Finally, Colorado Gets a Routine Win : Big Eight: Buffaloes score 21 points in first quarter and coast past Missouri, 38-23.

For a change, Colorado didn’t need last-play heroics.

The fifth-ranked Buffaloes followed dramatic, last-play victories over Michigan and Texas with a by-the-numbers 38-23 victory over Missouri on Saturday that extended their winning streak to nine games.

“I don’t think we were sharp on either side of the ball,” Coach Bill McCartney said. “Our guys had an emotional run.”

Last week, Colorado defeated Texas, 34-31, on a 24-yard field goal by Neil Voskeritchian, and the previous week the Buffaloes defeated Michigan, 27-26, on a 64-yard Hail Mary pass from Kordell Stewart to Michael Westbrook.

This week, Colorado (5-0) scored 21 points in the first quarter and then coasted in winning its sixth consecutive Big Eight opener and completing a three-for-three road swing.

Missouri Coach Larry Smith said, “It wasn’t a victory, but it was the best four quarters of football we played this year. A loss is nothing to be proud of, but we can be happy about the way we played.”

Stewart passed for 228 yards and two touchdowns and Rashaan Salaam ran for 166 yards in 28 carries and two touchdowns, even though both sat out most of the fourth quarter.

Stewart completed his first seven passes and was 16 of 21 with two touchdowns. Salaam, the nation’s leading rusher, had an effective follow-up to his 317-yard performance against Texas. Salaam scored twice on one-yard runs and also had carries of 46, 32 and 17 yards and a pass reception for 41.

“We can’t just be up for the big games, we’ve also got to get up for the little games,” Salaam said.

Rashaan Salaam’s Rushing Statistics

Opponent Car. Yds Avg TD NE Louisiana 24 184 7.7 3 Wisconsin 26 85 3.3 4 Michigan 22 141 6.4 2 Texas 35 317 9.1 1 Missouri 28 166 5.9 2 Totals 135 893 6.6 9