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BOULDER, Colorado (Ticker) -- Joey Johnson could have run all the way to College Station. Johnson picked up a fumble by Mark Farris and raced 52 yards for a touchdown in the final minute, clinching Colorado's 31-21 Big 12 Conference victory over previously unbeaten No. 19 Texas A&M. The Buffaloes were clinging to a 24-21 lead as Farris completed four straight passes for 46 yards, moving the Aggies close to field goal range. From the shotgun, he dropped back but was hit from the blind side by linebacker Kory Mossoni and fumbled. Johnson, a junior linebacker who was born in Aurora but grew up 150 miles southwest of the Texas A&M campus in San Antonio, scooped up the loose ball and rumbled untouched into the end zone for his first career touchdown. "Give Mossoni all the credit," said Johnson, who played for the injured Jashon Sykes. "It was a double blitz and we just kept coming. I didn't know if it was really a fumble and I didn't know if the end zone would ever get there." "I was afraid Farris was in the motion of throwing and they were not going to give it to us," Colorado coach Gary Barnett said. "But Joey was right there and the ball bounced right up." The win was the fifth straight for Colorado (5-1, 3-0 Big 12 North), which opened its season with a home loss to Fresno State but has moved into contention for the Big 12 title. The Buffs are 3-0 against ranked teams after going 0-5 in such games last year. They can take a huge step toward the league title next week at Texas. "Beating ranked teams gives us some momentum but now Texas is not going to look past us," said senior cornerback Terrence Wood, who had two interceptions. "Every year here, I've had an opportunity and this year I'm not going to let it slip through my fingers." Derek McCoy and Cortlen Johnson scored TDs and Jeremy Flores kicked three field goals for the Buffs, who erased an early 14-6 deficit and improved to 4-1 all-time against A&M. "What can you say about these guys? We're on a mission," Buffs coach Gary Barnett said. Farris threw for 334 yards and three TD passes for the Aggies (5-1, 2-1 South). Terrence Murphy caught 10 passes for 146 yards and one touchdown and Jamaar Taylor caught nine for 146 and two scores. "We had the momentum in the last driveand we felt good with how we were playing," Texas A&M coach R.C. Slocum said. "We were confident the game was ours, then we fumbled the ball." A 39-yard yard field goal by Flores snapped a 14-14 tie with 2:59 left in the third quarter and Johnson banged in from the 2 with 11:45 to play, giving Colorado a 24-14 lead. Johnson had 64 yards on 14 carries, leading a ground attack that amassed 170 yards. Bobby Purify had 42 yards on 11 carries and Chris Brown added 40 on 10. "I'd hate to be in coach (Eric) Bieniemy's shoes," Johnson said. "He says he's going to go with the hot back, and right now, I think we're all hot. We complement each other well." But Craig Ochs, who completed 14-of-28 passes for 183 yards, was intercepted by Wes Bautivich. Two plays later, Farris found Murphy streaking down the left side for a 36-yard TD with 5:09 to go. Flores kicked field goals of 18 and a career-best 51 yards in the first quarter before Taylor took over in the second period. He got behind the secondary for a 64-yard TD and made a leaping catch in the back of the end zone less than 3 1/2 minutes later, giving the Aggies a 14-6 lead. The Buffs tied it with 12 seconds left in the first half when Ochs found McCoy with a seven-yard slant pattern and the ensuing conversion toss. McCoy caught five passes for 113 yards. "I had a great time and it felt good to get the passing game on the map," McCoy said. Farris completed 30-of-49 passes and was intercepted twice. His arm was virtually the entire offense as A&M had just 42 yards on 19 carries. "We had trouble running the ball today, just like every other team that has played Colorado," Slocum said. "They stack the line and are very aggressive. Fortunately, we were able to pass the ball." Sykes, Colorado's best linebacker, will have surgery in the next 7-10 days to repair a herniated disk.
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