Nebraska-Colorado Notes
November 28, 2009 | Football
Quickly Colorado finishes the season with a 3-9 record (2-6 Big 12), and is 21-18-1 all-time donning all black uniforms ... Associate head coach/linebacker coach Brian Cabral wore his trademark lava lava for the game for the sixth time (CU is 4-2) ... First CU Action: senior FB Trace Adams (kickoff coverage) played for the first time; senior SN Austin Bisnow was all set to snap the final PAT kick (with redshirt freshman PK Ryan Aweida to kick) until the officials huddled and waived off the try; it would have been the senior's first career play as well (Rule 8, Sect. 3, etc.: "...If a touchdown is scored during a down in which time in the fourth quarter expires, the try shall not be attempted unless the point(s) would affect the outcome of the game.") ... Nebraska's 89 yards in the first half was the second lowest by a CU opponent this season (Wyoming had 61 in the first half); the Husker's 26 second quarter yards were the third lowest (the low of 11 was also by Wyoming, in the first quarter) ... TB Rodney Stewart's 28-yard run after NU's fourth quarter fumble was the longest rush against Nebraska in conference play this year, and the second longest gain this year on the first play after an opponent turnover (behind a 42-yard pass from Cody Hawkins to Anthony Wright at Toledo) ... The 58-yard pass from QB Tyler Hansen to WR Markques Simas was the longest from scrimmage this year for the Buffs ... CU was flirting with holding Nebraska to under 200 yards for the first time since 1961 (31 total yards), but the Huskers hit the mark on a Rex Burkhead 4-yard rush with 7:10 left in the game ... CU outgained Nebraska in every quarter, the only time this year the Buffs did that in a game ... Nebraska had just one sack in the game, and that was awarded only after the refs huddled and ruled Hansen intentionally grounded the ball... CU finished the season with 1,055 yards rushing, 1,013 by underclassmen (freshmen/sophomores), or 96.0 percent, second highest figure in school history ... Nebraska came in allowing 99.0 yards rushing per game; CU posted 134 and averaged 4.8 per rush in doing so ... Alex Henery's field goal miss for Nebraska was a rarity; opponents are 63-of-81 in Hawkins' four years as head coach ... CU scored two TDs in two goal-to-go situations this year, finishing year an impressive 17-of-21 (with 2 field goals) in such situations ... Colorado was the only team in the regular season to put 400 yards of offense on Nebraska; previous high was in the opener when Florida Atlantic had 368.
TB RODNEY STEWART (21-110, 0 TD) The CU sophomore had his eighth career 100-yard game (fifth this year), the 14th most in school history. He now has 1,426 career yards, propelling him into 30th all-time, but has the second most yards gained by a player who has sophomore eligibility; the only one with more was Eric Bieniemy (1,751 combined in 1987-88; he went on to become CU's all-time leading rusher). He was 2-for-2 on 3rd & 1 today, improving to 12-of-14 for his career on 3rd/4th &1.
WR MARKQUES SIMAS (6-108, 0 TD) The CU sophomore closed out the season with three 100-yard games in the last four (31 receptions for 463 yards). The 31 receptions over the four-game span are the most in CU history (old mark was 30 by Charles E. Johnson (1992) and Derek McCoy (2003), and he tied D.J. Hackett for the most consecutive games with six catches or more with four.
WR SCOTTY McKNIGHT (7-114, 2 TD) He finished the season with 76 receptions for 893 yards; those numbers rank tied for second and seventh for a single-season at CU. He will enter his senior year with 165 receptions, second all-time and just two behind leader Michael Westbrook, who had 167 between 1991-94. He has 1,900 career yards, seventh all-time on that list, and 15 TD receptions, tied for fifth on that list. He also extended his regular season streak to 36 games with at least one reception (every game of his career, 37 including postseason). His 56-yard TD catch to close the game was the longest pass reception of his career (previous long was 40 his freshman year).
QB SACKS (4-15) With two sacks on Nebraska's first possession by ILB Marcus Burton and then SS Ben Burney, the Buffs posted at least one sack in every game this year, the first time that has happened since 1996; the Buffs have had a sack in 20 consecutive games (note: after last week's OSU game, CU was credited with a sack for OLB Tyler Ahles' fourth down tackle of QB Weeden). Including a DT Will Pericak sack for 0 (CU has historically kept like the NFL but the NCAA does not recognize), the Buffs finished the year with 29 sacks, a high in the four-year Dan Hawkins Era and the most since CU had 31 in 2004.
DEFENSE SHINES CU limited NU to two touchdowns, just four penetrations of its territory (one red zone), ahd held the Husker to CU opponent season lows of one play of 20-plus yards, six plays of 10-plus yards and 18 plays of 5-plus yards.
CB CHA'PELLE BROWN (10,1-11 TT; 2 TFL/1 QBS, 3 3DS, 1 TZ) He closed out his career in style, making the first three tackles of the game and finishing his career with 257, just the 30th player at Colorado to record 250 or more, joining teammate Jeff Smart, who did it earlier in the year. He was awarded with the Buffalo Heart Award postgame by the fans behind the bench.
COLORADO INJURIES DT Curtis Cunningham (knee strain; probable for Colorado State next September).
