Back to the Colorado Buffaloes Newsfeed

Can Karl Dorrell lead CU to a bowl game in 2020? Here’s how Buffs football coaches fared in their 1st seasons.

“They think we can win now. Guess what? We’re going for it now.”

Strong words from Karl Dorrell, the Colorado Buffaloes’ new head football coach, on Monday during his introductory press conference. History, however, is not on his side.

Since CU joined the Big Eight Conference in 1948, only two coaches have had winning seasons in their first first year: Rick Neuheisel (1995) and Gary Barnett (1999) — both following teams that were in bowl games the year prior.

The Buffs have had just one winning season since joining the Pac-12 in 2011 — a 10-4 run in 2016 that included an Alamo Bowl appearance.