Throwback Thursday: Significance Of 2009 Meeting Between OSU, Colorado

When Oklahoma State and Colorado face off in the Valero Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29, it will mark the 47th meeting between the two former Big Eight and Big 12 Conference foes. The Cowboys are hoping the game carries as much significance as the 46th meeting, which was played on a Thursday night in Stillwater in 2009.

Why did that game matter?

It planted the seeds for Oklahoma State to evolve into one of the most dynamic offenses in America and it was college football's first look at the pass-catch combination of Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon. Weeden went on to rewrite the Oklahoma State record book and Blackmon went on to win the Biletnikoff Award presented to the nation's top receiver in both 2010 and 2011.

The Buildup

Oklahoma State entered the 2009 matchup with Colorado owning an 8-2 overall record, a 5-1 mark in Big 12 play and ranked No. 12 in the nation. The Pokes' lone conference defeat to that point came at the hands of No. 3 Texas. Colorado, meanwhile, was 3-7 overall and 2-4 in Big 12 play, with rumblings that a coaching change may be coming.

On the surface, it seemed as if the Cowboys were well-positioned to roll to victory, but with star quarterback Zac Robinson questionable for the game after sustaining an injury in the waning moments of the previous week's win over Texas Tech, nobody knew quite what to expect. John Rohde wrote this in The Oklahoman newspaper the morning of the game:

"If the Cowboys truly are worthy of their No. 12 ranking in this week's BCS standings, they don't need Robinson to beat Colorado, which has been deemed a 16½-point underdog.

Gundy instead should start Alex Cate at quarterback and have him hand off about 50 times. The Cowboys are back to three solid tailbacks they could rotate. Mix in about a dozen low-risk passes. Shorten the game, get a win and take advantage of your two extra days to prepare for Bedlam in Norman."

The Game

Rohde's words that morning were spot-on, as Cate did, in fact, start the game and 11 of Oklahoma State's first 12 plays were rushes. OSU struck for the game's first points, but they weren't scored by the Cowboy offense, rather, Perrish Cox spun his way loose for a 67-yard punt return touchdown after OSU forced Colorado to punt on its first possession.

The Cowboys mustered only 48 yards of offense in the first quarter, but the OSU defense limited Colorado to just 59 yards during that same span to keep Oklahoma State in the game. A touchdown pass from Tyler Hansen to Scotty McKnight with 7:16 remaining in the first quarter drew the Buffaloes level.

Things opened up a little bit for both teams in the second quarter, with OSU finding some success on the ground with Keith Toston and Kendall Hunter, but no success in the air, as Cate did not complete a pass and threw an interception. Still, Dan Bailey knocked in a field goal to give the Cowboys a 10-7 lead with 5:40 left. However, CU snatched the lead right before halftime when Cody Hawkins found Riar Geer for a five-yard touchdown pass with 22 seconds remaining.

At halftime, Cate had a stat line of 0-for-9 passing with an interception, which prompted Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy to make the change to Weeden for the second half.

Weeden's first drive was OSU's longest of the day, but it did not bear any fruit, as the Cowboys ran 10 plays, but turned the ball over on downs at the Colorado 34-yard line. OSU's defense came up big by forcing the Buffs to punt on the ensuing possession, but the Cowboys fumbled the punt and CU recovered. Two plays and 10 seconds later, the Buffs increased their lead to 21-10 with 8:41 left and when Weeden and the Cowboys went three-and-out on the ensuing possession, things looked bleak for OSU.

Following a Colorado three-and-out, the Cowboys dented the scoreboard on the back of a 45-yard touchdown run on an inside handoff by Toston that trimmed the Buffaloes' lead to 21-17 with 3:52 left. Toston struck again early in the fourth quarter when he and Weeden connected on a 47-yard touchdown pass that gave OSU a 24-21 lead to re-energize the crowd.

That energy was short-lived, however, because Colorado's Brian Lockridge returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown to put the Buffs back ahead, 28-24 with 11:11 remaining.

With the tone of the game becoming frantic and the pressure rising, Weeden stayed calm and converted first-down passes on a third-and-11 and later a third-and-9 on the following drive to advance the ball well into Colorado territory.

That's when it happened.

On first-and-10 from the CU 28-yard line following a 27-yard completion to Hubert Anyiam, Weeden took a shotgun snap from center Andrew Lewis, pump-faked a short pass to his left, then rolled to his right and hit Blackmon with a strike and with just enough space for Blackmon to get a foot in bounds in the end zone for a touchdown. Blackmon's only catch that night ended up being the game-winning touchdown.

The Aftermath

Robinson returned to the lineup for the next two games following the Cowboys' win over Colorado, but Weeden's success against the Buffs that night prompted Mike Gundy to bring in Dana Holgorsen to serve as offensive coordinator the following season. That was a dramatic move from Gundy, because at that point of his career, Holgorsen was well-established as being at the forefront of the Air Raid system, which was very different from the Larry Fedora-inspired spread running attack that the Cowboys had run for all of Gundy's tenure as head coach to that point. Gundy's decision to bring in Holgorsen was rooted in the thought that Weeden and Holgorsen would do great things together.

Gundy decided to push the reset button on the Oklahoma State offense. And he was correct in making that decision.

With Holgorsen calling plays and Weeden and Blackmon shredding opposing defenses, the Cowboys won 11 games, including the Valero Alamo Bowl, in 2010, and then won the Big 12 the following year.

The ramifications of Gundy choosing to change the offense are still being felt today, as the Cowboys have finished the season ranked in the top 10 nationally in passing offense four times since 2010, and that doesn't count this year's team, which ranks ninth nationally in passing entering the Valero Alamo Bowl.

It can all be tracked back to a Thursday night matchup between Oklahoma State and Colorado played in 2009.