Colorado 38, Baylor 31, OT

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September 21st – Boulder          Colorado 38, Baylor 31 OT

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Travis Hunter knocked the ball loose from Baylor running back Dominic Richardson at the CU goal line in overtime, with the fumble recovered by the Buffs to give Colorado an unlikely 38-31 victory. The Buffs had no business getting to overtime in the first place, but a 43-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Shedeur Sanders to wide receiver LaJohntay Wester as time expired sent the game to an extra period. In CU’s overtime possession, Micah Welch scored on a one-yard run to give the Buffs their first lead since holding a 7-3 advantage late in the first quarter.

Shedeur Sanders completed 25-of-41 passes for 341 yards and two touchdowns. Sanders also scored on a two-yard run, CU’s first rushing touchdown of the season. Travis Hunter had seven catches for 130 yards, while also making the game-winning play on defense. Overall, the Buffs had 431 yards of total offense, while holding Baylor to 314 yards. Baylor used big plays, including a 100-yard kickoff return and a 45-yard touchdown run by quarterback Sawyer Robertson on a a fourth-and-short, building a 24-10 lead late in the second quarter before the Buffs began their comeback. The Bears squandered a chance to put the game away late, but Baylor kicker Isaiah Hankins missed a 45-yard field goal attempt with 2:45 left with the Bears leading by seven, setting up CU’s Hail Mary to tie the game on the final play of regulation.

“A great, great, great, great win,” Coach Prime said in his postgame press conference. “Young men were resilient. They never gave up. They never surrendered. The coaches were still inspired. I mean, all the way to the end, they were still calling and devising things … I don’t like how it played out, but I love the results. I think we’re so much better than what we’re showing you at times. We keep showing you glimpses of running game. We show you glimpses of us playing tough football defensively. We show you we can throw the ball all around, and then we just stall for a series or two and surrender something foolishly.  But I’m pleased.”

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Game Story … The game started about as well as the sold out “White Out” crowd of 52,794 on hand for Homecoming could have hoped. Three straight runs by the Baylor offense netted six yards and a punt, the first three-and-out of the evening for the CU defense.

The Buff offense, maligned for not running the ball, opened its first series with a 12-yard run by freshman running back Micah Welch. A sack of quarterback Shedeur Sanders a few plays later, though, ended the drive with a punt. A 54-yard return of punter Mark Vassett’s offering set the Bears up at the CU 38-yard line. After a 19-yard completion on the first play, the CU defense stiffened in the red zone, with Baylor kicker Isaiah Hankins hitting a 32-yard field goal to give the Bears a 3-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

CU’s second drive was one of the best of the night for the Buffs. An 11-yard completion from Sanders to Jimmy Horn opened the drive, with a three yard run by Isaiah Augustave on third-and-two and a 24-yard completion from Sanders to Travis Hunter on third-and-five near midfield keeping the drive alive. After a 10-yard completion to Dre’lon Miller set the Buffs up at the Baylor 14, Augustave seemingly gave the Buffs the lead with a 14-yard touchdown run, but the score was nullified by a holding penalty. Two plays later, the Bears were called for pass interference in the end zone, giving the Buffs a first-and-goal at the two yard line. On the next play, Shedeur Sanders gave CU its first rushing touchdown of the season, making it a 7-3 game late in the first.

The Baylor offense needed only seven plays to cover 75 yards to reclaim the lead. Three plays into the second quarter, Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson pass hit Monaray Baldwin for 30 yards and a touchdown, giving the Bears the lead back at 10-7.

After the teams traded three-and-outs, the CU offense took over at its 20. A pair of completions to Travis Hunter, netting 21 yards, helped push the ball near midfield, with another pass interference call setting the Buffs up on the Baylor side of the field. The Buffs made it as far as the Bear 25-yard line, with kicker Alejandro Mata tying the score at 10-10 with a 43-yard field goal with 6:55 remaining in the half.

The score remained tied for all of 11 seconds, with Jamaal Bell returning the ensuing kickoff 100 yards and a Baylor touchdown. After a three-and-out from the CU offense, together with another decent punt return, the Bears were able to set up shop at their own 46-yard line. From there, it took only four plays for the Bears to cover 54 yards, with quarterback Sawyer Robertson breaking through the CU defensive line on fourth-and-one for a 45-yard touchdown. Just like that, the score was now 24-10, Baylor.

The teams again traded three-and-outs, with the Buffs taking over at their 22-yard line with 2:38 remaining before the break. A 14-yard run by Sanders was all but negated a few plays later with a holding call on the CU offensive line. On second-and-20, though, Sanders hit Jimmy Horn for 17 yards, making it a third-and-three at the CU 42-yard line. On the next play, Sanders connected with Omarion Miller, who kept his balance while being tackled, then getting away to complete a 58-yard touchdown, giving the Buffs some much needed momentum heading into the locker room.

Halftime score: Baylor 24, Colorado 17

An 11-yard run by Shedeur Sanders, together with a roughing the passer penalty against the Baylor defense two plays later, gave the Buffs a first down near midfield to open the second half. A holding penalty and a sack later, though, and the Buffs were forced to punt.

The Baylor looked to take control of the game on their first possession of the second half. Posting their longest drive of the game – at least in terms of plays – the Bears held the ball for 11 plays and 4:32 of game clock. The drive came up empty, though, when, on fourth-and-one at the Colorado 41, quarterback Sawyer Robertson was thrown for a loss by linebacker BJ Green, giving the ball back to the Buffs.

The CU offense responded by … going three-and-out.

Fortunately, the Buff defense was again up to the challenge, quickly forcing another Baylor punt. Taking over at the 20-yard line, the connection of Sanders-to-Hunter woke up the Folsom Field crowd, opening the drive with a 46-yard completion. Two plays later, facing a third-and-15 at the Baylor 39, Sanders again connected with Hunter, this time for 31 yards to the Baylor 8-yard line. Two Micah Welch runs, the second going for two yards and a touchdown, knotted the score at 24-24 with one minute remaining in the third quarter.

After forcing the Baylor offense into its fifth three-and-out of the contest, the CU offense took over at its 13-yard line to open the fourth quarter. A 13-yard run by Sanders, followed by a pair of Augustave runs totaling 11 yards, gave the Buffs two first downs and some momentum. A 13-yard completion from Sanders to LaJohntay Wester kept the drive alive, moving the ball into Baylor territory. Three plays later, however, Sanders was sacked on fourth-and-eight at the Baylor 35, giving the ball – and the momentum – back to the Bears.

And the Baylor offense moved quickly to take advantage. Covering 61 yards in eight plays, the Bears retook the lead, 31-24, when quarterback Sawyer Robertson found Hal Presley for a 24-yard score with 5:43 remaining in the game.

Matters only went from bad to worse for the Buffs on CU’s next possession. Back-to-back sacks left CU with a third-and-31 at their own four yard line. After an incompletion and a punt, the Bears were poised to end the game. Up seven points, and with the ball at the Buff 26-yard line with less than four minutes left in the game, the Baylor offense went conservative, running the ball three times to set up the game-clinching field goal.

Instead, Baylor kicker Isaiah Hankins missed a 45-yard field goal attempt, keeping it a seven point game, at 31-24, with 2:15 remaining.

CU’s final drive of regulation opened … with another sack. Two plays later, though, Sanders apparently hit Travis Hunter for a 39-yard gain, but the completion was overturned, with the Buffs having to settle for a pass interference call on the play. After yet another sack and a false start against the CU offensive line, matters looked bleak for the Buffs, facing a second-and-24 at their own 31-yard line with 54 seconds remaining. A 17-yard scramble by Sanders left the Buffs with a third-and-seven at the 48, with a completion to LaJohntay Wester seemingly giving the Buffs a first down and a stoppage of the clock. The side judge, though, ruled that Wester hadn’t made the first down, keeping the clock running. A quick quarterback sneak by Sanders for three yards converted the fourth-and-one, but precious seconds were lost.

Using their final time out with 18 seconds remaining, two incompletions ate up most of the remaining time, with a dropped pass by receiver Will Sheppard at the Baylor two yard line with two seconds left on the clock on the second pass seemingly sealing CU’s fate.

Then, taking the snap as the clock expired, Shedeur Sanders drifted to his left to buy time, then heaved the ball to the end zone in front of the CU student section. There, LaJohntay Wester was waiting, collecting the 43-yard Hail Mary for an apparent touchdown. After the referee made the Buff Nation wait, the touchdown was confirmed.  With no time remaining on the clock, kicker Alejandro Matta calmly kicked through the extra point, sending the game into overtime.

End of Regulation: Colorado 31, Baylor 31

Baylor won the toss to open overtime, electing to defer. For an unknown reason, the Buffs chose to play on the north side of the field, away from their student section. On CU’s overtime possession, the moved smartly to take the lead. A three-yard run by Isaiah Augustave and an eight-yard completion to Dre’lon Miller gave the Buffs a fresh set of downs at the Baylor 14-yard line. A Sanders run for five, and a completion to Hunter for four, left CU with a third-and-one at the Baylor five-yard line. A quarterback sneak by Sanders netted three yards and a first-and-goal at the two. After a one-yard run by Augustave, Micah Welch gave Colorado its first lead since 7-3 in the first quarter, 38-31.

Baylor didn’t hesitate to move in to tie the score. Three runs netted ten yards and a first down, with quarterback Sawyer Robertson going for 13 yards on the next play, with a stop by Cam’ron Silmon-Craig preventing the tying touchdown. On first-and-goal at the two, Baylor running back Dominic Richardson was met at the goal line by Travis Hunter, with the ball squirting loose. The ball went out of the end zone, seemingly ending the game. The CU student section stormed the field as the referee went under the hood to review the play. After a seemingly interminable two minutes, the call of a fumble was confirmed, and the Buffs had their improbable – if not impossible – victory.

Final score: Colorado 38, Baylor 31

“I knew I was going to get a lot of pressure,” quarterback Shedeur Sanders said of his Hail Mary touchdown pass to LaJohntay Wester. “So I was like, ‘OK, cool. Let’s go ahead and roll.’ We put Travis (Hunter) backside because he’s going to get all that attention and LaJohntay was there on the outside. They’re not going to think we’re going to throw him the ball. So I roll left, everybody went in the middle of the end zone and I just trusted God. I just threw it up to God and God answered the prayer.”

The touchdown pass was just one of two miracles late in the game. After the Buffs scored in their overtime possession, the Bears looked to quickly answer. With a first-and-goal at the CU two-yard line, the Buff Nation was not only contemplating Baylor scoring, but wondering whether Dave Aranda and the Bears would go for a two-point conversion after the score, going for the win instead of a second overtime.

Instead, Travis Hunter’s heroics ended the speculation. “Shedeur told me to go out there and get the ball,” Hunter said. “So I told him, ‘I got you,’ and I kept my word. I knew I had to tackle. I knew they were coming at me. They don’t think I could tackle, so I had to show them.”

“I don’t rank games. I don’t,” Coach Prime said when asked where this one ranks among the most remarkable games he has been a part of in his life. “I just love the Ws, man. I love the Ws. I really do. By any means necessary, I love them.”

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Game Notes …

— The win gave Colorado a 10-7 lead in the all-time series, including a 6-4 record in games played in Boulder;

— Despite the rain, the “White Out” for Homecoming was 52,794, well over Folsom Field’s capacity of 50,198;

— The Buffaloes forced overtime on a 43-yard touchdown from Shedeur Sanders to LaJohntay Wester with no time left in regulation.  It is the third time in CU history a touchdown was scored with no time left in regulation of a game that the Buffaloes ultimately won.  The other two had touchdowns that ended the game are pretty famous plays in college football history, the Miracle at Michigan when Kordell Stewart threw a 64-yard touchdown to Michael Westbrook to beat Michigan 27-26 in 1994, and the other when Charles S. Johnson scored on a 1-yard touchdown to beat Missouri 33-31 in 1990 on what was believed at the time to be fourth down.  (Yes, the fifth down game);

— The Buffs defense continued their second half dominance.  The Buffs have allowed just 19 points in the second half this season.  Against Baylor, the Buffs held the Bears to 313 yards of offense and just 148 passing yards;

— Travis Hunter caught seven passes for 130 yards on offense and defensively he had three tackles, the final one of which happened to be on the game’s final play when he forced a fumble on Dominic Richardson that traveled through the end zone for a touchback and ended the drive and thus the game.  Hunter had his fifth straight 100-yard receiving games, now two games longer than any other such performance in school history;

— LaJohntay Wester, the NCAA’s active leader in receptions had four receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown on the final play of regulation.  He now has 270 career receptions for 2,929 yards and 25 touchdowns in his career.  He has also caught a touchdown in three straight games.

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Game Highlights … 

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Tags: Alejandro Mata, BJ Green, Cam'Ron Silmon-Craig, Dre'lon Miller, Isaiah Augustave, Jimmy Horn, Jimmy Horn Jr., Lajohntay Wester, Mark Vassett, Micah Welch, Omarion Miller, Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter, Will Sheppard
This post, about the Baylor game, from the 2024 Season, is filed under Article.
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