Tie Not Good Enough for Colorado This Time : College football: Bieniemy scores with 12 seconds to play as Buffaloes rally for a 21-17 victory over Stanford.

After one unsatisfying tie, Colorado wasn’t about to settle for another.

The sixth-ranked Buffaloes went for--and got--a clinching touchdown instead of a tying field goal in the closing seconds Thursday night against Stanford.

Tailback Eric Bieniemy dived 1 yard for the winning score with 12 seconds remaining as Colorado eked out a 21-17 victory over upset-minded Stanford.

“No question, we were going to go for it,” said Colorado Coach Bill McCartney, whose team endured a 31-31 tie with Tennessee 11 days earlier in Anaheim. “If it were fourth-and-eight, we still would have gone for it.”

Bieniemy’s score--his third of the game--came on fourth down and capped an 80-yard, 15-play drive after Stanford’s John Hopkins had given his team a 17-14 lead on a 27-yard field goal with 4:17 to play.

The Cardinal shocked Colorado early, using a long punt return and a turnover to forge a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. But Bieniemy, who rushed for 149 yards after being suspended for the opener, produced a 14-14 tie with third-quarter scoring runs of 18 and 36 yards.

Facing fourth-and-one from the two on its final drive, Colorado passed up a field goal and quarterback Darian Hagan sneaked for the first down to the one. But two subsequent plunges by George Hemingway produced nothing, and a third-down pass fell incomplete. On fourth down, Bieniemy, who finished with 149 yards rushing, went airborne off the left side for his third touchdown.

Stanford Coach Dennis Green said he wasn’t convinced Bieniemy scored on the fourth-down leap.

“In my opinion, if we were at home, they don’t get that call,” he said.