Buffs topple Bulldogs

[flagallery gid=38 name=”CU vs. Georgia Football”]With the eyes of the 1990 national championship team upon them, the Buffaloes wore down Georgia by way of an old-fashioned run game.

Junior tailback Rodney Stewart led the herd with 149 yards, including the go-ahead touchdown run.

In the closing stages of the fourth quarter, it was senior linebacker B.J. Beatty’s forced fumble from the churning hands of Caleb King that sealed the victory at Folsom Field on Saturday night.

Beatty and the rest of the team recognized the significance of playing in front of the school’s most successful team.

“They set the standard for any Colorado team that followed,” Beatty said. “They come in, and seeing where they’ve gone in life and coming back and supporting the team, it definitely motivated us.”

CU’s 235 yards on the ground is the most the Bulldogs have given up since a 2008 meeting with rival Georgia Tech. For the second consecutive week after their poor showing against Cal, the offensive line mauled Georgia’s front seven.

“It comes down to the linemen; if they are doing well, the whole team is doing well,” said junior running back Brian Lockridge, who got nine carries on CU’s first drive. “The whole plan is to get the running game going so we can make it a fast game. We tied them down and they’re a great team, despite their season so far.”

Tyler Hansen managed over 200 yards of offense by himself, highlighted by a 39-yard run on the game’s opening drive. His scrambles spread the defense thin and continually allowed for seemingly dead drives to continue.

“He was a big problem,” said Georgia head coach Mark Richt after the game. “I can’t think of how many times that he was the difference in them moving the chains in a third-down situation.”

In the battle between the Big 12 and SEC, both teams combined for over 800 yards of offense.

Sophomore linebacker Jon Major, who recovered King’s fumble with less than two minutes left in the game, said he felt this now 1-4 SEC team is “absolutely” better than Cal, who walloped the Buffs by 45 points just three weeks ago.

“Everyone can see the improvement,” Major said. “There is such a huge difference between the Cal game and now. As long as we keep on that trend, we should do some great things.”

Georgia’s star wideout A.J. Green shined in his season debut, catching 7 balls for 119 yards and two touchdowns. He also had his team’s longest run of the day on a 40-yard reverse.

Senior cornerbacks Jalil Brown and Jimmy Smith were tasked with the seemingly impossible: stopping Green, a likely first-round pick in next April’s draft. After facing the likes of Dez Bryant, Jordan Shipley and Dezmon Briscoe throughout his career, Smith had high praise of the player he is likely to meet up with again on Sundays.

“He’s by far the best athlete I’ve ever faced while in college,” Smith said.

A win against an SEC team, no matter their record, could go a long way for head coach Dan Hawkins when his contract is reviewed after the season. At the same time, the fourth consecutive loss for Richt melts the already thin ice even more.

Maybe the most pivotal play of the game for both coaches came on a point-after attempt.

After Hansen’s four-yard touchdown run, the Buffs ran a tricky two-point play in which Cody Hawkins took a shotgun snap from center and threw to an open Ryan Deehan, a junior tight end. It worked out and proved to be the difference in the close win.

Coach Hawkins alluded to a conversation he had with a reporter earlier in the week when talking about the trick play.

“I said ‘watch, if we get this we’ll look like geniuses, but if we don’t then it will be like the stupidest thing that we’ve ever tried,’” he said.

It’s important to note that the play was only able to happen after Rodney Stewart sped down the sidelines for a 65-yard run, getting the Buffs in the red zone. Dan Hawkins’ teams are now 8-1 when they rush for over 200 yards.

“We always want to run the ball,” Hansen said. “We want to run and control the clock to keep their offense off the field.”

Twenty years ago the championship team watching from the sidelines held that same mentality. On their journey to a first-place finish in the polls, the Buffs averaged over 270 rushing yards per game.

At half-time the team was honored to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their milestone. Bill McCartney, head coach of the 1990 squad and the school’s all-time leader in wins, took the microphone and spoke to the 52,855 in attendance.

“This is truly a group of leaders,” McCartney said. “Everything rises and falls on leadership. Leadership determines how high we climb.”

The message rang through the entire stadium, even into the home team locker-room. Trailing by three at halftime, the Buffs stormed back for the second consecutive game, with an impressive offensive output accompanied by a few timely turnovers on defense.

Hansen revealed his source of motivation after the game, citing his interactions with all the former players.

Hansen said, “When you see guys that are grown up and have families and children, when you see them tear up in the locker room before the game…there is so much pride to be a Buff.”

Contact CU Independent Football Reporter Michael Krumholtz at Michael.krumholtz@colorado.edu.