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Max Olson, ESPN Staff Writer
Colorado is going bowling in Year 2 under Deion Sanders.
The Buffaloes secured their sixth win and bowl eligibility late Saturday night, earning a 34-23 home victory over Cincinnati that also sets them up to be a Big 12 contender next month.
Shedeur Sanders broke a school record by completing his first 15 passes of the game, threw for 323 yards and scored three total touchdowns to lead the Buffaloes. The victory ensured the star quarterback’s second season in Boulder will end with the program’s first bowl game since 2020.
“It’s cute, it really is. Because we really want that, but that’s not all we’re after,” Deion Sanders said. “That’s one of the hurdles that we’re jumping over and going over.
“That’s a tremendous hurdle that we’re happy, we’re excited, but that’s not the end goal for us. That’s the beginning, but we are thankful and appreciative that the hard work is going noticed.”
Shedeur Sanders said he dealt with the flu during the week and was only able to practice once before facing the Bearcats. He completed 25 of 30 passes on the night and connected with two-way star Travis Hunter nine times for 153 yards and two touchdowns. Afterward, his father questioned why he’s “not even mentioned” in the Heisman Trophy race.
“I don’t care, I really don’t. It’s just strange,” Sanders said. “It’s just funny to me. I just think it’s just ignorant, but it’s funny to us because Shedeur could care less. Shedeur wants to be drafted in a wonderful city. He wants to win out. That’s what he thinks about. He ain’t thinking about no darn Heisman, man.
“Now, Travis is the best college football player in the country. We all know that. Why are we even deliberating over that? What are we doing? Like, when does that change? So what’s the criteria? Somebody needs to say what’s the criteria of that prestigious award. Because we’re looking at the best high school football player that — there hasn’t been a Travis Hunter ever. Ever. And I’m sitting up here saying that.”
For the second week in a row, Colorado (6-2, 4-1 Big 12) was able to balance out its offensive attack with a 100-yard rushing performance. Isaiah Augustave, an Arkansas transfer, led the way with 93 of the Buffaloes’ 123 yards in what Deion Sanders called a “conscious effort” to run the ball more.
The Buffs scored on five of their first six offensive drives to roll to a 31-14 lead and held off a fourth-quarter rally by Cincinnati (5-3, 3-2) in a battle of Big 12 contenders that have surprised after being picked to finish 11th and 14th, respectively, in the league’s preseason media poll.
Colorado hadn’t achieved six wins since 2016 and last reached a bowl game at the end of the Pac-12’s pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The Buffaloes were one of just two teams in the conference that agreed to participate in a bowl game and lost 55-23 to Texas in the Valero Alamo Bowl to finish 4-2 that season.
“We don’t go into the season looking at the schedule like, ‘Oh, we’re only gonna win six games,'” Shedeur Sanders said. “That’s not what happened. The fact that we did it, it just trusts our process that we’re using. We’re not even hitting our peak. Nowhere close.”
After a 4-8 debut season and another offseason of roster rebuilding via the transfer portal, Sanders has Colorado positioned to compete in the Big 12 championship race.
Undefeated BYU (8-0, 5-0) and Iowa State (7-0, 4-0) remain atop the Big 12 conference standings, with Kansas State (7-1, 4-1) and Colorado behind them. Kansas State defeated the Buffaloes, 31-28, in Boulder on Oct. 12, but Colorado does not play BYU or Iowa State in the regular season.
A bye week is next for the Buffaloes, with Texas Tech, Utah, Kansas and Oklahoma State remaining on the schedule. All four of Colorado’s remaining opponents lost Saturday.
Deion Sanders said his team is focused on one game at a time and isn’t thinking about a College Football Playoff run, then followed that up with a plea to reporters and coaches who vote in the weekly polls. Five Associated Press top-25 teams losing Saturday could potentially clear the way for Colorado to enter the rankings.
“We don’t even want to be ranked. Don’t rank us, please,” he said. “We don’t like that. We’d rather be at the back, in the dark, just chilling in the cut. We good, we cool, we straight. So don’t feel pressure to rank us.”
After the win, Deion Sanders intended to present the game ball to Peggy Coppom, Colorado’s 99-year-old superfan who has been attending games since the 1940s. Sanders has vowed he would get “Miss Peggy” to a bowl game as a gift for her 100th birthday.
Coppom was unable to attend the Cincinnati game while dealing with COVID-19, Sanders said, but Colorado athletic director Rick George called her from the locker room after the victory.
“We told her she’s going to a bowl,” Sanders said. “Now we want to make sure she goes to the best possible bowl that she could possibly go to. That means a lot to us, that really does. She was so appreciative and thankful. She means so much to this program, so we’re glad we could honor her in that.
“Now we’ve just gotta get a private plane to make sure she’s comfortable on the way there. Yeah, we ain’t putting Peggy on a regular plane, I promise you that.”