Tulsa World: Nebraska edges Colorado

TULSA WORLD HOMEPAGE | Tuesday, February 09, 2010 | WIRELESS

OU | OSU | TU | ORU | HIGH SCHOOLS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL | COLLEGE BASKETBALL | NFL | FANTASY | OUTDOORS | GOLF | PROS | ALL

HOMEPAGES

SPORTS EXTRA BLOGS

		Sports Editor Mike Strain
		Sports Columnist Dave Sittler
		The Picker Entertaining & Infuriating

LOCAL PROS

ALL SPORTS

PHOTOS & VIDEOS

OUTDOORS

FIND A STORY

Search the World's archives

EMAIL ALERTS

SOCIAL MEDIA

RSS FEEDS

CONTACT US

BUY PHOTOS & PAGES

Buy a published photo by clicking the "Order this Picture" link on the photo. For a full-color page reprint, call 732-8198 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday or order online.

TULSA WORLD

ADVERTISE ON SPORTS EXTRA

Learn more about the site.

Newspaper View Print this story

Bookmark

Nebraska edges Colorado

Nebraska safety Austin Cassidy flips Colorado tailback Brian Lockridge after a short gain Friday. David Zalubowski / Associated Press

By Associated Press
Published: 11/28/2009 2:29 AM
Last Modified: 11/28/2009 8:12 AM

The Nebraska Cornhuskers had just as tough of a tuneup for the Big 12 championship game as No. 3 Texas did one day earlier.

Nebraska struggled on offense but thanks to touchdowns on a punt return and an interception, the Cornhuskers held off the Buffaloes 28-20 on an unseasonably warm Friday afternoon at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo.

Up next is the conference championship against Texas, which had its hands full against Texas A&M on Thanksgiving before winning 49-39 to keep its national championship hopes alive.

The Cornhuskers (9-3, 6-2) already had secured the Big 12 North title, but coach Bo Pelini forbade his staff and players from even mentioning the looming game against the Longhorns in Arlington, Texas, on Dec. 5 — and for good reason.

One day after learning their embattled coach would return next season, the Buffaloes (3-9, 2-6) put up a good fight but finally fizzled in their finale of one of the most disappointing seasons in the program's history.

Dan Hawkins, who was informed on Thanksgiving that he'd be back in Boulder for a fifth year, is 16-33 with four losing seasons, a 2-20 road record and a 10-22 mark in conference play since bolting Boise State in 2006 to clean up a program tarnished during Gary Barnett's regime.

Although he's succeeded in that regard, he has lost games and fans by the bunches.

But athletic director Mike Bohn decided to give him another year rather than a pink slip and a $3.1 million buyout, and he informed the players after their walkthrough on Thanksgiving Day.

despite a tenacious defense, Colorado couldn't keep the Huskers out of the end zone.

Niles Paul's 59-yard punt return TD straight up the middle of the field put Nebraska ahead 7-0 and triggered the release of hundreds of red and white balloons by their fans that made Folsom Field look and sound more like Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.

Mangino's fate adds to border clash: The last thing this ancient and acrimonious rivalry needed was an extra adrenaline jolt.

Kansas and Missouri are so quarrelsome already, they can't even agree on who has beaten whom the most.

Two things both sides do agree upon are that Mark Mangino is 4-3 against Missouri (7-4, 3-4), and the embattled coach may be leading Kansas (5-6, 1-6) for the final time Saturday in Kansas City, Mo., in the 119th renewal of college football's second-oldest rivalry.

For two tense weeks, Kansas has been conducting an internal investigation into Mangino's treatment of players.

It has become obvious that Mangino and his boss, athletic director Lew Perkins, are at serious odds. Each man says tersely that they have a good professional relationship. But neither claims any personal warmth toward the other, and the whole mess could wind up in court if the Jayhawks try to fire Mangino for cause and save about $6 million.

Mangino insists he intends to return for a ninth season, but concedes it's not entirely be up to him.

"What I think probably is not as important as what other people are believing or thinking that are involved in this situation," he said. By Associated Press

Newspaper View Print this story

Bookmark

COMMENTS

Add your comment

Show: Most Recent Comment First

0 comments have been made for this team so far. Tell us what you think below!

Reporting Comments

If you see a comment that violates our terms and conditions, please help us by clicking the "Report this Comment" link next to a comment. That will alert the web staff to review the comment. Thank you. -- Web Editor Jason Collington

Add Your Comment
In order to post a comment on this article, you must sign in to Tulsaworld.com. If you do not have a site account, you can create an account for free.