Zen.

He was the calmest person on the field.

His players and assistants ran and jumped for joy all around him. Cheerleaders hugged each other. Trainers and ball boys high-fived. Fans bubbled out of stands onto Folsom Field to join the celebration while workers and police stood watch over goalposts with military precision.

Colorado coach Dan Hawkins barely showed emotion. He raised his hands in victory and allowed a smile in the seconds after place-kicker Kevin Eberhart kicked a 45-yard field goal Saturday to beat No. 3 Oklahoma 27-24 in the second-biggest upset of the college football season (behind Appalachian State's victory over Michigan).

Hawkins walked around the field soaking in the chaos before being shepherded to a television interview with Fox Sports Net sideline reporter Jim Knox. A moth landed on his shoulder as he answered each question in measured tones. He revealed he had told his team all week it would beat the Sooners, who were favored by 22½ points.

"It's not cause I'm the Swami," he said. "I knew it last week. I've been doing this a long time. You can tell when your team is ready. ... The Buffs are coming around a little bit."

When the interview ended, Hawkins turned around and headed back into the mob instead of toward the locker room as is customary for coaches. It was all the sign anyone needed to know what the victory meant to a man who has mastered the even-keel.

Fans who screamed insults at him 13 months earlier after an historic loss to Division I-AA Montana State now wanted to hug him, slap him on the shoulder, shake his hand.

"Way to go coach."

"We love you coach."

"Hawk, you're the man."

The Buffs finally found their breakthrough moment because they learned to handle the peaks and the valleys with the personality of their coach. Down 24-7 in the third quarter, they rallied to score 20 unanswered points, making the Sooners pay for every little mistake along the way.

CU scored 17 points in the fourth quarter, capitalizing on interceptions made by safeties D.J. Dykes and Ryan Walters and a fumble recovery from long-snapper Justin Drescher on a muffed punt.

Some teams might have resorted to throwing the ball under the circumstances, but the Buffs ran, despite little history of success on the ground this season.

Using a lead play through the middle of the OU defense on multiple occasions, running backs Hugh Charles, Byron Ellis and Demetrius Sumler did damage to the fourth-ranked rushing defense in the country. The Buffs ran for 161 yards in the game, making it easier to pass.

Quarterback Cody Hawkins overcame two interceptions early on passes that tipped off the fingers of his receivers to throw touchdowns to tight end Tyson Devree and wide receiver Dusty Sprague. The pass to Devree came on fourth-and-goal.

"There wasn't anybody inside the locker room who thought we were going to lose that game," Cody Hawkins said.

The Buffs snapped a 14-game losing streak to ranked opponents and a five-game losing streak to the Sooners. It was the first victory over a top-10 team in Dan Hawkins's career and the first for the Buffs since the team won the Big 12 championship over Texas in 2001.

Oklahoma was the highest-scoring team in the nation before Saturday, averaging 61.5 points per game, but its vaunted offense struggled badly against a blossoming CU defense that has allowed 590 yards to its last three opponents combined.

It is the second-fewest yards allowed over a three-game span in the past 41 seasons.

Two of Oklahoma's three touchdowns came gift-wrapped from CU turnovers that put the Sooners deep in CU territory. Only once in the third quarter — when running back Allen Patrick scored on a 34- yard burst — did the Sooners score a touchdown on a drive that started on their side of the field.

"That No. 3 ranking didn't mean anything to us," CU cornerback Terrence Wheatley said. "You have to have that mind-set. It's not like that ranking gives them superpowers or anything like that. They didn't come out there with capes on."

The CU defense limited the Sooners to 230 total yards of offense and one of nine on third-down conversions. OU quarterback Sam Bradford came into the game rated the second-most-efficient passer in the nation. He completed only eight of 19 passes for 112 yards.

The Sooners had been averaging 562 yards of total offense and had scored at least 51 points in their four previous games.

"They outplayed us and out-coached us in the second half," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. "They fought their way to a heck of a win."