Colorado State 28, Colorado 31

1234T
CSU (0-1)777728
COLO (1-0)01002131

Final

3:30 PM ET, September 3, 2005
Folsom Field
BOULDER, CO

Colorado rivals combine for 20 points in final 2:32

WERE YOU THERE?
Passport

Did you attend this game? If so, start chronicling your sports memories today with ESPN's Sports Passport. Enter the games you attend, upload your photos and share your memories!
I was there »

The Fan Pick
93.8% of College Pick'em players picked Colorado to win the game.
Team Stat Comparison
 
1st Downs2119
Total Yards386396
Passing291283
Rushing95113
Penalties9-739-87
3rd Down Conversions7-163-10
4th Down Conversions1-21-1
Turnovers43
Possession32:2827:32
Individual Leaders
Colorado State Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Holland28/4329134
Colorado Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Klatt22/3328301
Colorado State Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Bell1466016
Green113016
Ohaeri71607
Colorado Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Charles15101231
Washington114014
Vickers3412
Colorado State Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Anderson12119123
Sperry762115
Bartz336128
Walker31005
Colorado Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Sprague561033
Klopfens...476023
Williams338022
Charles334027
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTERCSUCOLO
TD2:39JIMMY GREEN 3 YD RUN (KEVIN MARK KICK)
Drive info: 6 plays, 28 yards.
70
SECOND QUARTERCSUCOLO
FG12:22MASON CROSBY 32 YD FG
Drive info: 4 plays, 0 yards.
73
TD3:36LAWRENCE VICKERS 1 YD RUN (MASON CROSBY KICK)
Drive info: 11 plays, 73 yards.
710
TD0:35DAVID ANDERSON 1 YD PASS FROM JUSTIN HOLLAND (KEVIN MARK KICK)
Drive info: 9 plays, 68 yards.
1410
THIRD QUARTERCSUCOLO
TD5:04MATT BARTZ 1 YD PASS FROM JUSTIN HOLLAND (KEVIN MARK KICK)
Drive info: 11 plays, 81 yards.
2110
FOURTH QUARTERCSUCOLO
TD13:32HUGH CHARLES 29 YD RUN (EVAN JUDGE 2PT PASS FROM JOEL KLATT)
Drive info: 5 plays, 51 yards.
2118
FG2:32MASON CROSBY 48 YD FG
Drive info: 6 plays, 61 yards.
2121
TD1:30HUGH CHARLES 23 YD RUN (MASON CROSBY KICK)
Drive info: 1 plays, 23 yards.
2128
TD0:36KORY SPERRY 9 YD PASS FROM JUSTIN HOLLAND (KEVIN MARK KICK)
Drive info: 8 plays, 80 yards.
2828
FG0:04MASON CROSBY 47 YD FG
Drive info: 4 plays, 60 yards.
2831

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) -- The win brought as much relief as jubilation for Colorado.

The loss brought more anger than heartbreak for Colorado State.

Like a couple of brothers going at it in the backyard before dinner, the Buffs and Rams looked like they could've kept playing forever Saturday evening. Naturally, the team that scored last won. This time, it was the Buffaloes who sneaked away on top, 31-28.

"A classic for college football," Buffs coach Gary Barnett called it after watching his team overcome an 11-point deficit over the final 13½ minutes.

Mason Crosby kicked a 47-yard field goal with 4 seconds left for the game-winner -- the last of 20 points the rivals put up over the frantic, final 2:32.

When it was over, CU fans flooded the field and a record Folsom Field crowd of 54,972 -- save the small cloister of Rams fans in the corner -- celebrated a win in one of the most underrated rivalries in the country.

Tight end Quinn Sypniewski left the field carrying the silver trophy awarded to the winner each year. Did he know what the trophy was called?

"Ours," Sypniewski said, as he worked his way toward a happy locker room.

Many in Boulder condescendingly view CSU as the little brother in this Rocky Mountain rivalry.

"But if we're such an underdog, why are they coming onto the field?" CSU quarterback Justin Holland asked.

Indeed, CSU has proven itself very much a challenge for Colorado. But CU has won four straight and in the last two games, the difference has been three points -- one field goal from the leg of arguably the nation's best kicker.

Crosby's game-winner came on his 21st birthday and added to a 48-yarder that cleared the crossbar by plenty with 2:32 left to tie the game at 21.

"He's got a hell of a leg and he's hurt us the last couple years," Holland said.

Two plays after Crosby tied it, Holland threw his third interception over a 15-minute span, a forced floater that Gerett Burl caught and returned to the CSU 23. On the next snap, Hugh Charles ran untouched for a touchdown, his second score of the fourth quarter, to make it 28-21 with 1:30 left.

Holland came back, though, and marched the Rams 80 yards in 54 seconds, capping it with a 9-yard pass to Kory Sperry to make it 28-27. CSU coach Sonny Lubick thought about going for 2, "but they talked me out of it," he said of his assistants.

After the extra point, CSU squibbed the kickoff, but Colorado returned it to the 40. Joel Klatt (22-for-33, 283 yards) hit Patrick Williams to get the ball into Rams territory and after an eight-yard gain, Crosby came on for the win.

Crosby, whose range is estimated at around 70 yards, said he didn't even know how long the final attempt was when he walked onto the field.

"That whole last kick was probably mental," he said. "Once I hit the ball, I just really didn't think about it. I had been preparing on the sideline."

It marked yet another tough loss in this series for the Rams. This one was made worse because CSU dominated through most of three quarters, taking a 21-10 lead and leaving the Buffs looking helpless.

"Nobody's heartbroken in there," Holland said of the CSU locker room. "We're more mad than anything."

"We're a damned good football team and I'm proud of my club," Lubick said.

The senior quarterback (28-for-43 for 281 yards) shouldered much of the blame last season when, trailing by three with the clock ticking down, he and Lubick mismanaged the clock and failed in two hurried attempts to gain one yard for what would have been the winning touchdown.

This year, Holland stood outside the locker room and answered questions for a good 20 minutes, not shirking from the three interceptions he threw down the stretch. Had any of them been avoided, the outcome likely would have been different.

"Those were mistakes I'm expected to get control of," Holland said. "I spent a lot of time in the offseason working to try to eliminate those mistakes. I took too many risks. I've got to throw the ball out of bounds. I can't try to make things happen when they're not there."

Holland will regret those three interceptions, but his drive for the tying touchdown was impressive -- he went 6-for-7 for 80 yards and the score.

Only this time, the Rams wish they'd taken more time off the clock instead of less.

Colorado, meanwhile, breathes a big sigh of relief after an impressive comeback.

Many in Boulder view this as a no-win situation for the Buffs, who play in a bigger conference (Big 12 vs. Mountain West) against a team that often comes in feeling it has nothing to lose.

But it was hard to feel like the Buffs didn't win something after this furious finish.

"I hate to use the word `surreal,' but it was just a great moment," said Sypniewski, a senior. "I can't even put it into words. Just being able to hold that trophy up my last year here is great."

College Football Scores

Other Scores:

Friday, September 2nd
Arizona 24 Final
Utah 27
Saturday, September 3rd
TCU 17 Final
Oklahoma 10
Colorado State 28 Final
Colorado 31
Boston College 20 Final
Brigham Young 3
Washington 17 Final
Air Force 20
Wyoming 14 Final
Florida 32
UCLA 44 Final
San Diego State 21
Monday, September 5th
UNLV 22 Final
New Mexico 24