The 1994 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado at Boulder as a member of the Big Eight Conference during the 1994 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by Bill McCartney in his 13th and final season as head coach, the Buffaloes compiled an overall record of 11âÂÂ1 in a mark of 6âÂÂ1 in conference play, placing second in the Big 8. Colorado was invited to the Fiesta Bowl, where the Buffalos defeated Notre Dame. The team was ranked No. 3 in the final AP poll and the final Coaches Poll. Colorado played home games at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado.
Colorado running back Rashaan Salaam won the Heisman Trophy as college football's most outstanding player. The Buffaloes offense scored 439 points while the defense allowed 235 points.
Colorado's only loss of the season came on the road against eventual consensus national champion Nebraska. The Buffaloes, ranked No. 2 at the time, was in line to play for the national title as part of the Bowl Coalition. They were leapfrogged in the polls by the Cornhuskers, who had been ranked No. 3. Colorado finished regular season ranked No. 4. The problem of scheduling bowl match-ups for top-ranked teams led to the dissolution of the Bowl Coalition and the creation of the Bowl Alliance. No. 2 Penn State was not eligible as a member of the Big Ten Conference to Nebraska. Notre Dame, playing as an independent, had its own agreement with the Bowl Coalition, which allowed the Fiesta Bowl to choose the Fighting Irish as an at-large opponent over more highly ranked teams.
The Miracle at Michigan refers to the final play that occurred during the game played on September 24, 1994, between the Colorado Buffaloes and the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The game was decided on Colorado quarterback Kordell Stewart's 64-yard Hail Mary pass to Michael Westbrook, which gave the play its name.