November 23, 2001 DREAM SEASON UP IN SMOKE. Colorado crushes Husker hopes of national championship with stunning 62-36 win. Nebraska’s hunt for the national championship is over. Done. We ain’t goin’ to Pasadena. Colorado, a team that quietly went through the season nipping at the heels of the Huskers in the Big 12 North, bit hard and didn’t let go Friday in Boulder. The Buffaloes beat the Huskers 62-36, in a game that not only crushed Husker fans’ hopes of winning it all, but dropped jaws across the country. The jaws are still dropped, even after the teams had showered and went home after the game. So much was riding on the game in Boulder. A trip to Dallas to play Oklahoma in a supreme rematch for the Big 12 championship. The winner would be off to Pasadena to the Rose Bowl to play Miami for the national championship. Eric Crouch was riding high into Heisman Trophy greatness. He had just graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, and was winning the hearts of college football fans all over the world. Nebraska fans had the opportunity to shut up Colorado fans for once and for all with a convincing victory in Boulder after five straight years of nail-biters, in which the Buffaloes came out on the short end of the stick. So much on the line. But we didn’t come through. This one hurt. Big time. We’ll be the first to congratulate Colorado. It was an amazing performance by the Buffaloes, in a game where they scored 42 first-half points against a Blackshirt defense that before today never failed to impress throughout the season. Colorado hit the field running…and passing…from the coin toss. They manhandled the Huskers in the first quarter, and despite a superb effort by the Huskers to get back in the game, one-too-many mistakes sealed the Huskers’ fate. It was a stunning defeat, in a game that most pundits agreed Colorado could win, but never in a million years in such convincing fashion. You and I both know that if the two teams met again tomorrow, the outcome would not be the same. Nebraska would probably beat the Buffs. But you have to give credit where credit is due. Colorado was ready to play and Nebraska didn’t know what hit them. That said, Nebraska has had an incredible season. A huge win over Notre Dame, an impressive play to seal a win over the Sooners of Oklahoma. Hard-fought battles with Texas Tech and Kansas State. Eric Crouch winning game after game, never ceasing to amaze the Husker faithful. So, it’s not the end of the world. We’ve been here before. Remember bitter disappointment after bitter disappointment in the Osborne years before winning the national championship? It happens, it’s college football, and ain’t it great for Colorado. We congratulate them and lift our glass and say, see you next year in Lincoln. More from ESPN More from AP and Yahoo! Husker Hot Pics More from Lincoln Journal-Star More from Omaha World Herald More from Rocky Mountain News Feedback