Colorado Runs Over Boston College

Colorado prepared for Boston College tailback Cedric Washington. Too bad the Eagles didn’t do some homework on the Buffaloes’ Cortlen Johnson.

Johnson had a career-best 201 of Colorado’s 365 rushing yards and scored two touchdowns in a 62-28 rout of 25th-ranked Boston College on Friday in the Insight.com Bowl.

“I can’t take all the credit,” Johnson said. “The offensive line did a great job of opening up the holes, and the wide receivers were blocking well downfield.”

Boston College (8-4) was unable to overcome Colorado’s speed.

“I think that’s one of the fastest linebacker and DB corps I’ve played against,” said Washington, a 1,122-yard rusher who was held to 30 yards in 16 attempts. “The holes were closing up like that, in a second.”

Johnson had 34 yards on Colorado’s first drive to set up his 10-yard scoring run, then contributed 30 yards in the second possession, which ended with quarterback Mike Moschetti’s two-yard touchdown.

Johnson gained 40 yards in three carries before his own two-yard scoring run that made it 42-7 with 5:59 left in the half.

A sophomore in his first year as a starter, Johnson had 137 yards in the first half, more than in any game of his career except the 185 he gained against Iowa State.

“I was surprised we ran the ball as well as we did,” Colorado Coach Gary Barnett said. “Cortlen really started to turn it on as the year went on. He kept looking better and better his last five or six games, and we became a better team.”

“At the half, we agreed that we were going to take it one play at a time and play physical,” Boston College Coach Tom O’Brien said. “We knew there wasn’t going to be much opportunity to come back by halftime.”

Ben Kelly set an Insight.com record with an 88-yard punt return, and Colorado (7-5) scored on interception returns of 29 yards by Jashon Sykes and 21 yards by Rashidi Barnes.

It was Colorado’s sixth consecutive postseason victory, the longest active streak in the country.

The Eagles got their first touchdown on a 78-yard interception return by George White, and the last on a nine-yard return of a blocked punt by Doug Bessette with 5:55 to play.

Boston College also scored in the third when William Green fumbled into the end zone on a one-yard run, and tight end Bryan Arndt recovered, and late in the game on a two-yard pass from Tim Hasselbeck to Jamal Burke.

The most one-sided result in the bowl’s 11-year history was Kansas State’s 52-17 victory over Wyoming in 1993.

The Eagles were on their heels from the start after Moschetti came out throwing a 14-yard completion to Marcus Stiggers, and the Buffaloes scored on their first possession for the fourth time this year.

The outcome still was in question when Moschetti dropped back, then ran in untouched with 1:47 left in the first quarter, making it 14-0.