The year before Coach Prime arrived Colorado was 1-11, 128th out of 131 teams; his first year they went 4-8, 97th out of 133 teams; prior to their game with Oklahoma State this past Friday the Buffaloes were 8-3 and 22nd of 134 teams. After their 52-0 blowout of Oklahoma State, Colorado stands at 9-3 and have decreased their points allowed from 34.8 to 24 and have increased their average points per game from 28.2 to 32.9—not counting this game. I think if you look at what Deion Sanders did at the high school level, in the FCS at Jackson State, and now in the FBS at Colorado you have to come to the conclusion that he knows how to coach and improve his players. In addition, his ability to market and connect with younger players has already motivated the nation’s No. 2 player in 5-star QB Julian Lewis to de-commit from USC to play for the Buffaloes next year. His signing sends a loud message to the rest of the FBS that it won’t just be Texas and the Alabama’s and Georgia’s of the college football world that can attract most of the high tier talent. How good is Lewis? As pointed out by Jason Jones in Sport’s Illustrated; “Over just two high school seasons, he has passed for more than 7,000 yards and 96 touchdowns, showcasing elite arm strength, accuracy, and poise well beyond his years. Off the field, he has also made waves with a significant NIL deal, further demonstrating his ability to excel in the modern college football landscape.” Speaking of Name, Image, Likeness deals, you can probably guess who had the highest—Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter. Shedeur’s deal was $5.1 million this year—up from $1.3 last year. Travis, the only player in the Top-10 who is not a QB, had the second highest deal in 2024 at $3.1 million.
Regarding this game, it was a shut-out with Colorado leading from start-to-finish with lots of help from Oklahoma State who threw an interception the third play of the game in their own red zone which led to a Buffalo TD; went three-and-out on their next possession which Colorado turned into a TD 11 plays later; then fumbled the ball—also in their own red zone—on their third possession which Colorado turned into a 21-0 lead three plays later. The Cowboys finally pulled their heads out and were able to stop the bleeding but were still unable to score any points of their own with Colorado being as effective on defense as they were on offense in this one. The 2nd Qtr consisted of nine punts—eight of those three-and-outs—and one turnover on downs.
The second half wasn’t a whole lot different from the first. Colorado got the ball to start and were in the end zone three plays later on a 69 yard TD pass from Shedeur Sanders to LaJohntay Wester. Oklahoma State fumbled during their first possession just 10 yards outside of their own red zone which led to yet another Buffalo score four plays later to make it 35-0 with just four minutes gone in the 3rd Qtr. Colorado would be held to a field goal on their next possession to make it 38-0 but then throw an interception on the one after that. Unable to score even when they’re getting help, two plays later the Cowboys would throw up a pick six to make it 45-0 just inside the 4th Qtr. After holding Oklahoma State to a three-and-out Colorado would find the end zone again, this time on a 23 yard TD pass from Sanders to Travis Hunter to make it 52-0. Two three-and-outs and a long drive by the Cowboys to no where would mercifully end the game for Oklahoma State.
Sanders connected on 83% of his passes for 438 yards, 5 TD’s and 1 interception. His brother-in-arms Travis Hunter would be the recipient of three of those TD’s and 116 yards while Wester would pull down 11 catches for 175 yards and the other two TD’s. Once again Colorado established hardly any running game to speak of although Micah Welch did get into the end zone while running 12 times for 39 yards. But such a lopsided offense had the defense not even bothering to be prepared to stop a run, instead just going after Sanders who was sacked 6 times. They also recorded 9 tackles for loss and three pass disruptions. But none of it seemed to matter with their offense either making mistake-after-mistake or being held in check by the Colorado defense who recorded three sacks of their own and nine pass disruptions—limiting the Cowboys QB to 70 yards in the air and 2 interceptions— as well as 8 tackles for loss while holding Oklahoma’s ground game to just 70 yards without ever getting into the end zone.
It is expected that Travis Hunter’s big game should boost his already favorable chances to win the Heisman Trophy over Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty. Shedeur’s big day and season has added up to be the top single season record in passing yards and TD’s in Colorado history—3,926 and 35 respectively. It’s possible that these Buffaloes and very close friends will go 1 and 2 in the NFL Draft. Up next for Colorado—a bowl bid and an outside chance at playing for the Big-12 championship. They’ll need help like Arizona State losing the Duel-in-the-Desert to Arizona and Iowa State losing to No. 24 Kansas State. If that happens the Buffaloes could be facing BYU for the Big-12 Championship-wow!