The only alteration to the helmet used by Mallory upon his arrival in
1974, was the introduction of a black facemask for the 1977 season. Winning
their first five games and ranking number three in the national polls made
for high hopes
but a lack of speed on offense and a let-down by their on-paper,
excellent O-line, produced a 7-3-1 record instead of a run at the Big Eight
championship.
FB James Mayberry ran for 1299 yards and QB Jeff Knapple was adequate
until dismissed from the team after arguing with Head Coach Mallory on the
practice field. Leon White was granted an additional medical year and became
the Buffs first player to start in the opener for six seasons. White moved
to center and was All American, stayed with the Rams for a year and then
morphed into pro wrestler "Vader". Matt Miller was an Academic All American
in geology and both he and soph Stan Brock were steady players. Ruben
Vaughn and Laval Short were the rocks on the D-line and Odis McKinney,
transfer from LA Valley CC was an outstanding DB, later playing primarily
for the Raiders in a nine-year pro career. LB Brian Cabral would become an
assistant and the interim head coach for the Buffs twenty-five years later.
Booster rumblings that had begun after the 1976 season were now full-blown
complaints. Mallory's recruiting was considered to be sub-par and he was not
getting enough Big Eight quality athletes. It was felt that his early
success was the accomplishment of Crowder's players. Media relations with
Mallory were terrible and with football responsible for paying most of the
$3.5 million in athletic department bills, there was fan unrest. AD Crowder
sought to fire Mallory but the university president would not allow it and
it was clear that 1978 would be, for the head coach, a lame duck season.
The 1978 season started well enough, duplicating the five opening wins of
'77 with the defense allowing only seven points in every one of those games.
FB James Mayberry continued to be a dependable ball carrier and OT Matt
Miller played as an All American, doing the same for the Browns from
1979-'82. Stan Brock was another solid lineman but inconsistency rose its
head and in tandem with defensive breakdowns, the Buffs lost five of six and
finished at 6-5 with only two conference victories. Mark Haynes played well
in the secondary while Ruben Vaughn remained tough at DT before heading to
the NFL. At the end of the season, Mayberry was gone too, lasting with the
Falcons for three years but the dye was cast. Mallory was released three
days after the closing game, a loss to Iowa State and the embarrassing Chuck
Fairbanks caper was about to begin.
