Lincoln Journal Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 50

1 C1h Lincoln Journal Star i lvI Saturday, November 24, 2001 (dim i mmf- wmm Hi. i i I. in Fi I i i i. 1 i 1 i i i Fumble takes wind out of rally BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL Lincoln Journal Star BOULDIiR, Colo. Nebraska could sense the change of momentum Friday.

F.ven Oahrran Diedrick's lost fumble on the Colorado 1-yard line early in the third quarter didn't scam the Huskers, who cot the ball back, scored a touchdown and pulled within 12 points of CU. Things looked even better when Nebraska's defense forced a throe-and-out, giving NU the ball at the Colorado 41 -mjlt. 4 1 -4 r-. msmm 1, i i. K.

i. j. WILLIAM LAUERLincoln Journal Star defenders in the third quarter of Friday's game. He would rush for 162 yards 198 yards in the loss. with 3 minutes left in the third period.

That's where the Huskers' for-tunes seemed to change. Three plays netted only 1 yard, and the 1 luskers had to punt. Colorado then drove 93 yards in nine plays for a touchdown to regain control, and the Nebraska offense couldn't keep pace with the Buffaloes in a 62-36 CU victory at Folsom Field. "I knew it was a sign of trouble when we didn't score when we needed to," NU I-back Thunder Collins said. "Then we were hoping that our defense would capitalize and we would get another shot at it, but their run- 'We really thought we had a chance to come back in the game, and that's what we tried to do.

We had a lot of heart on the sideline. We just kept pounding at it, but they kept pounding it at us, DahtTcin Diedrick Top NU total offense games Yds Player opponent, date Rush Pass 360 rric Crouch at CoSoi.kIo, Nw. 23, 2001 162 198 319 Jeny Tae at Missouri. Ucl. 85 234 316 Scott Frost at Missouri, Nov.

8, 1997 141 175 312 Tommie Frazief vs. Kansas State, Oct. 16, 1993 158 154 311 Eric Crouch at Missouri, Sept. 29, 2001 191 120 309 Jerry Tagge at Kansas State, Nov. 13, 1971 24 285 305 Dave Humm vs.

Wisconsin, Sept. 29, 1973 8 297 302 Eric Crouch at Iowa State, Oct 7, 2000 138 164 301 Eric Crouch vs. Texas Tech, Oct 20, 2001 105 196 301 Jerry Tagge at Minnesota, Oct. 4, 1969 82 219 Eric Crouch is surrounded by Colorado in the contest. Right: Crouch threw for team-high 162 yards rushing, couldn't help the Huskers CU.

"Being down 35-3 is lough," Crouch said. "I don't thmk I've ever been here when we were down that much. It was really amazing to me, in a way. I had to tell myself there's still a lot of time left in this game, there's still a lot we can do. Let's believe in ourselves." To their credit, the Huskers didn't panic.

They even benefited from a little fortune, Wilson Thomas turning a tipped screen pass into, a 78-yard gain and Tracey Wistroin catching a 24 -yard, razzle-dazzle flearflicker. Both plays occurred in the first half, when NU managed to stay within 42-23. "We really thought we had a chance to come back in the game, and that's what we tried to do," said Diedrick, who finished with 94 rushing yards. "We had a lot of heart on the sideline. We just kept pounding at it, but they kept pounding it at us, too." In other words, Nebraska's 552 yards of total offense, including 354 a Eh WflWrWRS i.i.M'idbti R.

ti 5 yards on the ground, meant little on the scoreboard. Not since the 1986 Fiesta Bowl against Michigan had the Huskers tost a game in which they ran for more than 300 yards. "The running game was excellent today, and we did a great job of mixing in some passes early on in the first half," Nebraska Coach Frank Solich "(But) when you continue ttVuy to play catch-up, some bad things generally happen, and some bad things certainly happened to us." Crouch's interceptions were glaring late, but Diedrick's two lost rumbles the first of which led to a first-quarter Colorado touchdown really put the Huskers in a bind. "It's really hard to deal with the fumbles 1 had today," Diedrick said. "I'm real disappointed in myself.

You wish you could go back in time and do someming about it "Getting beat, it doesn't matter how much you get beat by, you just got beat. We wanted to go out there and gel a win, and I don't know what they just played really hard, were able to run the ball and stop us on offense. A lot of credit goes to Colorado." Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthaljoumalstar.coni i game started to kill us again." That, and turnovers. Colorado intercepted Nebraska quarterback F.ric Crouch on each of NU's next two possessions. Both picks led to easy Buff touchdowns.

Crouch responded with a 70-yard scamper, setting up his own 7-yard touchdown run, and the senior finished a career day. But even Crouch's school-record 360 yards of total offense, including a LANE HICKENBOTTOMLincoln Journal Star Husker defenders struggle to explain rout by Buffaloes i 'It was just hole after hole, just huge. When you look at it, you were just like, I would never thought anyone in the country could run the ball on Dion Booker i i 'MSB I I 'it BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL Lincoln Journal Star BOULDER. Colo. Dion Booker emerged from the Nebraska locker room weanng a blank stat e.

No tears, no frown, no expression whatsoever. Just a look of bewilderment. "What happened, I don't know," Nebraska's senior free safety said. "When it came down to it, we didn't perfonn how we should've. It's just disappointment in ourselves." Booker couldn't immediately explain the untouched Colorado ball carriers, the unfathomable point total or the pile of vardage that stacked higher than the overshadowing Rocky Mountains.

Nothing made sense Friday afternoon at Folsom Field, where the Buffaloes stampeded their way through the Blackshirts in a shocking 62-36 victory. Colorado ran for 380 yards. The Buffs threw for another 202. And the 62 points were the most surrendered by a Nebraska defense. Ever.

By and large, CU did what it wanted, when it wanted and how it wanted on the ground. Bobby Puri-fys 39-yard touchdown run into open green pastures, 3 minutes into the game set the tone. He had 154 yards, while Chris Brown ran for 198 yards and a school-record six touchdowns. "It was just hole after hole, just huge." said Booker, who played Jr up so few points all year, and to give up 62 is just (hsappointing. They played great and we played like crap.

They just beat us because we had missed assignments and missed tackles." Brown and Purify, rotating in place of No. 1 tailback Cortlen Johnson, who suffered a sprained knee early and didn't return, not only found open holes, but time after time fought off arm tackles and bulled their way for extra yards. "Colorado was strong and physical," NU defensive coordinator Craig Bohl said. "We weren't driving our feet They came in and had a good plan, and we were just not physical enough. We got knocked off the football and men we got drug." Bohl said Colorado didn't do anything especially out of the ordinary but probably ran the counter trap better than any team NU had faced.

"Sometimes that's a difficult thing to simulate in practice," Bohl said. "They executed that well, and we didn't execute our fundamentals well. Then beyond that, we just didn't tackle well. "They gashed us," he said. "We need to go back to the drawing board to correct those problems and go to work." Purify claimed Nebraska hadn't played a team as physical as Colorado, and CU Coach Gary Barnett said he'd never seen a more dominant performance by a Colorado offensive line.

"We just blocked them and broke tacldes," said Barnett, rioting CU didn't insert a single new running play for the Nebraska game. They didn't need one, either. Better execution and more physical play did the trick. "They did whatever they basically wanted on the ninning game," Booker said, slightly shaking his head, "Whoever they put back there, they were just running the ball, and they were just getting opea It was disappointing, it was surprising. It was nothing I would've ever thought of." Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthaljoumalstar.com.

"i 1 mm i i TED KIRKLmcoln Journal Star Nebraska's Chris Kelsay (57) and Keyou Craver (3) bring down Colorado's Daniel Graham after a long gain in the second quarter. rover Friday in place of injured Phil- did a good job of running the ball the CU game ranked No. 13 nation-ip Bland. "When you look at it, you on us, and I was just shocked." ally against the run. were just like, I would never So was senior defensive tackle "This was a terrible feeling bethought anyone in the country Jeremy Slechta, who had helped cause we had played so well for 1 1 could run the ball on us, and they spearhead a defense that entered games," Slechta said.

"We had given Gary Barnett Colorado head coach Barnett took a cou Chris Brown Colorado running back The sophomore Eric Crouch Nebraska quarterback Crouch didn't help Bobby Pesavento Colorado quarterback When you look at GAME Nebraska's cause with two late interceptions. But he somehow helped Nebraska crawl back into striking distance in the second half after being down 3S3. Crouch averaged 9.0 yards per carry en route to 162 rushing yards, and he scored the stat sheet, It's a stretch to say the Buffs' senior quarterback outplayed his Nebraska counterpart. But it's all about the scoreboard, and Pesavento got the job done Friday. Pesavento completed 9 of 16 passes for 202 yards and one touchdown.

tailback hadn't scored a touchdown since the fourth game of the year, and with Cortlen Johnson riding a hot streak he wasn't even penciled to play much Saturday. So much for game plans. After, Johnson was injured on the first series, ple of his players to Texas Stadium last July when they were in Dallas for the preseason Big 12 Conference Media Days. Barnett told them he wanted them to see where they would be playing in December for the league championship. May have sm 4 'A i Cs 0 CD (3.

two touchdowns. "I was pleased and proud with the way he hung in there," NU Coach Frank Solich said. Steven M.SIpple Brown tore Nebraska's defense to shreds, rushing for 198 yards (the fourth-highest total ever against NU) and scored a schookecord six TDs. Curt McKeever sounded funny at the time to anyone outside the CU program, but Barnett proved Friday that his team had all along what It took to finally beat NU, "We're a pretty good team, and sort of showed it tonight," Barnett said. Brian Rosenthal In his last four games in relief of injured No.

1 quarterback Craig Ochs, Pesavento has completed 57 of 83 passes (69 percent) for 869 yards. His college journey started at Miami (Ohio) and took him to Fort Scott (Kan.) Community College. Next stop: Dallas. John Matey BALLS.