I don’t think there’s much more than can be pointed out about Saturday’s game. The stats have been viewed and reviewed by everyone I’m sure. But in case you haven’t had a chance let me recap just a few of the key stats: the Buffs racked up 161 rushing yards against an extremely stingy OU defense. Hugh Charles accounted for 110 of those yards. Cody Hawkins was 22 for 36 for 220 yards, 2 TDs and 2 INTs. The ultra high scoring OU offense was held to just 24 points. OU didn’t manage a 100 yard rusher and only gained a total of 118 yards as a team on the ground against the CU front. Overall CU outgained OU 381 to 230 total offensive yards, 19 first downs to OU’s 12 and CU held the ball for well more than half the game. Statistically it was not nearly as close as the final score indicates. That being said, let’s talk about what really happened on the field.
The single most impressive part of this win is not just that CU beat the #3 team in the nation. The biggest part of this win, the part that matters the most is that we went down by 17 to the #3 team in the nation and we didn’t hang our heads, we stuck with it and we pulled it out. This win won’t get CU ranked but it could easily be the turning point for this team. It may be the event that propels us to win the Big XII North. And it could very well be the first step in building our recruiting power and in turn building future teams that are forces to be reckoned with going forward. If the players, coaches and fans can show this same kind of grit and commitment for the rest of this season, this win will be looked back on as a program defining win.
On the field, the CU offensive line, a very young line, may not have dominated the entire game but they gave it their all for all 4 quarters. They eventually managed to wear the OU defensive line down. As the day progressed our running game got better and better thanks to the offensive line. As the holes opened bigger and bigger our backs got more and more confident. On the other side of the ball, our defense held tight against what previously has been thought of as one of the best offenses in the country. Our kicking game wasn’t always stellar but Eberhart showed up and drilled a long one down the middle when it mattered most and when the pressure was on. In the interest of honesty it should be pointed out that OU made a fair number of mistakes and put CU in a spot where the game was theirs for the taking; and CU capitalized on those mistakes and took OU to task. Finally, once again our special teams made this win happen. I’m happy to announce that Chase McBride earned himself a full scholarship with his outstanding play on Saturday (and every Saturday this season).
All that being said, there are still areas that need improvement. Cody Hawkins, while still knocking out 220 yards in the air, looked shaky for the first 3 quarters of the game. Luckily, Little Hawk managed to pull it together in the 4th and prove the coaches hadn’t made a mistake by leaving him in. And, while this win may have a profound overall affect on CU’s team psyche, it was clear that we suffered some mental let downs and had a hard time recovering from early interceptions and big plays. Ideally though, these confidence and maturity issues will be somewhat eliminated thanks to the confidence gained with such a major win.
Quite honestly I don’t know what else can be said without going overboard. This is a huge win for CU and I believe this is the exact situation that a coach like Dan Hawkins will excel. He will build on this win and the confidence it generates while still keeping his team grounded. Expect bigger and better each week from here on out.

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