Colorado football career rushing leader No. 1: Eric Bieniemy 1987-1990
- 3,940 rushing yards
- 41 rushing touchdowns
- 5.6 yards per rush
Bieniemy chose Bill McCartney and Colorado over USC out of high school and in return, McCartney built a national championship team around him. Bienemy ran for 508 yards as a freshman, but really took off the next season.
In 1988, Colorado won eight games behind Bieniemy’s 1,243 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. He was fifth in the country in rushing but had an even bigger season two years later. His 1989 campaign was cut short by injury, so he only ran for 561 yards in eight games but was part of the Buffaloes’ Orange Bowl loss to Notre Dame to end the year.
The next season, Bieniemy was healthy and proceeded to run for 1,628 yards on 288 carries and add 159 yards in the passing game. He led the NCAA in scrimmage yards with 1,787 and touchdowns with 17.
Colorado defeated Notre Dame in an Orange Bowl rematch to win the national championship and Bienemy finished third in Heisman Trophy voting.
You can check out the rest of the Colorado Buffaloes’ all-time rushing leaders here.