Colorado Loses Brown, Wins Title

Colorado has earned a chance to defend its Big 12 Conference title.

Bobby Purify rushed for 174 yards and a touchdown as the 17th-ranked Buffaloes clinched Big 12 North Division title with a 41-27 win over Iowa State on Saturday night at Boulder, Colo.

Safety Medford Moorer returned a fumble 71 yards for a touchdown with 5:12 left to help Colorado advance to the conference championship game again. The Buffaloes, 8-3 overall and 6-1 in the conference, beat Texas in last year’s title game.

Purify scored on a five-yard touchdown run with 1:43 left to seal the win.

Colorado will meet the winner of next week’s Texas Tech-Oklahoma game in the Big 12 championship Dec. 7 in Houston.

The Buffaloes managed to hold off Iowa State (7-5, 4-4) despite losing Chris Brown in the third quarter. Brown, the nation’s leading rusher, departed with a bruised sternum after rushing for 127 yards in 25 carries.

To claim the division title, Colorado needed a victory over either Iowa State or Nebraska, which the Buffaloes play in Lincoln on Nov. 29.

“We didn’t want to leave it up to going to Lincoln,” offensive guard Wayne Lucier said. “We said all along, ‘Let’s end it this week.’ ”

Robert Hodge’s second touchdown pass of the game, a six-yarder to Derek McCoy, put Colorado ahead 27-20 with 10:20 left.

With 6:02 to go, Colorado’s Marcus Houston, playing for the first time since injuring his knee in the season opener, fumbled, and Iowa State linebacker Brandon Brown recovered at the Colorado 25.

Two plays later, however, Cyclonequarterback Seneca Wallace, in the shotgun formation, fumbled the snap. Moore scooped it up and ran it back for the score and a seemingly comfortable 34-20 lead.

Iowa State countered with a touchdown only 1:16 later on a six-yard run by Wallace, cutting the deficit to 34-27.

Purify, who got the bulk of the carries after Brown left the game, responded by carrying all six times on a six-play, 80-yard scoring drive. His 50-yard run down the left sideline set up his score four plays later.

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No. 4 Oklahoma 49, Baylor 9 -- Quentin Griffin had his sixth consecutive 100-yard rushing game, running for 152 yards and three touchdowns, and he also had a 35-yard touchdown catch to lead the Sooners (9-1, 5-1) over the Bears (3-8, 1-6) at Waco, Texas.

Griffin scored the first two touchdowns for Oklahoma then had the last two scores during a three-touchdown blitz after halftime to extend the Sooners’ lead to 42-3.

The blowout victory probably won’t help the Sooners climb back up in the bowl championship series standings. Oklahoma dropped from first to fourth after its 30-26 loss at Texas A&M; last week.

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Missouri 33, Texas A&M; 27 -- Brad Smith’s one-yard touchdown run in the second overtime helped Missouri overcome blowing a two-touchdown halftime lead to win at College Station, Texas.

Smith, who passed for 171 yards and rushed for 94 yards, threw two touchdown passes for the Tigers (5-6, 2-5).

The Aggies (6-5, 3-4) failed to score in the second overtime when Missouri cornerback Michael Harden intercepted Dustin Long’s pass. Long completed 22 of 35 passes for 270 yards after replacing injured starter Reggie McNeal, who left in the second quarter with what appeared to be an injury to his right foot or leg. Long helped Texas A&M; rally to tie the game, 24-24, in regulation. Joe Weber scored his second touchdown on a one-yard run with 15 seconds left.

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Oklahoma State 55, Kansas 20 -- Josh Fields threw a school-record six touchdown passes, completing 17 of 26 passes for 354 yards to lead Oklahoma State (5-5, 3-3) at Lawrence, Kan. Fields erased the school record with five scoring passes in the first half. The first three went to Rashaun Woods, the Big 12’s leading receiver, who had 171 yards and three touchdowns on only seven receptions. Kansas finished 2-10, 0-7.