Photo by Andrew Wevers/Getty Images
The Buffs couldn’t come away with the statement win, but made a statement anyway.
The Colorado Buffaloes came sickeningly close to making a statement on Saturday night. After trailing for over half the game against Kansas State, the Buffs came all the way back and took a late four-point lead with three minutes left, but couldn’t get the job done. A late K-State touchdown on a 50-yard pass by Avery Johnson to Jayce Brown put the nail in Colorado’s coffin, handing them their first conference loss of 2024.
Colorado showed some serious fight against the Wildcats, in a manner that we haven’t seen out of the Deion Sanders-led Buffaloes. In a game when Colorado lost four key wide receivers to injury, including Heisman frontrunner Travis Hunter and slot threat Jimmy Horn, the Buffs still put themselves in a position to win the game.
That itself is a statement. Colorado proved that they’re more than just their superstars on Saturday. They fought hard, regardless of the bad hand they’d been dealt, but came up just short.
“It’s really next man up,” said Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders postgame. “The guys that got in were able to make plays and ready to play. Drelon Miller stepped up and did what he was supposed to do. [Omarion Miller] got in and did what he was supposed to do. Overall, it’s a machine and we’ve gotta keep going no matter what.”
Both Millers, Drelon and Omarion, showcased why they’re the future of Colorado football against the Wildcats. Filling in for Hunter and Horn at receiver, both players picked up invaluable first-downs on scoring drives. Omarion finished the game as the Buffaloes’ leading receiver, with 145 yards on eight catches, while Drelon finished the game as CU’s fourth-leading receiver with 5 catches for 28 yards.
“We’re deep, man,” said Deion Sanders when asked about Colorado’s receiver room. “That room is deep. Those guys step up tremendously and we have freshmen that are able to step up. Drelon [Miller] did a wonderful job of making plays. If happy with who they are, what they are, and how they work.”
Omarion Miller was the star of the show, picking up right where he left off against USC last season. When Colorado needed a big first down, Miller was able to move the chains. He showed Colorado fans a glimpse of the program’s bright future on Saturday, before leaving the game after suffering an injury to his left leg.
“Omarion can play,” Deion Sanders said postgame. “You can just flip a coin, and he can start if you desire him to. It’s just the way the chips fall for him. He is just like a starter.”
One of Colorado’s most underrated contributors against K-State was freshman cornerback Colton Hood, who filled in for Travis Hunter in pass protection. Filling in for Hunter is a daunting task, but Hood was up to it, coming up with the biggest takeaway of the season thus far for the Buffs.
“Colton Hood works his butt off,” said Colorado safety Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig. “He could start for us, but he doesn’t, so I appreciate that guy coming to work every day to work his butt off.”
The fact that Hood and Miller stepped up and put Colorado in a position to win this game speaks miles to how far this program has come. Buffs fans have seen this team fold under pressure too many times in the last decade, like against Stanford last season and Oregon State in 2018. Instead, the Buffs faced the storm head-on and almost prevailed.
“I’m proud of them, man,” said head coach Deion Sanders postgame. “This is a totally different team. They have heart, they have integrity, they’re tough. They love to play this game, we just came up short.”
Even with the statement and display of resilience, Colorado is not satisfied. They didn’t make the statement they wanted most; a victory.
“That’s the statement, that we lost,” said Shedeur Sanders. “A loss is a loss. You can’t get that back. There’s no buts, you’ve just gotta get better.”
Colorado will look to regroup and learn from this K-State matchup as they prepare for a matchup with Tetairoa McMillan and the Arizona Wildcats next Saturday. A win against Arizona would put Colorado right back in the Big 12 title race, making this game extremely important. Kickoff in Tucson will be 2:00 pm local on Fox.
by RylandScholes
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