Boulder – To gain a measure of control in its series against Colorado State, Colorado had to first gain control of itself Saturday afternoon.
Penalties halted CU drives and brought back touchdowns. Turnovers stole momentum. Colorado State had control.
But CU scored 21 fourth-quarter points to erase an 11-point deficit and won 31-28 on Mason Crosby’s 47-yard field goal with four seconds left.
CU’s students stormed the field when CSU quarterback Justin Holland’s last pass of the game was intercepted by Buffs safety J.J. Billingsley.
“That was one exciting game, just a classic for college football,” said CU coach Gary Barnett, who has a winning record against the Rams (4-3) for the first time as head coach. “It’s the way rivalry games are supposed to be played.”
Forgive the Rams if they don’t agree. Three consecutive losses, all decided late, have started to grate.
“I’m never happy about losing, especially to this team, and in this place,” CSU wide receiver David Anderson said. “It just really upsets me that I lost to this team three years in a row, and I’m not going to get a chance to avenge the loss.”
Excitement pulsed throughout Folsom Field, which was filled with a stadium-record 54,972 fans. That spawned rivalry talk anew.
“If the rivalry’s dead, then why are there people running out of the stands?” said Holland, who will end his career having never beaten the Buffs.
“You see the excitement in the stands,” CU quarterback Joel Klatt said. “You see excitement generated in this state, especially around the metro area and Fort Collins with this game. It would be a shame if this game was taken out of the schedule.”
Only next year’s game at Invesco Field at Mile High is certain.
Colorado’s third consecutive win over the Rams wasn’t pretty, but in this series – which seems to ebb and flow from drive to drive – it was just what the doctor ordered. The Buffs have won four of the past five. Klatt has never lost to CSU and ends his career 3-0 against the Rams. Asked how pleased he is with that mark forever etched next to his name, he smiled.
“Very,” he said.
Colorado State fed off early CU miscues and its own adrenaline to take an early 7-0 lead. When the Buffs rebounded to take a 10-7 advantage, Holland (28-of-43, 291 yards, three touchdowns, four interceptions) caught fire.
The senior tossed a pair of 1-yard touchdown passes, one to Anderson, who had 12 catches for 119 yards, for a 14-10 second-quarter lead and another to tight end Matt Bartz for a 21-10 third-quarter advantage. Both were spectacular plays. Holland sprinted to his right, and in the face of onrushing defenders threw a strike to Anderson, who leapt back to make his scoring catch. Bartz made a diving catch of his own off a pass tipped by Jordon Dizon that snatched the air from the CU faithful.
But as has been their custom the past two seasons, the Rams couldn’t finish.
CU running back Hugh Charles bounced back from a fumble and an admittedly nervous first half and broke loose on fourth-quarter scoring runs of 29 and 23 yards. Charles, making his first start as a Buff, ran for 58 of his 101 yards in the fourth quarter.
“(Offensive coordinator) Shawn Watson believed in me and the offensive line believed in me that I can be a premier back,” Charles said.
Klatt overcame early mistakes to finish 22-of-33 for 283 yards with one interception, on CU’s first series. The Buffs’ defense did just enough to slow the CSU running game, holding the Rams to 95 rushing yards.
“I was very proud of our football team,” CSU coach Sonny Lubick said. “(Colorado) made a couple of plays at the end. Colorado State gave them everything they could handle.”
Wild, wild wins
CU’s wild victory Saturday was the fourth consecutive game that went down to the wire in the Rocky Mountain Showdown. A look:
2005: CU wins 31-28
Mason Crosby kicks a 47-yard game-winning FG with four seconds remaining.
2004: CU wins 27-24
Buffs defense holds from the 1-yard line as time runs out.
2003: CU wins 42-35
Bobby Purify runs for a 9-yard touchdown with 40 seconds left.
2002: CSU wins 19-14
Rams safety David Vickers breaks up Craig Ochs’ pass at the CSU 2-yard line with 20 seconds to play.
CU-CSU EXTRA POINTS
GUTSY CALL OF THE DAY
Lubick shows faith
CSU coach Sonny Lubick had his team go for it on fourth-and-2 from the Buffs’ 6-yard line late in the first quarter. To that point, CSU had been unable to find any holes in CU’s run defense. Jimmy Green rewarded Lubick’s faith by powering straight up the middle for 3 yards. Green then ran around the left end for a touchdown on first down, giving CSU an early lead.
KEY STAT
INTs play lead role
Four – Second-half interceptions by CU of Justin Holland passes. Discount the last one, a Hail Mary on the final play. But the other three allowed CU to claw back from a game CSU controlled much of the second half. Gerett Burl’s interception in CSU territory with less than two minutes left allowed the Buffs to take a 28-21 lead. Holland then had his shining moment, leading CSU on an 80-yard TD drive, only to have CU win in the final seconds. Interceptions by Lorenzo Sims and Akarika Dawn (above) earlier in the half kept the Buffs close.
BESTS OF THE DAY
Power run(over)
“Pancake” by a running back: Lawrence Vickers flattened Robert Herbert on his 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
Catch: CU’s Joe Klopfenstein on a sliding catch to the CSU 4-yard line, a 17-yard gain that set up the Buffs’ first touchdown.
Punt: John Torp’s 72-yarder that set a career best for CU’s All-America candidate.
Concentration: CSU tight end Matt Bartz, who caught a touchdown pass in the third quarter tipped by CU linebacker Jordon Dizon.
WORSTS OF THE DAY
Missed chances
Missed opportunity: CSU had a first-and-10 at the CU 18-yard line midway through the second quarter after Kyle Bell’s 16-yard run, but penalties pushed the Rams back and Kevin Mark missed a 39-yard field-goal try.
Fan conduct: The CU student section threw debris on the field after a third-down incompletion on a Joel Klatt pass to Dusty Sprague in the third quarter.
Inopportune penalties: CU had six penalties that cost the Buffs first downs. On those six plays, CU gained 90 yards.
Staff writer Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-80-5455 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
