BOULDER, Colo. – With a stadium half-full of red for a reunion of former conference rivals, Nebraska’s first trip back to Colorado in 10 years needed more than four quarters.
Despite holding a 17-0 halftime lead, the Huskers watched the Buffaloes score 24 points in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime.
In a game where NU was without starting place kicker Barret Pickering due to injury, it of course came down to a final field goal. Senior punter Isaac Armstrong, who filled in as the No. 1 kicker on Saturday, sailed a 45-yard attempt wide right to seal a 34-31 overtime defeat.
Nebraska put up 469 yards of offense, including 356 all-purpose yards and four total touchdowns from quarterback Adrian Martinez, but the second-half let down on both sides of the ball was too much to overcome.
Just like a week ago in the opener, Nebraska’s defense set the tone right away, shutting out Colorado through the first two quarters and holding it to just 84 total yards and six first downs.
Unlike last week, the Huskers’ offense was able to take advantage.
Despite starting its opening series pinned at its own four-yard line, Nebraska wasted no time looking like the unit most expected it’d be going into the season. A quick toss to running back Maurice Washington gave NU some breathing room, and four plays later Martinez found a wide-open JD Spielman for a 65-yard touchdown pass.
After another defensive stop, the Huskers marched down to the Colorado 39 and looked ready to add to their lead. But Martinez was toppled over on a designed keeper and lost the football to give the Buffaloes the ball back.
The Blackshirts continued to stifle CU’s offense, though. With the help of a running into the punter penalty on the Buffaloes, the Huskers put together a 95-yard touchdown drive capped with a five-yard touchdown run by Martinez to make it 14-0 with 6:37 left in the second quarter.
The defense continued its dominance on the ensuing drive when Lamar Jackson snagged a Steven Montez pass for an interception at the CU 43-yard line. That set up a 26-yard field goal by Armstrong to push the lead to 17-0 with 2:47 to go in the half.
That score held into halftime, marking the first shutout in a first half by Nebraska’s defense since Nov. 19, 2016, against Maryland. The Huskers also out-gained Colorado 266-84, including an 8.6-2.6 advantage in yards per play.
Martinez was a perfect 9-of-9 passing for 180 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another 45 and a score in the half.
It took until the final minutes of the third quarter, but Colorado’s offense finally got going and made it past Nebraska’s 30-yard line for the first time of the day. The Buffaloes then finished it off with an 11-yard touchdown run by Jaren Mangham.
On the very first play of CU’s next drive, it took just one play for the Buffaloes to steal the game’s momentum completely. Backed up at their own four-yard line, Colorado ran a flea-flicker out of its own end zone and Montez hit K.D. Nixon on a 96-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 17-14.
That marked the longest play in Colorado football history, topping the previous best of 94 yards.
Nebraska was desperate to come up with a big play, and just like that, Washington answered the call.
Just as Colorado did a drive earlier, the Huskers needed just one play for Martinez to hit Washington on a short pass and let the sophomore do the rest, taking it 75 yards down the sideline for a score.
The shootout kept on firing from there, as Montez connected with Jaylon Jackson for a 57-yard pass that set up a seven-yard touchdown run by Mangham to make it 24-21 with 12:19 still to play.
Another fumble by Martinez on the following possession set Colorado up to take its first lead of the game at the NU 20. But the defense was able to hold CU to a 20-yard field goal James Stefanou that tied it up at 24-24 with 8:30 remaining.
Nebraska’s offense finally got going again next time out, as a 17-yard rush by Martinez on a third-and-long and then a 40-yard scamper by Washington quickly got NU down to the Colorado 15.
Martinez then converted a fourth-and-inches from the six with a six-yard touchdown run, putting the Huskers back on top 31-24 with 5:49 on the clock.
Laviska Shenault broke free on the ensuing kickoff for a big return, but Cam Taylor-Britt chased him down from behind and knocked the ball loose. After a scrum around the ball, it was NU’s Luke Reimer who came up with the recovery at the Nebraska 35.
The Huskers couldn’t do anything with the drive and quickly punted after a three-and-out. Colorado converted a fourth-and-one at midfield to keep the drive alive with under two minutes left, and that led to a 26-yard touchdown pass from Montez to Tony Brown with just 46 seconds to go.
With 46 seconds and only one timeout, Nebraska tried to put on one last march. Instead Martinez was intercepted on a deep pass by Chris Miller, sending the game into overtime.
Nebraska won the overtime coin toss and elected to defend first, and the Blackshirts got the stop they needed to hold Colorado to a 34-yard field goal by Stefanou.
The Huskers’ offense had a chance to win or tie, but two stuffed runs and a sack on Martinez left them in a fourth-and-16. Nebraska trotted out Armstrong for a 45-yard field goal, but the kick sailed wide right.
Nebraska will return to action next week when it hosts Northern Illinois for a 7 p.m. CT kick on FS1.
