Although Colorado began competing in intercollegiate football in 1890,[3] the school's official record book considers the "modern era" to have begun in the 1930s. Records prior to this year are often incomplete and inconsistent, and are generally not included in these lists.
These lists are dominated by more recent players for several reasons:
Since the 1930s, seasons have increased from 10 games to 11 and then 12 games in length.
The NCAA didn't allow freshmen to play varsity football until 1972 (with the exception of the World War II years), allowing players to have four-year careers.
Since 2018, players have been allowed to participate in as many as four games in a redshirt season; previously, playing in even one game "burned" the redshirt. Since 2024, postseason games have not counted against the four-game limit. These changes to redshirt rules have given very recent players several extra games to accumulate statistics.
Bowl games only began counting toward single-season and career statistics in 2002.[4] The Buffaloes have played in six bowl games since then, allowing players in those seasons an extra game to accumulate statistics. However, Colorado record books before 2024 did not include bowl games from any season in any category of career statistics.[2] Even in 2024, only passing, rushing, and total offense leaderboards incorporate bowl game statistics.[1]
Due to COVID-19 disruptions, the NCAA ruled that the 2020 season would not count against any football player's athletic eligibility, giving all players active in that season the opportunity for five years of play instead of the normal four.
These lists are updated through the end of the 2025 season.
