BOULDER, Colo. -- Even though they had held the lead for most of the game, the Longhorns were still living off life-support systems heading down the stretch.
Leading 24-21 in the fourth quarter, Texas had followed all the prescriptions for a win, and it looked as though it was going to check out of Folsom Field's operating room in great shape.
But at the most crucial point of Saturday's game, Texas linebacker Matt Jones tripped on the cord and jerked the systems out of the wall.
The Buffaloes were driving the field midway through the fourth quarter, and the Longhorns had finally stopped Colorado on a third-and-10 play. Colorado quarterback John Hessler overthrew two receivers to force a fourth-down play from Texas' 38.
But Jones nailed Colorado receiver Chris Anderson for a 15-yard personal foul penalty, and CU had new life and renewed vigor on the Texas 23 with a first down.
The drive ended seven plays later with a sneak by Hessler to give the Buffaloes a 28-24 lead. It turned out to be the game-winning score as the Longhorns could not connect on consecutive Hail Marys as time expired.
"I turned around as [the ball] went right by [Anderson]," Jones said. "My first instinct was to put my head into him and hit him. ... It set us down in the red zone, and it was critical."
Even though Jones' mental lapse was the most glaring, it was not the only one for Texas in a game that was full of mental breakdowns and fundamental blunders. Texas lost the ball three times inside the 20-yard line to leave it standing at the door with the inability to knock.
* With a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, Texas cornerback Bryant Westbrook had intercepted Koy Detmer's pass and returned it to the 19-yard line. On the Longhorns' first play of the drive, quarterback James Brown threw across the middle and was intercepted by free safety Steve Rosga at the three.
"I've always thought that he was an underrated player," Colorado head coach Rick Neuheisel said of Rosga's play. "He comes through we need him to."
The Buffaloes drove to Texas' 12 and missed a 32-yard field goal.
* Texas had forged a 17-10 lead in the latter stages of the first half. Beginning from its own 41-yard line, Texas tailback Shon Mitchell had gains of five and 11 yards to help Texas get to the CU 22.
Mitchell took a handoff up the middle and gained four yards before losing the ball while in the grasp of a Colorado defender. The Buffs floundered around themselves and were forced to punt.
* With Texas leading 24-21, Hessler turned to his left and pitched the ball into an area that was void of anyone wearing a Colorado jersey. The ball rolled towards the Buffs' end zone and defensive tackle Gray Mosier recovered it for the Longhorns on the Colorado 16.
On second-and-10, Longhorns fullback Ricky Williams was strung wide left and had the ball stripped by linebacker Mike Phillips. Rosga recovered after a six-yard gain by Williams, and Colorado was poised for its game-winning drive.
"I know that Ricky Williams didn't like some of those hits out there," Rosga said. "I saw him get up a little slow after some of them."
The Longhorns had dodged the first two bullets, but they were unable to escape the third.
"Like I've said before, we have a great team here, but we just can't get it done in the fourth quarter," Westbrook said. "There are a couple of plays that I wished we could take back, but I think that the refs made a bad call on that call on Matt Jones. But that's just a part of the game."
Even though all had seemed lost, Texas still had a chance within the last two minutes.
With 3:05 to play, Texas was only 74 yards from a win, and it wasted no time in clawing down the field. Brown hit Wane McGarity for nine yards and Mitchell ran right for an eight-yard pickup.
On first-and-10 from the Colorado 36, Brown hit flanker Mike Adams in full stride down the sideline with a ball that hit him in the hands but fell incomplete.
"The ball hit my hands, my facemask," said Adams, who finished with 114 yards and one touchdown. "It was just a catch that I should have made. I can't say that it cost us the ball game, but it had a lot to do with us not winning the game."
Two plays later, Rosga made his second interception of the day, but Colorado was forced to punt. The Longhorns, with only 37 ticks remaining, tried to throw two long bombs into the end zone, but both fell short.
"You hate to see the ball bounce back up," Neuheisel said of the last-ditch effort by Texas. "Those don't often go through, and we hoped it didn't happen to us."
Texas had essentially shot itself in the foot after drilling the Colorado defense for 363 yards. Mistakes, penalties and crucial turnovers by the Longhorns keyed a Buffs' win that boosted egos and instilled pride in preparation for their season-ending showdown with Nebraska.
"We got away with one today," Colorado's Lendon Henry said while running into the locker room. "We got away with one."
BOULDER, Colo. -- It was supposed to be the start of a new season for Texas.
Texas receiver Mike Adams hoped to make the first six games of the season seem like a bad dream. The real team, he hoped, would play Colorado in Boulder Saturday and erase the memory of the fourth quarter failures and letdowns that has marked this team. And for three quarters Saturday, Texas did just that, outhustling CU and controlling the game.
But then came the fourth quarter with a painful reminder of why the Horns have fallen from national title contention to a losing record: Texas can't get it done at clutch time.
Colorado took advantage of Texas' fourth quarter gifts to win 28-24 in front of 51,108 fans at Folsom Field Saturday. The loss left Texas (3-4, 2-2 in conference) in an uphill battle to win the Big 12 South and kept Colorado (6-1, 4-0) tied for the top spot in the Big 12 North.
"For whatever reason, we're not getting it done," Adams said. "This hurts because we were confident and we wanted to come out, new season and all that."
Texas seemed to have the game in hand, much as they did in three-point losses to Notre Dame and Oklahoma. The Longhorns led 10-0 early, knocked out the Buffaloes' starting quarterback, and seemed to have the edge for most of the game despite being 10-point underdogs on the road. But critical errors, each of which could arguably have been the difference in the game, cost Texas its chance to beat a top 10 team for the first time since 1991.
The first came early in the fourth quarter with Texas up 24-21. Backup Colorado quarterback John Hessler threw an option pitch to no apparent recipient and the balled rolled to the CU 16 before Texas defensive tackle Gray Mosier recovered it.
Two plays later, Texas fullback Ricky Williams looked like he was headed for lots of yardage but was stripped from behind. The fumble was recovered by Buffalo free safety Steve Rosga and Texas missed an opportunity to go up two scores with about ten minutes left in the game.
"That really would have made it difficult for them," Texas head coach John Mackovic said. "We would have been in a position to drive and score and that was a big opportunity for us."
Colorado followed the fumble with a 16, play, 90-yard drive culminating in a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Hessler that proved to be the game winner. The biggest play of the drive, though, came on third and ten at the 38-yard line when Texas linebacker Matt Jones, who had a sack and an interception, hit a receiver away from the play, drawing a personal foul and giving Colorado a first down at the 23-yard line.
"It was a key play at the end of the game," Jones said. "It was an iffy call but I could have held back. It just happened the ref threw the flag."
But Texas still had a chance to win the game when they took the ball at their 26-yard line with 3:05 on the clock. Brown completed a pass to Wane McGarity, then took advantage of a Colorado pass interference, an 8-yard run by Shon Mitchell and a defensive holding penalty to move to the Buffalo 36.
On the following play, Brown found Adams wide open at the 15-yard line, but the receiver dropped it. Two plays later, Rosga intercepted Brown.
"I think maybe I tried to make a move before I caught the ball," said Adams, who caught five passes for 114 yards and a touchdown. "Obviously that was big play in the game. It could have been a potential touchdown or get us closer to scoring a touchdown. Its a catch that I should make. In big time games, you make the catch. ... I can't say it cost us the ball game but it had a lot to do with us not winning it."
The first quarter was a different story. Texas scored first on a 41-yard field goal by Phil Dawson after Jones intercepted Detmer at the 37-yard line. It was the beginning of a rough day for the Heisman candidate.
The Longhorn defense responded by forcing Colorado to punt without gaining a first down. Adams returned the punt 66 yards, his career long and tied for the third longest in UT history.
Then, on third-and-11, Brown avoided a pass rush and lobbed a pass to Texas receiver Wane McGarity in the right corner of the end zone, giving Texas a 10-0 lead less than ten minutes into the game.
Texas had a chance for a bigger lead in the quarter when Texas cornerback Bryant Westbrook intercepted Detmer at the 35-yard line. But Brown was picked off by Rosga at the three on the very next play. Texas and Colorado exchanged deep touchdown passes in the second quarter.
Colorado receiver wrestled the ball away from Texas free safety Chris Carter for a 54-yard touchdown for the Buff's first score of the day. Texas came right back with a 50-yard pass to Adams.
It looked as if Texas received its biggest boost late in the second quarter when Mosier sacked Detmer, slinging the quarterback to the ground for a 6-yard loss. Detmer lay on the ground for several minutes while CU fans booed and Hessler warmed up. Detmer did not return to the game and it is unknown when he'll return to action.
"I had him and just threw him down," Mosier said. "I wasn't trying to hurt him but that's football."
Colorado, behind 183 rushing yards by Herschell Troutman and Lendon Henry, racked up 477 yards to just 363 by Texas. But it was still a game that Texas clearly had in hand. Texas has been edged by two top ten teams by a combined seven points but have nothing to show for it.
"We're a great team," Adams said. "I know we're the best 3-4 team in the country."
But what Texas doesn't know, is how to hold on to fourth-quarter leads.
"That's the question we'd all like an answer to," Texas guard Dan Neil said.
BOULDER, Colo. -- Despite being a victim to fourth-quarter heroics to a backup quarterback and stumbling their way into a losing record, the Longhorns insist they found something that has been missing for a while. Fun.
In losing its fourth game in the last five contests, Texas showed a new spirit it had not displayed since helplessly watching Notre Dame kick a game-winning field goal against them on Sept. 21. It was a kick that not only handed the Horns their first loss of the season, but also it temporarily deflated a team that was dreaming of national championship contention.
Since that moment, the Longhorns have played lifelessly, rarely playing with the fire that had sparked UT to a No. 6 ranking. But on Saturday, players and coaches felt that something had changed.
"When that fire gets hot enough, I think somebody has to rise up," Texas defensive coordinator Gary Darnell said. "There's a sense and a feel for some of our players and I think they've regained some confidence."
Just one month ago, the Texas-Colorado matchup was billed as a future Big 12 showdown, a game in which the winner would likely find top-5 status. But neither team, particularly the Longhorns, lived up to their expectations, and the game was touted as just another conference game.
Few expected Texas to have a chance, but the Horns showed for just under four quarters that they can still be the team media and fans once put on a pedestal. But reality checked in late during the fourth quarter, forcing UT to stare down a long road for the Big 12 South championship.
"I hope everybody and our fans are not down on us, because we're still a good team," Texas cornerback Bryant Westbrook said. "We still have a good chance to do what we need to do and that's get to the Big 12 championship. We just need to go out there and perform."
For most of the game against Colorado, Texas seemed to have regained early-season form. The Horns easily moved the ball against the Buffaloes defense, mixing the pass and run for a 10-0 lead. The Longhorn defense was still soft on the line, but showed a marked improvement over the past games.
Darnell, who spent Saturday's game in the press box instead of his usual position on the sideline, agreed the the Longhorns showed a new enthusiasm for the game. Players also agreed, many admitting it had been missing since the loss to Notre Dame.
"Defensively, the other losses were harder, particularly Oklahoma," Texas linebacker Tyson King said. "When we came on that field [against Oklahoma] we knew that we weren't giving it our all and we weren't playing as hard as we could. Against Colorado, we gave it our all on every play. When we came out and made some mistakes because we're playing hard, they were aggressive mistakes, and that's a change of attitude. It's a good change. [Colorado] was a little intimidated."
Not intimidated enough to fold, however. Colorado showed the difference between the Buffaloes and the Longhorns was one team's ability to do it when it counts and the other's painful incompetence late in a game.
For the Horns, despite a newly found excitement, it was just another disappointing loss in a frustrating season. A loss that several players believe could have been avoided with a little help from the referees.
"We were ready," Westbrook said. "Colorado put no fear in our hearts. We knew we had this game, if it wasn't for a bad call by the refs at the end of the game. [The refs] wanted to give [Colorado] the game. I'm mad because in a game like that, you're supposed to let them play."
Now the Horns likely will have to win every remaining game for a chance at the Big 12 championship. With two conference losses already, and road games against Kansas and Texas Tech, the South's front-runner, Texas can't afford another late-game slip-up or lethargic performance. And its play at Colorado gave coaches reason to believe it will not happen.
"We're supposed to have good effort," Darnell said. "... I really believe [the players] regained their spirit on [Saturday]. We're competing again instead of just going out there and playing ball. I think there was some passion today and I think there will be passion for the remainder of our season. I think we lost our passion after [the Notre Dame] game. I think it's back."
Texas 10 7 0 7 -- 24
Colorado 0 14 7 7 -- 28
Texas FG Dawson 41, 5:45
Texas McGarity 13 pass from J.Brown (Dawson kick), 7:57
Colorado Carruth 54 pass from Detmer (Lesley kick), 3:24
Texas M.Adams 50 pass from J.Brown (Dawson kick), 4:53
Colorado Henry 4 run (Lesley kick), 10:17
Colorado Troutman 13 run (Lesley kick), 11:48
Texas Davis 2 pass from J.Brown (Dawson kick), 2:28
Colorado Hessler 1 run (Lesley kick), 11:50
A--51,100.
Texas Colorado
First Downs 21 27
Rushes-Yards 34-139 50-182
Passing 224 295
Comp-Att-Int 16-35-2 18-34-2
Return Yards 91 32
Punts-Avg 4-40.0 6-44.2
Fumbles-Lost 3-2 1-1
Penalties-Yards 9-71 9-73
Time of Possession 24:56 35:04
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
Texas - Williams 21-81, Mitchell 10-51, J.Brown 3-7.
Colorado - Troutman 24-98, Henry 18-85, Detmer 3-9, Hessler 5-(-10).
PASSING
Texas - J.Brown 16-35-2-224.
Colorado - Detmer 7-15-2-137, Hessler 11-19-0-158.
RECEIVING
Texas - M.Adams 5-114, McGarity 3-31, Fitzgerald 2-20, White 1-27,
Williams 2-16, Davis 2-8, Lewis 1-8.
Colorado - Heffner 6-64, Carruth 3-80, Henry 2-47, Anderson 2-38,
Savoy 2-36, Troutman 2-16, Kidd 1-14.