BOULDER, Colo. -- The damage report was swift and considerable from Folsom Field.

Aftershocks were felt as far away as Gainesville, Miami and Norman. Eight high-powered computers were knocked off their foundations. No doubt a few televisions were damaged in Lincoln, Neb.

Chris Brown celebrates the first of what would be a school record six-TD day in Friday's shocking rout.(AP)

But at the epicenter, the perpetrators of the season's biggest upset were surprised only at the width and breadth of Colorado 62, Nebraska 36. The Buffaloes believed they could win. Their jaws dropped as far as the Huskers as the score mounted to historical proportions.

"I'm kind of in shock right now to be honest with you," Colorado offensive tackle Victor Rogers said.

So is the collective college football world. In one swift butt-kicking, Nebraska lost both a game and some of its dignity. In the 112-year history of the Huskers it has never been this bad. No. 14 Colorado scored the most points against No. 2 Nebraska to end an undefeated season that looked like, at least, would land the Huskers in the national championship game.

It ended mostly because a little-known sophomore named Chris Brown rambled through the Blackshirts for an opponent-record six touchdowns.

When asked if he had heard of the previous record holder, Brown -- a Northwestern and Fort Scott (Kan.) Community College transfer -- shot a look like that of a dog that had just been shown a card trick. The 20-year-old Brown was 12 years from being born when Heisman Trophy winner Steve Owens scored five touchdowns for Oklahoma against the Huskers.

"This is a terrible feeling because we had played so well for 11 games," said Nebraska defensive tackle Jeremy Slectha who watched Brown go for 198 yards. "They played great and we played like crap."

It was a bad day for historical references anyway. Colorado (9-2) finds itself in the nouveau Big 12 title game for the first time in its six-year history.

"Buffs, 2001," screamed a Colorado fan as his peers rushed the field. "Going to St. Louis, baby."

Perhaps they didn't even figure on being in the conference championship. The game, against either Oklahoma or Texas, will be played Dec. 1 in Dallas. It has been played in St. Louis twice in the past.

Looking like a Rose Bowl participant heading into the game, Nebraska (11-1) might have dropped off the BCS radar screen because of the huge loss. What bowl is going to want to pay $6 million to a team that was beaten by the immortal Bobby Pesavento at quarterback?

"If you lose late, you get nothing," Nebraska I-back Thunder Collins said. " ... Being 11-1 it's not like anyone's going to give us an award or anything."

In the short term, it seems Miami and Oklahoma will be 1-2 in the new Bowl Championship Series standings Monday. BCS No. 4 Florida probably gained the most from Colorado's victory. It is back in the Rose Bowl picture with games left against Tennessee and, if the Gators beat the Vols, the SEC title game.

Most likely, it will be up to those eight BCS computers shaken up Friday to decide if the Sooners or Gators are worthy of the other Rose Bowl slot if Miami wins out.

That is assuming Oklahoma beats Colorado next week, which isn't a safe bet after viewing things from Boulder.

"We shocked the world today, I'll tell you that much," said Pesavento, a backup who has started in place of the injured Craig Ochs for half the season. "But I guarantee we didn't shock anyone around here."

It was that awful for Nebraska and that glorious for Colorado, which handed its hated rival its worst loss in 11 years. Pretty much everything worked for the team embarrassing the nation's No. 2 scoring defense (11.5 points).

Colorado relied on simplicity. When Pesavento was in trouble, he looked for tight end Daniel Graham (four catches, 112 yards and a touchdown). The beauty of it was, he was seldom in trouble, facing long yardage. The meat of the game plan was to run the ball and it was amazingly effective and amazingly executed.

On Colorado's fourth snap, Bobby Purify (154 yards) ran directly up the middle for a 39-yard touchdown. Nebraska should have known then, it was going to be a bad day. Purify had the luxury to slow down near the goal line and deliver a lick to cornerback Dejuan Groce as he entered the end zone.

"The holes were huge," said Brown, who had only four carries for eight yards in the last three games. "We weren't getting touched until 10 yards down the field. We were breaking those tackles, so it was easy."

Excuse Brown's sense of history. He was raised in the Chicago suburb of Naperville, signed with Barnett at Northwestern in 1999 and was redshirted.

"I followed the Big Ten growing up," he said.

When Barnett departed for Colorado, Brown transferred to Fort Scott to play in 2000 instead of sitting out another year.

The 6-foot-3, 220-pounder was merely part of Barnett's four-back rotation this year. But in recent weeks, ineffective play and injuries had limited his playing time further. Maybe he didn't show up on Colorado's game film. That is at least an excuse Nebraska is free to use.

It will go down as a terrible day for Nebraska but a catastrophic day for Nebraska's safeties -- Dion Booker, Philip Bland, Aaron Terpening and Willie Amos. When the Colorado backs were touched in the secondary, they usually broke free.

"They were scared," Brown said of the safeties. "They didn't want to hit none of our backs. They act like they're No. 1 team in the country. I think they took us for granted. I think they thought they were going to come in and manhandle us like they do every year.

"We were blowing them off the ball. It's like they didn't want it that much."

There is nothing like revenge when your biggest rival has won the last five by a total of 15 points.

Colorado won for the first time in 11 years in the series, putting up the fourth-most yards (582) against Nebraska. Nebraska's rush defense, which was allowing 93 yards per game, surrendered 223 by halftime as the Buffs led 42-23.

"It's almost like we just got our paycheck," said Rogers, a senior who has been around for all five games. "We just got our payoff."

Colorado led 35-3 at one point before Nebraska gathered its wits. With a quick second-half start, it was starting to look like the Huskers had enough to make the biggest comeback in NCAA history from 32 points down.

But Nebraska I-back Dahrran Diedrick fumbled at the goal line six and a half minutes into the third quarter when a touchdown could have cut the lead to 12. A trampling for the ages was on and the possibilities for Colorado were only beginning to sink in.

"It was almost too overwhelming a win," Barnett said. "I think if it was close, it would have sunk in by now."