Two white stripes wrap halfway around the circumference of the ball in college football and for a few moments on Sept. 24, 1994, Michael Westbrook focused solely on those stripes.
There was chaos all around Westbrook, with nine other young men in reach of that ball and 106,427 people screaming in the stands, but he pressed the mute button and saw only those white stripes.
“It was complete, total slow motion,” Westbrook said 20 years later. “You don’t hear the crowd anymore, you don’t hear anything. You just see the white stripes on the ball going super slow and you start making adjustments accordingly.”
The ball fell out of the Michigan sky that afternoon and into the hands of Westbrook. He then fell to the ground with the ball, the win and one of the most incredible and improbable moments in Colorado football history secured in his arms.
Westbrook’s 64-yard touchdown catch as time expired gave CU a 27-26 win against host Michigan. Wednesday marked the 20-year anniversary of “The Catch.”
The setup
Colorado head coach Bill McCartney was filled with emotions that day. He was born in Riverview, Mich., and began his coaching career as an assistant for the Wolverines from 1974-81. He left his job as Michigan’s defensive coordinator to become CU’s head coach in 1982.
Westbrook was emotional, too. He was born in Detroit and grew up with dreams of playing for the Wolverines at Michigan Stadium.
Westbrook said he could never afford to go to a Michigan game when he was growing up, so this was his first time inside the stadium.
“I was just in awe,” said Westbrook, who had 51 friends and family in attendance. “It was like a dream for me.
“I wanted to do something spectacular against them.”
Even before the Buffaloes made the trip to Ann Arbor, the game was set up for something spectacular to happen.
Michigan ranked No. 4 in The Associated Press poll, and Colorado came in at No. 7.
CU was loaded with talent, including quarterback Kordell Stewart, running back Rashaan Salaam — who would go on to win the Heisman Trophy that season — receiver Rae Carruth, tight ends Christian Fauria and Matt Lepsis and, of course, Westbrook. The defense was pretty darn good, too, with a host of future NFL players.
Michigan was also stacked, with players such as Todd Collins, Tyrone Wheatley, Tshimanga Biakabutuka, Amani Toomer and Ty Law playing starring roles that day.
The game
CU finished the day with 511 yards in total offense, which, at the time, was the second-highest total ever allowed by the Michigan defense. But, the Wolverines took advantage of four CU turnovers to build a 26-14 lead after three quarters.
That score remained until Salaam scored a touchdown with 2 minutes, 16 seconds to play to cut the deficit to 26-21.
Michigan then recovered an onsides kick, and all the Wolverines had to do was get a couple of first downs to run out the clock. But, on third-and-7 from the CU 43, Biakabutuka, was stopped short of the first down marker by CU linebacker Allen Wilbon.
Michigan punted and CU got the ball back, but had just 15 seconds to go 85 yards.
On first down, Stewart fired a laser across the middle of the field to Westbrook, who gained 21 yards. That left 6 seconds on the clock and 64 yards of ground to cover.
Practice makes perfect
“What you do on Fridays, you show them how we’ll score if there’s time for one play and we’re in our own territory,” McCartney said.
Every Friday, the Buffs practiced the play known as “Rocket Left.” It was designed for everybody to go deep and for one CU receiver to tip the ball back to another.
The Buffs rarely had a reason to run the play, but because they practiced it, Westbrook said they all had a measure of confidence when McCartney told them to run “Rocket Left.”
McCartney knew the odds were against his team.
“It was a pipe dream. It was the longest of the long shots,” he said. “But, we knew what we were trying to do.”
McCartney may have felt it was a long-shot, but that’s not the message he conveyed to his team.
“He had us believing that we could win,” Westbrook said. “Even if he thought it was a pipe dream, we thought it was a reality that it could happen.”
The play
According to Westbrook, when the Buffs practiced the play, it was his job to tip the ball and Blake Anderson’s job to try to catch it.
When it came time to run the play against the Wolverines, Westbrook said, he switched roles with Anderson.
“Blake was an extremely gifted athlete,” Westbrook said. “I knew he could compete with the best of them. But I didn’t trust anybody else to go up for the tipped ball.”
After taking the snap, Stewart rolled to his left and Salaam made a great effort to block a Michigan defender. From his own 27-yard line, Stewart let the ball fly, rifling it 73 yards in the air. Throughout 125 years of CU football, Stewart may be the only quarterback the Buffs have ever had who could have made that throw.
“You had athletes down there and you had the quarterback at the other end that could make that happen,” Westbrook said. “The boy could throw.”
At the goal line, Anderson, Carruth and Law all converged on the ball. Anderson reached up and the ball hit off of him and bounced up in the air. By design Westbrook ran behind that pack, guessing — and hoping — that the ball would bounce that way.
It was at that moment that Law saw Westbrook coming and the future All-Pro cornerback tried to tackle Westbrook, whose eyes were locked on those white stripes.
“I was about to take off and go in the air, and I probably would have over-jumped the ball had Ty Law not grabbed me,” Westbrook said. “I was like, ‘Thank you for being there Ty.'”
As Westbrook fell to the ground, clutching the ball tightly against his chest, the Buffaloes celebrated a miraculous win and the Wolverines walked off their field with disbelief painted on their faces.
During the broadcast, ABC-TV announcer Keith Jackson said, “An absolutely shocking finish! They call it in some circles the ‘Hail Mary.’ It was certainly prayerful.”
For the Buffaloes, it was the answer they wanted.
Unforgettable
Westbrook fought off cramps all day and was so dehydrated, he said, that he still wasn’t recovered when the Buffs returned to Boulder that night. He was in disbelief on the field after the game and broke out in tears in the locker room.
“It was an amazing, amazing, amazing play when you look back at it,” he said.
Several young men played key roles in getting that win, but for a couple of Buffs it was extra special.
“I coached there, I’m from Michigan, it meant more,” McCartney said, the smile on his face nearly as wide today as it was 20 years ago. “To win like that was … it’s still enjoyable.”
For Westbrook, who grew up rooting for the Wolverines, it made for an amazing first trip to The Big House. Twenty years later, Westbrook said it’s still the only time he’s been there.
“I think I might be banned,” he said, with a laugh.
“It was an awesome, awesome day that none of us will ever forget.”
Contact BuffZone.com Writer Brian Howell at howellb@dailycamera.com or on Twitter: @BrianHowell33.
