hens at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The only previous meeting between these two teams came on New Year's Eve 1971, when the Buffaloes defeated the Cougars 29-17 in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl at the Astrodome in Houston (which the Cougars called home at the time).

Both teams entered the game with impressive 9-2 records, making this one of the more-anticipated matchups of bowl season. The Cougars actually had a solid start to the game, as after allowing the first touchdown of the day, they jumped out to a 14-7 lead courtesy of two rushing touchdowns by Robert Newhouse.

Once the second quarter rolled around, though, the Buffaloes started to take control, scoring 16 unanswered points to take a 23-14 lead into halftime. The Cougars eventually inched closer with a third-quarter field goal, but couldn't close the gap any further.

Colorado running back Charlie Davis - who played his high school ball at Columbia High School just outside of Houston - was the star of the day, rushing for 202 yards and two touchdowns. Safety John Stearns also made two huge plays for the Buffaloes late in the game, breaking up a fourth-down pass for the end zone and getting a crucial first down on a fake punt.

Newhouse rushed for 168 yards and both Houston touchdowns on the day. His 1,757 rushing yards this season still stands as a program record.

The Cougars, who were independent at the time, finished at No. 17 in the AP Poll. The Buffaloes, meanwhile, finished at No. 3 behind national-champion Nebraska and Oklahoma, but that also meant they finished third in the Big Eight.