FORT WORTH, Texas — The Buffs are back in Prime Time.
Colorado, a 20.5-point underdog, won at No. 17 TCU on Saturday afternoon, outlasting the defending national runner-up, 45-42, in a wild shootout that featured six lead changes in the second half alone.
It also set down a flag for the three newcomers charged with turning the Buffs’ football fortunes around: Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders, who won in his FBS debut after a successful run at Jackson State; his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who threw for 510 yards and four touchdowns in his Buffs debut; and two-way star Travis Hunter, who caught 11 balls for 119 yards, picked off one pass and nearly intercepted two others.
The game saw three lead changes in a span of 6:40 late in the third quarter and early in the fourth, capped by a 19-yard run from TCU QB Chandler Morris with 10:49 to go in the game, giving the hosts a 35-31 advantage.
The Buffs marched 75 yards the other way, thanks to a 39-yard catch by Hunter to rescue CU on third-and-16. Sanders hit a wide-open Jimmy Horn Jr. from 26 yards out, and the Buffs went back up two before the point-after.
Back came TCU, lofted by Major Everhart’s 86-yard kickoff return to the Buffs’ 8. Two plays later, the hosts were on top again, 38-35.
Cue CU’s response, a six-play, 82-yard march buoyed by another wild Hunter catch — for 12 yards on second-and-9 this time — and capped by Dylan Edwards’ fourth touchdown of the day, this one on a 46-yard toss from Sanders.
Punch.
Counter.
Trailing 24-21, TCU drove to the Buffs’ 4 with 6:12 left in the third quarter, set up by a 74-yard Emani Bailey scamper from his end zone to the CU 21-yard line. On third-and-2, Frogs QB Chandler Morris locked in on his right — where Hunter, who the hosts didn’t mind testing in the red zone, made TCU pay. The 6-foot-1 185-pound Georgia native, 247Sports’ No. 1 recruit in the Class of ’22, spotted Everhart coming free on a wheel route to the right boundary, the short side of the field, closed and dove, extending two long arms to pluck the ball just before the astonished Everhart could walk into the end zone.
CU couldn’t capitalize, though, punting the ball after three plays to the TCU 37. The hosts regrouped, chewing up 53 yards on seven plays thanks to a roughing-the-passer call on Arden Walker and eventually finding Dylan Wright for a 21-yard score and the hosts’ first lead of the afternoon.
It would be short-lived.
Sanders got the ball back with 2:32 left in the third quarter, completed four straight throws, including a 44-yard rainbow to Xavier Henry, and had the Buffs at the TCU 7 in just 2:05. Edwards then scored his third touchdown of the day on a pitch off left end to put the underdogs back on top, 31-28.
In true Deion Sanders fashion, the game had plenty of entertaining swings, especially for those curious across the country watching a Coach Prime team — or the Buffs — for the first time.
To wit: the first 90 seconds of the second half. The Buffs committed two penalties on their first two snaps coming out of halftime, bringing an uncomfortable feeling of deja vu for CU faithful who got used to watching the Buffs get outcoached and out-talented over the game’s final 30 minutes.
Third snap? Different story. Edwards got wide right on a screen, set up a convoy of blockers in front of him, spotted a cutback lane and zipped upfield for a 75-yard score that put CU up by two scores.
The Frogs countered, chewing up 65 yards on just three plays over 55 seconds, a drive capped by a 21-yard pitch-and-catch from Morris to tight end Jared Wiley, pulling TCU to within 24-20 before the extra-point kick.
With a 14-7 lead and 3:09 left in the first half, CU was moving toward midfield when Edwards cut left on a second-and-10 carry, gained six yards and appeared to lose the ball while being taken down by TCU defensive back Millard Bradford, who smothered the pigskin. Replays upheld the call, and the hosts cashed in with a four-play, 22-yard scoring drive that tied the game at 14-each.
Giveaways aside, CU couldn’t have asked for a better start. The Buffs turned the hosts away on three plays, then got the ball back and used quick-tempo, short passing — a staple of new offensive coordinator Sean Lewis’ “Flash Fast” scheme — throws to nudge the ball up the field. Swift freshman Edwards opened the series with a 7-yard catch and capped it with a 4-yard grab in the end zone as the three-touchdown underdogs stunned the home faithful with a 6-0 lead six minutes into the first quarter.
Leading 7-0, CU turned TCU away again after the Frogs matched on seven plays to Buffs’ 14. Safety Trevor Woods, the only returning starter on defense for a revamped roster, jumped Morris’ route in the end zone and cradled the interception to quell the threat.
Special teams weren’t flawless. Jay Feely nailed a 49-yarder as time expired to give the Buffs a 17-14 lead at halftime, but saw his first try from that distance blocked with 1:21 left in the first stanza.
What a difference a year — and a roster — makes. The Buffs didn’t allow a first down until midway through the first quarter, on the hosts’ second drive. CU didn’t punt until 4:47 before halftime.
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