I know I was complaining that it was only Colorado getting the prime time television spots on Saturday. But honestly, after watching that game—I get it. I mean their Week-1 edge-of-your-seat opener against North Dakota State and then this one that took a Hail Mary pass from Shedeur Sanders to get the Buffaloes into overtime. There was literally no time on the clock when the ball left his hands that was caught in the end zone by Senior WR LaJohntay Wester, “unleashing bedlam in Boulder,” as the AP wrote for ESPN. Once again two-way phenom Travis Hunter played the role of Superman. In the North Dakota State game he made an other worldly catch to save the day while in this one he forced a Baylor fumble at the goal line in overtime to preserve the 38-31 victory—sending thousands of fans onto the field. As the AP pointed out Shedeur’s desperate pass play came just three days shy of the 30th anniversary of what is known as the “Miracle at Michigan,” a play in which Colorado QB Kordell Stewart connected on a 64 yard pass to Michael Westbrook in the end zone with time expiring to beat the Wolverines in the Big House which Fox sports just happened to show seconds before Sanders connected with Wester. After fracturing his back last year I just hope for Shedeur’s sake he can get through the season without getting permanently injured because as of right now he’s on track to be sacked even more times this year than he was last year in which he led the FBS by far—eight times in this one.
Colorado won the toss and deferred and although they held the Bears to a three-and-out on their first possession Baylor was the first to gets points on the board with a field goal on their second. Colorado came back 11 plays and 75 yards later to take a 7-3 lead on a 2 yard QB keeper by Sanders. Baylor followed up with a 75 yard drive of their own and a Sawyer Robertson 30 yard TD pass to Mongray Baldwin to take the lead back, 10-7, in the first minute of the 2nd Qtr. After trading three-and-outs the Buffaloes would tie it up on a 43 yard Alejandro Mata field goal but immediately shoot themselves in the foot when their special teams allowed a 100 yard Jamaal Bell kick-off return for TD and successful two-point conversion as Baylor went back up 17-10. After holding Colorado to yet another three-and-out the Bears would be back in the end zone four plays later on a 45 yard Sawyer Robertson run to the house and go up 24-10 with less than three minutes left in the half. But that was plenty of time for Colorado as Sanders would hit O. Miller with a 58 yard TD pass to close the gap to a single possession game of 24-17 at the break.
Neither team got anything going on their first two possessions of the 3rd Qtr. But with less than four minutes left Shedeur hit Travis Hunter with two long passes, the first for 46 yards and the second for 31 to set the Buffaloes up 1st and goal at the Baylor 8 yard line. Two plays later Freshman RB Micah Welch ran it into the end zone and tied the score up 24-24. Holding Baylor to a three-and-out Colorado would get the ball back and go 48 yards in 10 plays and went for it sitting 4th and 8 at the Baylor 35. But it didn’t pan out and 8 plays later the Bears would go up 31-24 on a 24 yard TD pass from Robertson to Senior WR Hal Presley. After a three-and-out by the Buffaloes and a missed field goal that, as it turns out, would have iced the game for Baylor, Colorado gets the ball back, down a touchdown with just over two minutes remaining in the game. Sanders was sacked and looses three yards on the first play but gets 5 yards back on a defensive off-sides to make it 2nd and 8 on their own 30 yard line. Shedeur throws a pass to Hunter, this one deep to the right side but falls incomplete after a defender knocks Travis Hunter down and earns a pass interference call which costs Baylor 15 yards and a 1st down. Now 1st and 10 at their own 45 yard line Sanders is sacked for a 9 yard loss and then flagged for a false start. Now 2nd and 24 at their own 31 yard line Sanders keeps the ball and takes off down field picking up 17 yards down to the Colorado 48 sitting 3rd and seven. Sanders completes a 6 yard pass to LaJohntay Wester and then runs for three himself to the Baylor 43 yard line with less than 20 seconds left. Colorado takes their last timeout of the half and at this point there was so much tension you could cut it with a knife. They come out and Shedeur’s first two passes fall incomplete, now trailing by 7 with just 8 seconds left. As the AP described it; “The clock struck 0:00 and Shedeur Sanders rolled to his left and let the football fly. LaJohntay Wester caught the 43-yard Hail Mary pass in the end zone, unleasing bedlam in Boulder on a rain, storm-the-field kind of night that coach Deion Sanders and the rest of the Colorado football program will soak in for a long time.”
As exciting and exhilarating as it was for the Colorado players and fans it was a devastating loss for the Baylor Bears. As head coach Dave Aranda said afterwards; “Heart-wrenching loss. Haven’t really been a part of something like that, especially down to the last play of overtime. … Very hard to take. The team is very gutted right now, and so frustrated. We’re probably going to be hurting all the way back to Waco.” From Coach Prime; “Great, great, great, great, great win. These young men were resilient. They never gave up, never surrendered.” On the night Sanders completed 60% of his passes for 341 yards, 2 TD’s, no interceptions and ran one in as well to go with the two by Freshman RB Micah Welch. For Baylor, Sawyer Robertson matched Shedeur on the scoreboard, throwing for two and running for one, with Place Kicker Isaiah Hankins adding the other three points on a field goal made but missing a 45 yarder with just over two minutes left that would have won the game for the Bears. Colorado hits the road to play the University of Central Florida next Saturday before hosting No. 13 Kansas State two weeks later.