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Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Never a doubt! If there was any singular lesson to be learned from the Buffs’ nervy 31-26 win on Thursday night, it’s that Plan A should be throwing deep for Travis Hunter and Plan B should be throwing deep for pass interference. North Dakota State predictably gave the Buffs all they could handle, and if their game-ending Hail Mary had gone four yards farther we’d be in full on panic mode before Labor Day Weekend. But the Buffs survived, got their first win of the season, and are now on to Nebraska. Here are four takeaways from a lively night at Folsom Field.
1. This defense is going to give Buffs fans an ulcer
I’m not sure anyone expected the Buffs to be an elite defensive team, but I *know* that no one expected them to let North Dakota State score on four of their first five drives (20 points) of the game. Credit where it’s due – the Bison offense came in with a clever game plan and executed it beautifully. The Buffs had to deal with it all: there was tons of pre-snap motion, endless crossing routes, and it felt like every NDSU run was dripping in misdirection. They had 26 rushes in the first half alone, and finished with 43 for 157 yards. The Buffs tightened things up in the second half, but that was not a defense that looked capable of hanging in the Big 12 all season.
2. The new-look offensive line is still a work in progress
The good news – and maybe it’s great news – is that the Buffs’ offensive line is already noticeably better than last year. They only allowed one sack on Thursday night, and it’s probably not a total coincidence that Sanders had seven completions over 25 yards – Buffs fans finally got a glimpse of how explosive the offense can be when he has more than two seconds to scan the field and get rid of the ball. Still, NDSU didn’t have a problem getting in Sanders’ face, and at no point did he ever really get an extended stretch of clean pockets. Considering two of CU’s five starting lineman are underclassmen and their left tackle was literally playing the first college football game of his life, I imagine the Buffs will happily take those results for now. But maybe they work a little extra on run blocking this week?
3. Jimmy Horn?! Jimmy Horn.
If teams are going to spend 95% of every game (unsuccessfully) bracketing Travis Hunter, the Buffs could do much worse than Horn as their go-to volume guy. His first half – four catches, 134 yards, one touchdown – was insane, and he wasted no time picking up where he left off in the second, finishing with seven for 197. He killed NDSU in open space, too – of those 197 yards, 93 came after the catch. Horn finished 2023 with 567 yards, so he’s on track to get there by [punches calculator buttons] the Buffs’ next home game in two weeks. Do you know how hard it is to outplay Travis Hunter on a night where he went for 132 yards and three touchdowns*? That’s the kind of night Horn had.
(*I am a big dumb stupid idiot who wrote this before Hunter’s third touchdown of the night.)
4. The Buffs have some STARS.
This isn’t really news to anyone, but Thursday night was a nice reminder of just how transcendent Sanders and Hunter are. Despite Hunter’s first catch of the year being a 41-yard touchdown, arguably his most jaw-dropping play of his night – a one-handed grab on the boundary, right in front of Terrell Owens – didn’t even count. Sanders may still hang onto the ball a touch longer than his coaches would like, but his savvy pocket presence and ability to extend plays was evident on basically every Buffs drive. (Most notably on the Buffs’ final drive of the night, when they more-or-less won the game thanks to a long scramble and deep throw on third down that helped draw a PI.) And besides, when you finish 26-34 with 445 yards, you can hold onto the ball as long as you want. It won’t be as easy against teams that, you know, play in the FBS, but the Buffs will cross that bridge when they get there. For now, everyone in Boulder gets to spend their postgame bar hopping on cloud nine.
by camellis
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