LUBBOCK, Texas — Colorado moved one step closer to a Big 12 championship game berth Saturday as the No. 21 Buffaloes took care of Texas Tech, 41-27, at Jones AT&T Stadium.
Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders’ Buffs won their third straight game and improved to 7-2 overall and 5-1 in Big 12 play. The Buffs can clinch a spot in the Dec. 7 league title game in Arlington, Texas, by winning their last three games.
Texas Tech dropped to 6-4, 4-3.
Colorado spotted Texas Tech a 13-0 first quarter lead but cut the deficit to 13-10 by halftime.
The two teams then traded touchdowns to open the third quarter before Colorado took the lead for good with a 73-yard touchdown march with 4:25 to play in the third quarter. Shedeur Sanders threw 5 yards to Will Sheppard for the score as CU took a 24-20 lead.
CU then added another touchdown — a 24-yard Sanders pass to Travis Hunter — and a field goal to take a 34-20 lead with 9:46 remaining.
TTU then made it a close game by scoring with 2:12 remaining to cut the CU lead to 34-27 and then forcing a Colorado punt on the Buffs’ ensuing possession.
But CU edge rusher Arden Walker forced a fumble near the TTU goal line on the Red Raiders’ last-gasp possession. Colorado’s Shilo Sanders scooped the loose ball up and danced into the end zone to give CU a 41-27 lead and salt away the win.
Colorado’s offense rolled for 351 yards while the defense recorded six sacks, two fumble recoveries and an interception. Shedeur Sanders threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns while Travis Hunter had nine catches for 99 yards and a score.
TTU running back Tahj Brooks did run for 137 yards but the bulk of that total came in the fourth quarter when CU’s defense was dropping into pass prevent mode.
“We started out slow and that’s not indicative of who we are, but I felt confident that in the second half we were going to do what we ultimately did,” Coach Prime said. “The main thing was stopping the run and giving Shedeur time to throw the ball and I think he was sacked three times. One of them, I think, was on him. A couple of them might have been on him. But other than that, we did a great job.”
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs started slowly on both sides of the ball.
The Red Raiders took the opening kick and drove 54 yards for a score, getting a 17-yard touchdown pass from Behren Morton to Jalin Conyers to cap the march.
Colorado’s offense, meanwhile, punted on its first four possessions while the Red Raiders added two field goals to take a 13-0 lead with 2:28 still to play in the first quarter.
But the Buffs finally found their offensive footing in the second quarter. After CU’s defense forced a three-and-out, Colorado needed just six plays to go 58 yards for a touchdown. Shedeur Sanders connected with LaJohntay Wester in the flat, where he received a great block from Travis Hunter. That gave Wester enough room to tightrope the sideline to the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown, cutting TTU’s lead to 13-7.
Colorado’s defense then produced another stop and Sanders guided a 74-yard march that ended with an Alejandro Mata 25-yard field goal. Sanders kept the drive alive with a 9-yard run on fourth-and-6 before the drive stalled at the Texas Tech 8-yard line.
The field goal, though, pulled the Buffs to within three, 13-10, and the Buffs dodged a bullet in the final seconds of the half when a Texas Tech 53-yard field goal try drifted wide right.
“It’s almost like they got to get hit in the face,” Coach Prime said of his team’s slow start. “They got to get slapped. They got to feel it and I don’t know why we’re like that, because we do everything in our power, even the way we script practices, to get started fast. The emphasis is let’s get out to a good start. Because we know if we get out to a good start, the sky’s the limit.”
The Buffs fully found their groove after halftime as they finally took the lead on the opening possession of the third quarter. Sanders guided a 75-yard touchdown march, completing three passes on the drive before keeping it for the final 7 yards of the march to give Colorado a 17-13 lead.
But the Red Raiders had an answer on the ensuing possession, marching 66 yards for a touchdown to take a 20-17 lead.
The Buffs didn’t flinch, answering again with a 73-yard touchdown drive in seven plays. Sanders completed five passes on the march, including a 5-yard touchdown pass to Sheppard to give CU a 24-20 lead.
Texas Tech then took a gamble that turned the game on the ensuing possession. Facing a fourth-and-5 from their own 31, the Red Raiders faked a punt but the pass fell incomplete, handing the ball to the Buffs.
Four plays later, Sanders connected with Travis Hunter for a 24-yard touchdown pass and 31-20 lead with 1:18 to go in the third quarter.
Colorado then added a field goal to its total in the fourth quarter. Buffs linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green snatched an interception to give CU the ball at the TTU 39 and Colorado reaped a 33-yard Mata field goal five plays later for a 34-20 lead.
CU then missed a golden opportunity to put the game away on TTU’s ensuing possession. A BJ Green II sack — CU’s fifth of the game — forced a fumble and Cam’Ron Silmon Craig recovered at the Texas Tech 31.
But the Buffs couldn’t move and were forced to punt, handing the ball back to the Red Raiders.
That handed Texas Tech the ball at their own 16 after a punt and the Red Raiders drove all the way to the CU 1-yard line. But on fourth-and-goal, Amari McNeill and LaVonta Bentley stopped TTU’s Tahj Brooks for a 3-yard loss to basically sew up the win for the Buffaloes.
TTU did manage to cut the deficit to 34-27 with a touchdown with just more than two minutes to play, but the Buffs defense sewed up the win with a forced fumble and touchdown return in the final minute to complete the scoring.
TURNING POINT: After Colorado took a 24-20 lead, the Buffs defense held, only to see TTU fake the punt. The pass, though, fell incomplete and CU scored four plays later to take firm control.
KEY STATISTICS: Colorado’s defense recorded six sacks and produced three takeaways.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs can earn a spot in the Big 12 championship game with three more wins.
NEXT UP: It’s Breakfast With the Buffs next Saturday when Colorado plays host to Utah in a 10 a.m. game at Folsom Field (FOX).
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Story by Neill Woelk, Contributing Editor for CUBuffs.com. Content courtesy of the University of Colorado at Boulder.