University of Colorado police ejected 65 people from Thursday night’s football game against West Virginia — nearly three times more than CU’s first home game this season and more than double the number at last year’s night game.

Of the dozens of people who were kicked out of Folsom Field before the Buffaloes topped the Mountaineers with a stunning field goal in overtime, 43 were ejected for alcohol-related violations, according to CU police.

“It was unbelievably crowded,” said CU sophomore Grace Brown, 19, who left the game before half time because of the “crazy” atmosphere and fans.

Many of the ejections that weren’t explicitly for alcohol violations were related to fighting, said CU police Cmdr. Brad Wiesley.

“There were more fights than I’ve heard of at a game,” he said.

The rise in Folsom Field frays Thursday might have been the result of the game’s 6:30 p.m. start and the nighttime atmosphere of drinking and partying that comes with a late kick-off, Wiesley said.

On one hand, CU spokesman Bronson Hilliard said, an excited crowd makes for an invigorating atmosphere — and, he said, Thursday’s fans were “as excited as any crowd I’ve ever seen.” But, Hilliard said, with adrenaline pumping for a nationally televised game after dark, people can get out of control.

“The problem with night games is that you tend to get a long lead-in time to the game itself,” Hilliard said. “People have more opportunity to drink and more opportunity to get into trouble.”

Hilliard said among the problems that are most concerning are the traffic jams at the entrance gates into Folsom Field just before kick-off and the fights that erupt once students are inside.

“I, myself, kept a couple of kids from going at it,” Hilliard said. “One guy from West Virginia and one guy from CU were mouthing off and ready to go.”

CU this semester has sent e-mails to students and posted bulletins around the campus reminding people to follow the school’s code of conduct all the time, including on game day. The messages included information on smart partying, game-day sportsmanship and stadium etiquette.

“Small acts of individual misconduct can come back to bite students,” Hilliard said. “If you violate the alcohol and drug rules, we take that seriously.”

After Thursday’s game, CU police reported that hundreds of fans flooded University Hill. Students flocked to house parties and crowded bars, and although there were no major incidents following the dramatic overtime win, there were plenty of minor problems, police reported.

More than two hours after the game ended — about 1 a.m. — CU police had issued 13 citations for underage drinking; referred 25 students to CU’s Office of Judicial Affairs for drinking, fighting, “gate-crashing” or disorderly conduct; sent 11 people to a detox center; and arrested one person.

During CU’s last night game, Sept. 15, 2007, fewer people were ejected and there were fewer fights. According to CU police statistics, 30 people were ejected from that game against Florida State University, five people were cited for underage drinking and nine students were referred to CU’s Office of Judicial Affairs.

“We’re disappointed by the numbers after some night games, and that they seem to be higher than regular day games,” Hilliard said. “But we’ll keep working on it. ... We’ll keep doing what we can.”