Colorado
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Kansas
Buffaloes Bury Jayhawks In Big 12 Opener
September 22, 2001 | Football
BOULDER - Quarterback Craig Ochs shrugged off a concussion and rallied Colorado to two fourth-quarter touchdowns in a 27-16 victory over Kansas on Saturday.
Trailing 16-13, Colorado (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) went ahead when Ochs, who sat out the first three series of the second half, drove the Buffaloes 86 yards in 11 plays, capping the drive with a 17-yard scoring pass to tight end Daniel Graham with 11:04 left.
Moments later, Kansas' Curtis Ansel shanked a punt that traveled only 14 yards, and Chris Brown bolted 40 yards up the middle on the next play with 9:08 remaining.
Kansas freshman Johnny Beck, who earlier kicked a 59-yard field goal, converted a 46-yarder early in the final period to put the Jayhawks (1-2, 0-1) in front for the final time.
On a day that featured an extended tribute to the victims of the terrorist attacks and to the rescue workers, fans contributed $54,000 to the National Disaster Relief Fund.
Ochs completed 12 of 23 passes for 186 yards with one TD and one interception. Brown ran for 140 yards, including 85 in the final period. Cortlen Johnson had all of his 113 yards rushing in the third period, when Colorado outgained the Jayhawks 122-32 but managed only a field goal to pull even 13-13.
Jayhawks redshirt freshman Mario Kinsey, making his first collegiate start, was 12-for-25 for 165 yards and a TD.
Critical penalties by the Colorado defense helped Kansas score 10 points in the second quarter to take a 13-10 halftime lead.
Colorado scored on its first two possessions to build a 10-3 lead.
After Beck's 41-yard field goal barely two minutes into the game, Colorado marched 80 yards for a touchdown - Brown's 7-yard run.
After Colorado lost its top wide receiver, John Minardi, to a knee injury, Derek McCoy got loose along the right sideline for a 75-yard reception, setting up Jeremy Flores' 22-yard field goal.
The Jayhawks lined up to punt on fourth-and-23 from the 14, but Colorado's Joey Johnson was whistled for roughing Ansel, giving Kansas a first down. Three plays later, on a third-down pass that was overthrown, Colorado's Medford Moorer was called for a personal foul for hitting Roger Ross.
Moments later, Ross caught a pass from Kinsey and bounced off Moorer's intended tackle for a 38-yard scoring play with 12:03 left in the half.
Colorado drove to the KU 11, but Ochs was intercepted by safety Jake Letourneau.
Offside and personal-foul penalties against Colorado helped Kansas keep a drive alive late in the half, and Beck kicked a 59-yarder as the half ended.
It was the longest field goal in Folsom Field history, exceeding the 57-yarders kicked by Colorado's Fred Lima in 1972 and Dave DeLine in 1986. And it was the second-longest in Kansas history, topped only by Dan Eichloff's 61-yarder in 1992.
