Big 12 Sports Blog by Big 12 Fans

The first 20+ minutes of the Independence Bowl belonged to the Alabama Crimson Tide.

At the end of 60 minutes, that proved to be enough, as their early 27-0 lead proved to be just a little too much for Colorado to overcome in the end, as Alabama prevailed 30-24 tonight in Shreveport.

Early on, it looked like it was going to be a runaway for the Tide, as three touchdown passes by John Parker Wilson had Bama up 27-0 with a little over 17 minutes played.

But, Colorado fought back, drawing with 27-14 at halftime on two Cody Hawkins touchdown passes, and pulled within 27-17 in the third quarter on a 39-yard field goal by Kevin Eberhart.

The Buffaloes immediately had a chance to close the deficit even more when they forced a fumble on the next drive and got the ball at the Alabama 48. They moved to the 30, but a sack pushed them back, and they ended up being forced to punt.

That missed opportunity would cost them, and so would an interception on their next offensive possession, which set Alabama up at the Colorado 23.

The Tide moved into position for a 25-yard Leigh Tiffin field goal with 4:40 to go that all but sealed the deal for Alabama.

But, the Buffs kept fighting, needing only five plays to get into the end zone, as Hawkins threw touchdown pass #3, and his second to Tyson DeVree, a 14-yarder that made it 30-24 with plenty of time still left on the clock.

Alabama was able to bleed the clock by getting a couple of first downs, and by the time Colorado got the ball back, there were only a few seconds left, and the Tide had survived.

It was a great fight back by Colorado, who looked to be down for the count after Alabama’s early haymaker.

Unfortunately, the deficit was just too big to overcome.

Alabama finishes 7-6, while Colorado finishes 6-7, which drops the Big 12 to 1-2 in the bowl season, with five more games to come, starting with Oklahoma St.’s (6-6) matchup with Indiana (7-5) in tomorrow‘s Insight Bowl.

After falling behind 27-0 to Alabama in the first 17+ minutes, Colorado woke up in the last few minutes of the first half to get back into the Independence Bowl with a flourish.

Things turned around the six-minute mark. Alabama was in Colorado territory once again, looking to put the game all but beyond reach, when John Parker Wilson was picked off, and the 35-yard return set Colorado up at the ‘Bama 43. Colorado got on the board with 2:05 left when Cody Hawkins threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Tyson DeVree to make it 27-7.

The Buffs forced a stop, and a 23-yard punt gave them another short field with more than a minute left on the clock. It took only six plays to drive 55 yards and punch it into the end zone again, as Hawkins connected with Dusty Sprague on a 25-yard touchdown with four seconds left in the half.

The second half is just getting underway, so it’s time to see if the Buffs can continue to build off of their big wave of momentum and turn up the pressure on the Crimson Tide.

After Texas’ big victory over Arizona St. kicked off bowl season for the Big 12, the last couple of days have brought struggles for the conference.

Texas A&M jumped out to a 14-0 lead over Penn State in last night’s Alamo Bowl, but the Nittany Lions scored 17 in a row to go up 17-14 at halftime. The Aggies tied the game at 17 in the third quarter before PSU struck back to take a 24-17 lead, which would turn out to be the final margin, as a drive from A&M’s 1 to PSU’s 1 in the fourth quarter came up short of the end zone, without the ball being handed to bulldozer Jorvorskie Lane on third or fourth down.

Tonight, Colorado is taking on Alabama in the Independence Bowl, and it’s not been a good start for the Buffaloes, as Alabama already has a 20-0 lead early in the second quarter.

Will the Buffs be able to mount a comeback? There’s plenty of game left, so we’ll find out. But, the defense certainly needs to step up, as Alabama has been able to move the ball at ease thus far.

Well, the Tide just scored again, as John Parker Wilson threw his third touchdown pass in the first 17:40 to put ‘Bama up 27-0.

Quite a hill to climb for Colorado, but, like I said, there’s plenty of game left.

Texas beat Arizona State 52-34 in the Holiday Bowl on Thursday night to kick off the Big 12’s participation in the bowl season, with seven more teams yet to take the field.

The Longhorns jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, which proved to be too much for the Sun Devils to overcome.

Jamaal Charles ran for 161 yards and two touchdowns, and Colt McCoy had a great game, despite losing the handle multiple times - including one that was recovered in the end zone for a touchdown by tight end Jermichael Finley - throwing for 174 yards and a score, and doing his Vince Young impression by rushing for 84 yards and a touchdown.

The Longhorns defense forced five turnovers, and could have had a sixth, but in a play that we all have seen and heard about by now, Longhorns staffer Chris Jessie (Mack Brown’s stepson) reached out and touched a loose ball that had been fumbled by Arizona St. in the second quarter, which instead of being a turnover for Texas, wound up being a personal foul penalty which led to ASU‘s first touchdown.

But, it didn’t cost them, as the Longhorns were just too strong on both sides of the ball, and had the game well in hand by the time ASU scored a couple of fourth-quarter consolation touchdowns.

Both teams finished their seasons at 10-3, with Texas getting to ten wins for the seventh straight season.

Tonight, Penn St. and Texas A&M tangle in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, and tomorrow, Colorado takes on Alabama in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, LA, with Oklahoma State tangling with Indiana in the Insight Bowl on Monday, before we all hang up our 2008 calendars.