BOULDER — Just as Aric Goodman began to feel sure-footed, the wind blew.
Twice in Saturday’s 27-24 loss to Texas Tech, Goodman had a chance to give Colorado a 10-point lead.
The first, a 23-yarder near the end of the first half, was good. The second, which would have put the Bufflaoes up by two possessions in the fourth quarter, was not. He missed a 35-yarder, and as he trotted to the sideline, he pointed to the upright and shook his head.
“I thought it went in. But it didn’t. What they say is what it is,” he said. “I thought it was just inside. It is kind of a judgment call and it happens fast.”
A pair of field goals (45, 25) in last weekend’s loss to Baylor, and Goodman thought he was on the upswing.
“It’s about making kicks. It didn’t go in. It is what it is,” he said. “Fortunately, I’m still confident. I thought I hit it good, but the breeze was just going that way and it didn’t go through.”
Major loss.
The CU defense took a big hit in the fourth quarter when sophomore linebacker Jon Major injured his knee and had to be helped off the field. He had nine tackles (all solo) before leaving the game.
Major’s injury was announced as a sprained knee, with no information on the possible length of his absence.
This scene was reminiscent of his true freshman season when Major went down with a torn ACL in the first week of practice. His redshirt freshman season also was plagued by a sprained knee and shoulder injury.
Young guns.
CU wide receiver Paul Richardson made school history as the first true freshman to score two touchdowns in a game, including a 60-yard catch for a 24-14 lead.
“He’s a good player,” CU coach Dan Hawkins said. “As he gets experienced, I think he is only going to get better. He can run. He’s a very smart and smooth guy with good hands and a good feel for the position.”
Three Buffs made their debuts, and Terrel Smith didn’t wait to make an impact. The true freshman safety made the first tackle of the day and finished with a game-high 14 tackles.
Smith sacked Texas Tech’s Taylor Potts in the fourth quarter. His sack sent Texas Tech back to CU’s 23-yard line and forced a 40-yard Matt Williams field goal. Other CU first-timers were sophomore Nick Kasa, a former Legacy star, and Jonathan Hawkins, a junior cornerback from California.
Footnotes.
Cody Hawkins joined CU’s 6,000-yard passing club with Joel Klatt (7,375) and Kordell Stewart (6,481). He entered the Tech game 5 yards short of the milestone and finished with 274 yards. . . . Scotty Mc- Knight extended his streak of a reception in a regular-season game to 43.
