Boulder, Colo. ? Joel Klatt headlined a big night of offense for Colorado, throwing for 211 yards in the first quarter Saturday en route to a 398-yard, three-touchdown game and a 41-20 victory over surprisingly overmatched Texas A&M.

Klatt connected with Hugh Charles for a 51-yard touchdown to open the scoring less than two minutes into the game. The Buffs (4-1 overall, 2-0 Big 12 Conference) scored on their next two possessions and had a 21-0 lead after the first quarter.

Colorado finished with 559 yards against Texas A&M (3-2, 1-1), which came into the game ranked last in the Big 12 in passing yards allowed and 11th overall.

Indeed, the Aggies showed signs they might be in for a struggle this season when they almost allowed Baylor its first Big 12 road victory in 37 tries before winning, 16-13, last week.

And while this hardly ranked with A&M’s 77-0 loss at Oklahoma two years ago, it was much uglier than anyone expected from a three-point underdog — a non-competitive effort that certainly will ratchet up the hand-wringing over Dennis Franchione’s team in College Station.

Adding this to their 34-0 victory over Oklahoma State last week, the Buffs have won two straight against the Big 12 South after nine consecutive losses. The win might be enough to put CU in the top 25 for the first time since Sept. 7, 2003. Next week, the task gets much tougher — a game at No. 2 Texas. Before that, though, CU can enjoy this highlight-reel game.

Klatt, a senior, finished 28-for-36 with no interceptions. This was his third 300-yard game. He was well on the way to his third 400-yard performance, but coach Gary Barnett gave him the night off after he hit Quinn Sypniewski for a 36-yard score and a 41-6 lead midway through the third.

Charles finished with 67 yards rushing, 85 receiving and a four-yard touchdown run to go with his long scoring catch.