Lincoln Journal Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 21

nn UP NEXT: Nebraska vs. Bowl opponent TBA i7rq jvlb Saturday, Lru i COLORADO 32 ij3 NEBRASKA 34, 9 WW vvww.journalstar.com Nebraska kicker Josh Brown (26) and dejectedly on the turf. rf Journal Star November 25, 2000 Page design: Karl Vogel Huskers pull out a win at the wire BY KEN HAMBLETON Lincoln Journal Star Josh Brown took the breath out of 77,672 of his closest Nebraska friends and the life out of Colorado with a 29-yard game-winning field goal Friday at Memorial Stadium. Nebraska's furious flurry to cover 47 yards in 39 seconds set up Browns field goal that made the difference in the Huskers' 34-32 victory. The kick ignited a wild holiday celebration as NU, for the first time in modem school history, won a game on the final play of the fourth quarter.

"Dom pulled me over and said, 'Do your Brown said. According to Nebraska center Dominic Raiola, the rest of the pep talk went like this: "What are you here for? You're a kicker. A field-goal kicker kicks field goals. Kick a field goal" Brown's workmanlike kick reversed his nightmare of a missed 28-yard attempt in a 29-28 loss at Kansas State two weeks ago. The field goal also ended Nebraska's string of mishaps in the kicking game, on defense and on offense.

Nebraska lost three fumbles and seemed unable to even slow down Colorado much of the final three quarters, surviving the Buffs blowing 4 of 5 field-goal attempts two blocked and two missed. Nebraska also maintained hopes of a Bowl Championship Series bowl (Fiesta or Sugar) and clinched the Huskers' remarkable string of 32 consecutive seasons with at least nine victories. The winning drive was the only way for Nebraska to overcome Colorado's final score and two-point conversion with 47 seconds left that put the Buffaloes ahead 32-31. Colorado's hard-luck streak of four straight losses to Nebraska by a total of 13 points including a missed CU field goal at the end of regulation last year resulting in a Husker overtime win in Boulder, Colo. is now five consecutive See NU, Page 4C GAME STORY Colorado Nebraska 0 10 14 0 7 15 32 7 13 34 Never before, at least in the record books, has Nebraska come from behind to win on the last play of regulation.

But Josh Brown kicked a 29-yard field goal as time expired to end the most thrilling 47-yard drive that started with 44 seconds left in the game. Eric Crouch hit four consecutive passes for 45 yards including two passes to Bobby Newcombe for 30 yards to set up Brown's winning field goal attempt with five seconds left. Time ran out as the kick sailed through the uprights. from 42 yards. Thank God for halftime.

By now, you're thinking it's not necessarily going to be a game where the last team with the ball wins. You're thinking the last team to make a mistake wul lose And by golry, that 's exactly what happened In a half where the only effective defense was another bad pitch by Crouch and a (drum roll please) missed field goal by Mariscal Colorado (3-7 Colorado), surged ahead not once not twice but three times. The final came when Ochs hit John Minardi on a 15-yard TD pass and then threaded a two-point conversion throw to Javon Green to make it 32-31 with 47 seconds to play. Still time for one more folly, though. And Colorado's Mariscal came through like a champ (or is that He mishit the baD short and to the left, instead of deep and down the mkldle as instructed, allowing Dahrran Diedrick to scoop it up and advance to the 41.

As Crouch said later, It gives us holder Dan Hadenfeldt (17) celebrate Brown's 29-yard, game-winning field goal on the last play of the game as Colorado's Donald Strickland (4) sprawls Brown gives demons boot with game-winning lack 1 I The mind of the kicker can be a strange and frightening place, but that didn't scare anyone away Friday. The "Do not disturb" sign on Josh Brown's helmet must have fallen off, because the visitors kept coming. "miss it option probably wouldn't have gone over too well and Brown knew it Coach Frank Solich wanted to pop in for a visit as well, but he couldn't find Brown before the kicker took the field with 5 seconds left in the fourth quarter and Nebraska needing a field goal to beat JOHN MABRY Journal Star Sports Editor Colorado. Center Dominic Raiola was one of them. He was very stem but also very polite for a 300-pound junior sports psychologist "Just do your job," he said.

Another offensive lineman, senior Jason Schwab, said Brown wouldn't disappoint It's just as well. One more "Just stay calm" and Brown would have lost it 6 Raiola (54) eives a pep talk to kicker "When you have all those people counting on you, you're thinking about it Ko and it gets in your head, you get mixed he Nebraska center Dominic anyone if he didn connect iTY 7 riii 1 Make it or miss it we snU love you. said. But with it being Senior Day and all, MABRY, Page 4C On the next play, Bobby Newcombe caught a pass to set up Brown's winning field goal. TED KIRKLincoln Journal Star TEP KIRKLincoln Journal Star Josh Brown with 10 seconds left.

Inside Seniors play big: Wingback Bobby Newcombe and linebacker Carlos Polk make inspirational plays. Page 3C All-Big 12: Five Huskers are chosen to the coaches' first team. Page 4C at the end of regulation last year that would have given CU its first win against Nebraska since 1990. Just kidding about Aldrich dying. But I hope Mariscal at least has life insurance After his teammates blocked Dan Hadenfeldt first punt Randy Stella then batted down a 37-yard try by MariscaL And Nebraska went up 14-0 on the next play.

Down 14-3, Colorado couldn't capitalize on a recovery of a punt that doinked off the helmet of Troy Watchom, because on the next play Erwin Swiney picked off a throw-it-and -pray pass from Ochs. After Colorado pulled to 14-10, Brown missed left on a 32-yarder. But Mariscal promptly went right This Nebraska win worthy of Looney Tunes the WILLIAM LMJEfttjncxftt Journal Star See I didn't know they had cartoons on Friday mornings. Yeah, I know it was Nebraska-Colorado football, but the way this one started looked more suitable for The Cartoon Network than ABC And really, even as the final scene played out, I still was envisioning Bugs Bunny (played by Eric Crouch) rutting a ball to the Empire State Building and then racing around the bases to barely beat the relay throw home that let the Bugs Bunny AO-Stars (Nebraska) beat those big, ugly, bearded, cigar-puffing MonStars (Colorado). If only ABC could have somehow put that super-duper slo-mo camera on Josh Brown's final-play, 29-yard fieldgoal that left NU a hiiffing-and-puffing 34-32 victor.

And then signed off with a cheesy "Th-Th-Th That's all folksT Whew! After the previous four down-to-the-wire battles the past four seasons, we should all be used to the high drama these border rivals produce But this one will be hard to top. It started out looking like a fA )i sr I i CURT McKEEVER Journal Star Staff Writer sequel to the KordeD Stewart-induced routs when Carlos Polk intercepted Craig Ochs' first pass and rumbled 39 yards for a it became a comedy of errors that left the Huskers clinging to (and no doubt secretly laughing over) a 14-10 halftime lead. There was a bad pitch by Crouch on Nebraska's first series that gave CU the baD at the NU 27. But men Mark Mariscal missed left on a 29-yard field-goal try. Poor MariscaL He must have seen the1 ghost of Jeremy Aldrich, who diea after missing a 34yarder Colorado's John Minardi (left) steals the ball away from Erwin Swiney (16) to scon a touchdown with 47 seconds left.