Oregon State – No. 16 Oregon State defeated Colorado 26-19 at Folsom Field on Saturday despite a new play caller.
Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders’ Buffs staged a furious rally late, but still lost to drop to 4-5 overall and 1-5 in Pac-12 play.
As a result, the Beavers improved to 7-2, 4-2.
Pat Shurmur, who was promoted from offensive analyst earlier this week, began calling plays for Colorado. After scoring just one field goal in each of the first three quarters, the Colorado offense struggled until late in the fourth quarter, when two long scoring drives resulted.
One of CU’s two first-half fumble recoveries led to a field goal by Colorado. CU’s defense kept the game close for much of the night.
To keep the Buffs at bay, Oregon State scored two touchdowns in the first half and added one more touchdown and two field goals in the second half.
It wasn’t easy for the Buffs, but they never gave up. A 75-yard scoring drive and a 45-yard scoring drive were Colorado’s scoring drives in the fourth quarter. In both games, CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders threw touchdown passes despite taking another beating and being sacked four times. The second pass, a 12-yarder to Anthony Hankerson, brought CU within 26-19 with 1:42 remaining.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Beavers gained a first down, allowing them to run out the clock and win.
Colorado finished with 238 yards of total offense – the Buffs’ second-lowest total of the season – 160 of which came in the fourth quarter. Four Oregon State sacks resulted in 41 yards in losses for CU, contributing to an overall total of minus-7 yards rushing.
Despite finishing 24-of-39 for 245 yards and two touchdowns, Sanders again was under pressure much of the night and added 45 sacks to his season total.
In total, OSU gained 418 yards on the ground and 223 yards in the air.