Rudolph lights it up, leads Pokes in holiday matchup

SAN ANTONIO, TX – After a great deal of build-up leading up to the Alamo Bowl, with CU selling out their allotment of 6,000 tickets, the Colorado Buffaloes had a tough night on Thursday losing to the Oklahoma State Cowboys 38-8. They struggled to get anything going offensively for the majority of the football game and, this time, the defense wasn’t going to bail them out. The Mason Rudolph to James Washington connection that has worked so well for the Oklahoma State Cowboys all season was at it again in the Alamo Dome.

“We just didn’t execute,” Phillip Lindsay said. “That’s what it comes down to. First we have to get the first first down. That’s how our offense rolls. Two, we have to complete passes. That’s big in our offense, our receivers.”

The Buffs struggled with the injury bug throughout the game as Ahkello Witherspoon, Chidobe Awuzie, Ryan Moeller, Devin Ross and Sefo Liufau all missed snaps with injuries.

“We just didn’t put a game together,” Lindsay said. “When you deal with injuries, as well. You look at our receivers, we had a couple on defense that weren’t as healthy as we wanted. That matters going into a game, making sure all your starters are healthy.”

The Oklahoma State Cowboys got the ball first and went right down the field with a 10 play 64-yard drive that ended with a field goal. Rudolph immediately found a rhythm and was able to go 3-for-3 on the first drive of the game. The Buffaloes tried to answer with a long drive themselves, 14 plays, 65-yards but failed to get any points out of it when Chris Graham missed a field goal attempt from 47-yards out.

Whether it was the departure of defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt or the lack of snaps for senior cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon, the Buffaloes struggled to stop Rudolph in any fashion. He took the Cowboys down on two seven-play drives in a row that both ended for touchdowns which gave Oklahoma State the lead at halftime. The Buffs struggled to get anything going on the offensive side of the ball which made for a very one-sided first half. Liufau went down with an injury with about six minutes left in the half. Steven Montez came in and was able to get Colorado to the OSU 38-yard line but ended the drive with an interception. Liufau would later return in the third quarter.

CU struggled to stop Oklahoma State’s star wide receiver James Washington all game long, especially when he was in one-on-one coverage. He finished the first half with seven catches for 116 yards and a touchdown.

“We need to cover No. 28 James Washington,” head coach Mike MacIntyre said at halftime. “He’s really good. He’s fast. If we can stop him, we have a shot.”

The second half was more of the same for both the Buffaloes and the Cowboys. Colorado continued to struggle to get anything going on offense, and Oklahoma State continued to roll. Rudolph took Oklahoma State on a 67-yard drive to start the half which ended in zero points for the Cowboys due to a missed field goal. That didn’t seem to bother Rudolph as he took the team down on a 12 play, 71-yard drive that ended in a touchdown the next time he got the ball. OSU finished the third quarter with a 23-yard touchdown completion pass to Jhajuan Seales.

The Buffaloes had a couple of successful drives but we’re unable to find a way to capitalize on them. The best one came on an 11 play, 70-yard drive in the fourth quarter but Colorado was stopped on fourth down on OSU’s five-yard line. They were finally able to put points on the board when Liufau took the Buffs on a nine play, 77-yard drive that ended with Liufau taking it in himself from six yards out.

The Cowboys weren’t done quite yet, Justice Hill made it 38-8 with a 37-yard rushing touchdown. That would be all she wrote as Rudolph finished the game 22/32 for 314 yards and three touchdowns. Washington caught nine of those passes and finished with 171 yards.

“We did something special,” Liufau said after the game. “We didn’t finish with an exclamation point. The wheels on the bus kind of fell off. But I wouldn’t trade this season or these teammates for anything.”