No. 25 Colorado will have to count on help from other teams to qualify for the Big 12 Championship before visiting Oklahoma State in Boulder, Colo., on Friday.
Last week, a 37-21 loss to a suddenly heated Kansas State at Arrowhead Stadium ended Colorado’s winning streak at four, leaving the Buffaloes in a four-way tie for first place.
But the tiebreaker leaves Colorado (8-3, 6-2, Big 12) a long shot to play in the championship game next week in Arlington, Texas. The Buffaloes need to win, but two of the three teams this weekend (BYU, Arizona State, Iowa State) also need to lose.
“Obviously, it’s a tough week, and we’re going to respond accordingly to get a little bit of arrogance back and try to fix some of the things that let us down last week,” Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders said. “It was a great game. We’re still hanging in there a little bit, but we’re trying to flush it out. Believe me, we’re trying to flush it out in a big way.”
Oklahoma State (3-8, 0-8) limped to the finish line in its worst season under veteran coach Mike Gundy. This is the first time since 2005 that the Cowboys will not participate in a bowl game.
Gundy’s performance helped the Cowboys beat a top-ranked team for 19 consecutive years. They will look to end an eight-game losing streak and will have one last chance to do so. Gundy said he plans to return for his 21st season leading the Cowboys program next fall.
“This team, like the last team, hasn’t played in a way that shows what they’re doing,” Sanders said. “They’re much better. They have a winning program and are one of the most-watched coaches in the Big 12 and I have the utmost respect.”
Maaliuaki Smith made his first career start for OSU in a 56-48 loss at home to Texas Tech last week. The freshman threw for 326 yards, completed 72 percent of his passes, had two touchdowns and one interception, and was named Big 12 Freshman of the Week.
“Until (the quarterback) goes out there and plays the whole game,” Gundy said. “You don’t know how they’re going to react until you feel like no one’s looking over your shoulder. I thought he was calm and played with confidence.”
Despite a slow start to the season, Ollie Gordon II recorded back-to-back 100-yard rushing games. He had 156 yards and three touchdowns on just 15 carries last week and led the Cowboys with 870 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.
DeZean Stribling had 50 catches for 872 yards and six scores. Brennan Pressley led the team with 82 catches for 725 yards and a team-high seven receiving touchdowns.
Colorado’s Shedur Sanders has 3,488 passing yards, a 73.4 percent completion rate, 30 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
Two-way star Travis Hunter had 1,036 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns. Hunter broke up nine passes, made three picks and forced a fumble on defense. Colorado’s defense leads the Big 12 with 34 sacks and 10 fumble recoveries.
–Field level media
