University of Colorado Athletics
Brooks: Revisiting 2007 CU-CSU
September 05, 2009 | Football, B.G. Brooks
(Note: The following 2007 Colorado-Colorado State game account was written by B.G. Brooks for the now-defunct Rocky Mountain News web site. Brooks now is contributing editor for CUBuffs.com.)
DENVER - Kevin Eberhart's patience never wore thin, and early Saturday afternoon he wore it proudly.
After four years of living (and learning) in the long and illustrious shadow of former All-American placekicker Mason Crosby, Eberhart finally trotted to center stage for his turn.
It wasn't just any old turn.
With the annual Rocky Mountain Showdown tied 28-28 in overtime, the University of Colorado senior calmly drilled a 35-yard field goal to push the Buffaloes past the Rams 31-28 at Invesco Field at Mile High.
Eberhart's kick, the first ever overtime game-winner by a Buffs specialist, allowed CU its first victory in the series under coach Dan Hawkins, whose initial Buffs team lost 14-10 to the Rams last season and followed its downward spiral to a 2-10 finish.
''It's big,'' Hawkins said of the victory. ''You can talk about progress, the indoor practice field, the locker room (improvements) and recruiting. But it's like, 'OK, what have you got to show for it?'
''So people want to see (a win), and I think that is big for the fans to get back and get reengaged and get after it . . . . I totally believed we were going to win. We had a few issues and stubbed our toe (but) I expected to win.''
Fortunately for the Buffs, Eberhart's right big toe went virtually unstubbed. He finished his first game as Crosby's replacement with three field goals in four attempts and two extra points as the Buffs overcame an 11-point (28-17) third-quarter deficit and finally sent the game into overtime on Eberhart's 22-yarder with six seconds left in regulation.
One of Crosby's many bits of advice to his former teammate was to forget the errant kicks and move on.
''I would say it's easy, but you'd see on my face I'm a liar,'' Eberhart said of his 41-yard miss midway through the third quarter.
But when the time arrived for him to purge the bad memory and make the kick, Eberhart did. Twice.
His game-tying kick was set up by a 43-yard Chase McBride punt return to the CSU 34-yard line, giving the Buffs possession with 2:08 to play. CU muddled through three plays, gaining only six yards before Hawkins called for a fourth-and-four pass from his son, Cody, to receiver Patrick Williams.
Said Williams: ''I don't even know where to begin. We always start out by visualizing; we started that last spring. Going into that fourth down, I felt like I've already made that play before, and it was just time for me to go out and do it.''
The pass was complete for a first down, but Rams defensive back Joey Rucks also was called for pass interference, giving the Buffs a first down at the 14-yard line. Four plays later, Eberhart tied the game with his 22-yarder.
Of calling for the fourth-and-four gamble, Dan Hawkins said, ''I'm going to tell my guys that we play to win. You have to take shots; if you don't believe in the play or your kids don't believe in the plan, then you don't have anything.
''So, sometimes you're going to come up and sometimes you're not, but if you keep pushing the issue, you're going to come out on the plus end.''
Eberhart's game-winning kick was set up by a Terrence Wheatley interception in the end zone that snuffed CSU's chances for points in its first overtime possession. As Wheatley trotted off the field, he passed Eberhart and said, ''I set it up for you; you seal the deal.''
Another four plays later, Eberhart did, setting off a wild celebration among the Buffs and their fans among the 60,767 who showed up for the earliest kickoff (10:10 a.m. MDT) in CU-CSU series history.
In taking a 17-14 halftime lead and overcoming their double-digit deficit in the third quarter, the Buffs received a strong performance from Cody Hawkins, who was making his first Division I-A start.
The younger Hawkins completed 18 of 31 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception on a flea-flicker early in the fourth quarter. He engineered scoring drives of 83, 46 and 86 yards - the last one a 14-play march that pulled the Buffs to within three points (28-25).
The score culminating that drive was by redshirt freshman tailback Demetrius Sumler, who played more than he expected after senior Hugh Charles suffered a pulled hamstring in the first quarter and was sidelined the rest of the afternoon.
Sumler responded with 16 carries for 85 yards and the TD, giving the Buffs the ground punch required to balance the passing game. CU finished with 330 yards of total offense, CSU with 386.
The Buffs lost two fumbles and an interception, while the Rams' only turnover was Wheatley's interception of Caleb Hanie, who completed 20 of 27 passes for 229 yards and the three TDs to tight end Kory Sperry.
''We knew it would be close,'' said Cody Hawkins, whose record as a starter since the sixth grade is 60-0. ''But getting the win and doing what we came here to do was what really felt good.''
He said when the Buffs trailed by 11, he and his offense ''just kept telling the defense to get us the ball back.''
The defense finally responded, making critical stops in the second half. But this was after a first half that found the Buffs 'D' appearing to have overslept.
''We improved as the game went on,'' inside linebacker/special teams captain R.J. Brown said.
But CU had game-long difficulty dealing with CSU running back Kyle Bell, whose career-high 40 rushing attempts gained 135 yards and a touchdown. Neither could CU contain Sperry, who tied his career best with eight receptions for 103 yards and three touchdowns.
''We knew going in there that it was going to be a wire-to-wire bout and I thought we fought hard,'' Bell said. ''But you've got to be proud with the way we stuck in there and the way we played.''
CSU coach Sonny Lubick said he was ''proud of our football team. They played hard. They did everything they could. In our business, it comes down to one false step, a little of this, a little of that.
''I just want to give credit to CU and to Cody Hawkins. I thought he was pretty special . . . . We had momentum in the third quarter, but just couldn't hold it.''
Hawkins said his son ''did OK. He would be the first to tell you he missed a few throws. But in general . . . not bad. I was more pleased with the overall team effort.''
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
