With less than two minutes to go, Nebraska’s football team trailed Colorado 31-30, and had fourth-and-25 at CU’s 40-yard line. It might as well have been fourth-and-a-prayer.

Good thing sophomore kicker Alex Henery was there to answer it.

In the one of the wildest finishes in the NU-CU rivalry, sophomore Henery, who proudly wore an Omaha Burke shirt in the post-game press conference, nailed a school-record 57-yard goal – arguably the greatest, most clutch kick in Nebraska football history - to take a 33-31 lead over the Buffaloes. Then junior defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, capping off a brilliant season, returned an interception for a touchdown in a wild 40-31 victory Friday.

Nebraska won its eighth game and likely secured a berth in the Gator Bowl. Colorado went home with a losing season blank, stunned faces after playing its best game of the year.

“All I remember is hitting the ball,” an almost sheepish Henery said. “And I don’t remember much after that. I don’t remember watching it go through. I was pretty sure I made it. I felt like I hit the ball real well and it was on target.”

Head coach Bo Pelini had called a timeout before the kick to discuss his options. Going for it wasn’t much of one. And kickoff specialist Adi Kunalic, who has a booming leg, wasn’t much either, considering he hadn’t kicked many field goals in 2008. So it came down to Henery, who had made 10 of 13 field goals coming into the game and had easily made his first three attempts, all inside 40 yards.

Pelini approached the kicker and asked Henery if he could make it. Henery wasn’t sure initially.

“I’ll admit I was a little iffy on the yardage,” Henery said. “I knew it was long.”

Then Henery walked around for a minute. Pelini returned.

“I just wanted him to look me in the face and tell me he felt he had it in him,” Pelini said.

Henery told Pelini “I’ve been hitting pretty good today, Coach. I got it.” And so he did, clearing the uprights by at least three yards. Henery took off toward the end zone, and was mobbed around the 30-yard line.

“It doesn’t surprise me,” Pelini said. “That guy’s a stud.”

If Henery’s kick wasn’t a shock, most of what transpired in front of 85,319 fans at Memorial Stadium was. CU staked a 14-0 lead less than five minutes into the contest, hung tough through the first, got the gift to end all gifts on a botched fake field goal by NU, and nearly stole the game in the fourth quarter. Nebraska outgained the Buffaloes 407-291, had 10 more first downs, 29 more plays and nearly doubled Colorado in time of possession.

But CU had the edge in big plays, scoring on a 68-yard pass from quarterback Cody Hawkins to tight end Riar Greer on the game’s second play, and putting together a two-play, 80-yard touchdown drive – capped off by Demetrious Sumler’s 36-yard sweep around left end – shortly thereafter.

“I was like ‘Are you kidding me?” Suh said.

Nope. Nebraska answered with two touchdowns of its own – a two-yard Joe Ganz pass to Nate Swift and a 53-yard Ganz connection with tight end Mike McNeill, working against single coverage – and settled in for the long fight. The Huskers then handed CU a touchdown right before halftime, as Pelini called a fake field goal pass in which holder Jake Wesch was supposed to flip the ball backwards to Henery, who would then throw downfield.


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Josh Wolfe/Statepaper

Ndamukong Suh on his interception return.
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Cornerback Jimmy Smith intercepted the flip, though, and raced 58 yards for a touchdown to send the game into half at a 24-all tie.

“I felt the game changed when I made that call,” Pelini said. “I’m a grown man, and I made a mistake. I got greedy at that point…it would have been hard for me to live with that.”

In the second half, NU repeatedly shot itself in the foot once it reached the red zone, settling for two field goals and fumbling away more points when Ganz and sophomore running back Quentin Castille collided. CU’s single, 64-yard touchdown drive – the only drive longer than six plays for the Buffs – looked like it was going to hold up, thanks to bend-but-don’t break defense and Hawkins’ crafty play.

“Our guys battled, scrapped, they gave it everything they had, not an inch left,” Colorado Coach Dan Hawkins said.

NU’s final offensive drive started with promise, as sophomore running Roy Helu, Jr. – who rushed for a career-high 166 yards on 25 carries, had consecutive runs of 16 and 25 yards to reach CU’s 25 yard line. After a run for no gain on first down offensive coordinator Shawn Watson called a playaction pass intended to score a touchdown. Ganz faked to Helu, rolled to his right, and was promptly stuffed for a 15-yard loss.

“They called the perfect blitz,” Ganz said.

Said Watson: “I can help Joe more on that play. I could make a better call. It’s my mistake. I fix it.”

It left NU with third-and-25. McNeill dropped a perfectly thrown pass from Ganz through his legs, which forced Pelini to call on Henery.

“I kinda got a seat behind him to tell and gauge,” Ganz said. “As soon as he kicked it, I thought it was in.”

“I was praying – a lot,” senior offensive guard Matt Slauson said. “It was do-or-die time…and it was perfect.”

Pelini’s thought after the make: Stop CU, which still had more than 90 seconds to drive the field and make a kick of its own.

Not a problem. Senior defensive end Zach deflected his second Hawkins pass of the day, and Suh caught the ball at the 30, sprinted down the left sideline, and encountered Hawkins inside the 10. Go down? No way. Suh stiff-armed Hawkins and tumbled into the end zone, touching off a celebration inside Memorial Stadium that was even louder than the one after Henery’s field goal.

“I was going to carry him into that end zone if I had to,” Suh said.

Said Pelini: “He thinks he’s Walter Payton.”

So ended a game that Pelini figured Nebraska was due to win, considering NU lost games vs. Virginia Tech and Texas Tech in similar, dramatic fashion.

“I told the team after the game it was fitting that we won that way,” Pelini said. “They’ve showed resolve all year. They showed character. They look adversity in the eye and they keep coming back.”





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