Austin, Texas -For the first time this season, the yards ran dry for Colorado running back Hugh Charles.
Running lanes weren’t there. On the infrequent occasion that there were, they were closed quickly. And an early large Texas lead didn’t help, either. After the Buffs fell behind 28-0, running the ball became less of a priority.
“When you get down as fast as we did, it’s hard to talk about running the football,” CU coach Gary Barnett said. “So it changes your whole game plan. What you wanted to do, you can’t do anymore.”
Charles finished with 38 yards on 13 carries. Back in his home state of Texas for the first time as CU’s feature back, the sophomore averaged just 2.9 yards per carry.
“We knew coming in they were going to be a pretty rough team,” Charles said. “They just flat out stopped us.”
Charles averaged 97.4 yards coming into the game as one of the Big 12’s top running backs. But Texas, which entered the game with the nation’s fifth-ranked defense, held him to his worst performance of the season.
“They are really talented,” offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said. “We thought they were the best defense that we had seen. They are really good.”
Klatt’s long day
Quarterback Joel Klatt suffered again at the hands of Texas. Though his numbers, 19-of-39 for 189 yards, two touchdowns and one interception appeared decent, both he and CU coaches knew otherwise.
“I felt like he rushed some things early,” Watson said. “The speed of the game, it was moving pretty fast out there.”
In the first half, Klatt was 13-of-25 for 141 yards, one interception, and had one touchdown late in the second quarter with the Longhorns already up 35-3.
He was pulled late in the second half when Texas had the game well in hand.
“They played better than we did all around,” Klatt said.
Still No. 1
Barnett has voted Texas number one in each USA Today coaches’ top 25 poll this season.
After seeing the Longhorns up close, Barnett’s belief that the Longhorns are the nation’s best team was even more solidified.
“It’s probably not going to change my vote,” Barnett said.
Footnotes
CU burned the redshirt year of freshman defensive end Maurice Lucas, playing him in the fourth quarter. Lucas had thought he would redshirt this season and play in 2006. …
There were no major injuries reported by CU officials. …
Klatt surpassed the 6,000-yard passing mark on Saturday, becoming the second player in school history to do so.
Klatt now has 6,114 yards and trails only Kordell Stewart’s career passing total of 6,481.
