Sweet 16: Hypothetical 16-team College Football Playoff
By Brad Weiss
The motto that good defense beats good offense did not ring true in this one, as the Oklahoma Sooners were just too good in their Sweet 16 matchup against the Colorado Buffaloes. Quarterback Baker Mayfield connected for four touchdowns in the game, including two to fellow Heisman finalist Dede Westbrook, as the Sooners rolled into the Elite Eight. Colorado was able to play well for the first quarter, but their 21-10 halftime deficit proved to be too much to overcome.
For the Sooners, Mayfield was spectacular, burning a very tough Colorado defense consistently throughout. Colorado came into the game as the No. 13 team in the country against the pass, but they just had no answer for the Sooners. Mayfield finished with 331 yards and four touchdowns, as the Sooners were able to run out the clock in the fourth quarter.
Colorado had an incredible turnaround this season, a year after finishing 1-8 in Pac-12 Play in 2015. The Buffaloes won the Pac-12 South Division, as star running back Philip Lindsay proved to be one of the better ball-carriers in the conference. Lindsay showed the kind of running ability that enabled him to run for over 1,000 yards during the regular season, scoring twice in this one, but it just wasn’t enough against a potent Sooners offense.