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Friday Fast Facts – Oklahoma State Week
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Leading off …
— “T.I.P.S” … Our weekly preview postings are available for your review and comment. My weekly written preview, along with my predictions for CU’s Senior Day game against Oklahoma State can be found here. The CU at the Game Podcast Review/Preview, looking back (briefly) at the Kansas game, and previewing the Oklahoma State game, can be found at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify … and … the podcast can also be found here.
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The Big Picture …
— A Big Week for CU Next Week … Yes, Colorado is still alive for a berth in the Big 12 championship game (most direct path: CU defeats Oklahoma State, and two of the other three 6-2 teams lose. See scenarios, below). But … next week will be a huge one for the CU program for another reason …
Signing Day, 2024, is next Wednesday, December 4th.
As we know, Coach Prime isn’t looking for a large Signing Class (probably in the 12-15 range), but is looking for quality. Quarterback Julian “Ju Ju” Lewis is a huge get, but there are at least two more four-star prospects who are expected to announce their commitment to CU in the next week.
The CU at the Game “Ticker” will debut at 6:00 a.m., MT, on Wednesday. I hope you will be checking in early and often on Wednesday!
— A perfect dozen … With the CU/Oklahoma State game (Black Friday in Boulder, a 10:00 a.m., MT, kickoff) having been preselected as an ABC telecast this summer, all 12 of CU’s regular season games will be shown on national television (six by Fox, three on ESPN, one each for ABC, CBS and NBC). This makes the University of Colorado the only program in the country to have all 12 of its regulars season games shown on a national network.
— No more sell outs? … The Utah game sold out the day before the game, raising the totals to 20 sellouts in the 22-game Coach Prime era. But … the Utah game may be CU’s last sell out of the season.
The Kansas game was never destined to be a sell out. Arrowhead Stadium holds over 76,000, but in the three Big 12 “home” games before CU (TCU; Houston; and Iowa State), Kansas drew an average crowd of 45,885. The crowd for the CU game was easily the biggest of KU’s season (56,470), but still far short of a sell out.
The Oklahoma State was getting close to a sell out, with only a few hundred tickets available … but … over 4,000 of CU’s 12,000 student tickets went unclaimed. CU is now selling general admission tickets to the game, so if you are interested in seeing Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders play their final home game, tickets can be purchased here.
— The ESPN Power Index … has favored the Buffs for most of the second half of the season. Last weekend, the Buffs were given a 54.6% chance of victory, with Kansas given a 45.4% chance of an upset. This weekend, CU is seen as having an easier time of it, with the Buffs given an 81.6% chance of winning; with Oklahoma State given only an 18.4% chance of an upset.
— The game will be telecast nationally by ABC, with Mark Jones on the play-by-play, Roddy Jones on color, with Quint Kessenich on the sidelines … 850 KOA radio will have Mark Johnson with the play-by-play, and former CU head coach Gary Barnett as the analyst.
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Big 12 scenarios …
Entering Week 14, nine teams are still in contention for the Dr Pepper Big 12 Football Championship, with some 256 different ways the conference title game could work out. The following details tiebreaking scenarios for ties among teams with 7-2 Big 12 records:
Two-team tie scenarios:
• The two tied teams at 7-2 will be the Championship game participants.
Three-team tie scenarios:
• Colorado loss: Arizona State vs. Iowa State
• Arizona State loss: Iowa State vs. BYU
• Iowa State loss: Arizona State vs. BYU
• BYU loss:
If Texas Tech defeats West Virginia, then If Baylor beats Kansas & Cincinnati beats TCU: Colorado vs. Iowa State
Otherwise: Colorado vs. Arizona State … If West Virginia defeats Texas Tech: Arizona State vs. Iowa State
• Four-team scenario: Arizona State vs. Iowa State
• For teams who are 5-3 entering the week, they must win & see at least three of the four 6-2 teams take a loss.
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— Colorado and Oklahoma State – head-to-head
— This will be the 48th meeting between the Buffs and the Cowboys, with Colorado holding a 26-20-1 advantage in the series.
— Colorado has won 11 of the last 15 games played between the two teams, though Oklahoma State has won the last three games, and four of the past five.
— The last victory for the Buffs came in 2005, a 34-0 shutout in Stillwater … the fifth time CU has shut out Oklahoma State in the the series (the Cowboys have yet to shut out the Buffs).
— In the 1971 game, a 40-6 Colorado victory, Charlie Davis rushed for 342 yards (on 34 carries), still the all-time record at Colorado.
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— Colorado and Oklahoma State … historical
— In the 12 statistical categories tracked by Winsipedia, there are two ties between the schools, with each team possessing one national championship and boasting one Heisman trophy winner (a tie which might be broken in a few weeks.
— In the remaining ten categories, Oklahoma State leads in but one … but it is a significant one. Oklahoma has the eighth-best bowl record in the nation (.636, 21-12). Colorado, meanwhile, languishes back in 80th place in bowl winning percentage (.400, 12-18).
— Otherwise, the historical statistics all skew toward Colorado. The Buffs are 30th in all-time wins (731) and 45th in all-time winning percentage (.570). The Cowboys, meanwhile, are 56th in all-time wins (641) and 78th in all-time winning percentage (.524).
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— Colorado and Oklahoma State … Notes and Numbers
— Colorado and Oklahoma were the last two teams to join the Big Eight, with CU joining to make it the Big Seven in 1948, and Oklahoma State joining in 1958 to make it the Big Eight;
— The two teams played to a 25-25 tie in 1982, with 24 points (15 by OSU; nine by CU) in the final 4:24 of the game;
— The number 676 figures in two stats between the two teams. In 1971, CU posted a school record 676 total yards in a 40-6 romp in Boulder (the record stood for 24 years, and is still the third-highest total ever). Meanwhile, Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy, while the quarterback for the Cowboys from 1986-88, threw for a total of – you guessed it – 676 yards (with three touchdowns and two interceptions);
— In 1976, the Buffs and Cowboys shared the Big Eight title with Oklahoma, with all three teams finishing with 5-2 records in conference play. As the Buffs had defeated both Oklahoma schools during the regular season, Colorado earned the trip to the Orange Bowl.
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Player Notes …
— Shedeur Sanders has already set or tied 77 single game, single season, and career records in his two years at Colorado. Some of the records are obscure, including: Most two-point conversion attempts in a game; and, Most passing yards, first game, by a junior.
But many are very real and very significant, such as: Most consecutive games throwing a touchdown pass (22 – Sanders didn’t play in the Utah game last season); the most passing yards in a single game (510, in his debut against TCU, 2023); and, Most touchdown passes in a season (30 – and counting).
Some records in play in the regular season finale against Oklahoma State:
- Single season passing yards: 3,488 (record: Koy Detmer, 1996 – 3,527);
- Single season passing completions: 303 (record: Sefo Liufau, 2014 – 325);
- Single season total plays: 541 (record: Sefo Liufau, 2014 – 567)
— For Travis Hunter, the single season touchdown reception record is within reach. Hunter has 11, with the school record of 12 being set by Nelson Spruce in 2014.
Hunter, with 139 receptions, only needs four against the Cowboys to make it into the top ten in career receptions at CU.
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Big 12 Notes …
— Four Big 12 teams ranked … Arizona State (No. 14); Iowa State (No. 17); BYU (No. 19); and Colorado (No. 23) are the only Big 12 teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 this week. Kansas State, which dropped out of the polls two weeks ago, is on the cusp of the rankings, at No. 26.
In the fourth College Football Rankings of the 2024 season, there are five Big 12 teams, with Arizona State the closest to the College Football Playoffs: No. 16 Arizona State; No. 18 Iowa State; No. 19 BYU; No. 24 Kansas State; and No. 25 Colorado. Whichever of these teams can go on a two-game winning streak over the next two weekends will be in the Playoff, likely as a low seed going on the road in the first round;
— Revisiting the Big 12 preseason media poll (Week 14) … Conference records for the top and bottom five (as selected by the Big 12 media):
Top 5 in the preseason poll: Utah, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Arizona: 24-31; K-State (8-3) is the only team of the five with a winning record;
Bottom 5 in the preseason poll: Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, Arizona State: 34-21; Houston (4-7) is the only team which doesn’t have a chance at going bowling this fall;
— Big 12 lines …
From Draftkings.com …
Big 12 games …
Friday, November 29th
- Oklahoma State at No. 23 Colorado … 10:00 a.m., MT, ABC … Colorado is a 17.0-point home favorite …
- Utah at UCF … 6:00 p.m., MT, Fox … UCF is a 9.0-point home favorite …
Saturday, November 30th
- Kansas at Baylor … 10:00 a.m., MT, ESPN2 … Baylor is a 1.0-point home favorite …
- West Virginia at Texas Tech … 10:00 a.m., MT, FS1 … Texas Tech is a 3.5-point home favorite …
- No. 14 Arizona State at Arizona … 1:30 p.m., MT, Fox … Arizona is an 8.5-point home underdog …
- TCU at Cincinnati … 4:00 p.m., MT, ESPN+ … Cincinnati is a 2.5-point home underdog …
- Kansas State at No. 17 Iowa State … 5:30 p.m., Fox … Iowa State is a 3.0-point home favorite …
- Houston at No. 19 BYU … 8:15 p.m., MT, ESPN … BYU is a 13.0-point home favorite …
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