Three Things to Know ahead of Oklahoma State’s Homecoming Matchup with Colorado

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The Cowboys are in search of a bounce-back performance, and they’re eying America’s Greatest Homecoming. In town this weekend will be the often hapless Colorado Buffaloes.

The Buffs are coming off a 3-9 season in 2025 and are off to a 2-4 start and are winless in the Big 12. OSU fans, it hasn’t been that long.

Let’s take a look at some things to consider ahead of the Cowboys-Buffs matchup, including some ways Colorado could try to hinder that rebound performance.

1. OSU’s Run Game Also Needs to Bounce Back

Teams have figured out how to make the Cowboys one-dimensional of late, at least for a half. We’ve talked about the issues on short-yardage situations and at the goal line, but this might be one of the contributing factors.

Against UCF two weeks ago, the Cowboys turned in their worst ground-game performance in a win. After a paltry 80 yards in the first half, OSU managed only 30 in the second. They were running away with it, outscoring the Knights 21-7 after halftime, but definitely highly dependent on big passing plays. They finished with 110 rush yards on 3.4 yards per carry.

Then in Houston, OSU totaled 134 yards, but at a more efficient clip of 5.4 ypc. But the Cowboys were effectively shut down on the ground in the first half by the Cougars. They rushed for just 14 yards before halftime, a major factor for the 14-3 hole they found themselves in.

Colorado isn’t exactly the Big 12’s version of the Steel Curtain, but they’ve been effective at slowing teams down on the ground. They rank ninth in the league, allowing 130 yards per game at 3.5 per carry. Pro Football Focus gives CU an 83.9 rating in rush defense, good for 42nd nationally.

It might not matter as much against a team like Colorado, but we’ve seen the trouble the Cowboys can get into on the ground. More importantly, you’d like an offense with this much potential to be able impose itself against what is considered a lesser team.

2. It’s Been Sloppy in Boulder

The Cowboys may have played an unclean game at Houston, but the Buffs have been shooting their toes (hooves?) off all season.

Colorado is the Big 12’s most egregious penalty team and its worst in turnover margin. In fact, the Buffs rank 129th in the FBS averaging -1 TO per game, and their 13 lost turnovers is 131st in the country. Even worse, they rank 136th in the FBS with 84.3 penalty yards per game.

Although they have been sloppy, it’s been streaky at least on the turnover side. They were even in turnover margin last week in a three-point loss to No. 10 Utah. And they were even in two other games. But they were -4 in the 29-7 loss to Texas Tech and -3 in the 41-7 loss to Northwestern. So, if they keep it somewhat even, maybe there isn’t a big of a chasm between Colorado and some of these other teams.

3. Are Things Improving?

There haven’t been a lot of bright spots for Colorado fans this season, but some latched onto a silver-lining moment last weekend when Colorado was this close to upsetting No. 10 Utah. Maybe OSU fans can relate giving the last couple of years.

After halftime, Colorado trailed 13-0 and had more penalty yards than total yards of offense (sloppy). The Buffs rallied thanks to some grit from their new QB, former Utah passer Isaac Wilson. He’s been a big part of that turnover issue and had two on Saturday, but he was able to lead them back to within a field goal with less than a minute and a half remaining.

In the final drive, the Buffs attempted a lateral play that would have put them in field goal range to tie it, but it was ruled an illegal forward pass. Then Wilson attempted a Hail Mary that was on-target, but it was defended in the end zone.

So was this just the Utes succumbing to a long season and a trap game in Boulder, or are the Buffaloes improving? Either way, they seem to have gumption. If they can somehow eliminate some of those sloppy plays mentioned above, they could provide some challenges for the Cowboys.

The Cowboys and Buffaloes square off at 6 p.m. Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium.