BOULDER — In the wake of Colorado’s dramatic win over Baylor on Saturday, Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders made it clear that his Buffaloes still have plenty of untapped potential.
“I think we’re so much better than what we’re showing you at times,” Coach Prime said. “We keep showing you glimpses of a running game. We show you glimpses of us playing hard-nosed, tough football defensively. We show you we can throw the ball all around, and then we just stall for a series of two and surrender something foolishly … But I’m pleased.”
Indeed, it would be difficult to be anything but pleased with the victory. Colorado played from behind for much of the evening but came up with a 43-yard Shedeur Sanders touchdown pass to LaJohntay Wester as time expired to tie the game, then won it in overtime, 38-31. The Buffs gained a win in their Big 12 opener, improved to 3-1 overall and picked up some more momentum heading into next weekend’s 1:30 p.m. (MT) matchup with UCF in Orlando.
The 3-0 Knights, who had the weekend off, present another interesting challenge for the Buffs. Head coach Gus Malzahn has built an offense that is averaging more than 45 points, 375 yards rushing and 195 yards passing per game.
But the Knights have played just one FBS opponent. After routing New Hampshire (57-3) and Sam Houston (45-14) in their first two games, they had to rally from a 28-7 deficit to collect a 35-34 win at TCU.
Still, if the Buffs intend on coming back to Boulder with a win, they will have to address the issues that arose in the win over Baylor while also trying to continue to improve in areas in which they’ve made strides over the last two weeks.
One way to look at Saturday?
A good news-good news situation. The Buffs weren’t at their best, they still found a way to win — and now they have another week to shore up the areas of concern.
Our takeaways from Saturday’s wild night at Folsom Field:
1. There might not be a better duo in college football than Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter. It could be a while before CU fans see another pair like this in Boulder. Both are arguably among the 20 best players in America, both are likely to be high first round draft picks — and both impact games like few other players in the country.
Sanders continues to amaze on a weekly basis. Despite being sacked eight times — and narrowly escaping a handful of others — he still managed to throw for 341 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for five first downs and had it not been for sack yardage, he would have easily finished as Colorado’s leading rusher with 78 yards on 19 carries.
And, of course, there was his heart-stopping TD throw at the end of regulation. Technically a Hail Mary, it was in actuality a well-aimed strike to Wester in the end zone.
Hunter, meanwhile, continues to put up unheard-of numbers that have somehow almost ridiculously become routine. The two-way star played 144 snaps (68 on defense, 81 offense), a number that the vast majority of college players don’t hit in two games. He recorded his fifth-straight 100-yard receiving game (7 catches, 130 yards) while also finishing with three tackles and the game-clinching forced fumble in overtime.
We’ve said it before and we’ll continue to repeat it: if the Heisman Trophy is indeed supposed to be awarded to the “most outstanding player” in college football, Hunter simply has to be included in the conversation.
2. Colorado’s defense continues to improve. Technically, the Buffs gave up 31 points against Baylor — but seven of those were no fault of the defense (a 100-yard kick return for a score) and 10 more came after the Bears reaped good field position thanks to big punt returns.
Defensive coordinator Rob Livingston continues to put his playmakers in position to have the biggest impact. Safety Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig had 13 tackles, including some big runs stops; linebacker Nikhai Hill-Greenproduced eight stops; outside rusher BJ Green II had a pair of tackles for loss; and, of course, there was Hunter’s play at the goal line in overtime.
Not that the Buffs have been perfect on defense. They gave up some big plays against BU, including a 45-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-1 and a couple of long pass plays for scores.
But overall, CU’s defense has improved. The Buffs are better against the run, they held Baylor to just 148 yards in the air and they limited the Bears to just 7-for-17 on third-down conversion tries.
Those numbers are trending in the right direction.
3. Coverage teams have to be fixed. An area that needs to be addressed in a hurry because it came thisclose to costing the Buffaloes the game Saturday.
The most-glaring error was Baylor’s 100-yard kick return for a touchdown, with BU’s Jamaal Bell racing the entire distance without being touched.
But there were also two other punt returns that put the Bears in position for score.
The Buffs can’t afford to be giving away points and good field position.
4. About that pass protection … CU’s offensive line took a nice step forward last week by allowing just one sack in a win over Colorado State.
But that stat trended in the wrong direction Saturday. The Buffs yielde eight sacks and the number almost certainly would have hit double digits if not for the uncanny escapability of QB Sanders.
Colorado tried to move players around on the line during the game in hopes of giving Sanders a little more protection. But Baylor finished with seven sacks in the second half and it proved to be another area that came very close to being CU’s undoing.
Until the Buffs prove they can fix the issue, teams are going to bring pressure from every imaginable place on the field. Colorado has to find a way to keep Sanders out of harm’s way.
5. Self-inflicted wounds are still an issue. Colorado finished with just six penalties for 65 yards, a decent number. But a couple of those penalties hurt CU drives and had it not been for some Sanders magic, those flags might have ended what turned out to be scoring drives.
Nobody is going to play penalty-free football. Again, six flags is a relatively manageable number. But every flag CU eliminates will make the Buffs just a little more effective on both sides of the ball.
6. Run game improvement. Colorado’s 91 yards rushing against the Bears won’t turn anyone’s head — but when you figure CU lost 52 yards in sacks, that number is a much more respectable 143.
Even more importantly, the Buffs picked up eight first downs on the ground and had a nice one-two punch with Isaiah Augustave (41 yards) and Micah Welch (22 yards and two touchdowns).
The Buffs are picking their spots to run and finding ways to be effective on the ground. Another trend that’s going in the right direction.
7. Shoutout to LaJohntay Wester. That catch Wester made in the end zone for the tying touchdown was by no means an easy one. He had to shake a defender, then go to the turf and make sure he had both arms under the ball.
Big-time play. Wester is quietly having a very nice season with 18 catches for 226 yards and four scores. When teams decide to double-team Hunter or Jimmy Horn Jr., Wester becomes a terrific threat.
8. More takeaways please? The Buffs have produced four defensive takeaways this season — and all came in one game, the win over Colorado State.
These are plays CU will need at some point. They’ve had some opportunities and missed them this year; now they need to make sure to take advantage.
9. But ball security has been solid. The Buffs have given up just four turnovers in four games — two interceptions and two fumbles. That’s a very manageable average. If they can continue to keep those kinds of errors to a minimum, it will be a big plus in their column.
10. Parity is the name of the game in the Big 12. After just one weekend of conference play, this much appears clear: there are a whole lot of teams with the ability to put themselves in the conference title game.
Certainly Utah, ranked No. 10 in the latest poll, looks very good. Unbeaten Iowa State also has a spot in the top 25 (No. 18), as do 3-1 Oklahoma State (No. 20) and 4-0 BYU (No. 22) and 3-1 Kansas State (No. 23).
But the weekend results displayed all kinds of parity. BYU thumped error-prone K-State, preseason darling Kansas fell to 1-3 after losing at West Virginia, OSU was dominated by Utah for 3½ quarters before a couple of late scores made it look close, and Texas Tech handed ASU its first loss.
The lesson is that there will be room at the top of the standings for teams that develop some consistency, reduce their errors and play to their strengths.
That’s a recipé Coach Prime’s Buffs could follow.
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Story by Neill Woelk, Contributing Editor for CUBuffs.com. Content courtesy of the University of Colorado at Boulder.
