Gear Up For Game Day: Colorado Buffaloes

BOULDER, Colo., -- Dream school?

That's an understatement.

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Jovon Bouknight said Monday all he ever wanted was to play football at the University of Colorado, a program the Denver native grew up idolizing. It's easy to see where the fascination came from, too. The Buffs shocked the world in 1990, knocking off Notre Dame inside the Orange Bowl and claiming a share of the national championship.

"I grew up a huge CU fan my whole entire life, pretty much, especially in my childhood," Wyoming's wide receivers coach said. "Man, it was always a dream."

Eric Bieniemy, DJ Flannigan, Darian Hagen, Michael Westbrook, Mike Pritchard, Kordell Stewart, Rashaan Salaam, the list goes on, Bouknight said, adding he looked up to those players and tried to emulate their game all the way from Pop Warner through his time at Denver East and eventually Manual High School.

"There wasn't a game I missed," Bouknight added. "They had some big-time players. So much great talent came through CU."

He attended all the camps in Boulder in hopes he could one day add his name to that list of greats.

That didn't happen.

It was Colorado State, not CU, that took notice of the former prep quarterback. Bouknight was interested, too. That is until defensive coordinator Larry Kerr openly wondered what he would look like in the Rams' secondary and head coach Sonny Lubick signed All-State signal caller Justin Holland.

The writing was on the wall. Bouknight instead accepted a scholarship to Wyoming where he would eventually become one of the greatest wide receivers in program history.

Bouknight capped his career with 3,626 yards on 250 receptions. He added 29 touchdown grabs. He is on the Mount Rushmore of pass catchers to come through the program, joining the likes of Ryan Yarborough and Marcus Harris, two guys, who at one time, owned the title of most-receiving yards in college football history.

Tough loss for Colorado -- and Colorado State. We've all seen this movie play out many, many times before: Derrick Martin, Tanner Gentry, Steve Scifres, Brian Lee, Andrew Wingard, Chad Muma, Galand Thaxton, Mitch Unrein, Eddie Yarbrough, etc, etc, etc.

Bouknight eventually got his "revenge" back in 2019 when he was a receivers coach at the University of Oregon. Justin Herbert, you may have heard of him, torched the Buffs for 261 yards and two touchdowns in a 45-3 rout inside Autzen Stadium.

"I had never played or coached against them," Bouknight said. "That was my first time. We got the best of them."

You better believe that trademark smile followed.

Bouknight and the Cowboys will get their crack at CU this Saturday night in Boulder. Kickoff is slated for 8:15 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN.

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* Tuck's Take: Wyoming's Upset Bid Collides With Stark Reality

* No. 20 Utah Too Much for Cowboys in 31-6 Victory

Notable University of Colorado Alums, Ties:

The late actor Robert Redford once called the Boulder campus home. So did South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, along with music groups 3OH!3, Big Head Todd and the Monsters and singer-songwriter John Townes Van Zandt.

Actor Jonah Hill (Knocked Up, Wolf of Wall Street, Moneyball) went to school -- though briefly -- at CU. So did Lydia Cornell (Too Close For Comfort), Joe Flanigan (Stargate Atlantis), Jake Goldberg (Grown Ups), Larry Linville (M*A*S*H), Ross Marquand (The Walking Dead), Christopher Meloni (Law & Order) and Joan Van Ark (Knots Landing).

Eighteen future astronauts got their start here, including Jack Swigert, who flew on Apollo 13.

The CEO of Chipotle (Steve Ells), founder of Blue Moon Brewing Company (Keith Villa) and former president of Atari (Ron Gordon) were also Buffaloes. Chris Fowler (ESPN), Jim Gray (Emmy Award-winning journalist, Let's Go! radio show) and Rick Reilly (ESPN, Sports Illustrated) were, too.

NFL Hall of Famer Cliff Branch wore the black and gold for the Buffs' football team. So did names like Eric Bieniemy, Dave Logan, Kordell Stewart, Mason Crosby and Heisman Trophy winners Rashaan Salaam and Travis Hunter.

There are some Wyoming ties down the road in Boulder, too, like long-time basketball assistant Shaun Vandiver, who litters the Buffaloes' record books. Lynne Cheney, wife of former US Vice President Dick Cheney, also went to CU. So did football stars Boyd Dowler (Rock Springs/ Cheyenne) and Bill "Kayo" Lam (Glenrock).

Current offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur is the nephew of former Wyoming head coach Fritz Shurmur. Pat's son, Kyle Shurmur, is an offensive quality control coach for the Buffalo Bills. You all know who their quarterback is.

Jay Novacek was not only on the last Cowboy team to win inside Folsom Field (1982), he suited up with current head coach Deion Sanders for two seasons in Dallas, winning Super Bowl XXX together. Novacek and Sanders are two of the greatest free-agent signings in the history of America's Team.

Marshall Faulk, Colorado's new running backs coach, had some epic battles with Wyoming during his playing days at San Diego State. Joe Tiller's Cowboys bested the Aztecs in 1992 and '93. Faulk was a unanimous All-American in both seasons.

Current defensive coordinator Robert Livingston was on the defensive staff in Cincinnati during Super Bowl LVI, coaching former Wyoming linebacker Logan Wilson. The Casper product said the two bonded because Livingston owns a cabin in Montana and had made the drive through the Cowboy State many times.

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Here is all you need to know -- and the links -- for Saturday Night's tilt at CU:

WHO: Wyoming (2-1, 0-0) at Colorado (1-2, 0-1)
WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 20 at 8:15 p.m. MST
WEATHER: High of 77, low 59, partly cloudy, wind 7 mph
WHERE: Folsom Field, Boulder, Colo. (50,183-plus capacity)
TRAVEL: COTrip
STREAMING: ESPN
TV: ESPN
RADIO: Cowboy Sports Network
TICKETS: Wyoming Ticket office (SOLD OUT)
BOX SCORE: ESPN
ROSTERS: Wyoming / Colorado
HISTORY: CU leads all-time series, 23-3-1
BETTING ODDS: CU -13.5, O/U: 44.5
HEAD COACHES: Jay Sawvel / Deion Sanders