The Buffs needed a win like the air they need to breathe.
With the game on the line, junior quarterback Jordan Webb made the call to keep the ball in his hands and ran across the goal line to score what would be the game-winning touchdown for Colorado in a thrilling 35-34 victory over Washington State University.
It was a game in which everything seemed to be following that all-too-familiar path for CU. Then a flurry of touchdowns in the fourth quarter gave the Buffs their first win in a season where it looked like they wouldn’t be getting any.
CU football fans cheer at the Sept. 10, 2011 home opener against UCLA. The Buffs beat Washington State Saturday after coming back from a 17 point deficit. (Robert R. Denton File/CU Independent)
Colorado entered the fourth quarter trailing 31-14 to WSU. But with the help of Webb, the Buffs outscored the Cougars in the fourth quarter 21-6. Webb, who threw for 345 yards, had a pair of touchdowns on the ground and in the air with only one interception.
The series of fortunate events that took place for CU began in the third quarter when junior defensive back Terrel Smith recovered a fumble in WSU territory and managed to bring the ball back to the 1. CU quickly scored and cut into the Cougars’ lead. But WSU struck back, entering the fourth with a 31-14 lead.
Then it happened.
Webb found wide-open senior tight end Nick Kasa for a 70-yard touchdown pass that cut the lead to ten. Not long after, sophomore tailback Tony Jones scored on an 84-yard run that pulled the Buffs within three. After a penalty and defense stand, WSU was forced to settle for a field goal. As time wound down, the Buffs marched down field before finding themselves at the goal line with nine seconds left, setting up Webb’s touchdown.
CU finished the day with 531 yards total offense, with over 186 of those yards on the ground split between Jones and freshman fullback Christian Powell.
The win is the Buffs’ first so far this season.
Colorado faces the University of California, Los Angeles Bruins at 4 p.m. next Saturday on Folsom Field in Boulder.
Statistics courtesy of ESPN.com.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Shay Knolle at Shay.knolle@colorado.edu.
1 comment
There was no other team in the PAC that needed a win worse then CU did. CU is at the bottom of the PAC 12 conference, but now that they have a win under their belt they should now be recognized as a team not to under estimate. I live in Colorado and I have not been able to go see any of their games yet because of work, but I recently learned from a DISH coworker that I can now view the PAC 12 games from home! DISH just announced that they are now carrying the PAC 12 network, and it’s offered in most of their base programming packages.