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After Bernard Jackson threw his second touchdown pass of the game Saturday, the Colorado quarterback pointed to the sky.

His finger wasn’t pointed straight up. It was angled toward the press box, toward offensive coordinator and quarterback coach Mark Helfrich, the man who has helped mold him into a Big 12 quarterback.

In the best overall performance of his career, Jackson threw for 200 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 69 yards and a touchdown in a 33-16 win over Iowa State. It was a glimpse into the potential Helfrich and the coaching staff saw and it also showed the junior may be transforming into a consistent quarterback.

"That boy has grown so much as a player and person," said CU wide receiver Patrick Williams, who caught a 39-yard TD from Jackson. "After what he has gone through with the last staff and not playing that much, to off-the-field stuff, he has been able to get in a rhythm and I couldn’t be more proud of him."

Jackson’s efficient 13-for-19 afternoon was a far cry from his game against Oklahoma on Oct. 24. Jackson threw for only 39 yards and completed just 3-of-14 passes with an interception in a loss to the Sooners.

After that game the coaching staff planned to use a two-quarterback system at Kansas before James Cox broke his thumb during the game.

Then last week against Kansas State Jackson looked like he may be on his way back. He was 10-for-18 with 145 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. John Elway didn’t have to worry about his status as best quarterback to play in Colorado, but that performance was vastly better than three completions in one game.

Now, with his games against KSU and ISU, Jackson may be ready to prove his doubters wrong. He has combined to throw for 345 yards on 23-for-37 passing with no interceptions in the last two weeks. He has also run 18 times for 174 yards and accounted for six touchdowns.

"He did a great job. He really did," CU coach Dan Hawkins said. "The nature of our program, and particularly quarterback, is you really seek perfection, and there were a couple of times I thought he didn’t get some things, but overall I thought he did really well."

The coaching staff seems to have more confidence in him. They opened up the passing game Saturday and employed the vertical attack. The Buffs completed passes of 39, 38, 18 and 17 yards. They also attempted another long pass to Williams that was incomplete in the end zone.

"That’s exactly what (the offense) is supposed to be," Jackson said. "That was what we practiced all week."

Jackson has one more game left in his junior season. The Buffs will have top quarterback recruit Cody Hawkins as a redshirt freshman next season, and highly touted junior college quarterback Nick Nelson from Saddleback CC has committed for next season.

There are no guarantees Jackson will be the starting quarterback next season.

"Once the year is over, it’s over, and there’s no returning starters," Hawkins said. "We’ll sit down and find out who wants to lift, who wants to go out and do extra things and throw. And in spring ball we’ll see who can make plays."

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Archived comments

Good job Jackson. You’ve been given a thankless job this season and you’ve looked great at times and struggled at times. Nebraska will be a real challenge, but you are capable of rising to that challenge. Win at Nebraska and you’ll win over some of your doubters and have a better shot at getting the job next season. Good luck. Go Buffs!

ATLBuff

11/12/2006 12:50:36 PM