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Updated: Sunday, December 8, 2002 12:30 AM EST
NCAA FOOTBALL RECAP
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(9) Oklahoma 29, (12) Colorado 7
OKLAHOMA SOONERS
Oklahoma Sooners
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COLORADO BUFFALOES
Colorado Buffaloes
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HOUSTON (Ticker) -- Colorado brings out the best in Quentin Griffin.

Griffin ran for 188 yards and a pair of touchdowns as ninth-ranked Oklahoma pulled away for a 29-7 victory over 12th-ranked Colorado in the Big 12 Conference championship game at Reliant Stadium.

Oklahoma (11-2) captured its second conference crown in three years and earned an automatic berth in the Bowl Championship Series. The Sooners will land in either the Orange, Sugar or Rose Bowl after the final standings are announced Sunday afternoon.

"I'm extremely proud of our players. I'm extremely proud to win this championship. It was a great night for us," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. "Being Big 12 champions, we'll go where they will take us. All the BCS bowls are great. We'll embrace it wherever we go."

Griffin ran for 128 yards in the Sooners' 27-11 win over Colorado on November 2. Afterward, Colorado players complained that poor field conditions contributed to the outcome.

Stoops responded that there are no mulligans in football, even though the Buffaloes (9-4) gained another shot at the Sooners by winning the North Division title.

Colorado wasted its second chance as Patri Brougham missed three field goals. The only score for the Buffaloes, who won the title game last year over Texas, came on an 80-yard punt return by Jeremy Bloom in the third quarter.

"We hit a mulligan out of bounds. We got beat at our own game," Colorado coach Gary Barnett said. "We got out-physicalled and they ran the ball down our throats. They lined up and kicked our butts."

Nate Hybl threw a pair of touchdown passes for the Sooners, who saw their outside hopes of a national title end with last week's loss to Oklahoma State.

"We looked at Colorado as an opponent we already had beaten," said Hybl, who completed 14-of-25 passes for 114 yards. "We wanted to go out and take it away from them. It was a special feeling to walk off with this trophy."

Griffin, a native of the Houston suburb of Humble, carried 28 times and scored on runs of 36 yards in the third quarter and 27 yards in the fourth to put away the game.

"I was excited to play in a championship game right down the street from where I grew up," Griffin said. "You can't ask for more than that. It was pretty cool to here them calling my name."

Brougham missed field goal attempts of 41 yards in the first quarter, 32 yards in the second and 33 yards in the third.

"The reason we had to attempt those field goals was because our offense sputtered in the red zone," Barnett said. "Good teams have to fight through that and we didn't."

The Buffaloes played without running backs Chris Brown and Bobby Purify due to injuries. Brian Calhoun, who gained 167 yards last week against Nebraska, had 122 yards on 20 carries, but just eight of his yards came in the second half.

The Sooners scored first on a three-yard touchdown pass from Hybl to Trent Smith, capping a drive that included a 21-yard run by Griffin.

Hybl engineered an 80-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter that was capped by his 21-yard scoring strike to Mark Clayton. Thirty of the yards in the drive came on a 15-yard pass to Griffin and a face mask penalty that moved the ball to the Colorado 37.

The Buffaloes cut the lead to six points 1:57 into the second half when Bloom returned a punt for a score.

"There was a huge hole and I took advantage of it," Bloom said.

Trey DiCarlo kicked a 27-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, sandwiched around the TD runs by Griffin.

"Quentin was just amazing. He made play after play," Stoops said.


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