Colorado @ Oklahoma preview
Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Last Meeting ( Sep 29, 2007 ) Oklahoma 24, Colorado 27
Oklahoma has been deadly after a loss under Bob Stoops. The Sooners are even deadlier at home.
Oklahoma, ninth in the BCS standings, will try to bounce back from last week’s loss to Missouri when struggling Colorado pays a visit Saturday for a late-night Big 12 Conference kickoff.
Oklahoma is 21-2 after a loss during Stoops’ tenure and currently owns the nation’s longest active home winning streak at 34. During the streak that dates back to 2005, the Sooners (6-1, 2-1 Big 12) have pounded opponents by an average score of 45-15 at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
It’s not exactly the ideal situation for the Buffaloes (3-4, 0-3), who will be trying to end a three-game losing streak.
Colorado lost starting quarterback Tyler Hansen and was outscored 13-0 in the fourth quarter of a disappointing 27-24 loss to Texas Tech. Hansen ruptured his spleen in the loss and likely will miss the rest of the season. That leaves Cody Hawkins - son of coach Dan Hawkins - as the starter for the Oklahoma game.
Cody Hawkins passed for 274 yards with two touchdowns in relief of Hansen. He was the starting quarterback in the Buffaloes’ 27-24 upset of Oklahoma in 2007, the teams’ last meeting. Pulling off another upset of the Sooners on Saturday would be a major accomplishment and would help alleviate some of the pressure off his father.
Now in his fifth season at Colorado, Dan Hawkins is under heavy pressure in what some believe will be his final season in Boulder. He arrived from Boise State with a reputation as an offensive genius, but the Buffalo offense has never clicked. That’s the case again this season. Colorado is 11th in the Big 12 in scoring offense at 20 points per game.
In contrast, Oklahoma has shown the ability to put up points in bunches.
Quarterback Landry Jones has thrown 30 touchdowns with only six interceptions at home in his career. Wide receiver Ryan Broyles leads the nation in receptions per game, but has been battling an ankle injury. The senior is expected to play, but might not be 100 percent. Running back DeMarco Murray averages two touchdowns per game and freshman running back Roy Finch added a spark to Oklahoma’s offense against Missouri. The Sooners are averaging 34.7 points per game.
To make things tougher on the Buffalo defense, starting linebacker Jon Major, the team’s leading tackler, sprained his MCL last week and is listed as doubtful for Saturday’s game. That’s bad news for a defense that was already banged up.