Folsom's Greatest Games #9 - Colorado vs. Oklahoma 1976

October 30, 1976 #19 Colorado 42, #13 Oklahoma 31

Oklahoma’s #13 ranking fails to convey the magnitude of this victory. The Sooners were two-time defending national champions, but the week beforehand they had been shocked by a surprisingly strong Oklahoma State team. That loss was just Oklahoma’s second overall defeat since the last time the Buffs had beaten them in 1972. 

CU, meanwhile, was ranked for the first time in 1976 after upsetting #16 Iowa State the previous week at Folsom. There were already zero undefeated Big 8 teams after three conference games. It was anyone’s conference to win, and this game would turn out to be one of the most important of the season. 

The Buffs were also looking to avenge a heartbreaking 21-20 loss in Norman the previous season, where an apparent game-tying touchdown in the final seconds had been undone by a missed extra point. 

In an offensive shootout that defied the pregame expectations of many, CU fired the opening shot with a field goal, but Oklahoma’s cannon boomed twice in quick succession and the Sooners took a 14-3 lead midway through the first quarter. 

CU quarterback Jeff Knapple, a Boulder native and Fairview High graduate, led a 14 play, 82 yard drive that culminated in a short Jim Kelleher touchdown to cut the lead to 14-10. After an Oklahoma fumble, he took the ball into the endzone himself on a keeper from 28 yards out to give CU the lead again at 17-14.

By halftime, Folsom’s new scoreboard was getting a workout. The Sooners held a 21-20 lead – the same score as the entire game the previous season. Each team had gained an identical 222 total yards. 

Oklahoma appeared to be taking firm control of the game for the first nine minutes of the third quarter. They had added ten points to their lead and had a chance to get the ball back with CU facing a third down on their own 30 yard line.

That was when the game’s momentum flipped decisively for what turned out to be the last time. Knapple, who had struggled throwing the ball in the first half, connected on a picture-perfect 70-yard touchdown pass to Billy Waddy. After a successful two point conversion, CU had cut the lead to 31-28. 

The Sooners blew their chance at counter-punching when they fumbled on their own 25 yard line on their next possession, and the Buffs took advantage with another touchdown drive. It was the fourth lead change of a wild afternoon, but there wouldn’t be any more. Colorado kept OU off the scoreboard for the rest of the game and added an insurance touchdown in the fourth quarter to win it going away, 42-31. 

As a high schooler, Jeff Knapple had watched from the stands when the Buffs upset Oklahoma in 1972 (more on that one later in the countdown). Now he had authored his own chapter in CU football history.

This was a massive result for the Buffs, which only got bigger as the season wore on. The Sooners recovered from their mid-season swoon and didn’t lose again – finishing a very Oklahoma-like #5 in the nation. When the Big 8 dust settled, CU, OU, and Oklahoma State all finished with identical 5-2 conference records. The Buffs, by virtue of their wins over both Oklahoma schools, won the tiebreaker and received their first Orange Bowl bid since 1961.

Links:
Video recap of the game from 1976
Coaches film of the entire game