Instant Analysis: Oklahoma-Colorado

The Oklahoma Sooners didn't look ahead to Texas. They simply gave away the game they were dominating. The Colorado Buffaloes--after hesitating--decided to accept the donations that came their way, and a bombshell was born in Boulder.

In the most shocking upset of the young season, the No. 3 team in the land lost a 24-7 second-half lead to a scuffling program looking for any remote sign of hope. The homestanding Buffs never gave up, scratching and clawing on every single snap in a profound display of gritty determination. But at the end of the day, the simple and sober fact is that the Sooners handed this game to Colorado on a silver platter. An extended sequence midway through the fourth quarter told you all you needed to know about this mind-boggling affair, which took a big bite out of next week's Red River Shootout in Dallas.

With over six minutes left in regulation and the Buffs' momentum beginning to steamroll the Sooners, Colorado--down 24-17-- faced a 4th and 2 at the Oklahoma 19. In a head-scratching move, UC coach Dan Hawkins decided to kick the field goal. As poor as the choice was, the 36-yard boot by Kevin Eberhart--a gimme for a competent kicker--drifted wide left. The Buffs biffed a golden opportunity, and Bob Stoops' boys seemed likely to get out of Dodge with a win. It was then that the Sooners started to become a non-profit organization, handing out charity left and right.

Sam Bradford--who wilted in the fourth-quarter spotlight of this suddenly tense tussle--threw an ill-advised pass into traffic, and sure enough, it got intercepted. Yes, the OU defense held tough against a Colorado offense that held, but as the frenzied folks at Folsom Field would soon realize, holding penalties and other miscues would not matter for the home team. Not on this day. Not with OU so generously gifting Ralphie's roster of football players.

After OU held at approximately the five-minute mark in regulation, the Sooners proceded to muff the ensuing punt, and the Buffs had a drive start at the Sooner 15. The Buffs would commit yet another holding penalty, and OU had Colorado in a 3rd and 15 hole. Or so it seemed. A face-mask penalty gave Colorado an extra down, and with renewed confidence, quarterback Cody Hawkins hit receiver Dusty Sprague for a touchdown to tie the game. While Bradford continued to flounder and fail at the helm of a sagging Sooner offense, OU's special teams unit contributed one final mistake to put Colorado in position to complete the coup. Swiss-cheese punt coverage--with several running lanes easily available--produced a 33-yard return by UC's Chase McBride that put the Buffs at midfield. A mere twenty-two yards later, Eberhart redeemed himself in a big way by nailing a clutch 45-yard kick. The student stampede was on, and a team with national title aspirations left the field in an emotionally Buffaloed condition.

For Colorado and Dan Hawkins, the pain of last year's 2-10 season is now a distant memory, replaced by the special sweetness of an unexpected taste of delirium. The Buffaloes are still a work in progress, but their resolve--proved beyond doubt on this day--is a sure sign of a team that's buying what its coach is selling. Rising from the ashes of last year's misery, the Buffs are in the process of taking flight for the Hawk.

As for OU, the Sooner Schooner got grounded on an afternoon when nobody expected it.