2005 Champs Sports Bowl

The 2005 Champs Sports Bowl was the 16th edition to the college football bowl game and was played on December 27, 2005, featuring the Clemson Tigers and the Colorado Buffaloes. Three weeks prior to the game, Colorado head coach Gary Barnett resigned and so the Buffalos were coached by defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz against Clemson. James Davis, the Clemson Running back was the Most Valuable Player of the game.

Teams
The Colorado Buffaloes won the Big 12 North. They were soundly defeated in the Big 12 Championship game by eventual BCS Champion Texas 70–3. Texas would go on to win the BCS Championship in the 2006 Rose Bowl. The Buffaloes were 7–2 at one point, losing only to #12 Miami and #2 Texas. Barnett had survived a recruiting scandal and a suspension following derogatory remarks about a female kicker, Katie Hnida, who claimed she was raped by a teammate in 2000. But the losses to Miami, Iowa State, Nebraska and the second Texas drubbing ultimately led to his forced resignation.

Game summary
Clemson scored first with a 26 yard field goal by Jad Dean, making it 3–0 Clemson in the opening moments. Colorado's Mason Crosby answered with a 36 yard field goal, tying it at 3. Clemson's Jad Dean kicked another field goal, an 18 yarder, giving Clemson a 6–3 lead. That score held up at half-time.

In the third quarter, quarterback Charlie Whitehurst scored on a 5 yard touchdown run, increasing the lead to 13–3. In the fourth quarter, Brian White threw a 2 yard touchdown pass to Quinn Sipniewski, cutting the margin to 13–10. James Davis added a 6 yard touchdown run to make the final margin 19–10, Clemson.