[flagallery gid=10 name=”Buffs vs. Jayhawks”]
For a brief moment, Folsom Field stood still.
Kansas Jayhawks junior wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe initially looked to have snagged the game-winning touchdown, but Colorado Buffaloes senior cornerback Cha’pelle Brown swatted the pass away as time expired. The scoreboard read 34-30 in favor of the Buffs.
Then, the stadium erupted as a sea of yellow-clad Buffs fans swarmed the field.
“To be truthful, I thought about picking it off,” Brown said. “There was no need to intercept it, though. We just needed the win.”
Kansas senior quarterback Todd Reesing was able to attempt the final pass from CU’s 19-yard line thanks to some big plays earlier in the drive. On third-and-3, Reesing hooked up with Briscoe down the middle for 14 yards. Two plays later, the Reesing-to-Briscoe combination was good for 26 yards with 10 seconds to play. After spiking the ball, Reesing overshot senior wide receiver Kerry Meier down the right sideline before attempting to go deep one last time.
“We knew we were going to go out there and get the win,” said Brown when asked if he was nervous as KU marched downfield in the waning moments. “We just tried to make a play and have fun.”
Colorado (2-4 overall, 1-1 Big 12 Conference), which led by as many 21 points, watched the 17th-ranked Jayhawks (5-1, 1-1) storm back to grab a 30-27 lead with 13:02 to play when Reesing hooked up with Briscoe for a 25-yard touchdown strike.
The Buffs responded with a scoring drive of their own when it mattered most. Sophomore running back Rodney Stewart capped a 10-play, 76-yard march with a 13-yard touchdown dash. Earlier in the drive, sophomore quarterback Tyler Hansen scrambled around before slipping a pass to senior tight end Riar Geer for a 29-yard gain to CU’s 48. On the next third-down play, Hansen converted with Geer again to the Jayhawks’ 40. A roughing the passer call tacked on an additional 15 yards.
Hansen, who was supposed to redshirt each of the last two seasons, completed 14-of-25 passes for 175 yards while rushing for 34 on 11 carries. He scored on a designed quarterback draw and found Geer for a 12-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.
“It’s been a fun ride,” said Hansen of burning his redshirt in consecutive seasons. “It’s been wild.”
Hansen’s rushing touchdown gave CU a 24-3 lead late in the second. KU covered 80 yards in 11 plays when Reesing found Meier in the end zone from four yards out to slash the Buffs’ lead to 24-10 as both teams headed for the locker rooms.
“I think we came out really strong, did some really good things,” Geer said. “In the first half, we were pushing the tempo, trying to make some plays, get the offense rolling, get the defense rolling.”
CU junior kicker Aric Goodman booted a 45-yard field goal to extend the Buffs’ lead to 27-10, but KU scored 20 unanswered to make the game interesting.
Jayhawks freshman running back Toben Opurum scored on a 2-yard carry, and junior kicker Jacob Branstetter was true on field goals of 43 and 42 yards to shave the Buffs’ advantage to four points at 27-23 before Reesing found Briscoe to give Kansas their second lead of the game.
“I was disappointed in our play, personally,” Buffs senior linebacker Marcus Burton said. “Any time you have a big lead, it’s your job on defense to stop them from scoring.”
Reesing was 30-of-51 for 401 yards. While CU did surrender its fair share of big pass plays, its run defense was outstanding. The Jayhawks netted -8 rushing yards due in large part to Reesing’s five sacks for -48 yards. The -8 rushing yards was CU’s sixth best performance against an opponent’s rushing attack.
“CU had a good game plan,” Jayhawks head coach Mark Mangino said. “They came out with several different looks with a lot of line stunts and blitzing.”
Stewart was the Buffs’ leading rusher with 108 yards on 24 carries.
CU will play the Kansas State Wildcats for possibly a share of the Big 12 North division lead next Saturday at 10:30 a.m. MST in Manhattan, Kan.
“There’s a lot of football to be played,” CU head coach Dan Hawkins said. “You have to move on to the next one. That’s just how it has to be.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Alex K.W. Schultz at Alexander.schultz@colorado.edu.
