BOULDER — Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes earned bowl eligibility Saturday night with a 34-23 win over Cincinnati at Folsom Field.

The Buffs improved to 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the Big 12, giving CU its most wins in a season since the 2016 Buffs won 10 games. That’s also the last time the Buffs played in a bowl game in a full season.

Cincinnati dropped to 5-3, 3-2.

The victory also kept Colorado in contention for a Big 12 championship game berth and the College Football Playoff bid that will go to the winner. The Buffs are now tied with Kansas State for third place in the league standings, just behind BYU (5-0 in conference play) and Iowa State (4-0).

Saturday, the Buffs took command late in the second quarter and only a late Bearcats rally made the game appear closer than it was.

After the two teams traded a pair of touchdowns to start the game, the Buffs notched a field goal to take a 17-14 lead with 3:28 to play in the second quarter. A CU defensive stand on fourth-and-1 near midfield then gave the Buffs possession with 31 seconds left in the half — and they needed just 28 seconds to score and take a 24-14 lead into the break.

Colorado then pushed its edge to 31-14 midway through the third quarter before the Bearcats finally responded with nine points to cut Colorado’s lead to 31-23.

But the Buffs salted away the win on their ensuing possession. CU drove to the Cincinnati 29-yard line, then settled for a 47-yard Alejandro Mata field goal and 34-23 lead with just 1:39 remaining.

Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders had an excellent night, finishing 25-for-30 for 323 yards and two touchdowns. Two-way star Travis Hunter had nine catches for 153 yards and two scores and he also had two tackles and four pass breakups.

CU rushed for 123 yards, led by 91 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries from Isaiah Augustave.

The Buffs defense held Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby to just 180 yards passing on a 16-for-30 night and limited Bearcats leading receiver Xzavier Henderson to just one catch for 11 yards. Corey Kiner led UC with 94 yards rushing.

“We’re excited with some of the things that we’re doing,” Coach Prime said. “We really are. But some of the things are still a work in progress. We’re happy about some things. We’re happy about some of the players and what they’re doing. I got to see the film to see what everyone truly did and clean up some of the mistakes we made because we shouldn’t have let that game get that close. But we got the ‘W. ‘That’s what counts.”

Coach Prime had made earning a bowl bid for CU super fan Peggy Coppom a rallying cry for the Buffs this year. Coppom was unable to attend Saturday’s game but CU officials called her as soon as it was over.

But Coach Prime said the Buffs have far more in mind than just any bowl game.

“I wanted to do that for Peggy,” he said. “But we want so much more. We want so much more. That’s why we practice the way we practice, why we go at it, the way we go about it. So we want so much more. That’s just the beginning of what we desire around here.”

HOW IT HAPPENED: Colorado’s defense opened the game by forcing a Cincinnait three-and-out and the Buffs’ offense produced an 11-play, 64-yard scoring drive to take a 7-0 lead.

CU originally thought it had a 57-yard touchdown pass from Sanders to Jimmy Horn Jr., only to see Horn flagged for taunting on the play, giving the Buffs the ball at the Cincinnati 25-yard line.

That, however, only delayed CU’s march to the end zone. Five plays later, Sanders threw 3 yards to Hunter for the touchdown.

Cincinnati quickly answered with a long scoring drive, getting a 6-yard TD pass from Sorsby to Tony Johnson to knot the score at 7-7.

The two teams then traded scores again, with Colorado 90 yards in 12 plays, capped by a 4-yard Sanders run. The CU quarterback was 10-for-10 for 116 yards and a touchdown on Colorado’s first two possessions.

Cincinnati answered one more time, driving 72 yards to tie the game at 14-14 with a 14-yard Evan Pryor run.

Sanders then continued his hot streak to start the game, completing his next five passes on CU’s ensuing possession. He finally threw an incompletion on his 16th attempt and CU ended up settling for a 28-yard Alejandro Mata field goal and 17-14 lead with 3:28 left in the half.

Colorado’s defense then delivered arguably the biggest moment of the game.

The Bearcats drove into CU territory and found themselves facing a fourth-and-1. Sorsby tried a run up the middle but was stopped short by Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig and Nikhai Hill-Green.

That gave CU possession at its own 46 with 31 seconds left on the clock — which turned out to be just enough time for the Buffs to find the end zone one more time.

Sanders completed three passes on the drive, wrapping it up with a 34-yard scoring strike to Hunter with 3 seconds remaining in the half to give Colorado a commanding 24-14 edge at the break.

Sanders finished the half 18-for-21 for 219 yards and two touchdowns, along with a rushing touchdown. Hunter had seven catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns, along with one tackle and two pass breakups on defense.

The Buffs then took a three-score lead midway through the third quarter.

After the two teams traded punts to open the period, Colorado drove 62 yards in six plays to take a 31-14 edge. Sanders completed a 28-yard pass to LaJohntay Wester to put the Buffs at the Cincinnati 17 and three plays later Isaiah Augustave bulled into the end zone from 7 yards out. Mata’s PAT gave CU a 31-14 lead with 8:51 left in the third period.

Cincinnati finally ended its second-half scoring drought with a field goal with 9:20 remaining in the fourth quarter to cut Colorado’s lead to 31-17. The Bearcats then got a defensive stop and forced a CU punt, taking possession again on their own 19 with 7:30 to play.

The Bearcats then made it a one-score game by driving 81 yards for a touchdown. But their two-point conversion try failed and Colorado led by eight, 31-23, with 3:51 to play.

CU put the game away on its ensuing possession. The Buffs drove to the Cincinnati 29-yard line before settling for a 47-yard Mata field goal for a 34-23 lead with just 1:39 remaining and that ended the scoring for the night.

TURNING POINT: CU’s defense provided the momentum shift that turned the game late in the second quarter. The Bearcats had a fourth-and-1 at the CU 46 and the Buffs stopped Cincinnati for no gain. CU then drove 54 yards for a touchdown and 24-14 lead at halftime.

KEY STATISTIC: The Buffs again produced some good offensive balance, throwing for 323 yards and rushing for 123 … Colorado converted seven of 13 third-down tries while limiting the Bearcats to 3 of 10 … CU did not have a turnover and gave up just one quarterback sack.

WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs are bowl eligible and still in contention for a Big 12 title game berth.

UP NEXT:  The Buffs have next weekend off before returning to action Nov. 9 with a game at Texas Tech.

Story by Neill Woelk, Contributing Editor for CUBuffs.com. Content courtesy of the University of Colorado at Boulder.