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.