Football game review Colorado 14
Nebraska Colorado
Rushing Rushing Wsh*
Name Car Yds Avg TD Name Car Yds Avg TD
Correll Buckhalter 15 92 6.1 0 Marlon Barnes 25 102 4.1 0
Joel Makovicka 5 21 4.2 0 Dwayne Cherrington 6 39 6.5 0
Eric Crouch 17 18 1.1 0
Receiving Receiving
Name Rec Yds Long TD Name Rec Yds Long TD
Shevin Wiggins 3 42 24 0 Javon Green 5 72 18 1
Correll Buckhalter 3 29 21 0 Marcus Stiggers 4 25 8 0
Matt Davison 2 31 27 0 Adam Peeke 1 15 15 1
Passing Passing
Name Comp Att Yds TD Name Comp Att Yds TD
Eric Crouch 10 22 123 0 Mike Moschetti 12 18 132 2
Game Stats Nebraska Colorado Nebraska Colorado
' First downs > 12 18 Fumbles lost 1 2
Rushing attempts 37 46 Interceptions 1 1
Rushing yards 131 112 Penalties / yards 5 / 44 7 / 78
Passing completions 10 13 Punt returns / yards 3/20 3/43
Passing attempts 22- 19 Kickoff returns / yards 2/42 1/2
Passing yards 123 134 Time of possession 26:18 33:42
Total yards 254 246 Sacks/yards 6 / 48 2/15
I -
Scoring Summary Nebraska^ 7 3 3 3 16
Colorado 7 0 7 0 14
Team Qtr Scoring play Plays - yards Score
Nebraska Colorado
NU 1 C. Finley 42 yd interception return 7 0
COL 1 J. Green 17 yd pass from M. Moschetti 11 -80 7 7
NU 2 K. Brown 30 yd field goal 11-45 10 7
NU 3 K. Brown 30 yd field goal 9-65 13 7
COL 3 A. Peeke 15 yd pass from M. Moschetti 13-80 13 14
NU 4 K. Brown 25 yd field goal 10-49 16 14
-Jon Frank/D>
Dawn Dietrich/DN
ERWIN SWINEY, an NU left cornerback, and Chad Kelsay, a left rush end for NU,
squish a Colorado player during Friday’s game. The Husker defense kept the team
ahead to win the game 16*14. It was the seventh consecutive win for the Huskers
over the Buffaloes and the fourth win in the last five years by 5 or fewer points.
Scott McClurg/DN
NEBRASKA RIGHT RUSH END Chad Kelsay tackles Colorado’s Marlon Barnes for a
loss during the second quarter. Despite a concerted effort to establish its rushing
offense, Colorado was able to rack up only 112 yards on the ground in Friday’s
game.
Photos by Scott McClurg/DN
ABOVE: COLORADO WIDE RECEIVER
Javon Green tumbles into the end
zone after a 17-yard touchdown
pass during the first quarter.
Green’s score marked the first time
CU had reached the end zone at
Memorial Stadium since 1994.
LEFT: NEBRASKA WINGBACK Shevin
Wiggins takes the field during a
special ceremony honoring the
Husker seniors before their last
game at Memorial Stadium. Twenty
one graduating seniors took part in
the pre-game proceedings.
Buffs frustrated,
angry in loss to NU
By Shannon Heffelfinger
Senior staff writer
The frustration burst forth from the fists
of Colorado linebacker Hannibal Navies,
who crouched down and pounded the turf as
the final second ticked off on the Memorial
Stadium scoreboard Friday.
It broke the tense silence in post-game
interviews when CU Coach Rick Neuheisel
called the Buffaloes’ 16-14 defeat the “most
sickening thing I’ve ever been around.”
And it shined in the black streaks
smeared across quarterback Mike
Moschetti's face, who refused to make
excuses for Colorado's disappointing 7-4
season or for its fourth loss in five years to
the Comhuskers by less than five points.
“There are no excuses,” Moschetti said
defiantly. “If we’re starting all freshmen, we
still expect to win. I'm tired of hearing that
we’re young, and I’m tired of hearing we’re
beat up. It doesn’t matter. When we put on a
Colorado helmet, we expect to win the
game.”
Colorado came painfully close to doing
so in front of an NU crowd of 75,958 fans.
The Buffaloes shut NU down and forced a
onds remaining in the fourth quarter.
After a 58-yard punt by Bill Lafleur, CU
took over at its own 9-yard line. The
Buffaloes quickly notched two first downs
on back-to-back plays, the first a 12-yard
run by Marlon Barnes, the second a 10-yard
pass by Moschetti to wide receiver Javon
Green.
But a false start penalty stalled CU’s
drive, and an 8-yard sack by Nebraska rush
end Chad Kelsay set the Buffaloes back fur
ther. Facing third-and-15 at the Colorado 26
yard line, Moschetti threw consecutive
incomplete passes. Nebraska regained pos- :
session with 1:41 left in the game.
Neuheisel blamed the outcome on three i
key turnovers and penalties.
Colorado's first miscue took place four ;
minutes into the first quarter when Flusker i
free safety Clint Finley intercepted a
Moschetti pass intended for tight end Tom
Ashworth. Finley ran the grab back 42 yards ;
for a score. In the second half. Nebraska's i
Mike Rucker caused two Moschetti fumbles
that NU recovered. The second fumble,
recovered by freshman Jeremy Slechta, led
to place-kicker Kns Brown's third field goal
of the day and the Huskers' winning score.
Neuheisel hinted that he disagreed with
several of the penalties called against CU.
rhe Buffaloes were penalized seven times
for 78 yards, including one offensive pass
interference call that ended a crucial drive
during the fourth quarter.
“I have to be careful here because I don’t
want to get sanctioned,” Neuheisel said.
'My opinion was that Darrin (Chiaverini)
was making a play on the ball. The Nebraska
defender wasn’t. He was face guarding
Darrin. Again, that’s my opinion, and my
opinions are biased.”
Despite his frustration, Neuheisel was
pleased with Barnes and Colorado’s
defense. Barnes, who has played in only five
Barnes because of an injury, rushed for 102
yards on 25 carries.
The offensive and defensive lines had a
dominant performance, CU linebacker
Jashon Sykes said, but the defensive line
controlled the trenches as well. Colorado
held Nebraska to 131 yards rushing. NU had
-2 rushing yards after the first quarter.
“We Dracticed for two weeks for this
iiffense,” said Sykes, who led CU with 13
ackles. “I knew what they were running out
ff every formation. Today was a defensive
*ame. They couldn’t do anything against us.
We shut them down.”
Sykes added that Nebraska will face a
lealthy and experienced Buffs team next
/ear.
“Everyone in the country knows that
lext year Colorado is going to be right back
vhere we were in 1990. We're going to turn
his thing around next year.”
In the wake of his second disappointing
;eason in as many years, Neuheisel strug
gled to echo Sykes’ predictions in his post
>ame comments to the Buffaloes.
“It’s hollow. I’d love to say we’re excited
ibout where we are. I think we're headed in
he right direction and the future is bright.
3ut today, in the post-mortem of a two-point
oss that's as sickening as any I've ever been
iround, it's hard to be as upbeat as 1 think we
ieserve to be with respect to the future.”