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COLORADO BUFFALOS (2-1, 0-0 Big 12) Location: Colorado Springs, CO. Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head coach: Deion Sanders (Florida State, 1988) Squad | Statistics | Match notes |
COLORADO (2-1, 0-0 Big 12) vs. BAYLOR (2-1, 0-0 Big 12) September 21 • 7:00 p.m. CT Boulder, Colo. • Folsum Field (50,183) LIVE STATS: Stat transfer Baylor Social Media: |
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BAYLOR BEARS (2-1, 0-0 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head coach: Dave Aranda (Cal. Lutheran, 1999) Squad | Statistics | Match notes (PDF) |
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WACO, Texas — Baylor will face Colorado in a Big 12 Conference clash on Saturday. Kickoff at Folsum Field is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT.
The game will be broadcast live on FOX, with commentary from Connor Onion (live commentary) and Mark Helfrich (commentator). Baylor Sports Media Network will also broadcast the game, with the voice of the Bears, John Morris (live commentary), and BU greats JJ Joe (commentator) and Ricky Thompson (sideline). ESPN Radio will also broadcast the game, with Mike Couzens (live commentary), Max Starks (commentator) and Mike Peasley (sideline).
The Bears (2-1, 0-0 Big 12) rolled to a 31-3 win over Air Force on Saturday, scoring 28 unanswered points and holding the Falcons to just 23 rushing yards in the second half. It was the first time since 2003 that a non-military academy held Air Force without a touchdown.
Baylor leads the nation in pass defense and ranks 12th in the NCAA in total defense and scoring defense.
RECOGNIZING THE BUFFS
• Colorado is led by second-year head coach Deion Sanders, who took over the program after a historic run at Jackson State, where he went 27-6 in three seasons and won two Southwestern Athletic Conference championships, including 11-2 in 2021 and 12-1 in 2022. One of the most decorated athletes in sports history, Sanders is a former two-time two-way All-American at Florida State, won the Thorpe Award in 1988 and set the FSU record with 14 career interceptions, three of which were for a draw. He played in the NFL from 1989-2005, recording 53 interceptions while also catching 60 passes for 784 yards and three TDs as a WR. He had 19 career TDs on returns and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011 after his 14-year NFL career that included nine All-Pro nominations. Outside of his football career, Sanders was a sixth-round MLB draft pick and played professional baseball for 11 seasons. His sons Shilo and Shedeur are key members of the CU roster after transferring to Boulder from Jackson State.
• Gary Harrell is the assistant head coach and running backs coach after coming with Sanders from Jackson State and previously serving at Alabama State, FAU, Howard, Bowie State, Morgan State, Florida A&M and Texas Southern. Robert Livingston is the defensive coordinator and safeties coach and Pat Shurmur is the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach after previously serving as co-offensive coordinator and analyst for CU in 2023, offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos and head coach of the New York Giants from 2018-19. Livingston was the safety and DB coach for the Cincinnati Bengals from 2016-2023.
• The Buffs opened the year with a 31-26 win over FCS power North Dakota State, lost 28-10 at Nebraska and picked up a win at Colorado State on Saturday in Fort Collins. Led by their dynamic QB Shedeur Sanders, the Buffs have averaged 394 yards per game, including 333 through the air. CU has allowed 21 points per game and given up 374.3 yards per game. Sanders has thrown nine touchdowns and just two interceptions. Two-way player Travis Hunter has 30 catches for 342 yards and five touchdowns. Lajohntay Wester has 14 catches for 158 yards and three touchdowns.
• On defense, DJ McKinney leads the team with 21 tackles and four pass breakups. Dayon Hayes is the team’s leading player with two sacks.
• Rick George has been Colorado AD since 2013 and has served in the role since serving as COO of the Texas Rangers for three years. He was chief of operations for the PGA Tour and president of the Champions Tour from 2003-08. George, a former cornerback at Illinois, was Colorado’s football recruiting coordinator during the best stretch in the program’s history and then joined Vanderbilt as associate AD for external affairs, overseeing the football program. Jason DePaepe is in his second year as assistant AD and his fourth year overseeing internal operations. He has spent 22 years at Colorado, including 12 years as sports turf manager.
LAST MEETING
• Baylor won the final game of the series 31-25 on Oct. 16, 2010, in Boulder in a night game played before 48,953 fans in 16-degree temperatures at kickoff. The Bears answered a first-quarter touchdown with a 9-yard touchdown from Robert Griffin III to Jerod Monk before falling behind 15-7 late in the second quarter. A 50-yard field goal by Aaron Jones cut the lead to 15-10 at halftime, when the Bears went 39 yards in five plays to narrow the gap.
• Jones scored from 25 yards out early in the third quarter and Jay Finley’s 17-yard run – capped by an RGIII two-point conversion run – gave the Bears a 21-15 lead. After a CU field goal, Finley ran for a 14-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 10 points, which was cut to three points after an eight-play, 44-yard touchdown drive with 5:14 left in the fourth quarter. The Bears extended their lead to 31-25 with a nine-play, 59-yard drive that ended with a 38-yard field goal by Jones and included a 36-yard run by Griffin. Colorado got the ball back with 1:54 left and drove it to Baylor’s 19-yard line, where it had a chance to win the game but was incomplete in the end zone.
• Finley ran 14 times for 143 yards and two scores, while Griffin completed 22 of 27 passes for 234 yards and a score and ran 15 times for 137 yards. Tevin Reese caught nine balls for 88 yards, while Kendall Wright caught seven balls for 85 yards. Chris Francis recorded 11 tackles to lead the Bears.
• Colorado was led by Rodney Stewart, who rushed for 125 yards and added two scores. Tyler Hansen threw for 207 yards and a touchdown on 21 of 28 passing and Ryan Deehan caught seven passes for 70 yards.
SERIES HISTORY
• Colorado leads the standings with Baylor at 9-7 and has a 5-4 lead in games played in Boulder.
• The two teams have not faced each other since 2010, when both were members of the Big 12 Conference.
• Baylor has won three of the last four meetings, in 2003, 2006 and 2010, with Colorado recording a 43-23 victory in 2007. The Buffs won the series five straight times from 1992-2002.
• The Bears are looking for their third straight win in Boulder.
BAYLOR OVERCOMES AIR FORCE WITH STRONG SECOND HALF
• Baylor used a strong second half to earn a win in the non-conference final against Air Force at McLane Stadium.
• The Bears lost the ball on three first-half fumbles and went into halftime with a 6-3 lead over the Falcons, having the ball on offense for just five minutes in the first half. BU rebounded, scoring 17 points in the third inning and eight in the fourth, leading AF to a 31-3 victory.
• The Bears turned to QB Sawyer Robertson to relieve the starter Dequan FinnRobertson completed 18 of 24 passes for a career-high 248 yards. Robertson added a rushing TD and distributed his 18 completions to eight different receivers, with Josh Cameron thrown five times 55 meters and Ashton Hawkins Catching four balls for 81 yards. TE Michael Trigg had four catches for 49 yards.
• First-semester RB Bryson Washington made his first career start and carried him 12 times for 106 yards and his first career TD. Dominic Richardson ran nine times for 48 yards and Richard Reese ran eight times for 47 yards and a TD.
• Defensive, Matt Jones had his sixth double-digit tackle game of his career with 11 stops, with Devyn Bobby He reached his career high with nine tackles. Jackie Marshall And Brooks Miller everyone forced fumbles and Corey Gordon Jr. intercepted his first pass of his career.
Baylor defense sets the tone
• Baylor posted a shutout and a three-point defensive win over Air Force in the season opener, but allowed just nine points at No. 12 Utah. The Utes scored 14 points overall on a blocked field goal that was returned for a TD and a TD on a recovered fumble at the three-yard line.
• The defense under the direction of the defensive play calling the head coach Dave Aranda has now failed to allow a touchdown in two consecutive home games for the first time in his tenure, the first time since 2014.
• The last time Baylor had two games of three points or less in the same season was 1989.
• The Bears allowed just 25 yards on Air Force passes, the fewest since 1989.
• In Colorado, the Bears face a tough test against a strong passing offense that leads the nation in passing yards allowed and ranks 12th in both scoring and total defense.
– BaylorBears.com –
