The first half of the Colorado Buffaloes' game against Oklahoma State looked a lot like their second-half performance against Utah last week. They were competitive and went into halftime with a 24-23 lead.
However, they fell apart in the second half, giving the Cowboys 37 unanswered points for a 57-24 win. Colorado's offense turned the ball over three times in the second half after not turning it over at all in the first half. Their defense also failed to generate a takeaway, even though Oklahoma State's offense has turned the ball over at least once in every game this season.
Here is the report card from the Buffaloes' fourth straight Big 12 loss of the season:
Quarterback
Grade: C-
First-half Isaac Wilson was much better than second-half Isaac Wilson. The
entire Colorado offense, especially Wilson, was a tale of two halves. He led three touchdown drives in the first half, including a 12-play, 75-yard drive that opened the game and lasted over six and a half minutes. His second touchdown drive also chewed up time, lasting 11 plays. In the first half, he had only two incompletions. However, he started the second half with a fumble, which Oklahoma State turned into a touchdown. The play calling didn't help Wilson, but his second-half performance was a significant step down.
Running Backs
Grade: F
Again, this is partly on the play calling, but the Buffaloes barely tried to run the ball. The stat line shows 30 rushing attempts, but half of them came from the quarterbacks. Isaac Wilson actually had the most rushing attempts of anyone with Colorado in this game. After the explosiveness JaQuail Smith showed last week against Utah, he got most of the carries for the Buffaloes’ backs, but he averaged only three yards per carry and never had a run of at least 10 yards. They were also barely involved in the passing game, with Colorado's backs combining for just three receptions for 21 yards. This was the Buffaloes' worst game for their running backs this season.
Receivers and Tight Ends
Grade: B
Colorado's wide receivers had an amazing first half. But like the rest of the offense, their production dropped sharply in the second half. As for the receivers and tight ends, I blame the playcalling more than this position group. Joseph Williams and DeAndre Moore Jr. both finished with over 100 receiving yards, and Moore scored a touchdown in the first half. This is the second time this season Colorado has had two receivers finish with at least 100 receiving yards and still lose; the first time was against Baylor. The Buffaloes have talent at the skill positions, but this offense is not doing them any favors.
Offensive Line
Grade: F
Colorado finished this game with a season-low in rushing yards. Oklahoma State's defense also had nine tackles for loss, including four sacks. It was no secret coming into this game that the Cowboys had a strong defense, especially up front, and the Buffaloes’ offensive line was completely unprepared to handle it. This may have been the worst offensive line performance all season.
Defense
Grade: F
When you give up 57 points, you have failed as a defense. That is also the most points Oklahoma State has allowed against a Power Four team as an unranked team since November 2012, against Texas Tech. Colorado's defense also failed to generate a turnover, allowed quarterback Drew Mestemaker to throw for nearly 386 passing yards and four touchdowns, and gave up nearly 600 total yards. Six Cowboys players scored a touchdown. Four players had a reception of at least 20 yards, and four others had a run of at least 10 yards, including Mestemaker. No matter how you look at it, this was a terrible showing for the defense, especially after they held Texas Tech and Utah in check in the two weeks before this game.
Special Teams
Grade: A
This is a rare occasion when special teams had no significant problems. Kicker Elliott Arnold made his only field-goal attempt, a 45-yarder. He also made all three extra point attempts. Punter Damon Greaves has actually had a really good season. On his four punts, he averaged 44 yards, with his longest punt being 49 yards. He also had one punt inside of the 20-yard line. Colorado could have been better on kick and punt returns, but that is minor compared with what went wrong in this game.
Coaching
Grade: F
Especially after nearly knocking off a ranked Big 12 opponent last week, you would think Colorado's coaching staff would have been prepared for this game. They were in the first half, but they made no halftime adjustments and came out completely flat in the final 30 minutes. This isn't all on the coaching staff, but the play calls didn't help Isaac Wilson. The defense got worse in the second half, which says a lot given they gave up 23 points in the first half. There's a lot to clean up after this game, especially for the coaching staff.
Overall
Grade: D
Almost everything went bad for Colorado in the second half. The offense was stagnant. The defense kept giving up points. They turned the ball over but never generated a takeaway. Colorado's play calling did nothing. In a week of Big 12 chaos, the Buffaloes didn't even come close to pulling off the upset after leading at halftime, and they still don't have a win in the conference.
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This article originally appeared on Buffaloes Wire: Colorado report card, grades from brutal 57-24 loss to Oklahoma State
