Woelk: Coach Prime's Buffs Take Another Step Forward
November 16, 2024 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Saturday afternoon, Colorado's Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders said publicly what every coach remaining on the Buffaloes' schedule is privately thinking.
"You guys understand the progress and you understand that we haven't even put it all together yet," Sanders told the media after his team demolished Utah, 49-24. "We haven't even played our best game. That should be, in itself, scary. When I said we coming, we still coming. We are coming, and we ain't nearly there yet."
Scary indeed. While the Buffs were far from their best, they were still dominant against a very good defensive team.
The Buffs scored six offensive touchdowns, finishing with 405 yards total offense. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders threw for 340 yards and three scores, Will Sheppard caught a pair of touchdown passes, freshman Drelon Miller had his first 100-yard receiving game and two-way star Travis Hunter recorded the first rushing touchdown of his career.
Colorado's special teams also delivered. LaJohntay Wester notched CU's first punt return for a touchdown since 2022, a 76-yard scoring jaunt in the first quarter and punter Mark Vassett averaged more than 48 yards per kick on five attempts.
Then there was Colorado's defense, which is orchestrating one of the more impressive turnarounds in the nation.
CU finished the day with four sacks, four takeaways and two huge red zone stops early in the game — after Colorado turnovers — that limited the Utes to just a pair of field goals. Meanwhile, two of those takeaways paved the way for Buffs touchdowns, pushing CU's point total from turnovers this year to 55.
And the scary part?
The Buffs still have room to improve. They did turn the ball over three times (two lost fumbles and an interception), they did give up three quarterback sacks and they once again had some costly penalties.
Meanwhile, for all the big numbers the Buffs put on the board offensively, they still finished with just 65 yards rushing, with more than half of those coming on one attempt, a 37-yard Isaiah Augustave touchdown run. CU was also just 3-for-11 on third-down conversion tries (but 2-for-2 on fourth down).
"We showed flashes of having a running game," Coach Prime said "Isaiah did a phenomenal job today, breaking one, but we got to be more consistent with that. The sky would be the limit if we can really have consistency … We need to really want and desire and just have passion to run the football at times. Prayerfully, we get it going because we could do some remarkable things if we have a more balanced offense."
Indeed, the Buffs each week seem to move closer and closer to becoming exactly the type of team that causes opponents nightmares in playoff situations. A potent offense, an opportunistic, attacking defense and special teams capable of breaking momentum-shifting plays.
Make no mistake, the Buffs have their sights set squarely on the postseason.
If they win two more games, they'll play in the Dec. 7 Big 12 championship game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas (Jerry World). A win there would put them in the College Football Playoff bracket, most likely as either the No. 3 or No. 4 seed.
Granted, that's not taking the one-game-at-a-time philosophy that Coach Prime has been stressing every week for the last month. If the Buffs don't win their next two — beginning with next weekend's trip to Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City for a meeting with Kansas — that Big 12 title game berth is in jeopardy.
But what we have seen from this team this season is this: as the stakes become higher, the Buffs rise to the occasion. Saturday provided the perfect example.
Every time Utah threatened to make a game of it, the Buffs responded.
Start with the Utes' interception to open the game deep in CU territory. Colorado's defense responded with a red zone hold, limiting the Utes to a field goal.
Then came a Colorado touchdown — on fourth-and-5 no less — before a defensive stop, punt and Wester's touchdown return. Before the Utes could catch their breath, they were down 14-3.
Not that the Utes checked it in early. Their defense stiffened and they produced another Colorado turnover — only to see the Buffs' defense respond with another red zone hold.
Still, Utah trailed just 14-6 and a momentum shift was in the wind.
Until the Buffs answered with an 85-yard touchdown drive to take a 21-6 lead.
That's the way it went the rest of the afternoon. The Utes would threaten to make a game of it, only to see Colorado snuff their hopes.
A touchdown following an interception early in the third quarter. Another long TD drive to answer a Utah score that had cut CU's lead to 28-16. Another interception and touchdown drive after the Utes had once again cut the deficit to 11.
Simply, every time the Utes threw a punch Colorado responded with a wicked combination. The Buffs never flinched.
They just answered.
Now Coach Prime's Buffs are one step closer to a spot not many — not many outside the CU locker room, anyway — thought possible. They have yet to play their best ball but are moving ever closer to that point with a shot at the title directly in their sights.
For Colorado fans, that's anything but scary.
