CU Buffs vs. Oklahoma State quick hits: Travis Hunter, Buffs D send message to Cowboys — with a hammer

Initial observations from Colorado’s 52-0 win over the Oklahoma State Cowboys in a Big 12 showdown in Boulder.

1. Defense rebounds: A week after being “intoxicated by attention,” CU’s defense took their newfound sobriety out on Oklahoma State — with a hammer. Six days following a performance that saw Kansas put up 331 rushing yards, three rushing scores and saw Deion Sanders grumble in Kansas City, the Buffs returned to the form they’d shown at Folsom Field. The hosts shut out the Cowboys and held the Pokes to under 100 yards of total offense until there were five minutes left in a laugher. Coach Prime was less than thrilled with how things landed in Arrowhead Stadium, and his Buffs (9-3) responded by taking it out on the 3-9 Cowboys. Friday became CU’s first shutout overall, or in league play, since Oct. 16, 2021, in a 34-0 win over Arizona. It was the program’s first shutout in Big 12 play since a 34-0 victory against Baylor on Oct. 19, 2002.

2. Receiving records dropping like flies: Don’t think CU’s got the best receiving corps in the country? Get a load of these numbers. Travis Hunter’s 13th touchdown catch of the season in the third quarter set a new Buffs single-season record for receiving scores. And there’s plenty of love to go around, as fellow wideout LaJohntay Wester notched his ninth and 10th TD receptions, giving CU a pair of receivers with double-digit scoring grabs for first time in program history. Hunter’s 13 scores pipped Nelson Spruce’s 12, set in 2014, while Wester’s 10 put him in a tie for fourth all-time with Paul Richardson’s tally in 2013.

3. Pokes didn’t want to play: Holiday weekend? Breakfast kickoff? Senior Day in Boulder? Cold temps? You had a feeling that Oklahoma State, winless in Big 12 play despite top-3-in-the-league expectations, might show up with a look of not wanting to be here. The Pokes didn’t disappoint. In fact, the Cowboys looked more interested in fighting than playing early. With 5:26 to go in the first quarter, OSU outside linebacker Justin Wright threw Shedeur Sanders into the visitors’ bench on a tackle at the Okie State 28. A minor donnybrook ensued, with CU wideout Terrell Timmons Jr. and left tackle Jordan Seaton rushing into a pile of Cowboys in Sanders’ defense. Order was restored quickly, thankfully.

4. More Hunter History: With an interception and four catches for 22 receiving yards in the first quarter, Travis Hunter became the first Buffs player to record at least 1,000 total yards and four picks in the same season since Byron “Whizzer” White back in 1937. Semi-fun bit of trivia — White was also a Heisman Trophy finalist that year. Less fun, he wound up finishing second in the voting to a halfback. The runner who won the trophy ? Clint Frank of Yale. Frank also won the Maxwell Award that year, but unlike White, didn’t go into law or become a Supreme Court Justice — the Illinois native founded his own advertising agency in 1954.

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