Sooners club Colorado – No. 8 Oklahoma 29, No. 12 Colorado 7

Griffin's record-setting performance paces OU

? With no national championship berth on the line, Oklahoma and Colorado didn’t pack the house for Saturday night’s Big 12 title game.

At least the Sooners are headed for one of college football’s coveted Bowl Championship Series spots, a nice consolation prize for missing out on the Fiesta Bowl.

Nate Hybl threw two touchdowns passes and Quentin Griffin ran for a championship game-record 188 yards and two touchdowns as the eighth-ranked Sooners beat the No. 12 Buffaloes 29-7 to win the Big 12 for the second time in three years.

The victory probably will send Oklahoma (11-2) to the Rose Bowl against Washington State (10-2).

“Being the Big 12 champs, we’ll go wherever they want to take us,” Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. “All the bowls are excellent, and it will be a great environment.”

A disappointing announced crowd of 63,332 attended the game, although Reliant Stadium appeared far less than its 69,500 capacity.

The Sooners beat Kansas State for the Big 12 title in 2000 and went on to beat Florida State in the Orange Bowl for the national championship.

Griffin eclipsed 100 yards for the ninth straight time this season. Griffin finished the regular season No. 2 on Oklahoma’s single-season rushing list with 1,740 yards; Billy Sims had 1,762 yards in 1978.

“We’ve been executing a lot in the running game and pass protection,” said Griffin, the game’s most valuable player, adding praise for his offensive line. “I can’t say enough about those guys. They played really well the whole year.”

Brian Calhoun, starting for injured running back Chris Brown, ran for 122 yards for the Buffaloes, who were trying to become the first back-to-back Big 12 champions after last year’s 39-37 victory over Texas. But it wasn’t to be.

Hybl threw touchdown passes of 3 yards to Trent Smith in the first quarter and 21 yards to Mark Clayton in the second quarter as the Sooners took a 13-0 halftime lead.

Colorado kicker Pat Brougham missed field goals of 41, 32 in the first half and 33 yards in the third quarter.

“The team was actually supportive,” Brougham said. “They have faith in me, as I have in myself. I take full blame for this loss. Those misses put us in too tough positions. After two of those misses, they drove right down on our defense. I feel real bad about this game.”

Jeremy Bloom gave Colorado brief momentum in the third quarter with an 80-yard punt return early in the quarter, cutting Oklahoma’s lead to 13-7. The Sooners then scored 16 straight points to ice the game.

“To shut them out defensively – and I guess we held them under 200 yards (193) – it was another incredible performance,” Stoops said.