Buffs down UTEP in Houston

HOUSTON -- Joel Klatt threw for 333 yards and two touchdowns and Mason Crosby kicked four field goals, leading Colorado to a 33-28 victory over Texas-El Paso in the Houston Bowl on Wednesday night.

Klatt keyed a fourth-quarter comeback by the plodding Buffaloes (8- 5), who tried to keep pace with UTEP, which is ranked eighth in the nation in scoring offense. Colorado led 3-0 midway through the first quarter and trailed until seizing the lead late in the game.

Facing a fourth-and-3 at its own 35, Colorado used a bit of trickery. Punter John Torp raced 22 yards around the left end on a fake punt for the first down. Two plays later, Klatt threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Evan Judge for the go-ahead score with 8:43 left.

Klatt was flattened by UTEP defensive end block as he released the ball and didn't see the touchdown. He got up off the turf slowly and wobbled off the field into the arms of celebrating teammates.

Klatt completed 24 of 33 passes, five to Joel Klopfenstein for 134 yards. Bobby Purify rushed 80 yards on 22 carries.

The Miners (8-4) still had a chance to win the game in the final minutes.

On third-and-4 from the UTEP 25, Jordan Palmer completed a 15- yard pass to Johnnie Lee Higgins, keeping a late drive alive. But Palmer misfired badly on his final four passes, and the comeback try fizzled.

Colorado coach Gary Barnett was doused with a Gatorade cooler in the waning seconds, and dozens of players came over to embrace their embattled leader.

Colorado's first bowl victory since the 1999 Insight.com Bowl capped an improbable turnaround for the Buffaloes, who went through an offseason of scandal and turmoil.

Barnett's program was the target of sexual assault claims dating to 1997, followed by an investigation that discovered sex, alcohol and drugs were used as recruiting tools, although there was no evidence that university officials sanctioned it. Then, Barnett was put on three months of administrative leave for making insensitive remarks about two accusers, including a former kicker who said she was raped by a teammate in 2000.

Barnett was reinstated May 28, and began building the foundation for a turnaround from a 5-7 record in 2003.

Colorado won its last three games of the season to earn a share of the Big 12 North title, and Barnett was voted the Big 12 coach of the year.

UTEP came very close to pulling off its first victory over a Big 12 opponent in 12 tries, but couldn't hold off the faster, stronger Buffs in the second half.

Palmer, the younger brother of former Heisman winner Carson Palmer of Southern California, completed his first eight passes for 120 yards as the Miners raced out to an early 14-3 lead.

But Palmer began to struggle, Klatt began to find his rhythm and UTEP began to wear down as Purify began pounding away at the Miners' smaller defensive line.

After Colorado closed within 21-19 on Crosby's 20-yard field goal, the teams traded a couple of quick scores in the first minute of the fourth quarter.

Palmer started UTEP's next drive with a 55-yard pass to Jason Boyd, who went up and over cornerback Lorenzo Sims Jr. to pull in the ball. Three plays later, Palmer threw a pass between four defenders, hitting Higgins in the end zone to give UTEP a 28-19 lead.

But on the first play after the ensuing kickoff, Klatt threw a short pass in the middle of the field to Klopfenstein, and the lumbering 250-pound tight end turned the reception into a 78-yard touchdown.

Palmer finished 22-of-42 for 328 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Boyd had seven catches for 140 yards and Higgins also had seven for 122.

UTEP, which won two more games this season than in the previous three combined, has lost in all three bowl appearances since winning the 1967 Sun Bowl.

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