The Colorado Buffaloes (9-3, Big 12 7-2) and Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-9, Big 12 0-9) met in the final week of Big 12 play, resulting in a 52-point Buffaloes’ blowout on Senior Day.
While the 52-0 win was quite the way to send off the seniors, it, more importantly, keeps Colorado’s chances at the Big 12 championship alive after losing to Kansas a week prior. Still, the Buffs will have to rely on Saturday’s slate of conference games. Colorado will either need two losses between Arizona State, BYU and Iowa State, or wins from Houston and Texas Tech.
“We’ve exceeded all expectations and I’m really happy where we are,” CU head coach Deion Sanders said. “We certainly wanted to take that one extra step last week and we fell short. But look how we rebounded. Look how we wiped our tears and got back up, got on the horse and yelled, ‘Giddy up.’”
Focused on what it can control, though, CU’s offense thrived on the defense’s stellar day. The defense accounted for three sacks, eight tackles for loss, two interceptions, a fumble and a touchdown while holding the Cowboys scoreless. The defense’s energy was felt from the first play of the game.
“It was all about the guys that aren’t going to be here anymore,” senior safety Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig said. “We just wanted to make sure we at least get this shut out. One shut out, we’ve been talking about it all year.”
After the Cowboys received the opening kickoff, Silmon-Craig set OSU’s offense back two yards on first down with a tackle for loss. Then, junior defensive end Arden Walker sacked Oklahoma State quarterback Maealiuaki Smith for a six-yard loss. Already facing adversity, Smith dropped back on third-and-18 and threw into double coverage on the right sideline. While sophomore cornerback D.J. McKinney was there too, junior Heisman favorite Travis Hunter snagged his season’s fourth interception. Hunter also finished with two pass breakups.
“He’s the best player in college football,” Sanders said of Hunter. “You could find ways to hate, to criticize, to condemn him, and you won’t come out of that looking professional because now you’re just searching for something. But Travis Hunter proved today, and he’s proved every week, that he is the best player in college football.”
The Colorado offense made quick work, with freshman running back Micah Welch opening up the scoring on a one-yard run just three minutes into the game to go up 7-0.
The rest of the first quarter featured much of the same as Oklahoma State only picked up one first down in the opening 15 minutes. After OSU punted on the second drive, Sanders found senior wideout LaJohntay Wester in the end zone, going 65 yards in 11 plays. The Buffs then forced a fumble, which quickly turned into Hunter’s first touchdown of three on the day and a 21-0 lead less than 13 minutes into the game.
However, Colorado’s second quarter offense stalled. Between the two teams, they punted nine times in the quarter and had a turnover on downs. So, the Buffs entered the break up three scores.
Yet, the offense was back to scoring less than a minute into the second half. Wester broke loose for his second touchdown of the day after the Buffs received the opening kickoff, catching one of his 11 receptions and recording 69 of his team-leading 175 yards on the play.
After yet another OSU punt, it took just four plays for Hunter’s second touchdown reception, putting the Buffs up by a commanding 35 points with over 25 minutes left to play.
The Buffs ended the third quarter with an Alejandro Mata 33-yard field goal before starting the fourth quarter with a 13-yard McKinney pick-six. McKinney received a flag for his celebration, where he mimicked urinating like a dog – or dawg.
“Man, it was amazing I’m not gonna lie,” McKinney said. “The night before I dreamed about it. It was kind of premeditated, the celebration, honestly. So I was like, ‘Man, if they mess up and throw one my way, I’m gonna make ‘em pay.”
The cherry on top seemed to be Hunter’s third touchdown with 11:12 to play, where he reeled in a 23-yard touchdown grab while being pulled down by the defender. It came following a contested 31-yard snag just a few plays before. Hunter had 54 of his 116 receiving yards on the drive and two of his 10 catches. But, it was on the game’s final drive, with the backups in, that the Buffs’ defense maintained Colorado’s first shutout since 2021 by stopping Oklahoma State in the red zone.
“It was a lot more on the line today,” Silmon-Craig said about the final stand. “...Everybody took the selfish out of them and said, ‘Man, we’re gonna do it for the seniors. We’re gonna come out here and get this shut out.’”
The defense held Smith to 11-of-29 passing for just 70 yards and two interceptions. His top receiver was Brennan Presley, who had eight catches for 42 yards. While backup RB Trent Howland had 57 yards on nine carries, OSU star Ollie Gordon II was held to 10 yards on four carries.
The Buffs walked off Folsom Field for the last time in 2024 with a 9-3 overall record, 7-2 in Big 12 play and multiple players to be remembered. Hunter finished the day with 10 catches for 116 yards and three touchdowns, along with a tackle, an interception and two pass breakups. Sanders completed 34-of-41 passes for 438 yards and five touchdowns, though he did have an interception. Silmon-Craig finished with two tackles and a TFL.
“We still didn’t finish the right way. It’s too late to come back,” Sanders said. “I’ll never go back and change anything in my life that I could have done because it wouldn’t make me the man I am today… But I feel like we did everything we can this year.”
The Buffs will have to see if they make the Big 12 championship. Whether the pieces fall in place or not, they will still prepare for the bowl game they promised Peggy and hope to see Hunter hoist the Heisman in December.
Cover photo by Cristian Blanco/Sko Buffs Sports
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