Home Is No Protection for Perfection : Nebraska: No. 3 Cornhuskers suffer first loss as Colorado takes inside track for trip to Orange Bowl, 27-12.

Colorado tailback Eric Bieniemy was distraught after losing his fourth fumble in Saturday’s Big Eight showdown against No. 3 Nebraska.

“I was frustrated, disgusted, you name it,” Bieniemy said.

But Coach Bill McCartney pulled Bieniemy aside to console him.

“I told him that nobody felt worse than he did, but he’s got to cover up the football better,” McCartney said. “I told him he had to rebound from that adversity.”

Bieniemy rebounded by scoring four touchdowns in the fourth quarter as the Buffaloes recovered from a 12-0 deficit to defeat the previously unbeaten Cornhuskers, 27-12, before a sellout crowd of 76,464 at Memorial Stadium.

Colorado fans bombarded the field with oranges after the No. 9 Buffaloes (8-1-1 overall and 5-0 in the conference) moved closer to their second consecutive trip to the Orange Bowl.

“They said we played on emotion last year, but they can’t say that this year,” Colorado quarterback Darian Hagan said. “We beat them solely on talent. We scored 27 points in the fourth quarter. That’s not emotion.”

Nebraska (8-1, 4-1) more than likely had its hopes for a national title wiped out. Colorado probably can’t win it all, either, since the Buffaloes already have their fifth-down victory over Missouri, a loss to Illinois and a tie with Tennessee. But McCartney thinks victories over Oklahoma and Nebraska can’t hurt.

The nation’s leading rusher, Bieniemy rushed for 137 yards in 38 carries against the nation’s No. 1 rushing defense as Colorado erupted for 27 points in the final 15 minutes. It was the most points scored against Nebraska in the fourth quarter since 1945, when the school began keeping records. Colorado had 122 yards in total offense in the fourth quarter, while Nebraska had minus four.

After gaining only 45 yards and fumbling three times in the first half, Bieniemy rebounded by rushing for 98 yards in the second half, including touchdowns of one, two, three and five yards.

Did Bieniemy have trouble holding onto the ball because of the miserable conditions on a frigid, wet, windy afternoon?

“The ball was slippery, but there’s no excuse for fumbling,” Bieniemy said. “It was my fault. I tried gloves, spit on my hands, but nothing worked. I’m glad I had the opportunity to make up for it.”

Trailing, 12-0, after two field goals and a a 46-yard touchdown play from Mickey Joseph to tight end Johnny Mitchell, Hagan completed two passes for 49 yards as Colorado drove 81 yards in 10 plays to pull within 12-7 on Bieniemy’s one-yard touchdown plunge.

On first and 16 at his 23, Hagan hit wide receiver Rico Smith with a 30-yard pass to the Nebraska 47. After Bieniemy picked up 24 yards in three carries and Hagan added three more on a keeper, Hagan hit wide receiver Mike Pritchard with a 19-yard pass to the one to set up Bieniemy’s first touchdown, which cut the score to 12-7 with 14:41 remaining.

Taking over at the Colorado 47 after forcing Nebraska to punt, the Buffaloes drove 53 yards to take the lead.

Hagan hit Pritchard, who had three catches for 90 yards, with a 34-yard pass to the Nebraska 11 on the second play of the drive, but the drive stalled at the two. Facing a fourth-and-one situation, Colorado tried to draw Nebraska offside, but failed.

After calling time out to set up a play, McCartney decided to give the ball to Bieniemy, who hurdled into the end zone to give Colorado a 13-12 lead with 8:37 remaining. The Buffaloes went for a two-point conversion, but Hagan’s pass fell incomplete.

Colorado’s defense forced Nebraska to punt from its 28 on the ensuing series, but Cornhusker Coach Tom Osborne tried a gimmick play. Instead of snapping the ball to punter Mike Stigge, the ball went to fullback Tim Johnk, who was blocking for Stigge. But Colorado linebacker Rob Hutchins stopped Johnk one yard short of a first down, giving Colorado the ball at the Nebraska 30.

The fake punt seemed to be an admission that Osborne didn’t have any faith in the ability of his defense to stop Colorado’s offense.

“I began to see that we weren’t stopping them very well,” Osborne said. “I don’t know if it was premature or not, but I felt like we could run a fake punt on them.”

After Colorado got the ball at the 30, Bieniemy carried four times in the five-play drive, scoring from three yards out to give Colorado a 20-12 lead with 4:35 left.

After Nebraska turned the ball over on downs at its 10 on the next series, Colorado needed only three plays to score, with Bieniemy getting his fourth touchdown from five yards out.