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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Comeback Colorado


Colorado's Daniel Dykes, top, intercepts a fourth-quarter pass intended for Oklahoma's Juaquin Iglesias (9).Associated Press
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press The Spokesman-Review

BOULDER, Colo. – Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops envisioned it going down to the wire. Colorado’s Dan Hawkins had a hunch his team would pull off the big upset.

Both coaches turned out to be correct and Hawkins’ Buffaloes dealt a serious blow to the Sooners’ national title hopes when Kevin Eberhart kicked a career-long 45-yard field goal as time expired to send Colorado past No. 3 Oklahoma 27-24 on Saturday.

“I told them all week they’re going to win the game,” Hawkins said. “Not because I’m ‘The Swami.’ I’ve done this for 25 years and you just know. You know when your team’s ready, you know when you’re poised.”

His players certainly didn’t doubt his weeklong declarations of this impending upset.

“He just reinforced what we already knew,” defensive tackle George Hypolite said.

This was the Buffaloes’ first win over a top-five team since Dec. 1, 2001, when they bested Texas in the Big 12 title game, and their most significant victory in Boulder since a 62-36 drubbing of second-ranked Nebraska a week before that Texas win.

After Eberhart’s kick cleared the crossbar, the Sooners, who had blown a 24-7 second-half lead, walked off dejected, trying to avoid the onslaught of Buffs fans storming the field in celebration of what they hope is a revival of the once-proud program.

The Sooners (4-1, 0-1) came in averaging a whopping 61.5 points to lead the nation. But behind a tough defense, the Buffs (3-2, 1-0) earned their first big win under Hawkins.

The Buffaloes trailed 24-7 after Allen Patrick scored from 17 yards out following safety D.J. Wolfe’s second interception. His first one led to Juaquin Iglesias’ 13-yard TD catch in the first half.

But Oklahoma was stifled after that, and Colorado outgained the Sooners 219 yards to 56 in the second half.