Buffs Rally To Sink Cornhuskers In Overtime, 34-31

BOULDER — Colorado staged one of the more improbable comebacks in program history Saturday afternoon, rallying from a 17-0 halftime deficit to take a 34-31 overtime win over 25th-ranked Nebraska at Folsom Field.

James Stefanou's 34-yard field goal in the first overtime gave the Buffs their first lead of the day and the Buffs then held NU on the ensuing possession. A Mustafa Johnson sack of Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez put the Huskers back at the 31-yard line, and an Isaac Armstrong 48-yard field goal attempt on fourth down went wide right to give the Buffs the win.

That triggered massive a Folsom Field celebration as Colorado improved to 2-0 under first-year head coach Mel Tucker. Nebraska dropped to 1-1 with the loss.

Colorado's Steven Montez finished with 375 yards passing and two touchdowns, with 291 of those yards and both scores coming after halftime as Colorado outscored the Huskers 31-14 after intermission, including a 24-14 count in the fourth quarter. CU junior receiver K.D. Nixon had six catches for 148 yards — including a 96-yard touchdown catch, the longest play from scrimmage in CU history — and Tony Brown added five catches for 60 yards and a score.

Defensively, the Buffs finished with six sacks and once again won the turnover battle, coming up with two fumble recoveries and an interception while CU turned the ball over twice. Colorado also held Martinez to just 110 yards passing in the second half after giving up 180 in the first half, and most importantly, forced Nebraska to punt on it first four possessions of the second half.

It was CU's first win over a ranked opponent since the end of the 2016 regular season. It was also CU's second come-from-behind win, coming on the heels of last week's season opening 52-31 win over Colorado State and the Buffs' second straight win over Nebraska. Colorado won last year in Lincoln, 33-28, on a touchdown pass in the final minutes..

"We knew we would eventually wear them down and break them at the end and that's what happened," Tucker said. "Hats go off to our players and coaches for keeping their poise and continuing to work. The belief on this team is really huge."

HOW IT HAPPENED: After a tough first half on both sides of the ball, the Buffs came alive in the second half to stage a furious rally, scoring 31 points in the final 17 minutes of regulation.

The defense set the tone, forcing Nebraska punts on the Huskers' first four possessions of the half. The Buffs offense couldn't take advantage of the first two, but finally got on the board after the third, marching 64 yards in eight plays for their first touchdown of the game.

The drive included a 22-yard Steven Montez pass to Nixon, a 14-yard Jaylon Jackson run on a reverse and a 14-yard Montez pass to Brady Russell. Jaren Mangham capped the drive with an 11-yard run to pull CU to within 17-7 with 2:24 left in the third period.

CU's defense then answered the bell again to force another Nebraska punt — and this time the Buffs needed just one play to score. Montez took a pitch back on a flea flicker play, then heaved a 96-yard touchdown pass to K.D. Nixon. It was the longest play from scrimmage in CU history, and when Nixon broke from from a last-gasp tackle attempt by Cameron Taylor-Britt, the Buffs had cut the margin to 17-14 with 14:22 still to play.

"That call was guts," said Montez of the play call that came from offensive coordinator Jay Johnson in the booth. "That was pure guts to call that on our own 4-yard line. We got the exact coverage we wanted. K.D. was screaming wide open so I just tried to give him a decent ball to run with."

The Huskers then finally answered and it didn't take long. On their first play from scrimmage following CU's score, Maurice Washington took a short pass from Adrian Martinez and galloped 75 yards to the end zone to give the Huskers a 10-point lead, 24-14.

But the Buffs weren't through. Not by a long shot. Colorado answered again, going 75 yards in five plays for a touchdown on its next drive to pull within 24-21. Montez hit Jaylon Jackson with a 57-yard pass, which set up a 7-yard Mangham run.

That set the stage for another CU defensive big play. On third-and-9 for Nebraska, CU's Mustafa Johnson sacked Martinez, forcing a fumble. CU's Nu'umotu Falo recovered — his second recovery of the game — and seven plays later, James Stefanou's 20-yard field goal for Colorado tied the game at 24-24.

But the Huskers had one more answer. NU drove 75 yards on the ensuing possession to regain the lead, getting a 6-yard run from Martinez on fourth-and-1 for the touchdown and 31-24 lead.

Misfortune then struck the Buffs on the following kickoff. Colorado's Laviska Shenault Jr. returned the kick past midfield but fumbled and Nebraska recovered with 5:35 to play. Colorado's defense, however, forced one more punt and the Buffs regained possession with more than four minutes remaining.

That set up Colorado's last possession — and the Buffs had another punch in their arsenal. Montez guided a 10-play, 71-yard march that culminated with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Tony Brown to tie the game at 31-31 with 46 seconds left in regulation.

Nebraska then had one more shot in regulation, but a Chris Miller interception ended the possession to send the game into overtime. Colorado took the ball first and drove to the 15 before settling for a field goal. CU's defense then wrapped up the win, forcing the long field goal try and setting off a massive celebration on the field almost as soon as the ball went wide.

"We just kind of got it together," Montez said of CU's second half offensive turnaround. "We just calmed down and started to play outside ourselves. We took the good coaching we were getting on the sideline and applied it, and good things happened for us."

In the first half, the Buffs had no answer for Nebraska's Martinez. The NU sophomore was a perfect 9-for-9 for 180 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown strike to JD Spielman to open the scoring. Martinez also had 45 yards rushing, including a 5-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter when the CU defense flushed him from the pocket but couldn't contain him around the edge.

Colorado's offense, meanwhile, struggled to establish any consistency. The Buffs managed to penetrate Nebraska territory on their first possession of the game, but a sack of Montez stymied the drive and CU never really threatened again the rest of the half.

The sack was one of three by Nebraska in the first half. While Montez did complete 13 of his 18 attempts in the first half, they accounted for just 84 yards total. The CU senior also threw an interception in the second quarter, which the Huskers converted into a field goal and their 17-0 halftime edge.

TURNING POINT: With Colorado trailing by 10 early in the fourth quarter, the Buffs hit a 96-yard flea-flicker for a touchdown. While the Huskers immediately answered, the momentum had still shifted to CU's sideline and the Buffs simply wore the Huskers down in the deciding minutes.

KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs had a program-record 258 yards in the fourth quarter, leading to 24 fourth-quarter points.

WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs ended an eight-game losing streak to nationally ranked teams that stretched back to 2016. The win will no doubt help push the Buffs back into relevance when it comes to the discussion of Pac-12 South title contenders.

QUOTEWORTHY: "We try to make our practices harder than the games. We put these guys under pressure situations, we coach them aggressively and they never flinch. They just keep coming back for more. They did that last seek (in a come-from-behind win over CSU) and I knew they would do it today."

NEXT UP: The Buffs play host to Air Force next Saturday in an 11 a.m. game at Folsom Field.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu

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Team Stats

Steven Montez

Players Mentioned

Tony Brown

Jaylon Jackson

Mustafa Johnson

Jaren Mangham

Chris Miller

Steven Montez

K.D. Nixon

Brady Russell

Laviska Shenault Jr.

James Stefanou

Players Mentioned

Tony Brown

Jaylon Jackson

Mustafa Johnson

Jaren Mangham

Chris Miller

Steven Montez

K.D. Nixon

Brady Russell

Laviska Shenault Jr.

James Stefanou