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Texas football insider David Eckert gives Before The Snap insight into Texas’ mentality and approach and shows how the Longhorns are ranked No. 1 for the first time in 16 years.
BOULDER, Colorado – Fans stormed the field before the game was even over.
It was wet. It was wild. And now the Colorado Buffaloes are back on the rise after an incredible series of decisive plays at the end of a 38-31 home overtime win over Baylor.
The celebration begins in the locker room under head coach Deion Sanders.
“That was a party, man,” Colorado receiver LaJohntay Wester said of the postgame scene. “I loved it, man… There’s nothing like that around here, man, especially after a win. There’s nothing like that.”
Nothing like that happened at the end of the game either. After trailing by 14 points early in the game, the Buffs fought back with a Hail Mary pass as time expired in regulation. In overtime, a superstar two-way guard, Travis Hunter, forced the game-ending play, a forced fumble.
“Great, great, great, great, great win,” Deion Sanders said afterwards.
And yet, it almost never happened. Here’s how it went down and what it means after Colorado survived — just — in front of a sold-out home game of 52,794 at Folsom Field. The Buffs are now off to a 3-1 start for the second year in a row under Sanders, as Hunter continues to find new ways to steal the show.
The last drive in regulation for Colorado
Baylor (2-2) nearly tied the game with a 45-yard field goal on its final drive of regulation with 2:16 left in the fourth quarter. Had the kick been successful, the Buffs likely would have lost. But the kick went wide, allowing the Buffs to get the ball back when Baylor led 31-24.
What happened next was a parade of near-misses, near-misses and “Perfect Timing,” which also happens to be the rap song by Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Deion’s youngest son.
“They never gave up,” said Deion Sanders. “They never surrendered.”
At one point, Shedeur Sanders faced a fourth down and 1 at Baylor’s 46-yard line – a play that would have ended the game for the Buffs had he not converted it. Sanders instead got a first down with a 3-yard run, keeping Colorado’s hopes alive.
Two plays later, Sanders threw a long second-down pass near the end zone to receiver Will Sheppard, a transfer from Vanderbilt. But Sheppard dropped the potential touchdown catch and stopped the clock with two seconds left.
“We should have caught him,” said Deion Sanders. “But we caught the one we needed to catch.”
The Ave Maria, almost 30 years after the other Ave Maria
After Sheppard’s drop, there was still time for one more play – a 43-yard Hail Mary pass, almost 30 years to the day after Colorado’s 64-yard Hail Mary pass to win at Michigan as time expired on September 24, 1994.
“I just trusted in God,” Shedeur Sanders said. “I just left it up to God and God certainly answered my prayer.”
Shedeur Sanders rolled left and slammed the ball into the left corner of the end zone, where Wester turned to catch it in the rain for a 43-yard touchdown with no time left in the fourth quarter. It helped that Baylor’s defense paid more attention to Hunter, allowing Wester to more easily break free and haul in the ball.
“It was a Hail Mary,” said Wester, who transferred from Florida Atlantic. “I was one-on-one. I just ran down there. I see him (Shedeur) rolling, and then I see the ball coming at me. As a receiver, your job is to get the quarterback right, whether it’s a good ball or a bad ball, and I just made a play on the ball.”
After the extra point, the game went into overtime with a 31:31 tie.
Overtime and the fumble forced by Travis Hunter
Colorado got the ball first in overtime and gained 25 yards on seven plays, including eight rushing yards and 12 passing yards from Shedeur Sanders. “Whatever it takes to win,” Shedeur said.
Freshman running back Micah Welch rushed up the middle and scored a 1-yard touchdown to cap the drive and give the Buffs a 38-31 lead.
But Baylor still had the chance to react and made it to Colorado’s 2-yard line in four plays. Among other things, quarterback Sawyer Robertson managed a 13-yard run that would have led to a touchdown had it not been for a tackle in the open field by Buffs safety Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig.
One play later, the ball went to running back Dominic Richardson, who had a clear path into the end zone except for one player.
Travis Jaeger.
Hunter stood firm at the goal line and forced Richardson to jump past him. The ball came loose and rolled into the end zone.
“I knew this was coming,” Hunter said. “They don’t believe I can tackle, so I had to show them.”
Hunter finished the game with seven catches for 130 yards on offense and three tackles and the decisive forced fumble on defense.
The crazy scene after the game
After the fumble, the game was over. The Buffs won.
Or so it seemed.
Colorado fans responded to the fumble by storming the field in the rain, but referees had yet to watch replays of the game to confirm that. In other words, it wasn’t quite over, leading to calls for fans to stand back and leave the field.
“I want to apologize to the opponent for the way we stormed the field,” said Deion Sanders.
Sanders said he didn’t even have the chance to shake Baylor head coach Dave Aranda’s hand afterward.
“I don’t like what happened at the end of the game, but I love what happened at the end of the game,” Deion Sanders said. “We have a phenomenal fan base.”
After replays confirmed the fumble, the homecoming party went into overdrive as the Bears walked home wondering what just happened. Aranda called it a “heartbreaking loss” and said his team was “devastated.”
Hunter, for his part, celebrated by quickly crawling through the end zone on his hands and knees – a personal salute to popular online streamer Kai Cenat.
“I had to do it,” Hunter said.
The Buffs were still lucky
They allowed two key touchdowns in the second quarter, silencing the crowd that had come to make noise. The first was a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Baylor’s Jamaal Bell down the right sideline. The second was a 45-yard run by Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson on fourth down that gave the Bears a 24-10 lead with 4:19 left before halftime.
The Buffs also allowed eight quarterback sacks, just a week after allowing just one in a 28-9 win at Colorado State.
Shedeur Sanders called the win “a relief.” He completed 25 of 41 passes for 341 yards and two touchdowns, including a 58-yard pass to sophomore receiver Omarion Miller in the second quarter to cut Baylor’s lead to 24-17 with 50 seconds left before halftime. Miller was nearly tackled near the 35-yard line but kept running and scored. But Shedeur found fault with himself, saying he didn’t read the passes properly.
“You have to understand that I can’t have a game like that again,” Shedeur said.
The question now is whether the Buffaloes can sustain their success, unlike last year when they lost seven of their final eight games after starting 3-1. If they lost a game like the one against Baylor, they would have an uphill battle ahead of them to reach the minimum six wins needed for a postseason spot.
Now they’re full of momentum heading across the country to play Central Florida (3-0) on Saturday, before having a weekend off on October 5.
“I don’t like how it went, but I liked the results,” Deion Sanders said. “I think we’re so much better than what we show you sometimes.”
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @SchrotenboerEmail: [email protected]
