Shedeur Sanders threw two touchdown passes to Travis Hunter and scored a touchdown himself, helping Colorado secure bowl eligibility with a 34-23 victory over Cincinnati on Saturday night.
Sanders had an impressive performance, completing 25 of 30 passes for 323 yards. He started the game by completing his first 15 passes, which is the most in program history. This was particularly impressive since he was recovering from the flu.
Hunter made nine catches for 153 yards, including a 34-yard touchdown catch just three seconds before halftime. On defense, the standout player and Heisman candidate broke up four passes.
“Travis is the best football player in the country,” said Colorado coach Deion Sanders. “We all know that. Why are we even deliberating over that?”
With this win, the Buffaloes (6-2, 4-1 Big 12) have become bowl eligible for the first time in a full season since 2016. They also made a bowl appearance in 2020 during the shortened season. This marks a significant turnaround for Colorado in Deion Sanders’ second year as coach, after finishing 4-8 last year.
“We’re on a wonderful journey,” the Buffaloes coach said. “We know the direction we’re going.”
After the game, Sanders made his first call to Peggy Coppom, the super-fan of the Buffaloes who will turn 100 next month. She has been a source of motivation for Sanders, and he wants to ensure she attends a bowl game.
“Now we want to make sure she goes to the best possible bowl that she could possibly go to,” Sanders said.
Colorado extended its lead to 31-14 with 5:41 left in the third quarter thanks to a 7-yard run by Isaiah Augustave. However, Shedeur Sanders seemed to be walking carefully along the sideline shortly after that drive and spent some time on a stationary bike while the defense played.
The Bearcats (5-3, 3-2) closed the gap to 31-23 with 3:51 left when Brendan Sorsby threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Joe Royer. They attempted a two-point conversion but didn’t succeed.
After the kickoff, with the team backed up, Sanders took a risk and completed a 34-yard pass to Hunter. This drive ended with Alejandro Mata kicking a game-winning 47-yard field goal with 1:39 remaining.
“Each win,” said Shedeur Sanders, “definitely gives us a confidence boost.”
Now, the Buffaloes may be in line for a spot in the rankings, but Deion Sanders prefers to avoid that. “Don’t rank us, please,” Sanders said. “We don’t like that. We’d rather be in the back in the dark, just chillin’.”
Sorsby ended the game with 180 passing yards and two touchdowns. “I don’t think any guy on the sideline ever lost hope,” Sorsby said. “That’s a credit to this team and this staff.”
The game changed just before halftime when Colorado’s defense stopped Sorsby on fourth-and-1 at the 46 with 33 seconds left. This led to Sanders finding a wide-open Hunter, putting Colorado up 24-14 at halftime.
“That momentum swing right before halftime was huge, obviously, in their favor,” said Bearcats coach Scott Satterfield. “Just obviously disappointed in the loss, not playing great.”
The Buffaloes received three unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, including one on safety Shilo Sanders in the fourth quarter that briefly put him on the bench. There was also a penalty on Jimmy Horn Jr. early in the game.
He caught a pass from Sanders and ran 57 yards for what would have been a first-quarter touchdown, but he flashed a “peace” sign at a Cincinnati defender, resulting in a flag that took away the score.
Hunter helped his teammate out with a 3-yard touchdown catch. At one point, Deion Sanders urged the fans over the loudspeaker not to throw anything onto the field and repeated this message after the game.
“The people doing that, you’re better than that,” Sanders said.
