FORT COLLINS — Colorado’s offense found its footing and the defense had a dominant effort Saturday as the Buffaloes thumped rival Colorado State, 28-9, at Canvas Stadium.
Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders’ Buffs improved to 2-1 as CU beat CSU for the seventh straight time. Colorado State fell to 1-2.
The Buffs addressed nearly all the ills that plagued them a week ago in a loss to Nebraska. CU’s offense outgained CSU 419-340, quarterback Shedeur Sanders threw for 310 yards and four touchdowns, and the Buffs finished with 109 yards rushing.
Colorado’s defense, meanwhile, held CSU to just a field goal for the first three quarters and recorded four takeaways and two sacks, all in the second half.
“Wonderful game, personal game, heartfelt game, emotional game,” Coach Prime said. “They kind of make it like that. We just want to play some football. The disrespect was uncalled for throughout the week. A couple of their players took shots at the whole program and few of our players. So it is what it is. So we knew that coming into the game, it was going to be a bit personal, and it was.”
The Buffs actually spotted the Rams an early 3-0 lead after CSU drove for a field goal midway through the first quarter.
But Colorado quickly took control. The Buffs scored two touchdowns in the second quarter — both touchdown passes from Sanders to LaJohntay Wester — for a 14-3 halftime lead, then added a quick score in the third quarter following an interception by Preston Hodge for a 21-3 edge.
Hodge’s pick, CU’s first takeaway of the season, was the first of four turnovers forced by the Buffs in the second half.
The two squads traded fumble recoveries late in the third quarter before CU basically put the game away after a Travis Hunter interception. Sanders guided a 55-yard scoring drive and capped the march with a 21-yard scoring toss to Hunter — his second score of the game — to give Colorado a 28-3 lead with 13:20 to play.
CSU finally found the end zone with just under 10 minutes to play but failed on the two-point try and Colorado still held a comfortable 28-9 lead and that ended the scoring.
Sanders finished 36-for-49 for 310 yards and four touchdowns and the only sack he endured came late in the game when he scrambled from the pocket and slid behind the line of scrimmage. Hunter finished with 13 catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns, Wester had five catches for 80 yards and two touchdowns and Will Sheppard recorded seven catches for 61 yards. Hunter, who had a 100-yard receiving game to finish last season, became the first player in CU history to record four straight games with at least 100 yards receiving.
Colorado’s run game also found its legs, finishing with 109 yards on 19 carries, led by Micah Welch’s 65 yards on nine attempts. It was the most yards rushing by the Buffs since they gained 132 yards against Stanford in Week 7 last season.
“Great darned victory,” Coach Prime said. “Offensive line was phenomenal. Did a great job not only run blocking, but pass blocking as well. The defense picked up right where it left off in the second half of last week’s game, and started the game and kept the momentum the entirety of the game.”
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Rams scored first, collecting a 25-yard field goal on their second possession and the Buffs missed a 44-yard field goal try on their second possession when Alejandro Mata pushed the attempt wide right.
But from that point on, the Buffs dominated.
After CU’s defense forced a CSU punt, Colorado put together a 12-play, 85-yard scoring drive. QB Sanders completed nine passes on the march for 64 yards, capping the march with a 4-yard scoring toss to LaJohntay Wester for a 7-3 lead.
Colorado’s defense then forced the Rams’ third straight punt of the half and Sanders and Co. went back to work. The Colorado quarterback completed four passes for 76 yards to spearhead an 84-yard scoring drive, with Sanders connecting with Wester again for a 34-yard touchdown with 58 seconds left in the half. Mata’s second PAT of the game gave the Buffs a 14-3 lead heading into the break.
Colorado dominated nearly every statistical category in the opening half. The Buffs did not give up a sack as CU outgained the Rams 223-116. Sanders completed 20 of 27 attempts for 167 yards and two touchdowns while Welch carried seven times for 50 yards. Travis Hunter had eight catches for 59 yards while Wester had three receptions for 55 yards and two scores.
Defensively, the Buffs throttled the Rams. CSU quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi was just 6-for-10 for 54 yards and the Rams totaled just 62 yards on the ground.
Colorado’s defense continued to thwart the Rams in the second half. After a CU punt buried CSU at its own 3-yard line early in the third quarter, the Buffs pressured Fowler-Nicolosi into an interception, with Hodge taking the ball back to the 12-yard line.
Two plays after Colorado’s first takeaway of the season, Sanders threw a 2-yard TD pass to Hunter for a 21-3 lead.
“Coach told us we had to get some turnovers,” Hunter said. “DBs were out there covering our butts off. The front did their job. They got back there, forced a couple of fumbles, got some sacks, got in the backfield, made the quarterback hurry. We did what we had to do on defense and the offensive line did their job. So our front dominated on both sides of the ball and we came up with the ‘W.'”
The Rams threatened to find the end zone on their next possession. CSU drove from its own 13 to the Colorado 4 — only to see Buffs linebacker LaVonta Bentley strip the ball from Keegan Holles and recover.
Colorado then turned the ball back over to CSU when running back Isaiah Augustave fumbled at midfield.
But CU’s defense responded again. Hunter delivered CU’s third takeaway of the game with an interception, then caught his second TD pass of the game on the Buffs’ ensuing possession, a 21-yard strike from Sanders for a 28-3 lead.
Colorado State finally scored a touchdown on its next possession. The Rams went 75 yards in six plays for a touchdown but failed to convert the two-point try and CU held a 28-9 lead with 9:58 left in the game.
After a CU punt, Colorado forced yet another CSU turnover, with BJ Green II recovering a fumble to end another Rams possession.
DECISIVE MOMENT: After Colorado punted on its first possession of the second half, CSU took over deep in its own territory. The Rams still trailed by just 11 points and a scoring drive would have kept them in the game. Instead, CU forced an interception and scored two plays later to take a 21-3 lead and take complete control.
KEY STATISTIC: The Buffs gave up just one sack, the fewest in the Coach Prime Era in Boulder … CU surpassed 100 yards rushing for the first time in nine games … Colorado’s defense has now given up just 10 points in the last six quarters and forced four turnovers and recorded two sacks in the second half.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs regained some much-needed momentum and confidence heading into next week’s Big 12 opener.
UP NEXT: The Buffs return home next Saturday for a 6 p.m. Homecoming matchup with Baylor (Fox) at Folsom Field. The 2-1 Bears are coming off a 31-3 win over Air Force on Saturday.
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Story by Neill Woelk, Contributing Editor for CUBuffs.com. Content courtesy of the University of Colorado at Boulder.