BOULDER — Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders threw for 445 yards and four touchdowns and Travis Hunter hauled in three of those scores Thursday as the Buffaloes rallied in the second half for a 31-26 win over North Dakota State in the season opener at Folsom Field.
Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders’ Buffs trailed 20-17 at the half but rallied to score 14 unanswered points in the third and fourth quarter to take control down the stretch. QB Sanders threw TD passes of 13 and 3 yards to Hunter in the second half to give Colorado a 31-20 lead with 7:57 to play.
The 3-yard score wrapped up a punishing 17-play, 80-yard march that proved to be the decisive score in the game.
Colorado’s defense also came up big after intermission. After giving up 20 points in the first half, the Buffs kept the Bison off the board until NDSU finally tallied a touchdown with just 2:19 to play.
That still left time for some drama in the final minutes.
After the Bison’s 2-point conversion try failed, Colorado marched to midfield before punting. NDSU then took over at its own 8-yard line with 31 seconds left and managed to move to midfield. On the game’s final play, the Bison completed a 49-yard Hail Mary attempt — but it was 4 yards short of the goal line, sending a sigh of relief through the announced crowd of 49,438 and sending the Buffs into the locker room with a win.
Sanders completed 26 of 34 attempts for 445 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Hunter caught seven passes for 132 yards and three touchdowns and Jimmy Horn Jr. caught seven passes for 198 yards and a touchdown.
Colorado outgained the Bison 504-449. CU finished with just 59 yards rushing but also gave up only one sack. Dallan Hayden led CU in rushing with 20 yards on nine carries.
NDSU quarterback Cam Miller threw for 277 yards and a touchdown and also ran for 81 yards and two scores.
While happy with the opening win — Colorado’s first victory since last October — Coach Prime was less than jubilant.
“You ever felt like, you won but you didn’t win?” he asked. “Giving up the last touchdown on the run, that bothered me, because we pride ourselves on going to get the quarterback, and we have multitude of young men that can go get the quarterback and we didn’t get that done. But I’m thankful. I think 31 NFL scouts were on hand tonight and I think they saw what they came to see. So let’s move on from there. I’m going to try my best to hold back my anger, but we got the ‘W’ so I’m happy.”
HOW IT HAPPENED: After the Bison opened the game with a 57-yard drive and field goal, the Buffs went to work on offense and needed just 2:42 to regain the lead.
Sanders orchestrated a six-play, 75-yard scoring drive to give the Buffs a 7-3 lead with 9:30 still to play in the first quarter. Sanders completed four passes for 65 yards on the march, including a 41-yard scoring toss to Hunter. CU’s two-way star gathered in a short pass, eluded one tackler and raced to the end zone to give the Buffs the lead.
NDSU, though, didn’t flinch. The Bison answered with a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive with Miller throwing a 7-yard scoring toss to tight end Joe Stoffel to cap the march. That gave NDSU a 10-7 lead.
But Colorado answered again, needing just 44 seconds to regain the lead. After a Hayden 5-yard run on first down, Sanders lofted a 69-yard scoring strike to Horn to give the Buffs a 14-10 lead with 3:15 still remaining in the first period.
The Buffs’ defense, though, continued to struggle early as NDSU put together a 77-yard scoring drive. Miller scored from 7 yards out with 12:07 to play in the second quarter and Colorado trailed, 17-14.
Colorado then saw a gamble come up short and almost become a very costly one. The Buffs elected to go for it on fourth-and-1 from their own 34-yard line and Hayden was stopped for no gain to give the Bison the ball in CU territory.
“We got to get that,” Coach Prime said. “We got to convert that. That’s kind of putting your stamp on it. We got to be physical.”
But the Buffs defense held, finally forcing the Bison to settle for a 31-yard field goal and 20-14 lead.
The two teams then traded punts, with CU finally regaining possession at its own 3-yard line and just 56 seconds on the clock.
That was enough time for Sanders to direct an 89-yard drive. He completed five passes on the march — two under extreme pressure — and a 31-yard toss to Horn put the Buffs in position for a 27-yard Alejandro Matafield goal as time expired.
CU thus entered the break trailing just 20-17.
Colorado threatened to take the lead on its first possession of the second half, quickly marching inside the NDSU 10-yard line. But a freak interception that saw the ball bounce off a Bison defender’s leg in the end zone into linebacker Nick Kubitz’s arms ended the march.
But CU’s defense responded by forcing a quick 3-and-out and the Buffs didn’t let their next opportunity come up empty. Sanders completed three passes on a 72-yard scoring drive, including a 41-yard toss to Horn and a 13-yard touchdown pass to Hunter to give the Buffs a 24-20 lead with 7:45 remaining in the third quarter.
CU’s defense continued to look much more cohesive after some halftime adjustments. The Buffs held the Bison at midfield on their next possession, forcing a punt that gave Colorado possession at its own 20.
Then came the game’s decisive drive, as CU put together a 17-play, 80-yard drive to take full control.
Sanders completed six passes on the march as CU used 8:10 off the clock — almost as much time as the Buffs held the ball for the entire first half. Mixing in just enough of a run game to keep the drive and clock moving, CU finished the drive with a 3-yard Sanders pass to Hunter — his third touchdown catch of the game — and Colorado had a 31-20 lead with just 7:57 remaining.
The Bison did answer with a 75-yard scoring drive, getting a 20-yard touchdown run from Miller. But the 2-point conversion try failed and Colorado took possession with 2:19 remaining.
The Buffs then ran the clock down to 31 seconds after punting from midfield. NDSU managed to drive back to midfield only to see a Hail Mary attempt on the last play of the game be completed but come up 4 yards short of the goal line.
TURNING POINT: The Buffs took the lead for good midway through the third quarter when a Sanders-to-Hunter touchdown pass covering 13 yards gave CU a 24-20 lead.
KEY STATISTICS: Sanders threw for 445 yards and four scores … Seven different Buffs had at least one reception … Horn’s 198 yards receiving was a career high … Hunter’s three TD catches were a career best.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs avoided an upset bid by an FCS team and now have a couple extra days to prepare for their next game.
NEXT UP: The Buffs head to Nebraska on Saturday, Sept. 7, for a 5:30 p.m. matchup with the Huskers in Lincoln (NBC). After that, it’s a Sept. 14 game at Colorado State (CBS).
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Story by Neill Woelk, Contributing Editor for CUBuffs.com. Content courtesy of the University of Colorado at Boulder.