Tucker: It won’t take miracle to rebuild Buffs

On the 25th anniversary of “The Miracle at Michigan,” Mel Tucker sat in his office on a spectacular autumn morning, with 24-karat sunshine streaming through a huge window that frames a million-dollar view of Folsom Field, when the new CU coach suddenly spun around in his chair, startled by a happy blast from the Buffaloes’ glorious football past.

“Are you still harassing everybody here in Boulder?” said Kordell Stewart, offering me a handshake as he walked unannounced into Tucker’s office with the same big, athletic strides that made him famous as Slash.

“My, my, my,” I replied to Stewart, who heaved the football 70 yards in the air during the final seconds of the fourth quarter to beat Michigan 27-26 at the Big House on Sept. 24, 1994. “It’s Mr. Hail Mary. Twenty-five years to the day!”

Jumping up to greet his unexpected visitor, Tucker said: “Dang! Look who’s here. My day just keeps getting better and better! What’s up, my man? Dang! Was that game against Michigan really 25 years ago?”

“Yes, and I was at least 30 pounds lighter,” confirmed Stewart, chuckling as he patted his stomach.

Happiness danced in the eyes of Tucker as he hugged Stewart. The 46-year-old former CU quarterback stood as confirmation why Tucker did the right thing by leaving Georgia and a sweet gig as a defensive coordinator in the mighty Southeastern Conference to take a job to rebuild the Buffs.

Guys like Stewart make Tucker 100% certain he can revive a program that has enjoyed only one winning season in the past 12 years. “The Miracle at Michigan” gives Tucker faith it won’t require a miracle to return the Buffs to the conversation when analysts predict conference champions and vote for the nation’s top teams.

Tucker knows firsthand how