BOULDER, Colo. (AP) -The orange “Big 12 Champs” wristbands that the Oklahoma State Cowboys have been sporting this season are already out of fashion.
The Cowboys are coming off a 56-20 whipping at the hands of second-ranked Texas Tech that shattered their hopes of winning the Big 12 South.
“I think that any time when you’re playing for a lot and you lose game, it’s very difficult. But they have to understand we still have games to play,” Cowboys coach Mike Gundy said.
Starting Saturday night at Folsom Field, where the Colorado Buffaloes (5-5, 2-4) are fired up for their home finale, having beaten Iowa State last week with a goal-line stand as time expired, leaving their hopes for a bowl bid intact.
s “Big 12 Champs” wristband.
“It’s tough. That was our goal all along,” Robinson said. “Up to this point, we were in sight of reaching that goal. Any time that happens, it’s going to be tough but we know we’ve still got a lot to play for.”
The Cowboys (8-2, 4-2) can still win 10 games for the first time in 20 years, when Barry Sanders was running through defenses and winning the 1988 Heisman Trophy.
“The Cotton Bowl is still in sight, a 10-win season. There’s still a lot to play for,” Robinson said. “Obviously, we’re extremely disappointed with not being able to play for a Big 12 championship, but we’ve got to forget about it and just bounce back and know that we’ve still had a great season up to this point and we just need to finish it off.”
Oklahoma State linebacker Deron Fontenot said the Cowboys will be able to move on from last week once the whistle blows.
“We just had an off day. No one’s a professional in college football. We’re all amateurs,” he said. “We miss assignments, miss tackles but we bounce back pretty fast. We have a lot of mature guys on the team and a lot of guys returning from last year that’s been through all the letdowns and upsets.”
Robinson won’t be caught looking past the Buffs. He grew up in Littleton, Colo., and this is his personal homecoming.
ed, I’ve kind of looked forward to playing back in my home state and now it’s finally here,” said Robinson, a junior. “I’m definitely looking forward to it. Playing in front of a lot of friends and family and back in Colorado is going to be a great time.”
Still, the Buffs are hoping to catch at least some of the Cowboys sneaking a peak to the upcoming showdown with the Oklahoma Sooners in two weeks after an open week or maybe still lamenting their letdown against the Red Raiders.
They’ll welcome any help they can get in slowing down Oklahoma State’s powerful offense, averaging 43 points a game, thanks to big years by Robinson and running back Kendall Hunter, who leads the league with a 133-yard rushing average.
Hunter ran for 161 yards against Texas, a team that was allowing 48 per game.
“I think every defensive game plan starts with stopping the run,” said Colorado coach Dan Hawkins, who called the Cowboys’ ground game “awesome.”
The Buffs will start sophomore Cody Hawkins, the coach’s son, at quarterback. He spelled freshman Tyler Hansen last week and threw four touchdown passes in the second half, leading Colorado’s comeback from a 10-0 halftime deficit to a 28-24 win.
Buffs senior linebacker Brad Jones said his team is in “playoff mode” as it seeks to become bowl eligible again.
n think about the game we played last week,” Jones said. “All your attention is on this week and what ever happened last week good or bad, we just kind of leave it to the wayside and forget about it.”
That’s the kind of attitude Gundy is hoping his Cowboys bring to Colorado, too.
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AP Sports Writer Jeff Latzke contributed to this report from Stillwater, Okla.
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