 "Photo:")
BOULDER, Colo. - Like so many other opponents Nebraska faced in 2007, Colorado found its offensive stride and ran away from the Cornhuskers.
In Boulder, it was a landmark win. For Nebraska, the nightmare continued.
Oh, what the Huskers might have given for a little relief.
Colorado's defense couldn't find a way to stop Nebraska in the first half, and its offense couldn't match the pace. At halftime, the Huskers led 35-24.
It didn't take long into the second half before the game reversed course, and the Buffaloes rode the momentum all the way to a win -- and bowl eligibility. Forty-one points after halftime gave second-year CU Coach Dan Hawkins his 100th win as a college head coach and Colorado its sixth win of the season.
"We just wanted to win," Hawkins said. "The most redeeming thing for me was that we were down at halftime and struggling a little bit to stop them, and then coming out in the second half and showing incredible resolve. I thought that our offense did a great job in the second half, and started wearing on them."
On Senior Day, several key contributors to the Buffaloes' rally did so in their final game at Folsom Field. But the spark to the stunning turnaround was freshman Jimmy Smith. The defensive back returned a third-quarter interception 31 yards for a touchdown, narrowing Nebraska's lead to 35-31.
On their next offensive play, the Huskers came out throwing again, with much the same result. A pass by quarterback Joe Ganz was tipped into the air and intercepted by senior Lionel Harris, who returned it to the Nebraska 33-yard line. Colorado punched in another score on the first of three touchdown runs by senior Hugh Charles, and the Buffaloes took the lead for good, 38-35.
Charles was the linchpin of Colorado's offense, running for 169 yards. His three-touchdown game was the first of his career, and the tailback fell just short of the 1,000-yard season mark, finishing with 989 yards.
"I was alerted that he was close to the 1,000-yard barrier, but unfortunately we were unable to get him there," Hawkins said.
Colorado's 65 points were the most it had scored this season, and the most CU ever scored against Nebraska. Charles scored on runs of nine, one and two yards during a stretch of 34 unanswered points by the Buffs.
"We were just getting the defense off balance today," Charles said. "We saw on film that some teams had success against them when they were able to run some change of direction plays and we wanted to do that.
"It couldn't have ended any better, especially putting up as many points as we did."
Linebacker Jordon Dizon, acknowledged as the leader of Colorado's defense, had a monster game against the Huskers. In addition to a loose ball recovery following the block of a Nebraska punt, the senior racked up 18 tackles - 14 solo stops.
Dizon is a finalist for the Butkus Award, given annually to the nation's best linebacker. Hawkins minced no words about his worthiness, but the linebacker isn't ready to look ahead to the future. His biggest concern following the game was enjoying the win, and preparing for a bowl game.
"They kind of dinked us in the first half; they hit us for a few explosion plays," Dizon said. "In the second half we settled down, got that glazed look out of our eyes and played steely-eyed the rest of the game."
JONATHANCROWL@DAILYNEBRASKAN.COM
