SAN DIEGO -- Koy Detmer threw for 371 yards and three touchdowns as eighth-ranked Colorado rallied from a 14-point deficit for a 33-21 victory over No. 13 Washington in the Holiday Bowl on Monday night.
Detmer, whose brother Ty quarterbacks the Philadelphia Eagles, was 25 for 45 as Colorado (10-2) won its fourth straight bowl game.
Ty Detmer was 0-2-1 in the Holiday Bowl with Brigham Young from 1989-91, including a 65-14 loss to Texas A&M in 1990. Detmer had both of his shoulders separated in that loss, a sour end to his Heisman Trophy season.
"I'm going to bring it up to him," Koy Detmer said after his one and only bowl start. "I didn't want to talk to him before the game because I wanted to get a win first."
Rick Neuheisel became just the fifth coach in Division I-A history to win 10 or more games in each of his first two seasons.
"My game plan from the outset was to put it in the quarterback's lap," Neuheisel said. "I felt Koy could handle the protection, I thought he could handle changing the routes, I thought he could handle darn near anything that came his way. I wanted him to go out controlling his own destiny and I think he did so magnificently."
Koy Detmer was selected offensive MVP for the game. Ty Detmer, incidentally, was twice a Holiday Bowl offensive MVP.
"We're out of Detmers," Neuheisel said. "I keep telling (parents) Sonny and Betty they'd better get me another one."
Said Koy Detmer, "He's (Neuheisel) a helluva coach, he gets the best out of everybody. Hats off to my teammates, they were catching, blocking tackling, everything."
Corey Dillon ran for two touchdowns in the first quarter for Washington (9-3), which fell to 3-5-1 all-time against Colorado.
Washington led 14-0 late in the first quarter, but ended up losing its third straight bowl game.
"We faced an ouststanding team from Colorado," said Washington coach Jim Lambright. "The Colorado team dominated us on both sides of the line. This team (Washington) dropped too many balls and Colorado made the big plays."
Dillon gained 109 yards on 20 carries in the first half, but was limited to 31 yards on 10 rushes as the Huskies were shut out in the second half.
Dillon scored on a 2-yard to give Washington a 7-0 lead just under three minutes into the game. He had runs of 15- and 25-yards to key the Huskies' eight-play, 65-yard drive.
Dillon's 12-yard touchdown extended Washington's lead to 14-0 with 3:10 left in the first quarter. Freshman Brock Huard was 4-for-4 for 46 yards on the 63-yard drive and finished 21 of 37 for 203 yards and one interception.
Detmer tossed a 76-yard TD pass to Rae Carruth as Colorado cut the deficit in half just 45 seconds later. The touchdown pass was the longest in Holiday Bowl history, surpassing the 65-yard strike from Navy's Bob Lescynski to Phil McConkey in the inaugural contest in 1978.
Carruth had nine receptions for 162 yards.
Defensive end Nick Ziegler intercepted Huard and returned it 31-yards for a touchdown as the Buffaloes tied it 14-14 four minutes into the second quarter.
"It was a once in a lifetime chance," Ziegler said. "Coach (Jon) Embree said they were doing a three-step drop so get our hand up on defense. I saw the ball for a split second, it hit my right hand and rolled into my hands. I figured I'd better run or somebody will hurt me."
Jerome Pathon returned the ensuing kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown, giving the Huskies their final lead, 21-14. It was the first time a kickoff was returned for a score in Holiday Bowl history.
Detmer threw a 7-yard pass to Darrin Chiaverini to cap a 79-yard drive as Colorado tied it 21-21 with 8:26 to go in the first half. Chiaverini caught seven passes for 94 yards.
Jeremy Aldrich put the Buffaloes ahead to stay 24-21 with a 42-yard field goal 1:50 before halftime. His 36-yard kick increased the lead to 27-21 midway through the third quarter.
Detmer hooked up with Carruth on a 4-yard pass for the final score with 8:34 left in the game.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th TOTAL
Colorado (8) 7 17 3 6 33
Washington (13) 14 7 0 0 21
| Washington- | Dillon 2 run (R Jones kick) |
| Washington- | Dillon 12 run (R Jones kick) |
| Colorado- | Carruth 76 pass from Detmer (Aldrich kick) |
| Colorado- | Ziegler 31 interception return (Aldrich kick) |
| Washington- | Pathon 86 kickoff return (R Jones kick) |
| Colorado- | Chiaverini 7 pass from Detmer (Aldrich kick) |
| Colorado- | FG Aldrich 42 |
| Colorado- | FG Aldrich 36 |
| Colorado- | Carruth 4 pass from Detmer (two-point conversion failed) |
| Colorado (8) | Washington (13) | |
| First downs | 24 | 18 |
| Rushed-yards | 30-43 | 37-138 |
| Passing yards | 371 | 203 |
| Sacked-yards lost | 1-6 | 5-29 |
| Return yards | 63 | 11 |
| Passes | 25-45-0 | 21-37-1 |
| Punts | 5-34.6 | 7-37.1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 3-1 | 1-0 |
| Penalties-yards | 5-39 | 7-75 |
| Time of possession | 29:36 | 30:24 |
PASSING
RECEIVING
Att: 54,749
Individual Statistics
RUSHING
Colorado-Troutman 9-22, L Henry 11-14, Fisk 5-14,
Abdul Rahmaan 1-minus 1, Detmer 4-minus 6. Washington-Dillon
30-140, Huard 7-minus 2.
Colorado-Detmer 25-45-0-371. Washington-Huard
21-37-1-203.
Colorado-Carruth 7-162, Chiaverini 7-94, L Henry
3-37, Troutman 3-10, Lepsis 2-17, Kidd 1-17, Anderson 1-17,
Savoy 1-17. Washington-Pathon 5-96, Coleman 5-38, Dillon 3-31,
Janoski 3-20, Cleeland 2-2, Reed 1-6, Kissel 1-6, G Harris 1-4.
