BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — His mother gave the pregame speech. His defensive back son started the scoring with one 80-yard pick-six. His quarterback son won it with a 98-yard drive for the ages and an overtime not soon forgotten.
It was quite a day for Deion Sanders. Also with a few celebrity friends in town who take it all in.
Shedeur Sanders threw a TD pass to Michael Harrison in the second overtime after taking the lead to tie the game with 36 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and No. 18 Colorado rallied to beat Colorado State early Sunday in front of a sellout crowd House with 43:35 full of famous names.
Sanders connected with Harrison for an 18-yard score and then found an open Xavier Weaver on the 2-point conversion. From then on, the Colorado defense took over the attack, with Trevor Woods intercepting Pass from Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi on the 4th and 23rd to end the game around 12:30 p.m. local time.
It sparked a cheer as fans stormed the field for the second straight day. This was the largest fourth quarter comeback for Colorado since 2005.
“We showed that we have neither capitulation nor giving up in us,” said Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders. “They never doubted themselves.”
In the first OT, Shedeur Sanders waited patiently in the pocket until Harrison flashed for a 3-yard score. Fowler-Nicolosi then connected with Tory Horton for an 8-yard score.
With 2:06 left in the fourth quarter, Sanders and the Buffaloes (3-0) got the ball back at the 2-yard line and trailed 28-20. He led a seven-play drive that culminated with a 45-yard TD pass to Jimmy Horn Jr. with 36 seconds left. Sanders hit Harrison for the 2-point conversion.
“Well, we do it all the time in practice, so it’s not really a surprise to us,” Sanders said of the 98-yard drive. “We like these high-pressure moments”
“That’s him,” Deion Sanders said.
As underdogs by 23 1/2 points, the Rams led for much of the game. Her tally was 17 penalties for 182 yards, including a flag for a below-the-waist block that negated a touchdown in the second overtime.
Rams coach Jay Norvell added spice to the Rocky Mountain showdown earlier this week by calling out Deion Sanders for not removing his sunglasses and hat in interviews. After the game, Sanders and Norvell shook hands amid a sea of fans near midfield.
“This rivalry has been going on for a lot longer and before I got here,” said Norvell, who is in his second season at Colorado State. “It will continue after I leave.”
As far as their argument goes, Sanders is over.
“I wish him the best,” he said.
Sanders and the Buffaloes fed off the perceived insult well into the game. Shilo Sanders donned sunglasses after his 80-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter as his proud father raced happily down the sideline.
“These ticket prices were worth it today,” said Shilo Sanders.
Shedeur Sanders finished the game with 348 yards, four touchdowns and one interception for the Buffaloes, who won their sixth straight over the Rams (0-2). Sanders was missing receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter, who was sidelined in the third quarter with an undisclosed injury and was taken to the hospital for further evaluation. He could be out for a few weeks.
Colorado State took advantage of a bye week by finding ways to contain Sanders and the explosive Colorado offense for moments of the game. The Rams tried to spoil the party hosted by Deion Sanders, which had well-known figures like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and rapper Lil Wayne in town.
Fowler-Nicolosi had 367 yards and three touchdowns. Receiver Tory Horton caught a TD pass and threw another on a trick play to tight end Dallin Holker.
“Every loss hurts, but this one hurts a little more, just like we lost,” Fowler-Nicolosi said. “It’s brutal.”
It was uneasy at times when Rams defender Mohamed Kamara got a finger in his face mask after a play from Shedeur Sanders. Kamara was later disqualified in overtime for targeting Sanders.
Emotions also heated up early on, with both teams gathering in midfield about an hour before kick-off and exchanging a few words. Hunter left the meeting to run to the student section and fire up the fans.
Deion Sanders has made the Buffaloes the talk of college football since taking over a team that went 1-11 last season.
Both ESPN’s “College GameDay” and Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff” took place on campus this weekend. Some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment showed up in Boulder, including “The Rock,” who appeared on the set of GameDay and took off his jacket to show he was wearing it Shedeur Sanders’ No. 2 jersey. The Buffaloes brought the field to one Lil Wayne mini concert in the end zone shortly before kickoff ( Deion Sanders gave it as a gift A jersey).
“You’ve got Lil Wayne here, Coach Prime doing his thing. They let a whole animal run around,” Shilo Sanders said of the pregame festivities, which included live buffalo mascot Ralphie running across the field. “I would have been so scared if I had been the other team.”
THE TAKING AWAY
Colorado State: According to Pac-12 research, the Rams have lost 17 straight games on the road to ranked teams.
Colorado: Announced attendance was 53,141 for a game where tickets sold at an average purchase price of $214 TickPick. The Buffaloes have sold out five home games this season and are close to selling out a sixth (Arizona on Nov. 11).
IMPLICATIONS ON THE SURVEY
It’s hard to say how voters will view this. It was an epic comeback. But the Buffaloes were the big favorites.
NEXT
Colorado State: Play Middle Tennessee on Saturday.
Colorado: No. 13 Oregon on Saturday.
