Coach Deion Sanders and his Colorado football team head to a bowl game.
They made it possible Saturday night by beating Cincinnati at home, 34-23They improved their record this season to 6-2 with four games remaining in the regular season.
This gives them the minimum number of wins to be eligible for a postseason game in Sanders’ second season. It also keeps them in the thick of the hunt for a Big 12 Conference championship after getting another pair of big performances from quarterback Shedeur Sanders and star duo Travis Hunter.
Sanders completed 25 of 30 passes for 323 yards and two touchdowns. Hunter caught nine of those passes for 153 yards and both were touchdowns.
Cincinnati (5-3) cut Colorado’s lead to 31-23 with 3:51 remaining after driving 81 yards in 11 plays, capped by a 6-yard touchdown catch by tight end Joe Royer.
but Bearcats He missed the ensuing two-point pass attempt. then Buffalo They responded with a 47-yard field goal with 99 seconds left, extending their lead to 34-23 in front of a sold-out crowd of 53,202 at Folsom Field in Boulder.
It’s only the second time since 2007 that Colorado has won at least six games. This comes just two years after the Buffaloes finished with a 1-11 record and fired their previous coach, paving the way for the arrival of “Coach Prime.” The postseason bowl game will be only the third since 2007, including the 2020 pandemic season, when the Buffs went to the Alamo Bowl and finished 4-2.
By winning six games, Sanders earns a $150,000 bonus from Colorado and will earn $100,000 for each additional regular season win after that. According to his contract. His contract also stipulates that he will receive a reward of no less than $150,000 in exchange for being invited to attend a football match. His regular guaranteed compensation this year is $5.7 million.
His team is 4-1 in Big 12 play and has an offseason next week before returning to play Nov. 9 at Texas Tech.
Is Shadir Sanders injured?
Sanders, the son of Colorado coach Deion Sanders, appeared to suffer a hip or leg injury when he ran 4 yards for a first down to the Cincinnati 7-yard line in the third quarter. He ended up falling forward but sprained the tackle and looked uncomfortable after the Buffaloes scored on a 7-yard run later to help extend Colorado’s lead to 31-14.
He then received treatment on the sideline and returned to the game on Colorado’s next possession. But he attempted just one pass on that drive and instead turned the ball over on the play as the Buffs tried to run down the clock. The extent of the injury was not clear, but it was not enough to take him out of the match immediately.
He attempted just five passes after the injury and completed four. Colorado was still held back a bit after two punts and a field goal on their next three possessions.
Great first half from Travis Hunter, Sheder Sanders
The Buffs took a 24-14 lead into the first half after getting two goals from two-way star Travis Hunter. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders completed his first 15 passes and led the offense to scoring on all four of their possessions in the first half — three touchdowns and a field goal, including Sanders’ 4-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter.
Cincinnati tried to keep up and tie the game at 14-14 after an interception by Colorado defensive back Preston Hodge was overturned. Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby threw a deep pass that Hodge caught and returned to midfield, but the play was called back when Hodge was flagged for pass interference on the play after he apparently grabbed Cincinnati receiver Tony Johnson’s waist.
The ball was then punted on Colorado’s 13-yard line and the Bearcats scored one touchdown later, helping to tie the game with 9:31 left in the first half.
But that was the best they could do in the first half. Colorado’s defense held Cincinnati back on the Bearcats’ next possession, trapping them on fourth-and-1 on the Colorado 46-yard line. With 33 seconds left in the first half, Sanders took over and finished the ensuing drive with a 34-yard touchdown throw to Hunter, who was wide open on the right side of the field.
Hunter finished the first half with seven catches for 113 yards after sitting out the first half of his previous two games with a shoulder injury.
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