McCartney struggles in his first three seasons at Colorado, going 7-25-1 while trying to be something of a “BYU of the Big Eight” by throwing constantly. Coordinator Gerry DiNardo would say “they were absolutely desperate,” and McCartney calls DeBerry, among others, for advice.
The early Wishbone installation doesn’t go well. From Tim Layden’s “Blood, Sweat and Chalk”:
DiNardo met with DeBerry, [Arkansas head coach Ken] Hatfield and [Arkansas State head coach Larry] Lacewell in the winter of 1985 and installed the option at spring practice. He took the practice tape to Lacewell to view during a national coaches’ convention. When DiNardo walked out of the room with his tape, Lacewell said to his fellow coaches, “I feel bad. They’ll be lucky to win a game.” The transition was comically painful. DiNardo recalls a preseason gathering in Denver with a booster club. One of the gentlemen in the audience stood up and, having heard of the conversion to the wishbone, said to McCartney, “Please tell me the first play of the season isn’t going to be a dive up the middle, because I don’t think I can stand that.”
McCartney let the question hang and then answered: “You might want to come for the second play.”
Somehow, the changes work. CU goes 7-5 in 1985 and averages seven wins per year over the next three seasons. And with recruiting both improving and fitting the system, the Buffaloes surge to 11-1 in 1989, then share a national title at 11-1-1 in 1990.
Quarterback Darian Hagan finishes fifth in the Heisman voting in 1989, running back Eric Bieniemy third in 1990, and running back Rashaan Salaam wins it in 1994 during McCartney’s final season. Even in a conference dominated by the option, CU finds a recipe that stands out.