Colorado University Athletics
Takeaways From Buffs' Win Over Cincinnati
October 27, 2024 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Evidently the national media weren't listening to Colorado's Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders on Saturday after his Buffaloes beat Cincinnati 34-23 at Folsom Field.
When asked about the Buffs still being in contention for a College Football Playoff berth, Sanders had this to say:
"We ain't thinking about the playoffs right now. Right we go one game at a time. We don't even want to be ranked. Don't rank us, please. We don't like that. We'd rather be in the back, in the dark, just chilling. We good, we cool. We straight, so don't feel pressure to rank us. I promise you everybody, we straight. So we're not thinking about that."
But Sunday morning, the Buffs found them AP national top 25 again, checking in at No. 23, marking the first time the Buffs have been ranked heading into November since 2016 and just the second time since 2005.
Sanders firmly believes in the one-game-at-a-time approach, which has served his Buffaloes well thus far this season. CU is 6-2 overall, 4-1 in the Big 12 and is indeed in contention for a Big 12 championship game berth and the College Football Playoff bid that goes to the winner.
Of course, the Buffs will need some help to get that berth, even if they win their remaining four games. They are currently tied for third with Kansas State in the league standings (4-1) and would lose a tiebreaker with the 17th-ranked Wildcats on the basis of KSU's win over the Buffs earlier this season.
The Buffs would also need ninth-ranked and league leader BYU (8-0, 5-0) to lose at least once down the stretch, and the same with 11th-ranked Iowa State (7-0, 4-0) — and then hope for a break in the tiebreakers.
But we'll stick with Coach Prime's directive today and not be concerned with the playoff possibilities or the rankings. There's still far too much of the season remaining to get lost in the what-if weeds.
What we do know today, however, is this: the Buffs are bowl eligible, and every win from here on out will sweeten the possibility of a high-level spot.
Which brings us to a quick reminder: while Colorado left the Pac-12, the Buffs are still tied to their former league's bowl agreements for two more years (along with all the other schools who vacated the building).
Those bowls that will be picking from the "Pac-12" pool include the Dec. 18 LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk, the Dec. 27 SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl, the Dec. 27 DirecTV Holiday Bowl, the Dec. 28 Valero Alamo Bowl, the Dec. 28 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl and the Dec. 31 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl.
Now, back to the here and now.
Saturday's win over Cincinnati might have been CU's best effort of the year. The Bearcats are a good team and it will be a big surprise if they aren't bowling as well this season.
But the Buffs were clearly the better team in all three phases. Had it not been for some late CU lapses, the score would have been far more indicative of how Colorado dominated the game when it was still up for grabs.
Thus, our takeaways:
1. The Buffs greatly limited their mistakes. CU has almost eliminated the self-inflicted wounds that have plagued them at times while also cleaning up the areas that have caused them issues in the past.
The Buffs did not commit a turnover, gave up just one sack and committed just five penalties (although a couple of those flags could have proven to be costly down the stretch).
But the bottom line is Colorado is playing like a mature team should at this point of the season. That's a credit to the coaching staff.
2. Yep, Travis Hunter should be back in the Heisman conversation. After a couple of games when he was hampered by a shoulder injury, CU's two-way star had a performance for the ages Saturday.
Hunter set career highs for receiving yards (153) on nine catches, with two touchdowns. He also had a career-best four pass breakups while playing all 61 snaps on defense, 68 of 71 on offense and three on special teams.
He now leads the Big 12 pass breakups (seven) and touchdown receptions (eight), and has two interceptions and 60 receptions for 757 yards.
Is he the best player in college football? Here's what Coach Prime had to say:
"Travis is the best college football player in the country. We all know that. Why are we even deliberating over that? What are the criteria? Somebody needs to say, what are the criteria for that prestigious award? Because we're looking for the best college football player ever. There has never been a Travis Hunter, and I'm up here saying that."
3. But if the Heisman has to go to a quarterback, Shedeur Sanders should be in the conversation as well. Colorado's QB is third in the nation in touchdown passes (21), seventh in passing yards per game (324), tied for seventh in points responsible for (144) and 11th in passer rating.
Again, we'll turn to Coach Prime:
I don't care. I really don't. It's just strange. It's funny to me. I just think it's ignorant, but it's funny. It's funny to us because Shedeur couldn't care less. He wants to be drafted in a wonderful city. He wants to win out, and that's what he thinks about. He isn't thinking about a Heisman."
4. CU's defense knows big moments. In the course of any successful season, there are always a few plays that mark turning points, plays that had they gone the other way might have changed the course of a season.
Already, CU has the Hail Mary touchdown pass from Sanders to LaJohntay Wester that tied the game against Baylor and ultimately led to an overtime win.
Saturday's huge moment might not have been as dramatic — but it changed the course of the game.
Late in the second quarter Cincinnati appeared on the verge of marching to at least a tying field goal or perhaps a go-ahead touchdown. The Bearcats trailed 17-14 but had scored touchdowns on their previous two possessions and had driven into CU territory.
But on fourth-and-one from the Colorado 46, the Buffs rose to the occasion. Cam'Ron Silmon-Craig and Nikhai Hill-Green stuffed UC quarterback Brendan Sorsby for no gain, giving the ball to the offense.
The Buffs then promptly drove for a touchdown and 10-point lead going into halftime.
There's no way of knowing if the Bearcats would have continued their drive with a successful conversion. But even if they'd simply run out the clock and not scored, it would have been a three-point game at the break.
Instead, Robert Livingston's defense produce a huge, momentum-shifting moment, the kind that makes a difference in a season.
5. Red-zone and third-down success. CU penetrated the 20-yard line four times Saturday night and came away with three touchdowns and a field goal.
All of those drives needed a third-down conversion — and the Buffs were 7-for-13 in that area. CU is now 24th in the nation in third-down conversion percentage, hitting 49 of 107 (.458).
Those are the kind of clutch plays that mark a winning season — and CU is making those plays.
6. The O-line continues to improve. Drop some kudos on offensive line coach Phil Loadholt. The first-year coach has pushed his group to consistently improve as the season has progressed and it's been a difference maker.
Colorado had another solid run game against the Bearcats, finishing with 123 yards — and more importantly, seven rushing first downs. Those are plays the Buffs weren't making even earlier this year.
Loadholt is using a rotation at the guard spot. Kahlil Benson and Kareem Harden split time at right guard while Justin Mayers and Tyler Brown split time at left. The system gives Buffs fresh legs against defensive lines, who are constantly rotating players in and out.
Meanwhile, CU's pass protection is improving. The Buffs have given up just one sack in each of the last two games.
7. Underdogs no more. The Buffs could very well be favored in all of their remaining games.
Only one opponent left on the schedule — Texas Tech — has a winning record, checking in at 5-3 overall and 3-2 in conference play.
The remaining three — Utah, Kansas and Oklahoma State — are a combined 9-15 overall and 2-13 in league play.
That's a schedule CU fans can like.
