The Colorado coach expressed his displeasure with Colorado State after it beat the Rams away with an electrifying performance from two-way star Travis Hunter
FORT COLLINS, Colorado – Travis Hunter ran off the field after Saturday night’s game against Colorado State and stopped to sign a few autographs for fans.
One of them tossed him a Colorado helmet to sign from the front row in the end zone. Others tossed him jerseys and gear, each hoping to get a taste of what happened here at Canvas Stadium – another virtuoso football performance by a generational star in a 28-9 victory over the Colorado Buffaloes.
After the game, his coach Deion Sanders called Hunter “phenomenal” as always. His quarterback, son Shedeur Sanders, said Hunter’s skills were “inexhaustible.”
But even Hunter himself admitted he’s reached his limits after catching 13 passes for 100 yards, scoring two touchdowns, making five tackles and catching an interception. At one point in the fourth quarter, the Buffs’ two-way star took the game off the field to catch his breath after running over a Colorado State player from behind.
“This is probably the first time I’ve ever done that,” said Hunter, who barely left the field on offense and defense Saturday. “This is probably the first time. Because usually when I pass him, I can catch my breath and get back up, but this time I was just, I don’t know what happened.”
Deion Sanders wanted a decisive win against Colorado State
Aside from that minor hiccup, Hunter said, “I feel good.” He said he plans to take an ice bath in Boulder afterward.
“And go home and enjoy a well-cooked meal,” said Shedeur Sanders.
It was such an evening for the Buffaloes (2-1). Coach Deion Sanders seemed almost relieved and had no problem taking a swipe at the rival Rams (1-2) in front of 40,099 spectators in the sold-out stadium.
“We just wanted there to be a decision,” said Deion Sanders.
Why was Deion Sanders mad at Colorado State after the game?
He cited several reasons, including some provocative comments from Colorado State receiver Tory Horton and quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi. The comments circulated this week a few days before the game, but were actually recorded in a preseason interview on Aug. 14.
For Sanders, who called the game “personal,” that didn’t matter.
“We just want to play football,” he said. “The disrespect has been uncalled for all week. A few of their players have attacked the whole program.”
In the August 14 interview, both Colorado State players poked fun at the hype surrounding Deion Sanders and the Buffs.
“We’ll see how far they get with Instagram followers,” Fowler-Nicolosi said at the time.
Deion Sanders asks: “How stupid is that?”
On Saturday, Fowler-Nicolosi had even more to say. After running off the field with a 14-3 deficit, the Rams quarterback spoke to Hunter and made a gesture with his arm that suggested Hunter was too small.
“How stupid is that?” Deion Sanders asked afterward. “That’s Travis Hunter. Dude, that’s Travis Hunter. That’s Travis Hunter! Who does something like that? I wouldn’t let my kids do that, and you all know that. And that needs to be said.”
Sanders also mentioned an incident during pregame warmups in which Colorado receivers coach Jason Phillips was apparently jostled or elbowed by someone from Colorado State.
Deion Sanders also called it “inappropriate.”
“I just pray that our children never behave like that, because I know you would have a blast if they did,” Sanders told the media.
Is that why Deion Sanders left his regular players in the game until the end?
Sanders and Colorado could have taken their offensive players out of the game in the final minutes and then run the ball on every play to run down the clock with a 28-9 lead. But they didn’t. Instead, Shedeur Sanders threw some long balls on Colorado’s final series and attempted passes on five of his final seven plays.
Deion Sanders said afterwards that it was not about taking revenge for the CSU’s behavior. He said he just wanted to score points.
“The point of the game is to score goals, right?” Sanders said. “I don’t know the protocol… As long as the other team is trying to score goals, we’re trying to score goals. That’s my rule.”
Shedeur Sanders completed 36 of 49 passes for 310 yards and scored four touchdowns — two to receiver LaJohntay Western in the first half and two to Hunter in the second. The Buffs led 14-3 at halftime and had just one sack all game after allowing six in a 28-10 loss at Nebraska last week.
What happened to Colorado’s offensive line?
Six of CU’s offensive linemen appeared at the postgame press conference and lined up like a wall behind Hunter and Shedeur Sanders at the microphones.
This was the best performance in a long time. Last year, Colorado had the second-most sacks in the nation (56) because Shedeur Sanders ended the season with a broken back.
“I’m really proud,” Deion Sanders said. “When we came out of the locker room (last week), I heard how bad we were walking down the street. I hate to use that word and that terminology, but that’s what was said … Those guys stood up. Come on, man, we could hear it. We have ears. We have two of them, in fact, and we heard all the nonsense and that we might as well end the season with one loss. Do you know how many people in college football have lost a game?”
Colorado changed its lineup on Saturday, bringing in a new right tackle: Phillip Houston, a transfer from Florida International, to replace Tyler Brown, who moved to the left guard position.
“Our front line dominated on both sides of the ball and that’s how we got the (win),” Hunter said.
Why this victory was crucial for Deion Sanders
A loss to Colorado State could have been disastrous for him after being dominated at Nebraska last week. It would have raised questions about the progress under Sanders in his second year as coach, especially after the Buffs beat both Nebraska and Colorado State in 2023.
“That was the whole topic of the week – how do you react?” Deion Sanders said of the loss to Nebraska.
The Buffs now enter the Big 12 Conference with momentum and return home next Saturday to play Baylor (2-1). It will be their fourth consecutive prime-time game on national television, this time on Fox after the previous three games were on ESPN, NBC and CBS.
“For the first time in the modern era of college football history”
It also helps that their defense is slowly getting into its stride. Colorado has allowed just nine points in the last six quarters. The Buffs also had two interceptions and two recovered fumbles in their seventh straight win over the Rams on Saturday.
“You see, that arrow is going in the right direction, especially defensively,” Deion Sanders said. “And you know, everyone knows the formula: you protect 2 (Shedeur), and off you go. It’s very simple.”
And then there’s Hunter. He set a school record with his fourth consecutive game of catching 100 yards. He also accomplished something the history books don’t really record: 13 pass catches for 100 yards, five tackles, an interception with a 38-yard return and a pass defense while playing 123 of 138 snaps from scrimmage, according to Colorado.
“This is probably the first time in the modern era of college football that such a statistic has occurred,” Colorado communications staff said in an email after the game.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @SchrotenboerEmail: [email protected]
