ALOHA BOWL : Colorado Takes Control Early

Colorado didn’t want to waste any time in establishing its dominance over Fresno State in the Aloha Bowl, and it didn’t.

The Buffaloes forced four fumbles and turned them into scores and Rashaan Salaam scored three touchdowns in their 41-30 victory on Saturday.

“In the first quarter we showed how excited we were to be playing and we and took control of the game. The offensive line played well and opened the holes like it did all year,” said Salaam, who finished with 135 yards on 23 carries.

Fresno State quarterback Trent Dilfer didn’t talk much about his 523 passing yards. He was preoccupied with the four lost fumbles that led to 24 Colorado points.

“We made a lot of mistakes in the first half, dumb mistakes. Not getting plays in on time, me not calling them right in the huddle and the turnovers,” Dilfer said. “We don’t turn the ball over. This football team hasn’t turned the ball over all year. You can’t win a football game with that many turnovers.”

Dilfer, who completed 37 of 63 passes, with one interception that ended a string of 318 passes without being picked off, fumbled on his team’s first possession. Colorado’s Chris Hudson recovered and Salaam scored on a two-yard run with 9:04 left in the period.

Colorado (8-3-1) extended its lead to 20-3 in the second quarter on a seven-yard run by James Hill and a 49-yard field goal by Mitch Berger, his second of the game.

Both followed Fresno State turnovers: the first when David Dunn dropped a pass and Hudson made his second recovery, the second when Dilfer fumbled and Dalton Simmons recovered at the Fresno State 30.

With one second left in the half, Jamie Christian tried to lateral a kick return but fumbled the pitch to Malcolm Seabron, who picked the ball up on the first bounce and went 68 yards for a touchdown that made the score 20-10 at halftime.

“The first half was definitely frustrating offensively,” Dilfer said. “Whatever we were doing, we were doing it wrong. It was ugly.”

The teams traded two touchdowns each in the third quarter. Salaam scored on a 40-yard run and defensive back Donnell Leomiti returned a fumbled reception by Lee Harris 28 yards to put Colorado ahead, 34-16.

Anthony Daigle scored from a yard out and Dilfer passed to Tydus Winans for an eight-yard touchdown to pull Fresno State (8-4) within 34-24 entering the fourth quarter. Salaam completed the Buffaloes’ scoring with a four-yard run and Dilfer went to Winans from 11 yards.

“A game like this takes a lot of stamina and we were still coming on hard at the end of the game,” Colorado Coach Bill McCartney said. “I thought we controlled the game on the line and were able to dictate our strategy. Stopping the run was a big priority for us, and it shows.”

Fresno State was held to three net rushing yards. Even if Dilfer’s 49 yards in losses are discounted, the Bulldogs rushed for only 79 yards.

“You can’t get in the end zone when you can’t run effectively,” Dilfer said.