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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Nobody is doubting Nebraska kicker Josh
Brown this weekend -- not even Brown himself.
Brown kept Nebraska's slim Bowl Championship Series hopes alive
Saturday, kicking a 29-yard field goal as time expired the Cornhuskers (No. 8 ESPN/USA Today, No. 9 AP) a 34-32 victory over Colorado.
"This is what you dream about," Brown said.
|  | | Nebraska's Josh Brown drills a 29-yard field goal to give the Huskers a 34-32 win over Colorado. |
Brown's kick capped a drive that started at the Nebraska 41 with
44 seconds left after Colorado had taken the lead with a touchdown
and a 2-point conversion.
Brown was just 3-for-7 coming into the game and had missed an
attempt two weeks before in a one-point loss at Kansas State. But
he was poised on the final play, driving the ball straight between
the uprights.
"This is definitely a redemption for me," Brown said. "I was
actually thinking 'Don't yank it -- please don't yank it."
Eric Crouch led Nebraska, rushing for 125 yards on 19 carries
and three touchdowns. He did not have a great day passing,
finishing 11-for-17 for 139 yards, but he was nearly perfect in the
final drive, going 3-of-4. Crouch's 17-yard sideline pass to Bobby
Newcombe with less than 10 seconds left set up Brown's field goal.
"We do this every week in practice," Crouch said. "You've got
to believe in yourself. Otherwise, you'd just as well sit on the
bench."
Colorado looked like it was headed for an upset victory after
Craig Ochs' touchdown pass and 2-point conversion put the Buffaloes
ahead 32-31 with 47 seconds left.
After the kickoff, the Huskers only had 44 seconds.
"There wasn't a guy out there who lost his composure or was
rattled and didn't think we could win that football game," coach
Frank Solich said.
Nebraska (9-2, 6-2 Big 12) has won nine straight over Colorado,
but the last five have been by a total of 15 points. The Huskers,
who needed overtime to beat the Buffaloes 33-30 last year, are done
until their bowl game, which probably won't be determined until
next weekend.
With nine wins, the Huskers are eligible for a BCS at-large
berth, but were not impressive Saturday until their final drive.
Nebraska fumbled four times, losing three, had two kickoffs go out
of bounds, a punt blocked, botched a punt return when the ball
bounced off a blocker's helmet, and missed a field goal.
Nebraska only kept Colorado from scoring once in the second
half, and that was by blocking a field goal.
Colorado (3-8, 3-5) ended a disappointing season with an even
more disappointing loss. After Brown's kick, several Buffaloes were
face down on the artificial turf as the Cornhuskers swarmed Brown.
"This was not a moral victory," Colorado coach Gary Barnett
said. "That was last year. We just came up short. That's all."
Cortlen Johnson led the Buffaloes with 155 yards on 26 carries
and three touchdowns. Ochs completed 25-of-41 for 254 yards. His
15-yard pass to John Minardi brought the Buffaloes within a point.
Barnett called a timeout and his whole team huddled on the
sideline, where Barnett told the Buffaloes they were going for the
win, not a tie.
"It did not take me an instant to decide," Barnett said.
Bochs rolled to his right and hit Javon Green for the
conversion.
"There was only 44 seconds left. I thought we would win,"
Green said. "We beat them today. We beat them physically and we
beat them statistically. Yet every time they pull a trick from up
their sleeve and win."
Crouch gave the Huskers a 31-24 lead on a 26-yard TD run with 5:20 left to play, after having scored earlier on runs of 27 and 2
yards. The Huskers had tied it at 24 earlier in the quarter on
Brown's 20-yard field goal.
Johnson put Colorado up 24-21 with a 2-yard touchdown run early
in the fourth quarter. Colorado took a 17-14 lead on Johnson's
2-yard run with 9:57 left in the third quarter. The Buffaloes had
recovered a bad pitch by Crouch, Nebraska's third fumble of the
game, and drove 73 yards on 12 plays for the lead.
Johnson was the first back to break 100 yards against the
Huskers since Notre Dame's Arnaz Battle ran for 107 in the second
game of the season.
Carlos Polk intercepted an Ochs' pass on the second play of the
game and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown. It was the first
career TD for Polk, a senior linebacker who was playing in his
final game at Memorial Stadium.
Crouch gave Nebraska a 14-0 lead with 4:48 left in the first
quarter on a 27-yard run set up by Randy Stella's blocked field
goal.
Mark Mariscal cut the lead to 14-3 with a 32-yard field goal
eight seconds into the second quarter. The Huskers helped the
Buffaloes with penalties for roughing-the-passer and pass
interference.
Johnson got Colorado within 14-10 on a 39-yard touchdown run
with 8:28 left in the first half. The Buffaloes opened the drive at
the Nebraska 47, the fourth time in the half they started in
Huskers territory.
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ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
Colorado Clubhouse
Nebraska Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Josh Brown's 29-yard field goal wins the game for Nebraska.
avi: 1255 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Craig Ochs connects with John Minardi to give Colorado a brief lead late in the game.
avi: 893 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Nebraska's Carlos Polk returns the interception 39 yards for the TD.
avi: 657 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Colorado's Cortlen Johnson finds the hole and then the end zone 39 yards later.
avi: 1002 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Nebraska's Eric Crouch goes 27 yards for the touchdown.
avi: 1029 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Cortlen Johnson moves the pile and scores his second TD of the game.
avi: 530 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Frank Solich knows his Cornhuskers are never out of a game.
wav: 167 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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