Nov. 29th – Oklahoma State – Sensory Overload

The Buffs responded to their humbling 37-21 loss to Kansas the weekend before with a 52-0 rout of Oklahoma State. In their final games at Folsom Field, quarterback Shedeur Sanders and wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter went out in style. Sanders went 34-for-41 for 438 yards and five touchdowns, with three of those scoring passes going to Hunter. Hunter polished off his Heisman trophy campaign with ten catches for 116 yards, together with an interception on the game’s first drive, setting the tone for the rout.

The Colorado defense was dominant from start to finish. Oklahoma State limped to a 3-9, 0-9 finish with 147 yards of total offense. The Cowboys had all of 61 yards of total offense before the game’s final drive. The Cowboys held the ball for final 8:54 of the fourth quarter, running 16 plays, but still failed to score. CU backup defenders gave ground, but made two stops inside the ten-yard line in the final minute to preserve the shutout.

LaJohntay Wester had his best game of the season, with 11 catches for 175 yards and two touchdowns. The Buff offense struggled during the second quarter, with the Buffs finishing the first two quarters with 179 yards, including 19 carries for 8 yards, thanks to five sacks of Shedeur Sanders (most were on Sanders, not on the offensive line). The offense had their way with the Oklahoma State defense in the second half, finishing with 471 yards of total offense.

“That was a phenomenal finish defensively,” Coach Prime said. “That’s indicative of who we are in how we play the game of football.  Both coordinators, Rob (Livingston) and Pat Shurmur, these guys are so darn good. They’ve been so consistent through the year. They’ve exceeded all expectations. We’ve exceeded all expectations, and I’m really happy where we are. We certainly wanted to take that one extra step last week, and we fell short. But look how we rebounded. Look how we wiped our tears and got back up, got on the horse and yelled, giddy up. And I’m proud of our young men.”

I spent the first half of the CU/Oklahoma State game driving back from my sister’s home in Missoula, where we’d spent Thanksgiving. I was able to track the game, though, listening to the KOA broadcast with Mark Johnson and Coach Barnett. They kept me posted on CU’s fast start, with the Buffs jumping out to a 21-0 lead, as well as the coverage of the sluggish second quarter, with neither team generating any offense.

By the time we got home and settled, the Buffs had scored on the opening series of the third quarter, with Shedeur Sanders hitting LaJohntay Wester on a 69-yard touchdown pass to make it a 28-0 game. The quick touchdown to open the second half essentially allayed my fears that this was going to be another CU meltdown (See: CU/Stanford, 2023; CU/Oregon State, 2018).

Some time later, my wife came downstairs to ask how the game was going. At that point, the Buffs were rolling, up 38-0.

My response?

“Good”.

“Good”???

CU up to No. 20 in latest Associated Press poll; returns to Coaches Poll at No. 22 … ESPN Bowl Projections: ASU an 11- or 12-seed in the Playoff; CU v. BYU in the Alamo Bowl …

Plenty of tickets still available for Shedeur’s and Travis’ final game at Folsom … CU v. OSU, historical … Which single season passing records will Shedeur break on Saturday? …

The CU finale was supposed to be about Rashaan Salaam’s run to 2,000 yards and the Heisman, but on field heroics were over-shadowed by Coach Mac’s surprise announcement … AD Bill Marolt’s choice for successor was also a shock …

OSU has gone from a seventh-year QB to a freshman making his second career start … Cowboys to miss a bowl for the first time in 18 years … Win one for DJ McKinney? …

Kansas exploited CU’s run defense, and Oklahoma State has an All-Big 12 running back in Ollie Gordon … Will the Cowboys run over the Buffs? … Or will the Buffs come out and take care of business against an OSU team which is 0-8 in Big 12 play, with one of the worst defenses in the nation? … Let’s find out …