The Colorado Buffaloes lost more than just a game, but the war of attrition as well. Quarterback Avery Johnson connected with Jayce Brown for a 50-yard touchdown with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to give No. 18 Kansas State Wildcats a narrow 31-28 victory over Colorado on the road in a hostile environment.
Johnson’s touchdown pass to Brown came less than a minute after Colorado took a tenuous 28-24 lead with 3:12 to go on a touchdown pass from signal caller Shedeur Sanders to LaJohntay Wester. The Wildcats marched to the 50-yard line after Colorado failed to wrap up running back DJ Giddens out of the backfield on a swing pass, and then Johnson found Brown on the ensuing play.
It all came down to this. Colorado had one last gasp for a game-tying or go-ahead drive after Johnson’s touchdown pass, but the Buffaloes could not convert a first down. Sanders attempted to go went to Will Sheppard on fourth down but the pass sailed out of bounds.
Johnson only needed three plays to help Kansas State capture the lead. The Wildcats defense stepped up and took care of the rest, stopping the Buffaloes on downs to secure the win.
“Ultimately you’ve just got to make plays in big moments,” Johnson said. “Ultimately, that’s what our guys did.”
The Buffaloes nearly pulled off their second straight improbable comeback at Folsom Field in front of their fans. They defeated the Baylor Bears on September 21 in overtime after tying it up on a Hail Mary pass with no time left in regulation.
“Sometimes when you lose in life, you get your butt kicked and you’ve just got to take. Sometimes you lose, you say, ‘Dang, we should’ve won that. We should’ve had that,’” Colorado coach Deion Sanders said. “That was one of those types of games. That’s not taking anything away from our opponents because they played their butts off.”
Sheppard was one of the top healthy receivers remaining for the Buffaloes at the end of the game. Colorado was forced to play the entire second half without star CB/WR Travis Hunter. He exited the game in the first half with an apparent right shoulder injury and watched helplessly as a spectator for the final 30 minutes from the sideline.
In addition to Hunter, wide receiver Jimmy Horn was injured in the first half and did not return. Omarion Miller came up big in their absence and hauled in eight receptions for 145 yards. However, he was not immune from the injury bug and suffered a left leg injury on his eighth catch and had to be helped off the field. He also did not return to the game.
Embed from Getty ImagesDespite missing several key receivers in the second half, Sanders was dynamic and put on a show with 34-of-40 passing for 388 yards and three scores. However, things were not all roses and Sanders did throw a costly interception in the second half when he sailed a pass that was picked off by VJ Payne.
Sanders’ third touchdown pass of the night was the go-ahead score to Sheppard with just over three minutes to go. That was set up by a long interception return by Colton Hood, the man who filled Hunter’s shoes at corner, when the Wildcats elected to go for it on fourth down with just over four minutes remaining.
Giddens took the air out of the ball and rushed 25 times for 182 yards as Colorado’s lack of a running game managed to rear its ugly head once again. Dallan Hayden was the team’s leading ball carrier with seven rushes for 11 yards. Sanders was running for his life and was sacked six times and finished the game with minus-50 yards rushing.
“Yeah, we made a statement — that we lost,” the Colorado QB said.
Both teams are still in contention and have all their goals in front of them in the Big 12 race, especially now that Utah has two losses. Iowa State and BYU are the only teams in the conference that are undefeated and Colorado does not have either team on their schedule. Kansas State’s only loss of the season came to BYU and the Wildcats face off against the Cyclones in the final week of the season, which could be for all the marbles.
Nineteen-year NBA standout veteran Carmelo Anthony was on the sideline wearing a Colorado Avalanche jersey. Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns was on hand to lend his support as well. The Suns play the Denver Nuggets in a preseason game Sunday night. Also in the crowd was Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook. Former MLB pitcher CC Sabathia and Hall of Fame receiver Terrell Owen were also in the stands.
Kansas State travels to West Virginia on Saturday.
Colorado in on the road at Arizona on Saturday.
