Fresno State Athletics
Football Loses Heartbreaker to No. 16 Colorado, 29-21
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
September 12, 1998
Box score
BOULDER, Colo. (AP)- Thanks to a phantom tackle, No. 16 Colorado remained unbeaten on Saturday. Trailing 14-3 in the first half and then leading 29-14 early in the fourth quarter, Colorado needed a goal-line stand to avoid the potential of overtime and a possible loss to a 21 1/2-point underdog.
The defensive stand in the final minute preserved the Buffaloes' 29-21 victory on Saturday, although no one was quite sure who made the key hit on the stand.
Mike Moschetti threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Javon Green early in the fourth quarter, capping a 26-point flurry and giving the Buffaloes (2-0) a 15-point lead.
Fresno State (0-1) made it 29-21 on Jaime Kimbrough's 4-yard run with 6:56 left, then used a blocked punt by Justin Johnson to set up a last-minute scoring chance at the Colorado 2-yard line.
But quarterback Billy Volek, trying to sneak across from the 1-foot line on third down, fumbled and Colorado end Nick Ziegler recovered with 22 seconds left.
"Excellent, excellent team play," coach Rick Neuheisel said of the goal-line stand. "I thought the kids really rallied as they did for most of the second half."
Several Colorado players credited end Fred Jones with forcing the fumble, but Jones said he didn't believe he made the play. Other players said it appeared Volek's elbow came in contact with a helmet, knocking the ball loose. Replays were inconclusive.
There was no doubt about who recovered it. "I saw the ball rolling and just jumped on it," Ziegler said. "I wanted the ball."
Dwayne Cherrington scored a third-quarter touchdown and ran for 47 yards in the fourth quarter for the Buffaloes, who have won 11 straight home openers.
Neuheisel was upset that Fresno played with more intensity than his team.
"This certainly shows that maybe we're not the team that everybody wrote about" after last week's 42-14 romp over Colorado State, he said. "We are far, far from a finished product."
Fresno State coach Pat Hill wanted no part of a moral victory.
"We don't want to be classified as a second-class Division I football team," he said. "We should be able to come in here to a big school and win a big game. I truly came in here believing we would win.
"We had a good game plan and we stuck to it. We made plenty of plays that put us in a position to win. But we didn't come through when we had to, and that's the bottom line. Colorado made the big plays at critical times."
Fresno State scored touchdowns on its first two possessions and held a 14-12 halftime lead.
After Colorado went three-and-out to open the game, the Bulldogs marched 77 yards in 13 plays for a 7-0 lead. Kimbrough accounted for 61 yards on the drive, including a 14-yard run and an 18-yard pass, and Volek sneaked the final yard.
Moschetti's 40-yard pass to Cedric Cormier set up Jeremy Aldrich's 34-yard field goal later in the opening quarter.
On Fresno State's next possession, Kimbrough had a 15-yard run and Volek passed 22 yards to tight end Scott Thompson. Volek bootlegged 3 yards around right end for the score.
Colorado made it 14-9 with 3:38 remaining in the half when Marcus Stiggers ran 27 yards on an end-around. The Buffaloes were whistled for a celebration penalty, however, and Aldrich's extra-point attempt from 35 yards was wide right.
Moschetti completed passes of 12 and 21 yards to Green to set up Aldrich's 30-yard field goal as time expired in the half.
Colorado fashioned an 80-yard, 16-play drive in the third quarter, capped by Cherrington's 1-yard run with a pitchout.
Three plays later, Kimbrough fumbled and Colorado's Rashidi Barnes recovered at the Bulldogs' 23. Aldrich made it 22-14, kicking a 32-yard field goal, his eighth in a row to tie a school record.
Early in the fourth quarter, Cherrington ran for 17 yards and Moschetti passed 16 yards to Darrin Chiaverini, and Moschetti hit Green for the score.
Midway through the period, the Bulldogs went 48 yards in three plays for a TD. Kimbrough took a screen pass 22 yards, and Volek scrambled 22 yards to the 4, setting up Kimbrough's score.
Moschetti left the game with three minutes left with bruised ribs, and Fresno threatened when Johnson stormed up the middle to block Nick Pietsch's punt, giving Fresno possession at the Colorado 2 with 1:14 left.
Kimbrough was dumped for a 3-yard loss by Ziegler, then took a pitchout 4 yards to the 1. After Colorado was penalized for having 12 men on the field and the ball was advanced only inches, Volek tried to sneak up the middle, was momentarily stopped and then had the ball knocked free.
