Head coach Deion Sanders walks back to the sideline after talking to his players during the game against Utah at Folsom Field on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Tyler Phillips/CU Independent)
By the end of the first half, the Colorado Buffaloes (2-5, 0-4 Big 12) led Oklahoma State (5-2, 3-1 Big 12) 24-23. Hope was brewing for many fans in Boulder.
However, that hope was short-lived, as the Buffs surrendered 34 unanswered points in the second half, falling to the Cowboys 57-24. This defeat marks the Buffs ninth consecutive conference loss dating back to 2025.
“This stuff hurts, man: 11 penalties [for] 84 yards,” Buffs head coach Deion Sanders said after the game. “It’s just totally undisciplined, especially when you start out being truly disciplined.”
CU started a bit cold and gave up a 47-yard touchdown pass on the third play of the game. However, Colorado’s offense matched the pace and ignited, responding immediately with a long drive ending with a touchdown from quarterback Issac Wilson to JaQuail Smith.
The Buffs defense then went to work and forced a quick three-and-out for OSU, answered by yet another great drive by the Buffs. In the red zone, Wilson fired a tight pass to DeAndre Moore Jr. to take the lead. The Buffs led 14-7 by the end of the first quarter, and dominated in statistical categories like holding possession for 12 of the 15 minutes in the quarter and tallying 59 more yards on offense.
The second quarter was a much closer battle, trading touchdowns and field goals, ending the first half with a one-point lead for Colorado. The main story of the first half’s success was discipline, with only three penalties compared to the Cowboys’ five. CU’s discipline mixed with a great performance by Wilson translated into a very positive half.
“They did some phenomenal things,” Sanders said about the first half. “First half-wise, we played together as a unit.”
Although it was looking promising, CU’s momentum dissolved at halftime, along with their discipline.
At the start of the third quarter, the Buffs came out fired up with lots of energy. However, this energy was immediately squashed with a fumble by Wilson on the first play of the half.
During halftime, Coach Prime talked to his team about dealing with adversity in life, and this fumble seemed like the perfect opportunity to put those words into action. That said, as much as everyone would’ve wanted that, the rest of the game just “snowballed,” according to Sanders.
The Buffs allowed six scoring drives of Oklahoma State’s seven second-half possessions. While the defense slipped up, CU’s offense turned the ball over three times and only crossed into Cowboys’ territory once.
So what exactly went wrong?
Discipline.
The Buffaloes’ discipline was significantly worse in the second half than in the first, with eight painful penalties coming during important times. Discipline has been a long-lasting issue for the Buffaloes, as they lead the Big 12 in flags per game and penalty yards per game, as well as ranking 135th out of 138 in penalty yards per game for FBS teams.
“I really don’t understand it because we are disciplined in every area of this program,” Sanders said postgame. “But we get on the field at the most critical moments, we blow it with being undisciplined.”
The Buffs offense also struggled to produce anything during the second half, getting just 120 yards compared to the first half’s 279. With seven minutes left in the game and down 50-24, Coach Prime made the decision to sub in freshman quarterback Kaneal Sweetwyne.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t bring much or dig out of the hole he was placed into, resulting in a quick three-and-out with two incompletions. But Sweetwyne did show some promise on later drives with a few good plays, like a 51-yard play to Quanell Farrakhan Jr.
While it’s easy to see this game as just another bad loss on the record sheet, this did show a lot of promise for this struggling CU team. If the Buffs can take their discipline and play as they did in the first half over to a full game, the final five games of their season have the potential to go differently.
The Buffaloes will face off against the Kansas State Wildcats (4-3, 1-3 Big 12) next weekend on Halloween back in Boulder. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time (TNT).
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Zach Muniz at zamu2731@colorado.edu
