A Big Red Letter Day for Colorado

Colorado players talked about finally doing a number on Nebraska, but no one could fathom numbers like these.

You wanted to peek under Nebraska helmets afterward to see if wires had somehow been crossed and the team clad in scarlet Friday was, in fact, Rutgers.

But the whole thing was on the level, or leveled in Nebraska’s case.

After 11 years without a victory in the series, No. 14 Colorado unleashed unprecedented payback against No. 2 Nebraska with a 62-36 victory before a sellout crowd of 53,790 at Folsom Field.

Feel free to rub your eyes and re-check the score, because it was that kind of score.

“I didn’t think we would put 62 on Nebraska,” Colorado quarterback Bobby Pesavento said, echoing the feelings of millions.

The outcome was astounding on several fronts. It wasn’t that Colorado won. The Buffaloes had lost five previous meetings by a total of 15 points, so an upset was not beyond the realm of possibility.

Yet, what happened Friday was historic--it was the most points ever scored against Nebraska--and will no doubt send seismic shock waves through the bowl championship series.

With the victory, Colorado improved to 9-2, clinched the Big 12 North Division title and advanced to a probable matchup with Oklahoma on Dec. 1 in Dallas for the conference title.

With defeat, Nebraska fell to 11-1 and, in one cataclysmic football cramp, was knocked out of national title contention and probably a major bowl bid.

Hey, that’s what happens when you lose this bad, this late.

The Cornhuskers were No. 1 in this week’s BCS standings, with a commanding lead over No. 2 Miami, but Friday’s loss will have a devastating effect on Nebraska in the polls and next week’s BCS.

Don’t be surprised if Nebraska falls to No. 6 or No. 7 in the BCS and is contemplating midweek offers from the Holiday and Cotton bowls.

“This was a terrible feeling because we had played so well for 11 games,” Nebraska defensive tackle Jeremy Slechta said. “We had given up so few points all year and to give up 62 is just disappointing.”

Colorado, which finished 3-8 last year, now heads to Dallas after scoring more points than any Nebraska opponent, eclipsing the 61 Minnesota put on the Big Red in 1945.

Colorado held leads of 21-0, 28-3 and 35-3 in the first half against Nebraska.

Colorado pulled all this off with a backup quarterback, Pesavento, a backup tailback, Chris Brown, and a possessed offensive line that helped shred the Nebraska defense for 582 yards.

Nebraska entered the game as the nation’s No. 2 scoring defense, allowing only 11 points a game.

Pesavento, playing for injured starter Craig Ochs, threw for 202 yards and a touchdown and did not have a turnover.

Brown, a junior college transfer who had gained eight yards in four carries in Colorado’s previous three games, ran for 198 yards in 24 carries and scored a school-record six touchdowns, also the most against a Nebraska defense.

Brown, from the Chicago area, originally signed to play at Northwestern for Gary Barnett, but eventually followed Barnett to Colorado.

Brown scored on runs of 12, one, 36, one, 13 and eight yards.

Colorado ran a trap play, 98G, over and over against Nebraska, with the Buffaloes’ line opening holes Oprah Winfrey could bust off tackle.

“I couldn’t believe what was happening,” Colorado guard Andre Gurode said. “We were scoring all these points on them and you wanted to keep scoring again and again and again to take out all the frustration of the last 10 years.”

On several plays, the first Nebraska player to lay a hand on Brown and others was a safety.

“They were scared,” Brown said of the Nebraska secondary. “They didn’t want to hit any of these backs.

“I think they took us for granted. I think they thought they were going to manhandle us like they did all those years.”

Brown and Bobby Purify basically took turns running wind sprints through the Cornhusker line. Purify finished with 154 yards in 20 carries.

The only question was whether Colorado had scored too many points, too fast, and might suffer an inevitable letdown.

Believe it or not, it almost happened.

Nebraska cut the lead to 42-23 just before halftime and raced downfield on its first possession of the second half.

But facing third and goal at the Colorado one, Nebraska back Dahrran Diedrick fumbled as he tried to leap into the end zone, the Buffaloes’ DeAndre Fluellen recovering.

Diedrick’s fumble clearly stopped momentum that was swinging Nebraska’s way.

The Cornhuskers did cut the lead to 42-30 late in the third quarter on quarterback Eric Crouch’s six-yard scoring run, but Colorado answered in the fourth with a nine-play, 93-yard touchdown drive that sealed the victory, Brown scoring on a one-yard run with 12:50 left to make it 49-30.

At that point, as Nebraska Coach Frank Solich would say later, “the game got out of hand.”

Colorado safety Michael Lewis’ interception of a Crouch pass on third and 20 from the Nebraska 10 set up Brown’s fifth touchdown, and Joey Johnson’s interception of a Crouch pass late in the fourth quarter led to Brown’s sixth score with 9:41 left.

Crouch, who entered the game as the leader in the Heisman Trophy race, finished with 162 yards rushing and completed 13 of 28 passes for 198 yards, but his slow start and two interceptions probably cost him some Heisman votes.

“I think he’s the best player in college football,” said Colorado’s Lewis, who intercepted Crouch. “Nebraska is Nebraska because of Eric Crouch. But Heisman Trophy winners have to win big games, and this was a big game, and he didn’t win it.”

It’s tough to say how Nebraska rebounds from this. The Cornhuskers were hushed and humbled on a national stage in possibly the most embarrassing defeat for a highly ranked team since No. 1 Nebraska defeated No. 2 Florida, 62-24, in the 1995 national title game at the Fiesta Bowl.

Reaction?

“In this business, I don’t think shock is the right word,” Solich said. “It can happen to anyone.

“But we played so well throughout the year. I did not see this game getting out of hand.”

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By the Numbers

62 Points scored by Colorado, most given up in one game by Nebraska

6 Touchdowns scored by Colorado running back Chris Brown, most by a Nebraska opponent.

28 Points scored by Colorado in the first quarter.

9 Consecutive times Nebraska had beaten Colorado before this year.

352 Combined rushing total for Colorado running backs Bobby Purify and Brown. Purify ran for 154 yards and Brown had 198.

2 Nebraska’s Associated Press ranking heading into the Colorado game.

19 Colorado’s lead at halftime.

ROAD TO PASADENA

Teams that still have a chance to play in the national championship game:

MIAMI (9-0)--In the driver’s seat now, just has to win rest of way (against Washington and Virginia Tech) to go to the Rose Bowl.

FLORIDA (9-1)--Nebraska’s loss is a boost for the Gators, who are No. 4 in the BCS, but they need Oklahoma to lose again.

OKLAHOMA (10-1)--Sooner wins today and in the Big 12 championship game will send them to Pasadena.

TEXAS (10-1)--The rest of the teams on the list need a lot of help. The Longhorns need losses by two of the three teams listed above.

OREGON (9-1)--The Ducks are No. 5 in the BCS and have a game remaining against Oregon State. They need some teams to lose.

TENNESSEE (8-1)--If the Volunteers beat Vanderbilt today and Florida on Dec. 1, expect fans to send tape of “Rocky Top” to poll voters.

MARYLAND (10-1)--The Terrapins’ season is over, so they need almost everyone ahead of them to lose.

ILLINOIS (10-1)--The Illini have bragging rights as Big Ten champs, but need a miracle. Anyone up for a Maryland-Illinois Rose Bowl?