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Rams Fall To Rival Colorado
Colorado State rallied from an early 17-0 deficit to tie it in the fourth quarter.
Sept. 4, 2004
By JOHN MARSHALL BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - Bobby Purify ran for 189 yards and a touchdown and J.J. Billingsley made a game-saving tackle as time expired, helping Colorado hold off Colorado State 27-24 on Saturday night in the opener for both teams. Colorado State rallied from an early 17-0 deficit to tie it in the fourth quarter, only to see Colorado take the lead back on Mason Crosby's 55-yard field goal. Colorado went up 27-17 on the next play, when Brian Iwuh snared Justin Holland's off-balance throw and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown. But the Rams weren't through. Colorado State moved quickly on its next drive, going 80 yards in six plays for John Walker's leaping 31-yard touchdown over Gerett Burl. The Rams held Colorado to three plays and a punt on its next drive, getting the ball back at their 38 with 2:36 left. Colorado State reached Colorado's 1 with 30 seconds left, but Marcus Houston was stuffed at the line and Billingsley came up to meet Tristian Walker on a sweep left to end it. Billingsley was mobbed by his teammates and the fans weren't too far behind, pouring out of the student section in the south end zone to celebrate at the center of the field. The wild reaction seemed fitting considering the Buffaloes had one of the most difficult offseasons any school anywhere could have endured. Former players were accused of rape, coach Gary Barnett's job was in jeopardy and an investigation found recruits were lured to the university with sex and alcohol. The pent-up emotion was evident early with the fans and the players. After six years at a neutral site in Denver, the nasty instate rivalry returned to a campus once known as the nation's top party school. A Folsom Field-record crowd of 54,954 created a buzz from the start, the fans' screams and chants seeming to echo off the nearby Rockies well before kickoff. Colorado gave them plenty to cheer about right away, using Joel Klatt's crisp passes and huge holes at the line to march 80 yards in 10 plays on the game's first drive. Purify finished things off, burrowing the final yard for a touchdown. The Buffaloes didn't take long to get back into the end zone, moving 63 yards in 12 plays on their next drive for Klatt's 1-yard touchdown sneak. The lead went to 17-0 on Crosby's 31-yard field goal late in the second quarter. The Buffaloes were just as good on defense, swarming and harassing Colorado State from the first snap. The Rams had just 9 yards in the first quarter - to Colorado's 161 - and didn't get a first down until Holland hit John Walker on a 23-yard pass over the middle with 13{ minutes left in the second quarter. But after surviving Colorado's initial emotions, Colorado State finally got something going, moving 80 yards in 11 plays for a 1-yard touchdown pass from Holland to Matt Bartz on a fourth-down play with 23 seconds left. The Rams kept it going in the third quarter, driving 80 yards for Marcus Houston's 1-yard touchdown on a sweep left that cut Colorado's once commanding lead to three at 17-14. Colorado missed a chance to extend the lead when Crosby hooked a 42-yard field goal on the Buffaloes' first drive of the third quarter, and Colorado State's Jeff Babcock tied it early in the fourth with a 26-yarder.
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