Coach Deion Sanders and his Colorado football team are headed to a bowl game.
They made it possible Saturday night by beating Cincinnati at home, 34-23, improving their record this season to 6-2 with four games remaining in the regular season.
That gives them the minimum number of wins to be eligible for a postseason bowl game in Sanders’ second season. It also keeps them in the thick of the hunt for the Big 12 Conference championship after getting another pair of big performances from quarterback Shedeur Sanders and two-way star Travis Hunter.
Sanders completed 25 of 30 passes for 323 yards and two touchdowns. Hunter caught nine of those passes for 153 yards and both of those touchdowns.
Cincinnati (5-3) had cut Colorado’s lead to 31-23 with 3:51 remaining after driving 81 yards in 11 plays, capped by a 6-yard touchdown catch by tight end Joe Royer.
But the Bearcats missed on the ensuing two-point pass attempt. Then the Buffaloes answered with a 47-yard field goal with 99 second left, building their lead to 34-23 in front of a sold-out crowd of 53,202 at Folsom Field in Boulder.
It’s only the second time since 2007 that Colorado has won at least six games. It comes just two years after the Buffaloes finished with a 1-11 record and fired their previous coach, paving the way for the arrival of “Coach Prime.” A bowl game after the season also would be only their third since 2007, including the pandemic season of 2020, when the Buffs went to the Alamo Bowl and finished 4-2.
By winning six games, Sanders earns a $150,000 bonus from Colorado and will earn $100,000 for each additional regular-season win after that, according to his contract. His contract also calls for a bonus of at least $150,000 for getting invited to a bowl game. His regular guaranteed compensation this year is $5.7 million.
His team is 4-1 in Big 12 play and has an off weekend next week before returning to play Nov. 9 at Texas Tech.
Was Shedeur Sanders injured?
Sanders, son of Colorado coach Deion Sanders, apparently suffered a hip or leg injury when he ran 4 yards for a first down to the Cincinnati 7-yard line in the third quarter. He ended up falling forward but got twisted up when tackled and looked uncomfortable after the Buffaloes scored on a 7-yard touchdown run one play later to help extend Colorado’s lead to 31-14.
He then got treatment on the sideline and returned to the game on Colorado’s next possession. But he only attempted one pass on that drive and instead handed the ball off on running plays as the Buffs tried to run the clock down. The extent of the injury wasn’t clear, but it wasn’t enough to immediately pull him from the game.
He attempted only five passes after the injury and completed four. Colorado still stalled a bit after that with two punts and a field goal in their next three possessions.
Big first half by Travis Hunter, Shedeur Sanders
The Buffs led 24-14 at halftime after getting two touchdown catches from two-way star Travis Hunter. His quarterback, Shedeur Sanders, completed his first 15 passes and led the offense to scores on all four of their possessions in the first half – three touchdowns and a field goal, including Sanders’ 4-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter.
Cincinnati tried to keep up and even tied the game at 14-14 after an interception was nullified by Colorado defensive back Preston Hodge. Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby had thrown a deep pass that Hodge caught and returned to midfield, but the play got called back when Hodge was flagged for pass interference on the play after apparently grabbing the waist of Cincinnati receiver Tony Johnson.
The ball then was placed at the Colorado 13-yard line and the Bearcats scored a touchdown one play later, helping tie the game with 9:31 left before halftime.
But that was the best they could do in the first half. The Colorado defense stopped Cincinnati on the Bearcats’ next possession, stuffing them on fourth-and-1 at the Colorado 46-yard line. With 33 seconds left in the first half, Sanders took over and finished the ensuing drive with a 34-yard touchdown throw to Hunter, who was wide open on the right side of the field.
Hunter finished the first half with seven catches for 113 yards after sitting out after halftime of his previous two games with a shoulder injury.