Colorado football: Top 10 passing leaders in Buffaloes history

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30 Dec 1996: Quarterback Koy Detmer of the Colorado Buffaloes calls a play from behind center during the Holiday Bowl against the Washington Huskies at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California. Colorado won the game, 33-21. Mandatory Credit: Jed Jac /

Colorado football career passing leader No. 7: Koy Detmer (1992-96)

5,390 passing yards
40 passing touchdowns
58.9% completion
9.1 yards per attempt

Detmer got to Colorado two years after the Buffaloes 1990 national championship. The team was still loaded and that included quarterback Kordell Stewart. However, the freshman Detmer still got a lot of playing time as the backup. He played in seven games and threw for 962 yards and eight touchdowns, but threw 10 picks.

The next year his role was reduced, only attempting 19 passes. In 1995, now behind John Hessler, he played in five games and completed 68.4% of his passes for 1,101 yards. That was enough to win the starting job for 1996 and he didn’t disappoint.

Now starting over Hessler, Detmer led the Buffs to a 10-2 record and a Holiday Bowl win. As the full-time starter, he threw for 3,156 yards in an overhauled pass-first offense under Rick Neuheisel.

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