Oklahoma St. 31, TCU 6; Colorado Knocks Off Wash St. 38-24; Oklahoma Wins in Snow at W. Virginia
No. 11 Oklahoma State beats TCU 31-6 for Big 12 title shot
FORT WORTH, Texas -- Oklahoma State running back Chris Carson bulled through one defender and then broke two tackles for his touchdown. Chris Lacy almost dragged another TCU player into the end zone on a long catch-and-run that set up another score.
After running all over TCU in a 31-6 victory Saturday, the No. 11 Cowboys will be playing for the Big 12 championship in their next game. They have won seven in a row since losing their conference opener at Baylor.
"It's just been a great stretch for us," said Mason Rudolph, who ran for two touchdowns and threw for another score. "It's a good position to be in."
The Cowboys (9-2, 7-1, No. 13 AP) became the first team with two 100-yard rushers against TCU since 2007. Freshman running back Justice Hill (154 yards on 16 carries) and Carson (146 yards on 17 carries) combined for 182 yards after halftime when Oklahoma State added to a 10-6 lead.
"I told our team that in 2006-07-08-09, that's how we used to finish games. That's what we were known for around here a long time," coach Mike Gundy said. "It makes it a lot easier for me to sleep when we know we can run the ball."
And it's a big reason the Cowboys, who finished with 334 yards rushing and 541 overall, can become Big 12 champions if they beat Oklahoma in their regular-season finale after an open date.
Oklahoma State scored on its only two drives in the third quarter to go ahead 24-6. Carson had his bruising 19-yard TD run and Rudolph scored on a 2-yard keeper after a 63-yard catch-and-run by Lacy , who dragged a defender almost 15 yards before finally being brought down.
"I was just trying so hard to drag him into the end zone," said Lacy, inspired by Carson's hard-running style. "I was trying to do the same thing. He just brings some physicality to the team and it's spreading."
TCU (5-5, 3-4) had a chance to take the lead in the final minute of the first half after a 40-yard run by quarterback Kenny Hill . But Kyle Hicks took direct snaps in a wildcat formation on consecutive plays from the 1, getting stopped short on a third-down run and then overthrowing an open receiver.
The Frogs, who have two more chances to get bowl eligible, suffered their most lopsided home loss in their 16 seasons under Gary Patterson. It was Patterson's 200th game as head coach.
"We definitely got our butts kicked. It was embarrassing," said Hicks, who was held to 47 yards on 25 carries after he had 192 yards and five TDs against Baylor in TCU's previous game. "You just have to make sure you bounce back next week and be more prepared."
THE TAKEAWAY
Oklahoma State: Gundy and the Cowboys won their only Big 12 title five years ago. And they weren't going to be denied a chance at another. After their last two wins by a combined seven points, the Cowboys responded with 31 unanswered points following TCU's only score. Rudolph is 21-5 as their starting quarterback.
TCU: There were more designed runs as expected for Hill (eight carries for 79 yards), but he threw two interceptions. The Horned Frogs were coming off a 40-point win over Baylor in their previous game two weeks ago, but reverted back to the kind of inconsistent play that hampered them in losing three of four before that and escaping Kansas with a one-point win.
HE SAID IT
"I'm not even mad. I'm embarrassed because we got our butt kicked. Simple as that. I'm not just talking about the players. It's our job as coaches to find the answers. I'm embarrassed for them and for me," Patterson said.
SETUP RECEIVER
Lacy had four catches for 109 yards, including a 3-yard TD in the first quarter that put Oklahoma State ahead to stay. That score was set up by his leaping 30-yard catch with both hands extended over his head before he came down with a foot in bounds.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Oklahoma State could move up a spot or two , but is in position to make a significant move in the final poll of the regular season if it wins that game and the Big 12 title.
UP NEXT
Oklahoma State finishes the regular season with Bedlam at No. 9 Oklahoma on Dec. 3.
TCU goes to Texas on Friday.
http://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=400869623
------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Gundy: Oklahoma State is a '10-win' team despite Week 2 loss
9:53 AM AEST
FORT WORTH, Texas -- After handing TCU its worst home loss under 17th-year coach Gary Patterson, Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy wondered how the committee will view a game from Week 2 that was rife with controversy.
The Cowboys could have been playing for something more if they hadn't lost in Week 2 -- and Gundy said he believes that's the case. It remains to be seen whether the College Football Playoff committee and its chair, Kirby Hocutt, feel the same. "I know Kirby had mentioned that the committee feels a certain way about that game," Gundy said in Fort Worth. "I think Kirby's playing poker and that they see us as a 10-win team. That's just my opinion."
The 11-2 Cowboys lost to Central Michigan in Week 2 after the Chippewas were incorrectly awarded an untimed down on the final play and subsequently scored on a Hail Mary after Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph was flagged for intentional grounding on a fourth-down pass as time expired. The MAC officiating crew in Stillwater and the Big 12 replay crew were later suspended because of the errors that led to the winning play.
Hocutt, who is also the athletic director at Texas Tech, said last week of the disputed finish that "we're viewing it as a loss." Previously, Bill Hancock, executive director of the CFP, said the committee would be "well aware of what happened on the field" in reference to the Cowboys' first loss of the season.
"Nobody will ever convince me that we didn't get the win," Gundy said Saturday of the 30-27 loss to the Chippewas on Sept. 10.
The Cowboys' other loss came in Week 4 at Baylor, 35-24.
OSU's win over the Horned Frogs was the seventh straight for the Cowboys. Oklahoma State rushed for 334 yards in the 31-6 victory over the Horned Frogs, moving to 9-2 overall and 7-1 in the Big 12. Coach Mike Gundy's team is off next week before visiting No. 9 Oklahoma on Dec. 3.
Oklahoma State can win the Big 12 title with a win over its Bedlam rival.
http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/18089026/oklahoma-state-cowboys-coach-mike-gundy-believes-team-playoff-contender-week-2-loss-central-michigan-chippewas
-----------------------------------------------------
Sefo Liufau’s moves Colorado Buffaloes past Washington State and onto doorstep of Pac-12 title
Liufau had three rushing touchdowns
By NICK KOSMIDER | nkosmider@denverpost.com
PUBLISHED: November 19, 2016 at 5:28 pm | UPDATED: November 19, 2016 at 6:55 pm
BOULDER - Sefo Liufau endured a broken foot, losses that piled to the peaks of the Flatirons, the courting of a potential replacement and an ankle injury that robbed him of a quarter of his senior season. All the while Liufau faced doubts about whether he, when CU was finally ready to climb, would be the quarterback to lead the charge. Now he has put the Buffaloes to the doorstep of a championship. Let the dreams keep rising.
“It really means almost everything to me that he’s been able to be the one to do it,” CU coach Mike MacIntyre said of Liufau. “I said for a long time, and I don’t think many people believed me, that once our team caught up with Sefo we would be successful.”
Liufau, CU’s senior heart and soul, saved the best game of his career for its biggest stage, leading No. 12 Colorado to a 38-24 victory over No. 20 Washington State on Saturday at Folsom Field that puts the Buffaloes to within one victory of the Pac-12 South title.
Liufau completed 27-of-41 passes for 345 yards and ran for a career-high 108 yards and three scores, thrilling a crowd of 48,658 that was the largest in MacIntyre’s four seasons as coach.
“Whatever journey or path we were going to go on, I just wanted to be a part of it,” Liufau said, in reference to an offseason of uncertainty as he recovered from surgery and CU brought in graduate transfer Davis Webb, who eventually went to Cal. “I’m ecstatic.”
CU (9-2, 7-1), which has won five consecutive games and nine games for the first time since 2002, actually has a chance to win the division title late Saturday night. With Utah falling to Oregon earlier in the day, a loss by USC to UCLA in a late-night matchup will give the Buffs the South crown and a spot in the Pac-12 championship game Dec. 2.
A Trojans victory would mean CU would need to beat rival Utah in the regular-season finale at home to achieve a dream that seemed so outlandish when it began being muttered by the Buffs this season.
Yet when Phillip Lindsay plunged into the end zone from 13 yards out, putting CU up 38-24 with only 4:18 remaining, Folsom shook and the trophy the Buffs have endured so much to hold came creeping into view.
And when Addison Gillam recovered a fumble with 2:58 left, after a sack by Jimmie Gilbert, the party was on. The unthinkable had come into focus.
“Our team has such great character and fortitude that they just kept fighting,” MacIntyre said. “They don’t blink. They just kept playing.”
Liufau’s 11-yard touchdown run with 30 seconds left in the third quarter put the Buffs up 28-24 in back-and-forth affair that fitted the two upstart division leaders in the Pac-12. The Buffs’ read-option play continually punished the Cougars. If Liufau wasn’t taking it himself, he was handing off to Lindsay, who ran for 144 yards and went over 1,000 yards for the season and 2,000 for his career.
After Liufau’s run, Washington State drove to the CU 18-yard line. On fourth-and-4, WSU quarterback Luke Falk threw a pass toward the sideline for Kyle Sweet. But Nick Fisher, a sophomore who was thrust into action when starting safety Afolabi Laguda was ejected for targeting in the first quarter, tackled Sweet just before the first-down line, giving the ball back to CU.
“The turning point in the game,” MacIntyre called it.
Liufau again drove the Buffs into WSU territory, but on a run that put him over 100 yards for the first time in his career, he was injured and headed to the locker room. The drive stalled, but backup kicker Chris Graham nailed a 46-yard field goal to give CU a 31-24 lead.
On a day when the Washington State offensive line frustrated CU, Gillam finally broke through on the Cougars’ next drive for a third-down sack that opened the door for Lindsay’s clinching score.
“We knew if we did our job we’d be able to win the game,” said CU cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, who helped the Buffs hold Washington State scoreless for the final 18 minutes of the game.
Washington State (8-3, 7-1) led 17-14 at halftime but was left to lament missed chances. Falk was 16-of-34 passing for 248 yards in the first half, a completion rate that was hammered by dropped passes by his wide receivers. The Cougars dropped two would-be touchdown passes in the first half.
The biggest came four minutes into the second quarter, with WSU leading 14-7 and facing a second-and-7 at the CU 26-yard line. Falk floated a perfect pass down the right sideline and into the end zone for Gabe Marks, but the ball hit the Pac-12 leader in career catches in the hands and dropped to the turf. CU held the Cougars on fourth down later in the drive, and the Buffs scored on Liufau’s 3-yard touchdown run on their ensuing possession to tie the game.
“We just squandered the opportunity,” Cougars coach Mike Leach said.
CU had a chance to tie the game just before halftime, but freshman Davis Price badly missed a 38-yard field goal with four seconds left.
But Liufau ran in for a score to give CU lead to start the third quarter, and he just kept making plays. Liufau had run to the locker room after a big run in the fourth quarter. But he was back on the field as the clock ran out, center stage in a college football dream that will live another week. “We’re very happy to be in the position we’re in,” Liufau said. “We kept our hopes alive.”
http://www.denverpost.com/2016/11/19/sefo-liufaus-moves-colorado-buffaloes-past-washington-state-and-onto-doorstep-of-pac-12-title/
------------------------------------------------------
One-sided Big 12 showdown: No. 9 Oklahoma routs No. 14 WVU
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- A marquee matchup turned into a lopsided win for Oklahoma, and the Sooners now only have rival Oklahoma State in the way of back-to-back Big 12 titles.
Those playoffs hopes? Still a long shot for Oklahoma.
EDITOR'S PICKS
Oklahoma weathers snowstorm, West Virginia comeback to set up big Bedlam
Oklahoma took a 34-0 lead and withstood West Virginia's second-half charge for a win that means Bedlam will be for the Big 12 title, and maybe more.
Baker Mayfield threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more scores and No. 9 Oklahoma scored four times off turnovers to beat No. 14 West Virginia 56-28 on Saturday night.
In the first meeting of Top 10 teams in the Big 12 this season. Oklahoma (9-2, 8-0 Big 12, No. 8 AP) dominated from the start, building a 28-0 lead early in the second quarter before the Mountaineers tried a late comeback.
"It was really a good way to come out, really focused," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. "That's how you want to start an important game on the road."
Now the Sooners have two weeks to prepare for the 13th-ranked Cowboys. The title will be decided in Norman on Dec. 3.
"It will be exciting to be on our field playing for a Big 12 championship," Stoops said. "It's as good as it gets."
West Virginia (8-2, 5-2, No. 10 AP) was eliminated from the conference race. The Mountaineers entered the game with the league's top scoring defense but had too many weapons to cover and made far too many miscues.
Samaje Perine ran for 160 yards and two TDs, Joe Mixon had 147 yards and a score, and Dede Westbrook had 100 yards receiving, including a 75-yard TD. After Oklahoma's hot start, the Sooners kept the ball mostly on the ground. Mayfield finished 9 of 15 for 169 yards, all season lows.
West Virginia's Justin Crawford rushed for 331 yards, the third-highest total in school history. Skyler Howard threw for two TDs and ran for two more scores. His 37-yard TD toss to Ka'Raun White pulled the Mountaineers within 41-28 with 10 minutes left in the game. But West Virginia got no closer.
"I thought we were ready to play," West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said. "You can't make mistakes against a good football team."
THE TAKEAWAY
Oklahoma: The Sooners improved to 2-2 against ranked opponents. Whether or not they make a move in the playoff standings after the convincing win remains to be seen, although the league's top prize remains theirs for the taking. "Obviously, it will be good to have a little rest, get a little time off, get everybody's bodies right before that big game," Mayfield said. "We're right where we want to be right now."
West Virginia: With a chance to make a statement against the first ranked team they've faced this season, the Mountaineers came out flat on both sides of the ball and never recovered.
"I don't know if it was too big of a game and too much hype into it that our guys just ... I don't know," West Virginia defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said. "I don't know if everybody was just trying to make a play instead of playing defense."
TURNOVERS APLENTY
West Virginia made too many errors to give itself a chance. After the opening series, Gary Jennings' couldn't handle a punt in a swirling wind that may have hit a teammate first. Oklahoma recovered at the Mountaineers 34 and eventually scored.
Crawford and Howard fumbled the ball away inside the Oklahoma 5 on consecutive second-quarter series. The Sooners went the length of the field to score touchdowns after both turnovers.
Oklahoma's Jordan Evans returned an interception 80 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter. A week ago he had two interceptions in a win over Baylor.
UP NEXT:
Oklahoma: Bedlam on Dec. 3. Both the Sooners and Oklahoma State are off next weekend.
West Virginia: Plays at Iowa State next Saturday, followed by the regular-season finale at home against Baylor.
http://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=400869617
FORT WORTH, Texas -- Oklahoma State running back Chris Carson bulled through one defender and then broke two tackles for his touchdown. Chris Lacy almost dragged another TCU player into the end zone on a long catch-and-run that set up another score.
After running all over TCU in a 31-6 victory Saturday, the No. 11 Cowboys will be playing for the Big 12 championship in their next game. They have won seven in a row since losing their conference opener at Baylor.
"It's just been a great stretch for us," said Mason Rudolph, who ran for two touchdowns and threw for another score. "It's a good position to be in."
The Cowboys (9-2, 7-1, No. 13 AP) became the first team with two 100-yard rushers against TCU since 2007. Freshman running back Justice Hill (154 yards on 16 carries) and Carson (146 yards on 17 carries) combined for 182 yards after halftime when Oklahoma State added to a 10-6 lead.
"I told our team that in 2006-07-08-09, that's how we used to finish games. That's what we were known for around here a long time," coach Mike Gundy said. "It makes it a lot easier for me to sleep when we know we can run the ball."
And it's a big reason the Cowboys, who finished with 334 yards rushing and 541 overall, can become Big 12 champions if they beat Oklahoma in their regular-season finale after an open date.
Oklahoma State scored on its only two drives in the third quarter to go ahead 24-6. Carson had his bruising 19-yard TD run and Rudolph scored on a 2-yard keeper after a 63-yard catch-and-run by Lacy , who dragged a defender almost 15 yards before finally being brought down.
"I was just trying so hard to drag him into the end zone," said Lacy, inspired by Carson's hard-running style. "I was trying to do the same thing. He just brings some physicality to the team and it's spreading."
TCU (5-5, 3-4) had a chance to take the lead in the final minute of the first half after a 40-yard run by quarterback Kenny Hill . But Kyle Hicks took direct snaps in a wildcat formation on consecutive plays from the 1, getting stopped short on a third-down run and then overthrowing an open receiver.
The Frogs, who have two more chances to get bowl eligible, suffered their most lopsided home loss in their 16 seasons under Gary Patterson. It was Patterson's 200th game as head coach.
"We definitely got our butts kicked. It was embarrassing," said Hicks, who was held to 47 yards on 25 carries after he had 192 yards and five TDs against Baylor in TCU's previous game. "You just have to make sure you bounce back next week and be more prepared."
THE TAKEAWAY
Oklahoma State: Gundy and the Cowboys won their only Big 12 title five years ago. And they weren't going to be denied a chance at another. After their last two wins by a combined seven points, the Cowboys responded with 31 unanswered points following TCU's only score. Rudolph is 21-5 as their starting quarterback.
TCU: There were more designed runs as expected for Hill (eight carries for 79 yards), but he threw two interceptions. The Horned Frogs were coming off a 40-point win over Baylor in their previous game two weeks ago, but reverted back to the kind of inconsistent play that hampered them in losing three of four before that and escaping Kansas with a one-point win.
HE SAID IT
"I'm not even mad. I'm embarrassed because we got our butt kicked. Simple as that. I'm not just talking about the players. It's our job as coaches to find the answers. I'm embarrassed for them and for me," Patterson said.
SETUP RECEIVER
Lacy had four catches for 109 yards, including a 3-yard TD in the first quarter that put Oklahoma State ahead to stay. That score was set up by his leaping 30-yard catch with both hands extended over his head before he came down with a foot in bounds.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Oklahoma State could move up a spot or two , but is in position to make a significant move in the final poll of the regular season if it wins that game and the Big 12 title.
UP NEXT
Oklahoma State finishes the regular season with Bedlam at No. 9 Oklahoma on Dec. 3.
TCU goes to Texas on Friday.
http://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=400869623
------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Gundy: Oklahoma State is a '10-win' team despite Week 2 loss
9:53 AM AEST
FORT WORTH, Texas -- After handing TCU its worst home loss under 17th-year coach Gary Patterson, Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy wondered how the committee will view a game from Week 2 that was rife with controversy.
The Cowboys could have been playing for something more if they hadn't lost in Week 2 -- and Gundy said he believes that's the case. It remains to be seen whether the College Football Playoff committee and its chair, Kirby Hocutt, feel the same. "I know Kirby had mentioned that the committee feels a certain way about that game," Gundy said in Fort Worth. "I think Kirby's playing poker and that they see us as a 10-win team. That's just my opinion."
The 11-2 Cowboys lost to Central Michigan in Week 2 after the Chippewas were incorrectly awarded an untimed down on the final play and subsequently scored on a Hail Mary after Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph was flagged for intentional grounding on a fourth-down pass as time expired. The MAC officiating crew in Stillwater and the Big 12 replay crew were later suspended because of the errors that led to the winning play.
Hocutt, who is also the athletic director at Texas Tech, said last week of the disputed finish that "we're viewing it as a loss." Previously, Bill Hancock, executive director of the CFP, said the committee would be "well aware of what happened on the field" in reference to the Cowboys' first loss of the season.
"Nobody will ever convince me that we didn't get the win," Gundy said Saturday of the 30-27 loss to the Chippewas on Sept. 10.
The Cowboys' other loss came in Week 4 at Baylor, 35-24.
OSU's win over the Horned Frogs was the seventh straight for the Cowboys. Oklahoma State rushed for 334 yards in the 31-6 victory over the Horned Frogs, moving to 9-2 overall and 7-1 in the Big 12. Coach Mike Gundy's team is off next week before visiting No. 9 Oklahoma on Dec. 3.
Oklahoma State can win the Big 12 title with a win over its Bedlam rival.
http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/18089026/oklahoma-state-cowboys-coach-mike-gundy-believes-team-playoff-contender-week-2-loss-central-michigan-chippewas
-----------------------------------------------------
Sefo Liufau’s moves Colorado Buffaloes past Washington State and onto doorstep of Pac-12 title
Liufau had three rushing touchdowns
By NICK KOSMIDER | nkosmider@denverpost.com
PUBLISHED: November 19, 2016 at 5:28 pm | UPDATED: November 19, 2016 at 6:55 pm
BOULDER - Sefo Liufau endured a broken foot, losses that piled to the peaks of the Flatirons, the courting of a potential replacement and an ankle injury that robbed him of a quarter of his senior season. All the while Liufau faced doubts about whether he, when CU was finally ready to climb, would be the quarterback to lead the charge. Now he has put the Buffaloes to the doorstep of a championship. Let the dreams keep rising.
“It really means almost everything to me that he’s been able to be the one to do it,” CU coach Mike MacIntyre said of Liufau. “I said for a long time, and I don’t think many people believed me, that once our team caught up with Sefo we would be successful.”
Liufau, CU’s senior heart and soul, saved the best game of his career for its biggest stage, leading No. 12 Colorado to a 38-24 victory over No. 20 Washington State on Saturday at Folsom Field that puts the Buffaloes to within one victory of the Pac-12 South title.
Liufau completed 27-of-41 passes for 345 yards and ran for a career-high 108 yards and three scores, thrilling a crowd of 48,658 that was the largest in MacIntyre’s four seasons as coach.
“Whatever journey or path we were going to go on, I just wanted to be a part of it,” Liufau said, in reference to an offseason of uncertainty as he recovered from surgery and CU brought in graduate transfer Davis Webb, who eventually went to Cal. “I’m ecstatic.”
CU (9-2, 7-1), which has won five consecutive games and nine games for the first time since 2002, actually has a chance to win the division title late Saturday night. With Utah falling to Oregon earlier in the day, a loss by USC to UCLA in a late-night matchup will give the Buffs the South crown and a spot in the Pac-12 championship game Dec. 2.
A Trojans victory would mean CU would need to beat rival Utah in the regular-season finale at home to achieve a dream that seemed so outlandish when it began being muttered by the Buffs this season.
Yet when Phillip Lindsay plunged into the end zone from 13 yards out, putting CU up 38-24 with only 4:18 remaining, Folsom shook and the trophy the Buffs have endured so much to hold came creeping into view.
And when Addison Gillam recovered a fumble with 2:58 left, after a sack by Jimmie Gilbert, the party was on. The unthinkable had come into focus.
“Our team has such great character and fortitude that they just kept fighting,” MacIntyre said. “They don’t blink. They just kept playing.”
Liufau’s 11-yard touchdown run with 30 seconds left in the third quarter put the Buffs up 28-24 in back-and-forth affair that fitted the two upstart division leaders in the Pac-12. The Buffs’ read-option play continually punished the Cougars. If Liufau wasn’t taking it himself, he was handing off to Lindsay, who ran for 144 yards and went over 1,000 yards for the season and 2,000 for his career.
After Liufau’s run, Washington State drove to the CU 18-yard line. On fourth-and-4, WSU quarterback Luke Falk threw a pass toward the sideline for Kyle Sweet. But Nick Fisher, a sophomore who was thrust into action when starting safety Afolabi Laguda was ejected for targeting in the first quarter, tackled Sweet just before the first-down line, giving the ball back to CU.
“The turning point in the game,” MacIntyre called it.
Liufau again drove the Buffs into WSU territory, but on a run that put him over 100 yards for the first time in his career, he was injured and headed to the locker room. The drive stalled, but backup kicker Chris Graham nailed a 46-yard field goal to give CU a 31-24 lead.
On a day when the Washington State offensive line frustrated CU, Gillam finally broke through on the Cougars’ next drive for a third-down sack that opened the door for Lindsay’s clinching score.
“We knew if we did our job we’d be able to win the game,” said CU cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, who helped the Buffs hold Washington State scoreless for the final 18 minutes of the game.
Washington State (8-3, 7-1) led 17-14 at halftime but was left to lament missed chances. Falk was 16-of-34 passing for 248 yards in the first half, a completion rate that was hammered by dropped passes by his wide receivers. The Cougars dropped two would-be touchdown passes in the first half.
The biggest came four minutes into the second quarter, with WSU leading 14-7 and facing a second-and-7 at the CU 26-yard line. Falk floated a perfect pass down the right sideline and into the end zone for Gabe Marks, but the ball hit the Pac-12 leader in career catches in the hands and dropped to the turf. CU held the Cougars on fourth down later in the drive, and the Buffs scored on Liufau’s 3-yard touchdown run on their ensuing possession to tie the game.
“We just squandered the opportunity,” Cougars coach Mike Leach said.
CU had a chance to tie the game just before halftime, but freshman Davis Price badly missed a 38-yard field goal with four seconds left.
But Liufau ran in for a score to give CU lead to start the third quarter, and he just kept making plays. Liufau had run to the locker room after a big run in the fourth quarter. But he was back on the field as the clock ran out, center stage in a college football dream that will live another week. “We’re very happy to be in the position we’re in,” Liufau said. “We kept our hopes alive.”
http://www.denverpost.com/2016/11/19/sefo-liufaus-moves-colorado-buffaloes-past-washington-state-and-onto-doorstep-of-pac-12-title/
------------------------------------------------------
One-sided Big 12 showdown: No. 9 Oklahoma routs No. 14 WVU
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- A marquee matchup turned into a lopsided win for Oklahoma, and the Sooners now only have rival Oklahoma State in the way of back-to-back Big 12 titles.
Those playoffs hopes? Still a long shot for Oklahoma.
EDITOR'S PICKS
Oklahoma weathers snowstorm, West Virginia comeback to set up big Bedlam
Oklahoma took a 34-0 lead and withstood West Virginia's second-half charge for a win that means Bedlam will be for the Big 12 title, and maybe more.
Baker Mayfield threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more scores and No. 9 Oklahoma scored four times off turnovers to beat No. 14 West Virginia 56-28 on Saturday night.
In the first meeting of Top 10 teams in the Big 12 this season. Oklahoma (9-2, 8-0 Big 12, No. 8 AP) dominated from the start, building a 28-0 lead early in the second quarter before the Mountaineers tried a late comeback.
"It was really a good way to come out, really focused," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. "That's how you want to start an important game on the road."
Now the Sooners have two weeks to prepare for the 13th-ranked Cowboys. The title will be decided in Norman on Dec. 3.
"It will be exciting to be on our field playing for a Big 12 championship," Stoops said. "It's as good as it gets."
West Virginia (8-2, 5-2, No. 10 AP) was eliminated from the conference race. The Mountaineers entered the game with the league's top scoring defense but had too many weapons to cover and made far too many miscues.
Samaje Perine ran for 160 yards and two TDs, Joe Mixon had 147 yards and a score, and Dede Westbrook had 100 yards receiving, including a 75-yard TD. After Oklahoma's hot start, the Sooners kept the ball mostly on the ground. Mayfield finished 9 of 15 for 169 yards, all season lows.
West Virginia's Justin Crawford rushed for 331 yards, the third-highest total in school history. Skyler Howard threw for two TDs and ran for two more scores. His 37-yard TD toss to Ka'Raun White pulled the Mountaineers within 41-28 with 10 minutes left in the game. But West Virginia got no closer.
"I thought we were ready to play," West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said. "You can't make mistakes against a good football team."
THE TAKEAWAY
Oklahoma: The Sooners improved to 2-2 against ranked opponents. Whether or not they make a move in the playoff standings after the convincing win remains to be seen, although the league's top prize remains theirs for the taking. "Obviously, it will be good to have a little rest, get a little time off, get everybody's bodies right before that big game," Mayfield said. "We're right where we want to be right now."
West Virginia: With a chance to make a statement against the first ranked team they've faced this season, the Mountaineers came out flat on both sides of the ball and never recovered.
"I don't know if it was too big of a game and too much hype into it that our guys just ... I don't know," West Virginia defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said. "I don't know if everybody was just trying to make a play instead of playing defense."
TURNOVERS APLENTY
West Virginia made too many errors to give itself a chance. After the opening series, Gary Jennings' couldn't handle a punt in a swirling wind that may have hit a teammate first. Oklahoma recovered at the Mountaineers 34 and eventually scored.
Crawford and Howard fumbled the ball away inside the Oklahoma 5 on consecutive second-quarter series. The Sooners went the length of the field to score touchdowns after both turnovers.
Oklahoma's Jordan Evans returned an interception 80 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter. A week ago he had two interceptions in a win over Baylor.
UP NEXT:
Oklahoma: Bedlam on Dec. 3. Both the Sooners and Oklahoma State are off next weekend.
West Virginia: Plays at Iowa State next Saturday, followed by the regular-season finale at home against Baylor.
http://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=400869617