BOULDER, Colorado — LaJohntay Wester caught a 43-yard Hail Mary from Shedeur Sanders outside of regulation and Travis Hunter forced a fumble at the 1-yard line in overtime and Colorado grabbed an improbable 38-31 victory over Baylor on a drizzly Saturday night.
Micah Welch’s short jumper in overtime gave the Buffaloes their first lead since the first quarter. Hunter, the Buffaloes’ standout two-way player, ripped the ball loose from Baylor running back Dominic Richardson at the goal line and the ball rolled out of the end zone. Fans stormed the field and knocked down a goal post before the referees confirmed the whistle.
On the final play of regulation, Sanders rolled to his left and threw a perfect pass to Wester, who shook off his defender and caught the ball as it fell to the turf. The referees upheld the catch after review, and Alejandro Mata kicked the extra point to force overtime.
“Great, great, great, great, great win,” Colorado coach Deion Sanders said. “These young men were resilient. They never gave up, never surrendered.”
The desperation throw by Shedeur Sanders and the Buffaloes (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) comes three days before the 30th anniversary of the “Miracle at Michigan,” when the Buffaloes beat the Wolverines on Kordell Stewart’s 64-yard Hail Mary pass to Michael Westbrook. The nationally televised broadcast showed the 1994 play just seconds before Sanders passed to Wester.
When asked how to rank this game, Deion Sanders simply replied, “I don’t rank games. I just love the Ws. By any means necessary. I love them.”
Baylor made many great plays, including Jamaal Bell making an unobstructed 100-yard kickoff return in the second quarter, and shortly after, Sawyer Robertson breaking free on fourth-and-1 and scoring a 45-yard touchdown to give Baylor a 14-point lead.
After the Buffaloes tied the score in the third quarter, Hal Presley made a one-handed catch for a 24-yard touchdown with 5:43 left to give Baylor (2-2, 0-1) the lead. The Bears had a chance to secure the win, but Isaiah Hankins’ 45-yard field goal attempt went wide right.
It set the stage for Sanders and the Buffaloes.
“A heartbreaking loss,” Baylor coach Dave Aranda said. “I’ve never been a part of anything like this, especially until the last play in overtime. … Very hard to take. The team is very devastated right now and so frustrated. We’re probably going to suffer all the way back to Waco.”
Sanders was constantly on the move, throwing for 341 yards and was also sacked eight times. Hunter finished the game with seven catches for 130 yards and also recorded three tackles on defense. His play on both sides of the ball has put him in the conversation for the Heisman Trophy.
This should only strengthen his position.
Omarion Miller made the most of his first catch of the season, snagging a long pass from Sanders and bouncing off a tackle from Corey Gordon Jr. – all while keeping his knee off the turf. Miller’s 58-yard touchdown was upheld after review, bringing Colorado within 24-17 at halftime.
For the Buffaloes, their return to the Big 12 Conference was a success. They left the conference after the 2010 season to join the Pac-12, but returned this season.
Deion Sanders made a big deal in his press conference earlier this week about the chance of rain – he downplayed it – and whether his team would work on wet-ball drills. The rain did indeed come.
Baylor: Late-game defense change. Just before Wester’s Hail Mary catch, Will Sheppard got past the Baylor defense and nearly caught a pass that could have tied the game.
Colorado: The special teams struggled. Not only did Bell manage a 100-yard kickoff return, the Bears also had a 54-yard punt return. “The special teams were terrible,” said Deion Sanders.
Baylor: Hosts BYU on Saturday.
Colorado: On Saturday in Central Florida.
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