Ralphie's run a thing to behold

Rich Rodriguez made his first trip to Colorado two years ago. Asked this week to remember the game, he offered one thing.

“I think we almost got run over by Ralphie one time,” he said. “You don’t want to get in front of him.”

Colorado’s live buffalo mascot is among the largest and most terrifying in the sport. Here are five Ralphie facts:

• Ralphie V is the latest buffalo to roam Folsom Field. She — all the Ralphies are female — made her debut in 2008.

• Ralphie V, like Ralphie IV, was donated by billionaire mogul Ted Turner. She was born at Turner’s Vermejo Park Ranch in Raton, New Mexico.

• Ralphie leads the team onto the field before kickoff and to start the second half. She runs a horseshoe pattern on the field — and directly into her pen along the sideline.

• Ralphie has her own bio on Colorado’s web site, along with highlight videos of the buffalo’s run onto the field before kickoff and at the start of the second half.

• Ralphie is aided by five handlers: two run in front of her, steering the buffalo, two run along side her, and one in the back to slow her down. Ralphie can run up to 25 miles per hour.