Stillwater, Okla. – Colorado’s offense of fits and starts never felt more at home this season than it did Saturday at the orange-laden confines of Oklahoma State’s Boone Pickens Stadium.
There, it got off to what is becoming a trademark fast start, sloshed through the rest of the half, picked it up in the third quarter and cruised without much resistance. CU throttled Oklahoma State 34-0, answering questions about the Cowboys, who previously defeated three lesser teams.
But CU coach Gary Barnett walked away from his defense’s second shutout of the season claiming not to know any more about his Buffs now than when they walked in.
“We played well today,” Barnett said. “But you’ve got to look at Okie State. They are struggling on offense. They even struggled in the games they played that weren’t against Big 12 teams. If we do that to Texas or (Texas) A&M (the next two opponents), then I’ll chirp a little bit. But until then, I can’t.”
Still, Barnett, who rarely shies away from a good comparison, saw the first hint at a preseason prediction come to fruition. To about 50 media members at the Big 12 media meetings in July, he insisted that these Buffs reminded him of CU’s 1991 team.
CU also had two shutouts that year.
“I’ll be darned,” a smiling Barnett said when he found that out. “Can you get that on the airwaves?”
CU (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) also fired the first salvo in the North Division’s quest to earn its respect back from South Division teams, fans and media. The Buffs had gone nine games without beating a South Division team. Their previous victory against the South was a win over Texas Tech in 2002.
“This is huge,” center Mark Fenton said. “Only six teams are going to be 1-0 in the Big 12. We wanted to be one of them. And to get the win over a Big 12 South opponent is even bigger.”
Fenton had a front-row seat for CU’s first score of the game, and it came on the first play from scrimmage. Tailback Hugh Charles took a handoff, sprinted laterally down the right side of the line, then cut back and ran 74 yards for a touchdown. It came 18 seconds after the opening kickoff.
“We talked about coming out hard,” said Charles, who highlighted CU’s 213 yards rushing with a career-high 132 of his own, with two touchdowns. “It was my first Big 12 start, and I just wanted to come out and show everybody what I have.”
But after the initial fireworks, the Buffs’ offense went into a shell, mustering enough to score only a field goal the remainder of the half.
“Our offense sputtered a little bit,” quarterback Joel Klatt said. “We were just killing ourselves with penalties, little mistakes. But we ultimately turned it on and did some really good things.”
Starting in the third quarter.
Barnett admitted he never felt Oklahoma State would be able to score, but the Buffs put the game away in the quarter anyway with 14 points. Charles’ second touchdown of the game, a 15-yard run, capped a quick, 29-yard drive that began after Abraham Wright’s interception.
After CU’s defense held the Cowboys (3-1, 0-1) to another one of their six three-plays-and-out, CU drove the ball 59 yards in six plays, and Klatt found tight end Joe Klopfenstein with an 11-yard touchdown pass. CU ended the game in style with true freshman linebacker Marcus Burton intercepting Oklahoma State quarterback Bobby Reid and going 99 yards for a touchdown.
“In our first meeting (with the media), I said you’ve got to win on the road and you’ve got to beat some South (Division) teams,” Barnett said. “This happened to cross both of those lines.”
Sidelines
KEY PLAY
Running back Hugh Charles’ 74-yard touchdown run got the Buffs off on the right foot. The call for a running play isn’t expected to go the distance, but Charles said when he took the handoff, he could see the play was wide open.
TURNING POINT
CU’s third quarter. If Oklahoma State took solace in being down just 10 points to start the second half, the Buffs turned up the heat with a 14-point third quarter. CU led 24-0 at the end of the period, and Oklahoma State had no more fight left.
KEY STATISTIC
213 – Number of yards the Buffs rushed for against the Cowboys. Included in that total were a career-high 132 yards from Hugh Charles on 20 carries.
UNSUNG HEROES
CU’s defensive linemen. The Buffs’ front four pressured Oklahoma State quarterback Bobby Reid the entire game, forcing him into errant throws and two interceptions. Defensive end Abraham Wright had one of CU’s three sacks, getting to Reid for a 9-yard loss late in the first quarter.
Staff writer Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-820-5455 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
