Cyclones Strong Second Half Propel ISU to 35-27 Victory

Saturday, November 11

Boulder, Colo.

TBA

Iowa State

Colorado

Cyclones Strong Second Half Propel ISU to 35-27 Victory

11.11.2000 | Football

By: Iowa State University

BOULDER, Colo. - Sage was the rage.

Negotiating a slick field on a snowy Saturday, Sage Rosenfels ran for 140 yards and two touchdowns and threw a 44-yard TD pass to lead Iowa State to a 35-27 victory over Colorado.

"He definitely hurt us, and that's disappointing," Colorado cornerback Robbie Robinson said. "You don't let a quarterback like that who is not very mobile run around and make you look like he is Gale Sayers."

After the game, Rosenfels seemed more excited about the frigid conditions than his sizzling stats.

"They were the best," he said. "For some reason, all week, we expected bad conditions. It was weird that this week, we were actually happy that it was 20 or 30 degrees out there."

J.J. Moses added five catches for 105 yards for the Cyclones (7-3, 4-3 Big 12), who ended a 16-game losing streak to Colorado and reached seven wins for the first time since 1978.

The victory put Iowa State in position for its first bowl invitation in 22 years.

"Our goal at the beginning of the year was to go into the Kansas game (next week) with a bowl wrapped up, playing for a bigger one," Cyclones coach Dan McCarney said. "This is a great feeling. We aren't stopping here."

Colorado (3-7, 3-4) committed four turnovers but still had a chance to tie it in the final minutes. The threat ended when the Cyclones recovered a fumble by Scott Nemeth at the Iowa State 10 with 1:49 remaining.

"I think of all the losses we had this year, this one was the hardest for me to deal with," Buffs coach Gary Barnett said. "We really gave them this. That game was there for us to win in so many different ways."

Following Colorado's final turnover, Iowa State ran out the clock after a 15-yard run by Ennis Haywood, the Big 12's leading rusher. Haywood had 81 yards on 18 carries and has 1,047 yards on the season.

Despite a 19-degree temperature and steady snow, the two teams combined for 889 total yards. Quarterbacks did much of the damage.

Rosenfels, whose rushing total was the best for an Iowa State quarterback since 1992, finished 15-of-26 for 173 passing yards. Craig Ochs completed 25 of 34 passes for 307 yards for Colorado.

"We didn't come in this thing expecting Sage to rush for over 100 yards," McCarney said. "He made some good decisions and timely decisions."

Colorado running back Cortlen Johnson ran for three touchdowns and Javon Green caught nine passes for 167 yards.

The Buffs, playing their last home game of the season, controlled the game early and had a 20-12 halftime lead before self-destructing in five minutes of the third quarter.

Wide receiver Eric McCready fumbled on the opening drive of the second half, leading to a 1-yard scoring run by Rosenfels.

The 2-point conversion failed, but Iowa State took the lead for good when Moses caught a 44-yard TD pass with 4:45 left in the third. Rosenfels hit Haywood on the 2-point try for a 26-20 lead.

Ochs threw an interception on the next play, and Doug Densmore's 51-yard return set up another 1-yard scoring dive by Rosenfels to make it 32-20 with 3:39 left in the quarter.

"The ball bounced our way in the second half. The harder you work, the luckier you get," Densmore said. "This showed our work ethic."

Colorado pulled to 32-27 on a 5-yard scoring pass from Ochs to McCready 3:24 later, but the Buffs' only fourth-quarter possessions ended in two fumbles.

Carl Gomez's third field goal of the game, a 46-yarder following a Colorado fumble, capped the scoring with 6:42 remaining.

"Turnovers were definitely the difference in the game," Ochs said. "Of the three drives that we turned the ball over, we had decent field position and a chance to score. You can't shoot yourself in the foot like that."

Johnson, playing with a bruised big toe, helped Colorado take an early 13-3 lead with two 7-yard TD runs in the first quarter, the first coming after Rosenfels fumbled.

Iowa State responded with a 12-play, 82-yard drive capped by Haywood's 1-yard TD run, but Johnson scored for the third time in the half on a 16-yard scoring run.

The Cyclones pulled to 20-12 on Gomez's 27-yard field goal.