Colorado Finishes in Style, 33-28

Joel Klatt saw his receiver streaking behind the defense, reared back and threw deep. Then, everything went blank.

Klatt didn’t realize what happened next until some teammates helped him off the turf a few seconds later.

“I couldn’t tell you what happened,” Klatt said.

The result was a game-winning 39-yard touchdown pass to Evan Judge, helping Colorado to a 33-28 victory over Texas El Paso in the Houston Bowl on Wednesday.

“The linemen told me [about the score],” he said, “when they picked me up.”

Klatt completed 24 of 33 passes for 333 yards and two touchdowns, and keyed a fourth-quarter comeback by the plodding Buffaloes (8-5).

Facing a fourth-and-3 play at its 35 and trailing by two points, Colorado resorted to a bit of trickery. Punter John Torp hustled 22 yards around the left end on a fake for the first down.

“I guess we watched it too long, because it worked,” Miner Coach Mike Price said. “We should have maybe tackled the guy that was running.”

Two plays later, Klatt found Judge for the go-ahead score with 8:43 left. Klatt was flattened by defensive end Ibok Ibok as he released the ball and didn’t see the touchdown. He got up from the turf slowly and wobbled off the field.

The Miners (8-4) had a chance to win in the final minutes.

On a third-and-4 play from the Miner 25, Jordan Palmer completed a 15-yard pass to Johnnie Lee Higgins, keeping the drive alive. But Palmer misfired badly on his final four passes.

Texas El Paso has never defeated a Big 12 opponent in 12 tries.

Palmer, the younger brother of former USC quarterback Carson Palmer, completed 22 of 42 passes for 328 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.