Sanders and Hunter set CU records as Buffs bludgeon Cowboys

BOULDER—Like the leftovers you likely ate on Friday, the football at Folsom was sloppy, but the hosts did more than enough to start the holidays with a bash. The Colorado Buffaloes (9-3, 7-2) cruised through the struggling Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-9, 0-9) 52-0, and now they wait.

The Buffs need some things to go right tomorrow and if they do they will be playing in the Big 12 Championship Game. Keep winning, keep going and it means the holidays will be full of football for the black and gold. For tonight, CU took care of their end of the bargain and is in no man’s land. We know they’ll bowl, which is big—we pretty much know Travis Hunter will go to New York in hopes of winning the Heisman—and we’re pretty certain two all-time Buffs played their final game at Folsom Field.

Huner and Shedeur Sanders put cherries on top of their fantastic college careers. Hunter snagged an interception early and tallied 116 yards plus three touchdowns to further his Heisman campaign. At the same time, Sanders slung for 438 yards and five touchdowns to make a final stamp on his hope of going first in the NFL Draft.

Early, Colorado took advantage of Oklahoma State’s struggles. The Buffaloes surged to a 21-0 lead, scoring on three straight drives as the Cowboys turned it over twice in their own territory in the first 10 plays. Sanders tossed two quick touchdowns and CU punched another one in on the ground for the scores. Despite OKST’s continued issues, that was it for a while. The sleepy game quieted for the second quarter and remained 21-0 at halftime. While Colorado did enough to take the big lead, it was more of the Cowboys’ incompetence that stood out. Winless in conference play, OKST made the bold decision to hand their stud running back Ollie Gordon the ball just twice. Of course, the Buffs got killed on the ground last week. On top of that, OKST found no success through the air, with Maealiuaki Smith just seven-of-22 in the first half. Into the locker room, the Cowboys had more punts (seven,) than positive plays (six.) But Colorado had four punts and a turnover on downs amid their own struggles.

The start of the third quarter mirrored the first. Sanders connected with LaJontay Wester for a touchdown for the second time on the day—this one a 69-yarder. And then Colorado jumped on a fumbled ball to set up shop in Cowboys territory for a third time on the day. Sanders quickly found Hunter for a second time, for a short touchdown grab to put Colorado up 35-0. The second score pushed Hunter to 13 scores on the season, setting a new program record while Sanders day kept adding up to him setting the school’s single-season passing yards mark at 3,926 yards.

Travis Hunter 3rd Touchdown Catch of the Game 🤯

How did he catch this ? He’s the Best College Football Player I ever seen

🎥 : @ABC pic.twitter.com/xNO5Om5ScF

— We Coming 🦬 (@SkoBuffsGoBuffs) November 29, 2024

Colorado added a field goal, pick-six and third Hunter touchdown in garbage time to finish off Black Friday. Hunter’s three touchdowns combo is a school game record as is his 14th touchdown breaking his own single-season mark. Hunter enters postseason play at 1,152 yards, third-most in school history. Sanders’ special is a new single-season school touchdown mark standing at 35. The deal for Buffaloes fans was one more chance to see Sanders and Hunter play and they provided a little bit of that magic. Now, all of Boulder will be cheering for a true trick, which would be BYU, Arizona State and Iowa State losing Saturday to help CU’s title game hopes.