Colorado Sneaks by Iowa State

AMES, Iowa - Cortlen Johnson rushed for a career-high 185 yards and Colorado made several key defensive stops in the second half to beat Iowa State 16-12 Saturday.

Colorado (4-3, 3-1 Big 12) overcame the loss of starting quarterback Mike Moschetti (migraine headaches) to beat Iowa State (4-3, 1-3) for the 16th straight time and deal a setback to the Cyclones' bowl hopes.

Redshirt freshman Zac Colvin, making his first start, filled in capably for Moschetti and threw a touchdown pass late in the first half to give Colorado its 16-12 lead.

The Buffaloes also ran the ball better than in any previous Big 12 game as Johnson, a sophomore, carried 31 times and scored a touchdown in topping his previous high of 107 yards against Texas Tech last week.

Iowa State got 172 yards rushing from Darren Davis and threatened continually in the second half, but Colorado made the plays it needed to stop the Cyclones.

Colorado forced an incomplete pass on fourth-and-2 at its own 26 and Damen Wheeler intercepted Sage Rosenfels in the end zone after Iowa State had driven to the 7.

Ben Kelly's interception stopped another Iowa State drive and the Buffaloes forced Iowa State into a decision when they stopped Davis short of a first down at their own 24. It was fourth-and-3 and Iowa State coach Dan McCarney opted for the field goal, which Mike McKnight missed from 41 yards out with 4:24 left.

Colorado then ran out the clock.

Colvin, who had thrown only 15 passes this season, completed 14-of-23 for 116 yards with one interception. His touchdown pass, a 6-yarder to Daniel Graham with 11 seconds left in the first half, gave Colorado its 16-12 lead.

Davis, who carried 33 times, moved into second place on Iowa State's career rushing chart and became the first ISU player to rush for 1,000 yards in three different seasons. He has 1,097 yards for the season and 3,472 in his career.

His brother, Troy, is the leader with 4,382.

Down 6-0 after McKnight kicked first-quarter field goals of 42 and 35 yards, Colorado took advantage of a 15-25 mph wind at its back in the second quarter to take the lead.

Jeremy Aldrich kicked a 45-yard field goal with 10:43 left in the quarter and the Buffaloes got the ball back at the Iowa State 41 after forcing the Cyclones to punt into the wind from their own 4.

Six plays later, Johnson broke two tackles on a 4-yard touchdown run to put Colorado ahead. Iowa State regained the lead on at 12-10 on Rosenfels' 21-yard touchdown pass to J.J. Moses, a perfectly thrown ball that split two defenders in the end zone with 1:09 left.

That was enough time for Colorado to get back on top. Kelly returned the kickoff 33 yards to the Iowa State 49 and the Buffaloes needed only 58 seconds to score.

Runs of 20 and 11 yards by Johnson took the ball to the 18 and three plays later, Colvin flipped a 6-yard pass to a wide open Graham in the end zone.

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Players Mentioned

Darren Davis

Darren Davis

Mike McKnight

Mike McKnight

Sage Rosenfels

Sage Rosenfels

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