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No. 14 Colorado v. No. 2 Nebraska – November 23, 2001
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Nebraska – Pre-game
Everyone who knows me knows that when it comes to CU football games, I am a “glass is half empty” fan. I can usually find a dozen reasons to worry about any opponent the Buffs face. If you had asked me the week of the San Jose State game whether I was concerned, I would have countered with details of a team with a Heisman candidate in Deonce Whittaker and a 7-5 2000 record. The best you can usually get out of me before a game in terms of a prediction is that I am “cautiously optimistic”.
For some reason, though, the Nebraska game was different. Where the confidence came from, I can’t say, but I just knew the Buffs were going to win. Before I left Bozeman for the game, I asked my wife, Lee, to tape the game. In the late 80’s and early 90’s, when the Buffs were just re-entering the national stage, and seeing the Buffs on television was still something of a novelty, I taped a number of games. Since the ‘94 season, though, I hadn’t taped a single game. For some reason, though, I knew before I left Montana that I wanted a tape of this game.
My outward confidence continued on gameday. At a tailgate party before the game, Randy and I caught up with fellow season ticket holders Brad and Scott. Scott is my opposite when it comes to predictions. For him, the glass is always half full. When he asked for my prediction, he was shocked at my answer. “That’s the kiss of death”, he muttered, certain that my change of attitude would doom the Buffs.
Perhaps my greatest show of confidence came as we were walking into the stadium. Friends Tony and Julie were also going to the game, but the tickets I had obtained for them were in the bowl of the stadium. Tony asked where we should meet after the game. “The twenty-yard line”, I responded. When asked to repeat my response, I assured Tony he had heard correctly. “The twenty-yard line”, I repeated. Thirty minutes before kickoff, I was so confident that the Buffs would not only win, but that we would be able to participate in the post-game celebration down on the field, that I didn’t allow for any additional possibilities.
It would be up to the Buffs to make me a prophet.
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November 23rd – Boulder No. 14 Colorado 62, No. 2 Nebraska 36
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The Colorado Buffaloes exorcised a decade’s worth of demons in one afternoon as the Buffs demolished the Nebraska Cornhuskers, 62-36, before a raucous crowd of 53,790 and a national television audience. No. 14 Colorado scored early and often against the nation’s No. 2 ranked team (No. 1 in the BCS standings), posting the highest point total ever allowed by a Nebraska team.
Chris Brown rushed for 198 yards and a school record six touchdowns to lead the long list of Buff heroes. Bobby Pesavento completed only nine passes, but they went for 202 yards, including a 21-yard touchdown pass to tight end Daniel Graham. To compliment Chris Brown, Bobby Purify rushed 20 times for 154 yards and a score. In all, Colorado put up 582 yards of total offense, including 380 yards on the ground against a defense which had been allowing only 93 yards/game entering the contest.
First Half
In the most recent Colorado/Nebraska games, it was the Cornhuskers who habitually started quickly. In fact, in the past 11 games between the Buffs and the Cornhuskers, Nebraska had scored a touchdown within the first four minutes of game time a mind-numbing seven times. For the Buffs, who had lost the last five games to Nebraska by a total of only 15 points, a quick start was imperative.
Mission accomplished.
Nebraska took the opening kickoff, and on the first play from scrimmage, sophomore linebacker Sean Tufts tackled Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch behind the line for a three-yard loss. Two plays later, the Cornhuskers were forced to punt.
Advantage, Colorado.
On third down after taking possession, the Buffs hit on what may have been the most important play of the early going. Bobby Pesavento hit wide receiver Matt Brunson for a 26-yard completion to the Cornhusker 39-yard line. The play was significant as the Buffs, rather than give the ball back to the Nebraska offense, kept the ball and the early momentum. On the very next play, Bobby Purify dashed up the middle through a gaping hole for a 39-yard touchdown. 7-0, Colorado. 12:17 left in the first quarter.
What happened next to the Cornhuskers was – in a sense – familiar. The wheels fell off. What was unfamiliar to Nebraska and its fans was that this time, instead of jumping all over an intimidated opponent, it was the opponent which was taking advantage of the Big Red’s mistakes.
On the Cornhuskers’ next possession, running back Dahrran Diedrick fumbled. It took the Buffs all of one play to score, with Bobby Pesavento hitting Daniel Graham for a 21-yard score. 14-0, Colorado. 11:47 still to play in the first quarter.
After driving to midfield on the ensuing drive, Nebraska went for a fourth-and-one. Eric Crouch slipped and fell behind the line of scrimmage, giving possession back to the Buffs. Pesavento promptly hit Graham on a 49-yard pass, and two plays later Pesavento did the honors from a yard out. 21-0, Colorado. 5:35 still remaining on the first quarter clock.
A long kickoff return set up a Nebraska field goal, giving the Cornhuskers and their fans some sense of normalcy. Then the Buffs turned to Chris Brown, and two drives later, Brown had two scores. Both drives needed only five plays to cover 80 yards, with Brown’s touchdowns (the first from 12 yards out, the second from the one), giving Colorado a commanding 35-3 lead early in the second quarter.
The remainder of the quarter was mostly left to Nebraska, with the Cornhuskers scoring three touchdowns to offset Chris Brown’s third score of the day. At the half, everyone stopped to collect their breaths as the Buffs took a 42-23 advantage into the locker room.
Second Half
Nebraska showed in the second and third quarters why they were the 2nd-ranked team in the nation. Falling behind 35-3 in the second quarter, the Cornhuskers fought back to make the score 42-30 late in third quarter. Nebraska dominated the third, holding the Buffs to three punts. Meanwhile, the CU defense bent but did not break. Nebraska drove to the Colorado one-yard line on its opening drive, only to have CU junior linebacker Drew Wahlroos force a Diedrick fumble. Nebraska did score on a Crouch six-yard run on its next drive, but the 42-30 score was as close as the Cornhuskers would come.
The play of the game occurred on the Buffs’ next drive. Pinned down on its seven-yard line, with momentum clearly in favor of the visiting team, the Buffs were on the verge of allowing a 32-point lead to vanish. Then quarterback Bobby Pesavento, who had been an afterthought coming into the 2001 season on the heels of Craig Ochs’ freshman campaign, made the play which turned momentum permanently back to Colorado.
Dropping back to pass close to his own goal line, Pesavento saw his two tight ends, both running crossing patterns, collide into one another. Out of options, Pesavento took off. Not known for his quickness, Pesavento nonetheless scrambled for 22 yards and a CU first down. The Buff quarterback’s run put in motion a nine-play, 93-yard drive, culminated by a Chris Brown one-yard touchdown run, his fourth on the day, giving the Buffs a 49-30 lead with 12:50 to play.
The comfortable lead quickly turned into a record-setting rout soon thereafter, as Eric Crouch was picked off by safety Michael Lewis and linebacker Joey Johnson on the Cornhuskers’ next two possessions. Both interceptions led to Chris Brown touchdown runs, and the scoreboard soon read an unbelievable 62-30. The only score in the last ten minutes of the contest was a seven-yard touchdown run by Eric Crouch, who would amass a school-record 360 yards of total offense on the day.
Postgame
Of all the records set on the day, the number 62 received the most attention.
The 62 points represented the most points ever scored against Nebraska. Ever. The previous high was 61 points posted by Minnesota in 1945. “You never think it will go like this, obviously,” said Gary Barnett. “But every once in a while, it all works. Sixty-two points. That’s almost too overwhelming for me. It’s going to take a while to sink in.”
The Buffs’ offense had a field day against one of the nation’s best defenses. But record-setting Chris Brown was quick to credit the offensive line. “When you have guys up front like we do, who make dominating blocks and open those gaping holes, it makes it very easy for us tailbacks,” said Brown. “All I had to do was run through and get to the end zone.” Said Barnett of the offensive line: “I don’t know that I’ve seen a more dominating performance from a team at CU.”
Where to go from here?
Colorado had earned its first-ever birth in the Big 12 Championship game. The assumed opponent was Oklahoma, who only had to defeat Oklahoma State the next day. Would the Buffs, who had satisfied the quest of reaching the title game in Dallas, be able to get up for the game?
“If we have trouble getting up for (the title game), we’re in trouble”, said safety Robbie Robinson. “The stakes keep getting higher,” said senior offensive tackle Victor Rogers. “You go from one great team to a team that is equally great or maybe even a little bit greater. Believe me, it is not going to be hard at all. You guys have no idea how badly this team, and especially these seniors, want to go out with a bang.”
The next afternoon, the BCS took another hit when Oklahoma State upset Oklahoma, setting up a rematch between Colorado and Texas. Texas now had the Big 12 inside track to the national championship game at the Rose Bowl.
But the Buffs were not done wreaking havoc with the BCS computers.
Down on the Field
I had not been down on the grass of Folsom Field since the new turf had been laid in 1999. I had not been down on the field to celebrate a CU win in over a decade.
It felt great to be back.
It took some time to get down to the floor of the stadium. The students rushed the field as the final seconds ticked off, making quick work of the goal posts. For us in the 79th row, though, there would be a wait.
No one moved towards the exits. No one moved at all.
We just stood and watched. And yelled. And savored.
By the time the four of us – Randy, Brad, Scott, and myself – made it to the stadium floor, many of the celebrants had moved on. That was fine with us. I took a run out to the 20-yard line, where I had told Tony and Julie to meet us, just to stomp the grass. It felt wonderful. Tony and Julie weren’t there, having more sense than the four of us than to fight there way down to the field, but we did take the time to have our pictures taken with the scoreboard in the background. (On seeing the pictures later, my wife Lee couldn’t help but remark how the grins on our faces made us look as if we were convinced that we had dispatched the hated ‘Huskers ourselves).
It was sweet. We caught up with Tony and Julie at the site of our tailgate party, and the celebration began anew with the group assembled there. Whereas the win over CSU almost three months earlier had brought a sense of relief, this win brought nothing but joy. 62 points – against Nebraska! It couldn’t possibly get any sweeter than that! Big 12 North champions after going 3-8!
The bad weather predicted for the game had never materialized. It was cool, but pleasant. Still, it was late November, and the sun was long gone. After a quick beer and a few hugs, it was time to move on. Everyone was hungry, so we were off to dinner and more celebration.
As we left the tailgate party, we walked in front of my old dorm, Libby Hall, just a few hundred feet from the stadium. I paused for a moment as the group started off for the parking lot. I looked back at the now nearly quiet stadium, brightly illuminated by flood lights. An occasional whoop or holler cut through the night. I heard a honk of a horn, but somehow I just knew it was a celebratory sound, not one made in anger. How could anyone be impatient at a time like this?
Final score: 62-36. I just wanted to soak it in for a moment longer. I closed my eyes. I felt a smile cross my face. It was perfect.
Through the cool night air I heard Brad call my name. I opened my eyes and hurried to catch up with my friends.
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Game Notes:
Where to start?
Records set by Colorado as a Nebraska opponent
(some of these records have been surpassed since 2001):
Most points: 62 (old record, 61, Minnesota, 1945)
Most points in a half by an opponent: 42 (38, UCLA, 1988)
Most points in a quarter by an opponent: 28 (28, UCLA, 1988)
Most touchdowns by an opposing team: 9 (8, Oklahoma, 1954, 1956)
Most touchdowns by an opposing player (Chris Brown): 6 (5, Steve Owens, OU, 1968)
CU records set against any opponent:
Most touchdowns, rushing, game: 6, Chris Brown (old record 4, on 11 occasions)
Most touchdowns, game: 6, Chris Brown (4, on 13 occasions)
Most points scored, game: 36, Chris Brown (27, Byron White v. Colorado Mines, 10/30/37)
Most touchdowns rushing, team, game: 8 (tied record – three times. Latest v. KSU, 11/18/89)
CU records set in Colorado/Nebraska series (60 games up to 2001):
Most points: 62 (36, 11/15/51)
Most yards, total offense: 552 (504, 11/26/99)
Most yards rushing, individual: 198, Chris Brown (165, Rashaan Salaam, 10/30/93)
Most yards receiving, individual: 112, Daniel Graham (107, Phil Savoy, 11/28/97, Donnie Holmes, 10/9/82)
Here is the YouTube video of the entire game …
In case you only have 15 minutes, here are the video highlights: