Oklahoma State Could End Colorado's Championship Hopes

The Buffaloes are clinging to hopes of making the 12-team field, but they must beat the Cowboys.

Nov 23, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his players warmup prior to the game between the Kansas Jayhawks and the Colorado Buffaloes at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images / Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images

Friday’s game means much more to Colorado, which could give Oklahoma State extra motivation.

The Cowboys and Buffaloes will kick off the regular season finale at 10 a.m. local time on Black Friday. Coming off of a Thanksgiving away from home, OSU could easily enter the early kickoff going through the motions, knowing there is not much difference between 3-9 and 4-8.

However, Colorado doesn’t have the luxury of brushing it off as just another game. At 6-2 in Big 12 play, the Buffaloes must win to stay in conference title contention. The Buffaloes will still need some help from other teams to knock off the two-loss teams ahead of Colorado in tiebreakers.

However, Colorado and OSU will meet in the first game of the Big 12’s weekend, meaning the Buffaloes will not have the luxury of knowing their situation. Instead, Colorado is in a must-win scenario with all possibilities still in play.

While Colorado’s loss to Kansas was its third and nearly dropped it out of the top 25, Colorado is still hanging onto hopes of something bigger. With a new 12-team field in the College Football Playoff, the five highest-ranked conference champions automatically get in.

While there is no guarantee Colorado would be ahead of the American champion with a win against OSU and in the Big 12 Championship, it is still within reach. Of course, that means OSU can take a much different approach than it is accustomed to.

Last season, OSU needed to beat BYU in the regular season finale to earn a conference championship bid. The Cougars took a 24-6 lead into halftime before the Cowboys rallied for a double-overtime win. 

Now, OSU will head into Colorado looking to play the spoiler. While there are no postseason implications for Mike Gundy’s team, an OSU win would spell disaster for Colorado and let OSU give its former conference rival a memorable welcome back to the Big 12.

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