Oct. 27th – Oregon State – Gut Punch

Colorado squandered a 31-3 third quarter lead, falling to Oregon State, 41-34, in overtime. A Travon McMillian 75-yard touchdown run on the first play of the third quarter raised a 24-3 halftime advantage to a four-touchdown lead. From there, however, the Beavers out-scored the Buffs 31-3, forcing overtime. Oregon State scored on its overtime possession, with the Buffs failing to answer as a Steven Montez pass fell incomplete on fourth-and-goal at the OSU seven yard line.

“I guess you’d call this a gut-wrencher,” Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre said after his Buffaloes matched their biggest blown lead in program history. “We were rolling,” MacIntyre said, “and the wheels just rolled right off.”

The loss spoiled a career-day for Buff wide receiver K.D. Nixon, who set a single-game career-high in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns, finishing with 13 catches for 198 yards and two touchdowns. He also established a career-high in first downs with eight.

“My best game turned into my worst game,” Nixon said.

At just past 5:00 p.m., sunshine was beating down on Folsom Field.

On an otherwise perfect 68-degree fall afternoon, the sun had come out earlier, just as the Oregon State offense caught fire. The Beavers had rallied from a 31-3 deficit to make it a 34-28 game late in the fourth quarter.

As the game neared its four hour mark, the sun hid behind a cloud, giving those of us on the east side of the stadium a bit of relief from the sun’s rays. It had been cloudy as the Buffs build a 28-point lead, so I was hoping that the return of the clouds would also mean the return of order for the Buffs … and somehow the Colorado defense would figure out a way to make a play against an Oregon State team which hadn’t beaten an FBS team in almost two full years.

My wish was not granted.

In case you were wondering if things couldn’t get any worse: All four November CU opponents won this weekend, with three of those wins coming over ranked opponents …

Steven Montez: “We just have to see who brings their A-game on Saturday” … More than bowl eligibility at stake for Buffs against Oregon State … Neill Woelk Friday’s Fast Five … Depleted cornerback corps to be tested v. OSU …

Buffs biggest favorite in the Pac-12 this week … Oregon State 100th or worse in 15 statistical categories … Utah posts Pac-12 first … Trivia: What Joel Klatt record is Steven Montez poised to pass this weekend? … What is the connection between OSU and Dal Ward? …

“T.I.P.S.” for CU’s Homecoming game against Oregon State … Buffs a 23.5-point favorite over the 127th-ranked scoring defense in the nation … How does Darrin Chiaverini’s offense stack up against Brian Lingren’s? …

Buffs fall to No. 7 in my Pac-12 Power Rankings … There’s a new No. 1, while Oregon State (at CU, Saturday, 1:00 p.m., MT, Pac-12 Networks) solidifies its position at the bottom of the conference …