A few weeks ago, CUSportsNation.com members voted Darian Hagan as the best quarterback in Colorado football history. Now, we turn to the running back position.
Our members gave their nominations which resulted in the seeding below. And today, we begin voting for an epic finals matchup.
Finals matchup: Rashaan Salaam vs Eric Bieniemy
The Bieniemy Profile (info below from cubuffs.com)
- 1990 Unanimous All-American
- 3rd in 1990 Heisman Trophy voting
- Two-time All-Big Eight, 1990 Offensive Player of the Year
- CU's all-time leading rusher
Eric Bieniemy was one of the first three unanimous All-Americans in CU history, when the seven NCAA recognized selectors all tabbed him on their first-team in 1990 (along with OG Joe Garten and OLB Alfred Williams that same year)
... He finished third in the Heisman voting that season, when he rushed for 1,628 yards as the starting tailback on CU's national championship team; that total was good for second in the nation (he lost out on the title by 16 yards)
... A two-time first-team All-Big Eight performer in 1988 and 1990, and was the conference's offensive player-of-the-year as a senior ... Named to CU's All-Century team, the only active member at the time who was selected
... Finished his career as CU's all-time leader rusher (3,940 yards), and was also tops in attempts (699), all-purpose yards (4,351) and scoring (254 points) and second in total offense (4,003)
... He remains CU's leader in rushing and all-purpose yards to this day, as he still holds over two dozen school records
... Also recorded a school-best to this day 22 100-yard rushing games, which included a pair of 200-yard efforts (217 at Missouri in 1990 and 211 versus Oregon State in 1988) ... Gutted out five fumbles in the first three quarters in the rain at Lincoln on Nov. 2, 1990, bouncing back with four fourth quarter touchdowns that rallied CU to a 27-12 win over Nebraska and put CU on the inside track for the '90 national title
*** Click here to vote for this matchup ***
The Salaam Profile (info below from cubuffs.com)
- 1994 Heisman Trophy Winner
- 1994 Walter Camp Trophy (National Player of the Year)
- 1994 Unanimous First Team All-American
- Single Season School Record 2,055 Rushing Yards In 1994
- He won the first (and only) Heisman Trophy in Colorado history, claiming the 60th annual award as a junior in 1994, easily winning by some 248 votes and 842 points.
- He became the fifth Buffalo to earn unanimous All-America honors that year, as he became just the fourth player in college football history at the time to rush for over 2,000 yards in a single season
- In setting the single-season CU rushing mark with 2,055 yards, he did not play in five fourth quarters and on two other occasions, he played only briefly in the third quarter; over half of the yards (1,040) came against ranked opponents
- Set a school scoring mark that same year with 24 touchdowns for 144 total points
- Reeled off nine consecutive 100-yard games in ’94, including four 200-plus yard games (both school records)
- Ended his career as only the second Buff to exceed 3,000 career rushing yards (3,057)
- In CU’s miraculous 27-26 win at Michigan in 1994 that became known as “The Catch,” he accomplished two significant things: his 141 rushing yards were the most by an opponent player in the Big House in 21 seasons, and he helped Tony Berti keep a defender (future Bronco Trevor Pryce) at bay with a key block, freeing Kordell Stewart to unload the game-winning 64-yard pass to Michael Westbrook as time expired.
- Salaam passed away in 2016 at the age of 42.
- TE
- EDGE
