Buffs Drop Big 12 Opener 38-14

BOULDER — Chris Ogbonnaya's sweet blend of speed and strength put Texas in the end zone and kept Colorado out.

Ogbonnaya scored two touchdowns and saved another in the fifth-ranked Longhorns' 38-14 win over the Buffaloes on Saturday night that sets up a matchup of unbeatens with top-ranked Oklahoma in Dallas next week.

The senior running back scored on a 65-yard dump-off and a 13-yard gallop through the befuddled Buffs' defense, then saved a score when he chased down cornerback Jalil Brown at the Texas 16 after an interception of Colt McCoy.

Ogbonnaya's trio of tremendous plays helped the Longhorns (5-0, 1-0 Big 12) take a 21-0 halftime lead and assured there would be no peeking toward next weekend's Red River Rivalry against the Sooners.

Ogbonnaya finished with a career-best 71 yards on nine carries and caught six passes for 116 yards, just four yards shy of Eric Metcalf's 1985 school record for most yards receiving by a Texas running back.

"As long as we win, I don't care about numbers," said Ogbonnaya, who set career highs with a 51-yard run and a 65-yard catch.

Colorado (3-2, 0-1) lost two starting offensive linemen in the last two weeks, and the patchwork of protectors simply couldn't bore any holes for Buffs running backs or give quarterback Cody Hawkins much time to throw against the nation's best sack machine.

Buffaloes kicker Aric Goodman didn't help matters and deflated the sellout homecoming crowd at Folsom Field by missing a school record-tying three field goals, all in the first half, from 36, 43 and 44 yards.

"We missed three kicks, so we've got to get that done; we could have gotten on the board earlier with that," CU head coach Dan Hawkins said. "We had a hard time running the football and a hard time getting any consistency with anything. Running the football, getting protection, they did a good job on defense. We just have to be able to take advantage of opportunities. If we can make some field goals, it's 14-9 and you got a little more momentum, your spirits are a little bit higher and you have a little bit better opportunity to do some stuff there."

Goodman wouldn't blame his new golden Nike kicking shoes, the only ones he could get on short notice after his less-flashy and more comfortable blue ones wore out.

Cody Hawkins completed just 13 of 33 passes for 118 yards, and he was replaced in the fourth quarter by freshman Matt Ballenger, who threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Williams in the closing minutes.

Cha'pelle Brown's interception of McCoy at the Texas 27 helped the Buffaloes avoid their first shutout in 20 years. Fullback Jake Behrens somersaulted into the end zone at the end of a 7-yard reception, stretching the nation's fourth-longest scoring streak to 240 games.

"I did get an interception but I gave up a touchdown too," Cha'pelle Brown said. "We still have a lot of work to do, but we'll be back ready next week, ready to go.”

Ogbonnaya snatched the momentum right back for Texas.

His 51-yard rumble set up Cody Johnson's second TD, from 4 yards out, that made it 35-7.

"He caught the ball well, he ran the ball well, broke a lot of tackles," McCoy said. "He made a lot of plays for us in big times."

The first half was all Ogbonnaya:

—McCoy, who completed 23 of 30 passes for 262 yards and two TDs, dumped the ball off to him as he was falling across the line of scrimmage on a well-defended play, and Ogbonnaya raced down the Longhorns' jubilant sideline for a 65-yard score.

—McCoy hit Jordan Shipley with a 16-yard scoring strike for a 14-0 lead after Ogbonnaya gained 23 yards on a third-and-10 shovel pass.

—On the Longhorns' next possession, Ogbonnaya made his touchdown-saving tackle of Brown, who picked off McCoy's pass and returned it 57 yards.

—Ogbonnaya's 13-yard TD scamper made it 21-0.

"We've know what Chris could do and that's why we really didn't feel we needed to look at him a lot in the non-conference schedule because we had seen him for four years," Texas head coach Mack Brown said. "We knew he was smart, he's got great hands, he's really good in the passing game, and we wanted to look at the other guys. I thought he was the best back on the field tonight."

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Team Stats

Cody Hawkins

Matt Ballenger

Scotty McKnight

Players Mentioned

Matt Ballenger

Jake Behrens

Cha'pelle Brown

Jalil Brown

Aric Goodman

Cody Hawkins

Patrick Williams