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The Buffs barely squeaked by the Bison, so Coach Prime isn’t happy
Colorado’s season opener against the North Dakota State Bison could have gone smoother. It was a back-and-forth affair that came down to the final play. After going blow-for-blow for the full 60 minutes of game clock, Colorado found themselves victorious by a margin of 31-26.
The Bison are a good football team. The midwestern powerhouse has won nine Division I-AA National Championships since 2011, establishing itself as likely the nation’s best FCS program. This game was never going to be easy, and the Buffs found that out the hard way.
The Buffaloes’ defense opened the season on a sour note. They let NDSU soar out to a 3-0 lead on their first possession, which then ballooned to a 20-17 deficit for Colorado heading into halftime.
Colorado came back from the second half looking better, only allowing six points on a quarterback power in the last 30 minutes of football. Much like in 2023, Colorado’s secondary floundered at times, struggling to stop short crossers between the hashes. Despite their victory, Colorado’s inability to put the Bison away irked head coach Deion Sanders the wrong way.
“You ever felt like you won, but you didn’t win?” said Sanders to open his post-game presser. “Giving up that last touchdown on the run, that bothered me because we pride ourselves on going to get the quarterback. We have a multitude of men who can get to the quarterback, and we didn’t get that done.”
At the end of the day, Colorado won and that’s what matters most. Their hopes of becoming bowl-eligible are still looking peaching headed into a tough road matchup with the dreaded Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln next weekend. It wasn’t pretty, but the Buffs got the job done.
“We wanted to win decisively,” said Prime. If we wouldn’t have given up that last touchdown, we would have looked better, but we’re not for looks. It’s a W or an L, that’s what you remember.”
What ultimately pushed Colorado over NDSU was their tremendous star power. Shedeur Sanders picked up right where he left off in 2023, dishing out four touchdown passes and 445 receiving yards. Colorado’s quarterback finished the game with a 76% completion rate and a QBR of 219.4, placing him firmly in the race for the Heisman.
Jimmy Horn Jr. emerged as a serious threat on the go-route, snagging a career-high 198 yards on seven catches. Horn averaged 28.3 yards per reception against the Bison, helping to lay the framework for Colorado’s win.
“I love [Jimmy] like a darn son,” Sanders said. “I’m so proud of him as well. I knew he was going to get down tonight, and he did what he did.”
Alongside Horn, Travis Hunter stole the show on Thursday night, reminding everyone that he might be the best college football player in the country. Hunter finished Thursday’s contest with 132 yards on seven catches and three touchdowns, one of which might be the most insane touchdown we’ve seen at Folsom Field since Montana Lemonious-Craig’s overtime TD against Cal in 2022.
Without Hunter’s heroics, Colorado would have fallen to the Bison and quickly tainted the 2024 season. Hunter’s chemistry with Shedeur Sanders was the difference-maker for Colorado on Thursday, and it gave us a glimpse of some potential great things to come down the line.
“They got their own little thing going on,” said Coach Prime. “I ain’t mad at it because it works. There’s just a certain chemistry that they have where Shedeur is going to place that ball... First of all, there’s no fifty-fifty ball with Travis. If the ball is up close, it’s his ball. He’s just that kinda athlete.”
For Hunter and Shedeur, this season is the culmination of a long journey that began three years ago in Jackson, Mississippi. The pair of stars, who will almost certainly declare for the NFL Draft following this season, have taken an unconventional route to the peak of college football. Together, they’re enjoying their final ride before they take their next step.
“There’s really a connection because [Travis] made the decision to defy the odds and to go in a different route and come to Jackson [State],” said Shedeur. “From then on, that’s something that I look back and I really respect him a lot for, because a player of his caliber didn’t have to do that.”
Shedeur and Hunter’s connection will again be put to the test next week, this time in the hostile territory of Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium. If the two can play like they played like they did against the Bison, a fourth straight win over the Huskers seems in the cards.
by RylandScholes
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