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The Buffaloes win 38-31 in spectacular fashion
The Colorado Buffaloes are once again at the center of the college football world, after stunning the Baylor Bears in an instant classic to open their Big 12 slate. The Buffs bested Baylor 38-31, as Travis Hunter cemented his claim as a Heisman frontrunner.
1st Quarter:
Baylor started with possession tonight, and Colorado was able to force a three-and-out on the Bears’ first possession. Offensively, the Buffaloes came out trying to establish the run on their first drive and were able to gain a first down, but ultimately found themselves punting in plus territory. After a fantastic punt from Mark Vassett, Colorado looked like they’d pin the Bears on their own nine-yard line, but Baylor had other plans. BU’s returner wiped off two tackles and found himself in the open field to pick up 49 yards. Despite the good field position, Colorado managed to hold Baylor to a chip-shot field goal.
Colorado would get another possession this quarter, which was a long drive where the Buffs found success through both the ground and air attacks. After a pass interference call in the endzone against Travis Hunter, Sheduer Sanders walked right in untouched for a two-yard touchdown. Colorado would lead 7-3 at the end of the first.
2nd Quarter:
Baylor opened the second quarter with a seven-play drive, which finished with a 30-yard pass down the boundary. Baylor looked for a back shoulder fade over D.J. McKinney, and then attacked Preston Hodge who was beat down the boundary for the touchdown. On the next possession, Colorado put together a good drive with multiple long completions to Travis Hunter. The Buffaloes marched down the field, but couldn’t capitalize on the drive and settled for a field goal that tied the game up at 10-10.
Colorado’s special team woes continued on Saturday, as Baylor took a 100-yard kick return to the house untouched. Colorado’s offense also struggled to get anything going late into the half, and Baylor was seemingly scoring at will. BU’s backup quarterback Sawyer Robertson took a QB draw 50 yards to the endzone on a fourth-and-one conversion, putting the Bears up 17-10. On their next drive, Colorado answered with an unconventional 58-yard touchdown pass to Omarion Miller. Shedeur found Miller on the country, but bad tackling left Miller upright and able to walk into the endzone for a touchdown. Miller’s touchdown made it a one-score game, as Colorado headed to halftime down 24-17
3rd Quarter:
The Buffaloes started the second half with the ball, but were unable to move into opposing territory due to some untimely holding calls. Baylor took over inside their own ten-yard line, and the Bears were able to progress to midfield, where they turned the ball on an ugly 4th and 1 QB draw. Colorado set up shop with great field position, but struggled to make anything happen, as would go three-and-out.
Luckily for Colorado, their great defense would get the ball back near the end of the quarter. The Buffs would start the drive with a 46-yard bomb to Travis Hunter, which was followed up with another crossing route to Hunter that picked up 31 yards. The drive was capped off with a rushing touchdown by Micah Welch, his first of the season. This touchdown would tie the game at 24 and mark the end of the third quarter.
4th Quarter:
Colorado started the fourth quarter with the football, and the Buffs were able to establish the run game. Isaiah Augustave helped the Buffs get two first downs, and Colorado found themselves in enemy territory early into the quarter. The Buffaloes took a gamble and went for it on fourth and eight, leading to a sack and a turnover on downs.
Baylor took over at their own 39-yard line and was able to end the drive with a spectacular one-handed catch for a touchdown. Colorado followed that up with a horrendous drive, giving up two sacks in as many plays and punting from their own end zone. Baylor inherited great field position, as they looked for a field goal to essentially end the game. With wind, rain, and a roaring crowd at Folsom the field goal was no easy task. The attempt missed wide right and Colorado would have one more chance to get a touchdown.
With about a minute left, a defensive pass interference call gave the Buffs 15 yards. A few plays later, Shedeur was able to scramble for a gain of 18 that set Colorado up for a last-second hail-mary with no timeouts remaining. The first attempt looked like it would go, but a dropped pass at the two-yard line by Will Sheppard would leave the Buffs with one last shot. On this last attempt with two seconds on the clock, Shedeur rolled left, and threw up a one-on-one ball for Wester that was miraculously caught and would force overtime in Boulder.
Overtime:
The Buffaloes would start with the ball in overtime, and methodically set themselves to score with repeated five-yard gains. Colorado would eventually score on an inside run to Micah Welch where Shedeur Sanders would get behind Welch and help to push him in. This play should be remembered as the reverse tush-push, and it’s a play Micah Welch said they had worked on as early as spring camp.
On Baylor's overtime opportunity, they were also able to move the ball methodically and set themselves up for a few run calls inside the ten to try and force double overtime. On the last run attempt, the Baylor ball carrier broke free and had a one-on-one with Travis Hunter at the yard line. Travis stuck his shoulder into the ball and forced a miraculous fumble that squirted into the end zone and was recovered by the Buffs. This would end the game and may mark one of most miraculous comeback victories in Colorado football history.
Key Takeaways:
In an attempt to stifle Baylor’s run game, Colorado played more press-man coverage at the line of scrimmage in this game. BU has had trouble establishing a deep passing game this season, and with Colorado’s newly renovated secondary we thought they may try these coverages. Unfortunately for Colorado, Baylor was able to attack the 1-on-1 opportunities down the boundaries and found lots of success with the deep ball. This success may give Colorado some more realistic expectations for their secondary for the rest of the season, especially in conference play.
Another important takeaway from Saturday is that Travis Hunter is the best player in the nation, and this is not an exaggeration. Just like last week, Travis was able to take the game over in the second half and was dominant offensively and defensively. Offensively, Travis ended the day with six receptions and 126 yards. Defensively, Travis wrapped up ball carriers in the backfield on a couple of different occasions, played near-perfect press-man coverage all night long, and ended up forcing the game-sealing fumble in overtime. He was the X-Factor in this game, and there shouldn’t be any doubt that he’s the most valuable player in all of college football. There should be Heisman talks about his performance, but Colorado will need to keep winning.
Outlook:
Next week Colorado will travel to Orlando for their second Big-12 matchup. The Buffaloes will take on UCF, who will come into that game 3-0 after defeating TCU in a nailbiter last week. This will be an important matchup for Colorado as they look to move to 2-0 in conference play.
by Jacob.Thompson
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