Dozens of plays decided the outcome, but one play Saturday at Folsom Field summed up the biggest problem facing the Colorado football team.

The offensive line isn`t clearing holes for teammates to run through.

It was fourth-and-1 in the first minute of the fourth quarter at the Missouri 13-yard line. Colorado had scrambled back from a messy first half in which it fell behind 33-3 to cut the lead to 16 points. A first down and a touchdown could have changed the game. It could have made the crowd a factor again and pumped some more life into the Buffs.

But Missouri linebacker Sean Weatherspoon slipped unblocked into the backfield and stuffed Rodney Stewart for minus-2 yards and gave the ball back to his offense without any damage

to the Tigers` advantage on the scoreboard. Stewart had also been stopped for no gain on the previous third-down play.

Quarterback Tyler Hansen, who fumbled three times Saturday and was sacked eight times as Tigers consistently came through the line unblocked or hardly touched, pointed his finger at the entire offense for not being able to get a single yard in a pivotal situation eight weeks into the season.

"That was huge," Hansen said. "That killed us. We have to get that first down and that`s on everyone on the offense. Fourth-and-one, that`s you against the other guy and they just beat us. They just came off the ball and out-punched us. We should take that personal. That should not happen.

"We have total confidence in our O-line to get the job done. They`re big dudes, they`re strong dudes and they should have all the confidence in the world to get out here and go after that D-line. It blows my mind that we couldn`t get that one yard. That cannot happen."

The Buffs entered Saturday`s game ranked 110th in the nation in rushing and will likely drop even closer to the bottom of the 120-team pile this week. Colorado coaches could have been more creative with their play calling in the situation considering the Missouri defensive front seemed to be having its way most of the game, but wide receiver Scotty McKnight said it`s a matter of pride.

"That play in particular doesn`t come down to the play call," McKnight said. "If he were to call a pass the offensive line should take that personally. We should be able to have enough push up front to get one yard. Bottom line."

Colorado rushed for a total of 72 yards on 24 carries, but when losses from the eight sacks are factored in, the Buffs finished with minus-14 rushing yards.

Members of the offensive line said they were troubled by the way they performed Saturday and struggled to identify what has kept them from building the strong "downhill" running game they envisioned in the offseason.

A handful of players have been shuffled in and out of the lineup, particularly at right guard, but they say those changes are no excuse.

"I take this very personally," Ryan Miller said. "We can be so much better."

Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said he and his staff planned multiple blitzes for the Buffs because they knew they would be facing an inexperienced quarterback in Hansen, who made his third start of the season and fifth of his career.

But the offensive line struggled to get those packages blocked even though the Buffs said Missouri didn`t do anything they hadn`t seen beforehand on film.

Hansen was hammered repeatedly. He was caught for a safety, he fumbled three times and threw an interception.

CU first-year offensive line coach Denver Johnson said there are many factors that play a part in blocking each play and not all of them involve the offensive line.

He also credited the Missouri defensive front and singled out Weatherspoon as a great player, but he admitted that his group hasn`t played as well as he would have liked to this point in the season.

"It`s been a terribly frustrating thing to all of us," Johnson said. "Hopefully we can just keep chipping away at it and try to find some solutions and get a little better as we go. But there is a lot of dynamics that go into that.

"You think about running the ball. There is a lot more involved in that than five offensive linemen and one running back."

Sophomore Matt Bahr said the solution to many of the Buffs offensive problems is getting the running game going. He said more time might need to be devoted to it in practice and the linemen need to take an outing like Saturday personally and do better.

"As an offensive line, I think we really need to improve our run game," Bahr said. "They key to our offense is our run game. It`s no secret. Everyone knows it. It`s got to be an emphasis in practice to run the football. We can`t allow ourselves to get stopped early. A lot of times I feel like we`re fighting just to get going."

Colorado has fallen behind often this season and has been forced into passing situations. It happened again Saturday when the Buffs fell behind 21-0 in the first quarter and 33-3 at halftime. Bahr said that has affected the running game at times and it makes it easier for defenses because the Buffs become one-dimensional. That combination led to Missouri`s eight sacks, the most by a CU opponent since 1984.